The Synchronet message base is where public conferences live — sub-board posts that any user with access can read and reply to. It's distinct from your private electronic mail: messages here are public (or restricted to a group of users via access controls), threaded discussions visible to everyone with permission to that sub-board.
The message base is two-level:
Conventionally, groups represent broad themes (or networks like FidoNet/DOVE-Net), and sub-boards are individual conferences within them.
The number of groups and sub-boards a BBS carries is up to the sysop and depends on which networks they've joined. Vertrauen, for example, hosts dozens of sub-boards across Main, DOVE-Net, FidoNet, fsxNet, and others.
Your current group and sub-board are shown in the Classic shell's Main prompt:
￭ Main ￭ 3:58:42 [1] Main [1] Notices:
[1] Main is your group; [1] Notices is your sub-board within it. From the Main prompt:
* — list all sub-boards in your current group/* — list all groups# — jump to sub-board # in current group (e.g. 3)/# — jump to group #} / { — next / previous sub-board] / [] — next / previous group(These bindings are Classic-specific. Other shells may use different keys.)
R at the Main prompt enters the Read Messages prompt, where you read sequentially through the messages in your current sub-board. From the Read prompt:
N from the Main prompt scans for new messages — messages posted since you last read each sub-board. You're prompted whether to scan:
After each message you get the Read Messages prompt and any of its commands work. Pressing <CR> after the last message in a sub-board (or B to bypass) advances to the next sub-board in the scan list. Group and All scans skip sub-boards with no new messages.
B is like New Message Scan but doesn't skip empty sub-boards — instead it shows the last message you read there and lets you read/post in that sub-board too. Useful for reviewing recent activity even where there's nothing strictly “new” to you.
The key difference: New Scan (Group or All) silently skips any sub-board that has no new messages. Browse visits every sub-board in your scan list — if a sub-board has new messages you get them; if it doesn't, you still get the Read Messages prompt for the last message in that sub-board, so you can still post, reply, or check in without having to navigate there manually.
[BS]] — browse current sub-board[BG]] — browse current group[BA]] — browse all
Like N but no per-message prompt — messages stream by continuously. Use Ctrl-S/Ctrl-Q to pause/resume or Ctrl-C to abort.
[ZS]] — continuous on current sub-board[ZG]] — continuous on group[ZA]] — continuous on all
F from the Main prompt searches all messages in the current sub-board (or wider, depending on prompts) for specified text. Useful for tracking down a half-remembered post. The search supports boolean syntax (AND, OR, NOT, parentheses, quoted phrases) — type ? at the prompt for inline help.
S from the Main prompt scans for messages addressed specifically to you across sub-boards in your scan list.
P from the Main prompt (or from the Read Messages prompt) posts a new message in the current sub-board. You're prompted:
You're also offered to post when you press <CR> past the last message while reading a sub-board.
A private message on a sub-board is visible only to the recipient (and the sysop), but it travels with the sub-board's networking — so over a QWKnet (which doesn't support NetMail) you can use a private sub-board post to send a confidential message to a user on another BBS in the network. Over a FidoNet-style network, NetMail is more direct (see Mail).
To check which networks a sub-board uses, press I at the Read Messages prompt or [IS] from the Main prompt.
A from the Main prompt updates the auto-message — a short note shown to every user at logon. As soon as another user changes it, your message is replaced.
Synchronet supports two distinct voting mechanisms: polls (a special message type with named answers) and up/down votes on regular messages. Both are cast using the V key while reading a message.
V from the Main prompt runs the poll scanner — it scans sub-boards in your new-scan list for open polls you haven't voted on yet, and presents each one for reading. /V from the Main prompt scans all sub-boards regardless of your scan list.
Once you're reading a poll (or any message), V at the Read Messages prompt lets you cast your vote.
/P from the Main prompt launches the poll-creation wizard:
0 — voters only (and the pollster)1 — everyone, always2 — everyone once the poll is closed (and the pollster)3 — pollster onlyThe poll is posted as a message in the current sub-board.
When you press V while reading a poll message you get a ballot: the poll question and its answers are displayed, and you select up to the maximum allowed number of choices. Once confirmed, your vote is recorded. You can only vote once per poll.
Voting is not allowed on closed polls.
When you press V while reading any non-poll message you're prompted:
Vote Msg Up, Down, or Quit:
Your vote is stored alongside the message. Use H at the Read Messages prompt to list the top 20 messages sorted by vote rank.
Voting requires the sub-board to have voting enabled, and your account must not have the voting restriction set. You can only vote once per message.
To close an open poll, navigate to the poll message while reading, then press D. If the poll is yours (and hasn't been closed yet), you'll be asked Close Poll? instead of the normal delete prompt. Sysops can close any poll. Once closed, no new votes can be cast.
QWK packets let you read and reply to messages offline — see the dedicated QWK Mail Packet Menu page.
& from the Main prompt accesses the message-scan configuration prompt. Options:
* marks an enabled sub-board)The scan pointer for a sub-board is automatically updated to the timestamp of the most recent message you've read there.
The Unfiltered Input Switch lets you upload a text file you composed offline directly into a message or mail message — including text with control codes, ANSI color sequences, and page-formatting characters that would otherwise be filtered or mangled.
To use it:
R from the Configuration prompt ([&R] from Main) to toggle unfiltered input on.P or E.PgUp) to send the pre-prepared text file.Ctrl-Z (not /S) — the standard /S save won't work while unfiltered input is active.After the message is saved the switch automatically turns off again. It applies to only one post or mail message at a time.
Each sub-board tracks a pointer — the date/time of the last message you read there. New scans only show messages newer than that pointer. P from the Configuration prompt lets you manually roll a pointer back, so a new scan includes older messages.
A to adjust all groups.A for all sub-boards in that group.Q to quit back to the group selection when done.
The pointer auto-advances each time you read messages. Changes you make with &P revert to your last-logoff date when you log off.
I from the Configuration prompt resets all your New Message Scan pointers back to the values they had at logon. Use this when:
These two-key sequences from the Main prompt jump straight into specific scans without going through the menu:
[NS] / [NG] / [NA] — new-scan sub-board / group / all[BS] / [BG] / [BA] — browse sub-board / group / all[ZS] / [ZG] / [ZA] — continuous-scan sub-board / group / all[&N] / [&P] / [&I] — scan-list config / pointers / reinitialize(Square-bracket notation: see Classic shell guide.)