Dial-Your-Match 1.0

By

Matchmaker Enterprises

Introduction:

As the name of the program suggests, Dial-Your-Match is centered around helping its users find love, with its more traditional "BBS" features either being noticeably missing or as a seeming afterthought.

The user registration process is therefore extensive, proceeding directly into a somewhat long questionnaire to help the user find an appropriate match with another user. This long, configureable set of questions is the most unique part of the system, along with its matching algorithm in the main program.

DYM Loader Screen.

The waiting for call screen is not overflowing with features, but does have some unique ones, including running the initial configuration tools from scratch. It runs in both 40 and 80 columns, and does include a 'terminal mode' with a functioning dialer, but is extremely limited otherwise, lacking file transfers or PETSCII support.

DYM Waiting For Call Screen (40 col)

DYM Waiting For Call Screen (80 col)

Despite being a later program, DYM has an almost early-80s menu structure, consisting of hard coded options with hard coded menu displays where almost all features are stuffed into the single main menu.

DYM Main Menu (well, part of it)

As you can see above, the program has an enormous main menu. Barely half of the total commands fit on the screen when logged in as a SysOp. This is because the main menu doubles as the email section, message base menu, and sysop area.

The Facts:

I initially had trouble getting the program through its data disk creation process, and had to modify the BASIC program to complete it, but once the data disk was created, everything worked fine.

Hardware Information

Computer    :    Commodore 128 (C128 mode)
Video       :    40 or 80 columns
Drives      :    (1 or 2) Commodore, limited CMD (no parts, no subdirs)
Modems      :    1650, 1660, 1670, Hayes (300-1200)
Input       :    Keyboard
Output      :    Screen or printer
RAM use     :    Unknown
Special     :

General

Pgm Struct  :    Single program
Menu Struct :    Single hard-coded menu, word entry
Translation :    ASCII
Access      :    Greater than 10 levels, limited definability
Handle/ID   :    Handles not allowed, users listed by name
User info   :    access,age,location,name,sex,etc.
User Logs   :    Name, date/time
Calls/Time  :    No call limit: time limits definable for each level
Network     :    Proprietary system
Customizing :    Somewhat customizable
  Programs  :    Uncompiled BASIC, easy to modify
  Displays  :    Not customizable, all hard-coded
  Commands  :    Hard coded, not changable
Areas       :    All/most options from a single menu
  E-mail    :    From main menu
  Messages  :    From main menu
  Transfers :    N/A
  Network   :    Integrated functions
  Programs  :    N/A
  Text      :    Specific files from separate menu
  User Cmds :    Stats, password change from main menu
  SysOp     :    From main menu
  Voting    :    N/A
  News      :    N/A
  Help      :    Menu(s) are all you get
Other       :    N/A

SysOp Utilities and Support

Offline     :    System creator
Online      :    Chat,SEQ File editor,User access level,Call log viewer
Remote      :    Same as Online
On-L Display:    Name, location, age, sex, weight, preference
W.F.C. Utils:    Same as Offline,Terminal program,Local logon,Activity statistics
Chatting    :    From a few specific areas
User        :    Access editor only
Msg Bases   :    Offline msg base creator
Transfers   :    N/A
Programs    :    N/A
Network     :    Offline network config and editor
Drives      :    Limited functions (delete, catalog)
Terminal    :    Simple ASCII terminal

News

Structure   :    N/A
Header      :    N/A
Weeding     :    N/A
Display     :    N/A

Messages

Structure   :    Linear style, mostly unthreaded
Bases       :    Named bases, listed by number
Limits      :    Per-base limit, enforced by system



Reading     :    Forward/Reverse reading from number, local new
Headers     :    Message number
Format      :    Text only
Writing     :    New posts, or replies as appendages to posts
Anonymous   :    No anonymous
Network     :    N/A
Other       :    Scanning supported

Message Editor

Structure   :    Simple line editor
Commands    :    Return on a blank line brings menu
Editing     :    Rewriting lines,Search/replace,Deleting lines,Inserting lines
Formatting  :
Graphics    :    Not supported

Transfers

Bases       :    N/A
Storage     :    N/A
Limits      :    N/A
Credits     :    No credit system
Protocols   :
Headers     :
Selection   :    N/A
Listing     :    N/A
Network     :    N/A
Other       :    N/A

Text Libraries

Structure   :    Numbered list of files
Storage     :    As standard SEQ files, unmarked
Network     :    N/A
Other       :

E-Mail

Structure   :    From main menu
Sending     :    By name
Receiving   :    At logon, or on demand
Network     :    N/A
Other       :

Program Libraries

Structure   :    N/A
Programs    :    N/A
Network     :    N/A
Other       :


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