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--- ref:qwk [2019/08/13 00:07] – [HEADERS.DAT] typos, links, and such digital man
+++ ref:qwk [2023/12/12 20:54] (current) – [Original QWK format] Convert FTP links to HTTP digital man
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ===== Packet Naming =====
-A QWK packet filename is normally of the form: ''//ID//.QWK'' (or ''//ID//.qwk''), where //ID// is the unique QWK identifier (up to 8 valid MS-DOS filename characters, starting with an alphabetic character) of the system from where the messages were downloaded (received).
+A QWK packet filename is normally of the form: ''//ID//.QWK'' (or ''//ID//.qwk''), where //ID// is the unique identifier (up to 8 valid MS-DOS filename characters, starting with an alphabetic character) of the system from where the messages were downloaded (received). This //ID// is commonly referred to as the "BBS ID" or "BOARD ID" in original QWK specifications and in Synchronet, often referred to as the system "QWK-ID" or "QWKnet ID".
 Similarly, a QWK Reply (REP) Packet filename is normally ''//ID//.REP'' (or ''//ID//.rep'') where //ID// is the QWK-ID of the destination system for which the REP packet is to be sent (uploaded).
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 | ''HEADERS.DAT''      | Synchronet | Text file (in [[config:ini_files|.ini file format]]) containing detailed header information for every message in the packet |
 | ''VOTING.DAT''       | Synchronet | Text file (in [[config:ini_files|.ini file format]]) containing voting information (polls, ballots, up/down-votes) contained in the packet |
-| ''CONTROL.DAT''      | QWK      | CRLF text file containing metadata about the system (BBS) where the messages cam from including the names of the conferences where public messages may have originated |
+| ''CONTROL.DAT''      | QWK      | CRLF text file containing metadata about the system (BBS) where the messages came from including the names of the conferences where public messages may have originated |
 | ''DOOR.ID''          | QWK      | CRLF text file containing metadata about the software that created the QWK packet |
 | ''NETFLAGS.DAT''     | QWK      | Binary file containing a 'net status' indicator (0x00 or 0x01) for each message conference |
 | ''NEWFILES.DAT''     | QWK      | CRLF text file containing list of newly added/uploaded files on the system that created the QWK packet |
 | ''PERSONAL.NDX''     | QWK      | Binary file containing pointers to messages addressed to the user that created / downloaded the QWK packet |
-| ''000.NDX''          | QWK      | Binary file containing pointers to in the mail "inbox" for the user that created / downloaded the QWK packet |
+| ''000.NDX''          | QWK      | Binary file containing pointers to the mail "inbox" for the user that created / downloaded the QWK packet |
-| ''//x//00//y//.NDX'' | QWK      | Binary file containing pointers to messages in public message group //x//, sub-board //y//|
+| ''//x////yyy//.NDX'' | QWK      | Binary file containing pointers to messages in public message group //x//, sub-board //yyy// (Synchronet QWK conference numbering convention)|
 | ''TOREADER.EXT''     | QWKE     | CRLF text file containing metadata about the user that created / downloaded the QWK packet |
@@ Line 167: / Line 167: @@
 == Character Set ==
-Header field values may each be up to 1024 US-ASCII characters length. When "high ASCII" characters are included in any header field values, the IBM CP437 character set is assumed unless there is an indication that the header fields are in UTF-8 format, in which case **all** header fields, for a particular message, with "high ASCII" characters must be in UTF-8 format. The indication of UTF-8 characters in the body text is done through the presence of either the ''X-FTN-CHRS: UTF-8 4'' header field or a ''Content-Type: text/*; charset=utf-8'' header field.
+Header field values may each be up to 1024 US-ASCII characters in length. When "high ASCII" characters are included in any header field values, the IBM CP437 character set is assumed unless there is an indication that the header fields are in UTF-8 format, in which case **all** header fields, for a particular message, with "high ASCII" characters must be in UTF-8 format. As with FidoNet messages, the message body text and header fields must share the same encoding. If the "Utf8" ''HEADERS.DAT'' header field value for a message is set to "true", then all the headers fields and the body text of that message are to be interpreted as though they were UTF-8 encoded.
