             ,                                                      ,
            /<____,----,__,----,_____,----,---,___,---,_ .----,_____>\
 ,--------- \__       /   ________       /     \_____   \\___.       /_jp!----,
 | ,======== /   /       __<_/   /  /   /   /   /   /   /---/   /_____/ ====, |
 | |       _/   /   ,   /   _\  /  /       /   /   /   /       /   /        | |
 | | \\ \\\\___    /___    ____/--/   /\      ,___/       /___    _\\\\ \\  | |
 | `--------- /___/ - /___/ ---- /___/  \____/ - /___/---` - /___/ ---------' |
 `----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

What's the Point?! by Jack Phlash - Demonic Productions (2024)
---

This is a general and fairly high level guide on how to set up point systems on
FTN based echomail networks. I will be demonstrating this using Mystic BBS for
all nodes simply because it's what I currently use with my own network,
Zer0net, and frankly, it's one of the easier to configure and use BBS > FTN
tossers FTN > mailers combinations out there. That said, this solution should
work without much alteration with ANY fairly capable BBS software + mail tosser
+ mailer combination, and if you know your own setup decently well, adapting
the knowledge herein should be simple.



Scenario:
---

You have a single uplink to an echomail network, but you have multiple BBSes
you all want to participate in that network via that single uplink.

Something like this, perhaps:


                                 ,-----------,
                                 |  Network  |
                                 |    Hub    |
                                 `-----------'
                                       |
                                       |
                                 ,-----------,
                                 |   BBS 1   |
                             .-- |(Local Hub)| --.
                             |   `-----------'   |
              ,-----------,  |         |         | ,-----------,
              |   BBS 2   | -'         |         `-|   BBS 4   |
              `-----------'      ,-----------,     `-----------'
                                 |   BBS 3   |
                                 `-----------'


In the year of our lord 2024, this is fairly pointless (*that's a clever pun
which will make sense in about 20 seconds*) because the primary justification
for doing this back in the day was to avoid tying up phone lines for longer
than needed, and especially incurring unneeded long distance charges in the
process. These days there aren't many downsides to having every BBS system have
its own node number and do its own mailing over the Internet. Regardless, it's
kind of a fun thing to set up, and does give you a bit more autonomy for how
you use your network feeds, and given that for many of us, doing pointless
things just for fun describes this entire hobby, I digress...



Solution:
---

To do this, one of your BBSes (or a standalone mail only system if you prefer)
needs to act as a local hub for your other systems. Your other systems will be
"point" systems. A point system is a system assigned the most specific kind of
FTN address, AKA, instead of being 911:1719/0, a point system might be
911:1719/0.1.  Broadly speaking, this is the intended use of point addresses,
and most networks do not police their use or do specific routing to/from point
systems. In fact, this can/will all be done entirely locally; your network
hub/uplink operator does not need to do anything to facilitate this in most
cases. This is where we come in!

A note about point addressing: Any node's point address is normally 0. For
instance, in the example above, 911:1719/0 is technically 911:1719/0.0. If you
don't set one, it should automatically default to 0. Likewise, most programs do
not show the point part of the address if it is 0. If it is configured to
anything other than 0, it should, assuming it supports using point addresses in
the first place.

Definition of a point, per the Synchronet Wiki - FidoNet Glossary:

  Point:

  A "Point Node" is an FTN node with an address the ends in .1 or another
  non-zero fractional value. An FTN node address without a period/dot (.) or
  that ends in a .0 is not a point node address.

  A "Point Node" is not listed in the network's nodelist and is dependent on
  its "Boss Node" to receive and deliver files, including NetMail and EchoMail
  packets, on its behalf.


See what I mean?

One interesting downside is that point systems don't appear in nodelist files.
Instead, the nodelist ONLY features the local hub (what is called the "boss
node" above, heh) and points are assumed to just be a part of that node. This
is somewhat true, of course, but does make sending netmail to a user on a point
system a little odd. No big deal!


- BBS 1 (Local Hub)

To get started, set up the local hub system normally to connect to its uplink:
set up your normal node address. I set my test node as 911:69/1:



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  


      
       Network Address         Domain    Pri  Description               
        
     0:0/0                             No   Local Address             gj!
   911:69/1                zeronet   Yes  Zer0net!                  
  0:0/0                             No                             ۱
  0:0/0                             No                             
  0:0/0                             No                              
 ۰ 0:0/0                             No                             ۰ 
 0:0/0                             No                              
  0:0/0                             No                              ݰ
       0:0/0                             No                               
       0:0/0                             No                             
       0:0/0                             No                             
       0:0/0                             No                             
      


+++      
::: (Networking) -> Echomail Addresses...


Next add the uplink/network hub node via its normal address, description/name,
sysop name, and preferred mailing method (BinkP, etc.) and other preferences.

While here, there are two ways to configure your netmail routing:

First, and *recommended*, at least for Mystic, is that you can leave your
netmail routing configuration ("route info" in Mystic) blank/default. Mystic
should be smart enough to prioritize directly connected nodes (the point nodes
we'll add in a bit) over broader, network-wide routes, and use the uplink for
those.

Alternatively, if we have issues later on with netmail routing, we can
configure the routing rules statically. Normally, we might manually set it to
send mail for the entire network to the uplink (i.e. "911:*" in the case of
Zer0net) but in this case, we'll also want to tell your mailer NOT to route
mail sent to your point systems to the uplink. An example in Mystic:
"911:*!911:1719/0.*". This should be easy enough to decipher, but just in case,
we're saying "route any mail sent to any address starting with "911:" to this
node, but NOT any mail sent to an address starting with "911:1719/0." (which
would effectively be any point address under your main node address.)

Example for my test setup:



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  

 EchoMail Nodes 
 I Node ID 3 (911:1423/0@zeronet) k 
  Active          Yes                                       1:GENERAL   
 3 Description     Zer0net Hub                               2:Security 0 
 1 SysOp Name      jack phlash                               3:Groups   1 
 2 Address         911:1423/0                                4:BinkP    2 
   Domain          zeronet                                   5:FTP        
   Session Type    Directory                                 6:Dir Toss   
   Archive Type    ZIP                                                    
   Export Type     Normal                                                 
   Route Info                                                             
   Uplink          Yes                                                    
   Max PKT Size    512                                                    
  Max ARC Size    2048                                                  
   Use Filebox     No                                                     
   Filebox Dir                                                          1 
   Crash Limiter   0                                        Page 1 of 6 2 
 C  
 Press / for command list 
+++      
::: (Echomail Node) -> Node active...


Now let's add your point nodes to the local hub. Add the first node (BBS 2)
giving it a unique point address. For example, 911:1719/0.1. There's nothing
else special about this - give it a description/name, sysop name, and preferred
mailing method (BinkP, etc.) and other preferences. Since for my testing I had
all of these BBSes running on the same machine, I did directory mailing to
simply move the mail around the local filesystem, but you can do whatever you
want. You should be able to leave the routing configuration ("route info" in
Mystic) blank/default, but if netmail routing doesn't work as expected or you
have trouble, you can put the specific node address in here
(i.e. "911:1719/0.1").



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  

 EchoMail Nodes 
 I Node ID 1 (911:69/1.1@zeronet) k 
  Active          Yes                                       1:GENERAL   
 3 Description     Zer0net Test Node 1                       2:Security 0 
 1 SysOp Name      sysop1                                    3:Groups   1 
 2 Address         911:69/1.1                                4:BinkP    2 
   Domain          zeronet                                   5:FTP        
   Session Type    Directory                                 6:Dir Toss   
   Archive Type    ZIP                                                    
   Export Type     Normal                                                 
   Route Info                                                             
   Uplink          No                                                     
   Max PKT Size    512                                                    
  Max ARC Size    2048                                                  
   Use Filebox     Yes                                                    
   Filebox Dir     ..st\main\filebox\zeronet_z911n69n1p1\               1 
   Crash Limiter   0                                        Page 1 of 6 1 
 C  
 Press / for command list 
+++      
::: (Echomail Node) -> Node active...


(Note: You can ignore the filebox settings in this screenshot. File echos are
not covered by this tutorial, though if you were to want to enable them, you'd
simply need to set a TIC password, enable fileboxes and process TICs via
MUTIL.)

Repeat this process for all of your BBSes, making sure each one has a unique
point address.

When done, my local hub setup (with only 2 points) looks like this:



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  

 EchoMail Nodes 
 ID   Act  Description               SysOp                           Network 
  
 3    Yes  Zer0net Hub               jack phlash                  911:1423/0 
 1    Yes  Zer0net Test Node 1       sysop1                       911:69/1.1 
 2    Yes  Zer0net Test Node 2       sysop2                       911:69/1.2 
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
  
     Inactive: 121 days                           Last In: Never             
   Files Sent: 0 (0KB)                           Last Out: 31 Mar 2024 16:31 
     Received: 0 (0KB)                              Reset: 29 Mar 2024 14:02 
 Crash Errors: 0                                                             
 Press / for command list 
+++      
::: (Echomail Node) -> Node active...