 == Example ==
@@ Line 190: / Line 190: @@
 ^ Field          ^ Description ^
+| Utf8           | Header fields and body text use the UTF-8 character set (when ''true'') rather than CP437 (the default) |
 | Message-ID     | RFC822-style unique message identifier |
-| WhenWritten    | Date/time (in ISO-8601 format) and timezone (in hexadecimal [[http://cvs.synchro.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/src/smblib/smbdefs.h|SMB format]]) |
+| In-Reply-To    | RFC822-style message ID of message that this message is a reply to, if relevant |
+| WhenWritten    | Date/time (in ISO-8601 format) and timezone (in hexadecimal [[https://gitlab.synchro.net/main/sbbs/-/blob/master/src/smblib/smbdefs.h|SMB format]]) |
 | WhenImported   | Date/time/zone message was imported into the originating system's message base |
 | WhenExported   | Date/time/zone message was exported from the originating system's message base |
@@ Line 201: / Line 203: @@
 | SenderProtocol | Name of protocol used by sender (e.g. "Telnet", "SSH", "RLogin", "SMTP, "NNTP", "HTTP", etc.) |
 | Organization   | Name of sender's organization (e.g. BBS) |
-| Reply-To       | Address to direct replies |
+| Reply-To       | The network address to direct replies to this message |
 | Subject        | Message subject |
 | To             | Message recipient name |
@@ Line 224: / Line 226: @@
 Additional keys may be included representing not otherwise specified Internet (RFC822-style) header fields.
+==== VOTING.DAT ====
+The ''VOTING.DAT'' file is a more recent addition to the QWK packet format (introduced with Synchronet v3.17) and it contains information about message-based voting:
+  * Polls
+  * Poll-closures
+  * Ballots (votes on polls)
+  * Message up/down-votes
+Very similar to the ''HEADERS.DAT'' file, the ''VOTING.DAT'' file is a text file (with CRLF or LF-terminated lines), in [[:config:ini_files|.ini file format]].  A vote-message header block is identified in a QWK //header block// with a //Message Status// value of "''V''" (ASCII 86). The vote section of interest is located in the ''VOTING.DAT'' file by first locating the section with the corresponding //header block// byte-offset in hexadecimal (e.g. ''[f00]''), and then immediately following that section label, will be another section that identifies the //type// of vote message and this section will contain the relevant key/value pairs:
+^ Section          ^ Description   ^
+| ''[poll:<id>]''  | A posted poll with unique message-ID, //id// |
+| ''[vote:<id>]''  | A posted vote with unique message-ID, //id// |
+| ''[close:<id>]'' | The closure of previously posted poll |
+=== Polls ===
+A ''VOTING.DAT'' poll section (''[poll:<//id//>]'') may contain the following keys/values:
+| Subject          | The polling subject/question/summary |
+| Sender           | The name of the pollster |
+| Conference       | The conference number on the target system |
+| MaxVotes         | Maximum number of votes per ballot for this poll (between 1 and 16) |
+| Results          | Visibility of voting results (0=voters, 1=open, 2=closed, 3=secret) |
+| Comment//n//     | Comment line (0+) to display before available answers (optional) |
+| PollAnswer//n//  | Available answer (0+) to this poll |
+A poll is closed by a subsequent ''[close:<id>]'' vote-message-section which may occur at any later point in time (e.g. even in later QWK packets, received weeks or months later) and once discovered should mark the original poll (identified with the //In-Reply-To// key value) as unavailable for new ballot submissions.
+=== Ballots ===
+Ballot message sections are identified by a ''[vote:<//id//>]'' section. There are 2 possible types of ballots:
+  - Poll Ballots: contain a "Votes" key
+  - Message Ballots: contain an "UpVote = true" or a "DownVote = true" key/value pair
+Poll ballots are to be applied to the open-poll referenced by the "In-Reply-To" value. If the poll has been closed, then the ballot is ignored. The "Votes" key value is a bit-field (normally in hexadecimal representation with "0x" prefix), indicating which vote options the voter has selected (bit-0 = PollAnswer0, bit-1 = PollAnswer1, etc.).