Continuing on, setup all of your network's message areas as normal, remembering
to set the type to echomail ("networked" in Mystic) your an echomail tag that
matches each echo (AKA "0n-* on Zer0net) and your node's address for this
network, along with a sweet-ass origin line. Finally, configure the Export To
setting on all of the echos associated with this network to export to all of
the previously configured nodes: the uplink, and all of your point nodes.



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  
 ID 4 
 Name         Zer0net Test                      Quote Color    Sample      
 Base Typ EchoMail Exports ple      
 Newsgrou ###  Description                                Address ple      
 QWK Name  ple      
 Echo Tag 1    Zer0net Hub                             911:1423/0 ple      
 File Nam 2    Zer0net Test Node 2                     911:69/1.2          
 Path     3    Zer0net Test Node 1                     911:69/1.1          
 List ACS                                                                  
 Read ACS                                                                  
 Post ACS                                                         ead      
 Sysop AC                                                         mrd      
 List EAC                                                         mlst     
                                                                           
 Net Addr                                                                  
 Export T                                                                  
 Origin             
 QWK Netw                 Press / for command list                         
 QWK Base         

+++      
::: (Message Base Editor) -> Export messages to these nodes...


That is BASICALLY all there is to it. Now, let's move on to the points.


- BBS 2-4

Setting up the points is even easier than setting up the nodes. There's really
NOTHING special about it except we're using our local hub as the uplink.

Set the node up with its new node point address. My example for the first point
node in my test setup:



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  


      
       Network Address         Domain    Pri  Description               
        
     0:0/0                             No   Local Address             gj!
   911:69/1.1              zeronet   Yes  Zer0net!                  
  0:0/0                             No                             ۱
  0:0/0                             No                             
  0:0/0                             No                              
 ۰ 0:0/0                             No                             ۰ 
 0:0/0                             No                              
  0:0/0                             No                              ݰ
       0:0/0                             No                               
       0:0/0                             No                             
       0:0/0                             No                             
       0:0/0                             No                             
      


+++      
::: (Networking) -> Echomail Addresses...


Now add the local hub node via its normal address, description/name, sysop
name, and preferred mailing method (BinkP, etc.) and other preferences. You can
leave your netmail routing configuration ("route info" in Mystic)
blank/default, or manually set it to send mail to the entire network to this
uplink (i.e. "911:*" in the case of Zer0net.) Remember, your point nodes use
the local hub you just configured as their uplink, NOT the normal network
uplink/hub!



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  

 EchoMail Nodes 
 I Node ID 1 (911:69/1@zeronet) k 
  Active          Yes                                       1:GENERAL   
 1 Description     Zer0net Uplink                            2:Security 1 
   SysOp Name      mainsysop                                 3:Groups     
   Address         911:69/1                                  4:BinkP      
   Domain          zeronet                                   5:FTP        
   Session Type    Directory                                 6:Dir Toss   
   Archive Type    ZIP                                                    
   Export Type     Normal                                                 
   Route Info                                                             
   Uplink          Yes                                                    
   Max PKT Size    512                                                    
  Max ARC Size    2048                                                  
   Use Filebox     Yes                                                    
   Filebox Dir     ..est\node1\filebox\zeronet_z911n69n1\               8 
   Crash Limiter   0                                        Page 1 of 6 0 
 C  
 Press / for command list 
+++      
::: (Echomail Node) -> Node active...


(Note: As before, you can ignore Filebox settings.)

This will be the only node you add for this network - do not add the actual
network hub or any of the other points.



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  

 EchoMail Nodes 
 ID   Act  Description               SysOp                           Network 
  
 1    Yes  Zer0net Uplink            mainsysop                      911:69/1 
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
  
     Inactive: 121 days                           Last In: Never             
   Files Sent: 0 (0KB)                           Last Out: 31 Mar 2024 16:18 
     Received: 0 (0KB)                              Reset: 29 Mar 2024 13:20 
 Crash Errors: 0                                                             
 Press / for command list 
+++      
::: (Echomail Node) -> Node active...


Finally, setup all of your network's message areas as normal, remembering to
set the type to echomail ("networked" in Mystic) an echomail tag that matches
each echo (AKA "0n-* on Zer0net) and your node's address for this network, and
a funky fresh origin line. Configure the Export To setting to export to the
local hub you added earlier.