+Message ballots are simply up/down-votes to be applied to a message's popularity score. The message being voted on is referenced by the "In-Reply-To" message-ID value. If the referenced message doesn't exist, the vote is ignored. The "Sender" key/value identifies the voter. Messages are never closed to new ballots, but voters should not be allowed to submit more than one ballot per message.
 ==== NDX Files ====
-The ''.NDX'' (index) files contained in QWK packets are of a notoriously bad format. These files contain byte offsets into the ''MESSAGES.DAT'' file, which is fine. But these offsets are stored as 32-bit real numbers in an obsolete "Microsoft Binary Format". Additionally, each record contain a conference number, but that conference number is only 8-bit, limiting its usefulness to only 256 possible message areas.
+The ''.NDX'' (index) files contained in QWK packets are of a notoriously bad format. These files contain byte offsets into the ''MESSAGES.DAT'' file, which is fine. But these offsets are stored as 32-bit real numbers in an obsolete "Microsoft Binary Format". Additionally, each record contains a conference number, but that conference number is only 8-bits, limiting its usefulness to only 256 possible message areas.
-Some message reader do not require or can be configured to ignore these ''.NDX'' files. There is no unique information stored in the ''.NDX'' files, so it's entirely possible for any consumer of QWK packets to be programmed to create their own useful index information on-the-fly (e.g. the first time the packet is opened).
+Some message readesr do not require or can be configured to ignore these ''.NDX'' files. There is no unique information stored in the ''.NDX'' files, so it's entirely possible for any consumer of QWK packets to be programmed to create their own useful index information on-the-fly (e.g. the first time the packet is opened).
-Synchronet does not parse or use ''.NDX'' files in any way.
+Synchronet does not parse or use ''.NDX'' files in any way, although it can generate them (user's choice).
 ==== NETFLAGS.DAT ===
@@ Line 264: / Line 302: @@
 ===== Original QWK format =====
-  * [[ftp://vert.synchro.net/main/BBS/QWKSPC11.ZIP]]
+  * [[http://vert.synchro.net/filse/Main/BBS/QWKSPC11.ZIP]]
-  * [[ftp://vert.synchro.net/modem.madness/SMMNETML/QWKINFO.ZIP]]
+  * [[http://vert.synchro.net/files/modem.madness/SMMNETML/QWKINFO.ZIP]]
-  * [[ftp://vert.synchro.net/modem.madness/SMMNETML/QWKLAY16.ZIP]]
+  * [[http://vert.synchro.net/files/modem.madness/SMMNETML/QWKLAY16.ZIP]]
-  * [[ftp://vert.synchro.net/modem.madness/SMMOLMRS/QWKDOCS.ZIP]]
+  * [[http://vert.synchro.net/files/modem.madness/SMMOLMRS/QWKDOCS.ZIP]]
-  * [[ftp://vert.synchro.net/modem.madness/SMMMAXIM/MXMS_161.ZIP]]
+  * [[http://vert.synchro.net/files/modem.madness/SMMMAXIM/MXMS_161.ZIP]]
+==== Conference Names ====
+The message area (conference) names included in the ''CONTROL.DAT'' file are only used for reader information/display purposes. The conference *numbers* are references used to identify specific message areas between the reader (or QWKnet node) and the host/hub BBS.
+=== Length ===
+According to "QWK Mail Packet File Layout" (qwklay) by Patrick Y. Lee (version 1.6 - December 19, 1992), the conference names are limited to "13 characters or less".
+According to "The Mysterious QWK-File Format" by Jeffery Foy (April 25, 1991), the conference names are limited to "10 characters or less".
+According to "QWKE Specifications 1.02" by Peter Rocca, "conference area names are no longer limited to 13 characters, they are limited to 255 characters now [in QWKE]".
 ===== Extended QWK (QWKE) Format =====
-  * [[ftp://vert.synchro.net/main/BBS/qwke.txt]].
+  * [[http://vert.synchro.net/files/main/BBS/qwke.txt]].
@@ Line 278: / Line 327: @@
   * [[network:DOVE-Net]]
   * [[:ref:|Reference Library]]
+  * [[https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/22/qwk_swatting_death/]]
 {{tag>qwk}}

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