    Configuration      Networking     Servers     Editors     Other    Exit  
 ID 4 
 Name         0n-test                           Quote Color    Sample      
 Base Typ EchoMail Exports ple      
 Newsgrou ###  Description                                Address ple      
 QWK Name  ple      
 Echo Tag 1    Zer0net Uplink                            911:69/1 ple      
 File Nam                                                                  
 Path                                                                      
 List ACS                                                                  
 Read ACS                                                                  
 Post ACS                                                         ead      
 Sysop AC                                                         mrd      
 List EAC                                                         mlst     
                                                                           
 Net Addr                                                                  
 Export T                                                                  
 Origin             
 QWK Netw                 Press / for command list                         
 QWK Base         

+++      
::: (Message Base Editor) -> Export messages to these nodes...


Repeat this process for each remaining BBS, remembering to use the unique point
addresses you configured on your local hub earlier.



Results:
---

- Echomail:

Your local hub will send and receive echomail to/from the network uplink/hub as
normal, additionally exporting any new echomail it receives to your configured
point nodes. Each of your point nodes will send and receive new echomail
to/from the local hub. Your local hub will in turn export any echomail it
receives from the point nodes to the network hub. The only indication anyone on
the network will have that you're doing it this way is by the network addresses
in your origin lines.

- Netmail:

Netmail is slightly trickier.

Your local hub will receive any new netmail sent directly to it and all of your
point nodes. It should forward mail addressed to your point nodes on to them.
Each of your point nodes will send and receive new netmail to/from the local
hub. If one of your point nodes sends a netmail to a user at another point
node, this mail will be routed to your local hub, and your local hub will then
route it to the destination point node - it will never be sent up to the
network hub because, well, it doesn't need to. *shrug* This is the entire point
behind routing netmail - to make sure mail only went where it actually needed
to go in the good old dial-up days.

Mystic's MIS utility has a nifty parameter that lets you validate your netmail
routing: "mis poll route <address>". For example, with this test setup:

When ran from the local hub:

--
C:\pnttest\main>mis poll route 911:1423/0

Netmail addressed to 911:1423/0 would route to 911:1423/0 (Zer0net Hub)

C:\pnttest\main>mis poll route 911:69/1.1

Netmail addressed to 911:69/1.1 would route to 911:69/1.1 (Zer0net Test Node 1)

C:\pnttest\main>mis poll route 911:69/1.2

Netmail addressed to 911:69/1.2 would route to 911:69/1.2 (Zer0net Test Node 2)
--

You can see, mail sent to the hub (or indeed, anywhere else in the network...
see below) would go to the hub. Only mail sent to the points is routed to the
points.

Example of a random Zer0net address I made up also being sent to the hub:

--
C:\pnttest\main>mis poll route 911:5325/3

Netmail addressed to 911:5325/3 would route to 911:1423/0 (Zer0net Hub)
--

When ran from point node 2, for example:

--
C:\pnttest\node2>mis poll route 911:1423/0

Netmail addressed to 911:1423/0 would route to 911:69/1 (Zer0net Point Hub)

C:\pnttest\node2>mis poll route 911:69/1.0

Netmail addressed to 911:69/1 would route to 911:69/1 (Zer0net Point Hub)

C:\pnttest\node2>mis poll route 911:69/1.1

Netmail addressed to 911:69/1.1 would route to 911:69/1 (Zer0net Point Hub)
--

All netmail is routed to the local hub.



Additional Considerations:
---

Finally, one last thing of note. Your local hub is now, well, a hub, so you're
going to need to set up your tossing and polling events a little differently.
You can still rely on your new mail semaphores for events, but just be aware
that any time your local hub node receives and imports new mail, it should turn
around and send it back out too, instead of only sending mail when a local user
on this node posts something new and you export it. This might seem a little
counterintuitive, but remember that any mail your local hub receives from the
network ALSO needs to be sent on to your points, and any mail the local hub
receives from the points ALSO needs to be sent on to the network hub.



Testing It All:
---

For testing, I'd suggest leaving your network uplink node disabled on your
local hub, isolating your local systems from the rest of the network. After
doing this, you should be able to post a message on any of the network's echo
on any of your BBSes (the local hub, or any of the points) and it should appear
on all of them (after appropriate exports, mailer sends/receives, and imports,
of course.) Likewise, you should be able to test sending netmail directly
between each of these nodes.

Once you're confident this is all working, enable your network uplink on the
local hub and post a test message from your local hub and at least one of your
point systems. I'd also recommend logging onto your network hub or another
system on the network on which you know netmail is working, and sending a
netmail to one of your point nodes. Once received, reply back to it and verify
that you received it on the remote node.



Closing:
---

I hope this at least somewhat demystifies the topic of "point" systems, if not
explicitly walks Mystic users through their setup. Happy messaging!

EOF