Maximus BBS

Documentation for Maximus BBS — Next Generation

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Session & Login

session.toml — user experience, policy, and session behavior

This page covers config/general/session.toml — the file that controls the day-to-day “personality” of your BBS. How callers log on, what the system considers a valid name, how graphics are negotiated, where new users start, how long Maximus waits before timing out idle sessions — it’s all here.

Think of session.toml as the policy layer. It doesn’t create content (areas, menus, file listings), but it decides how Maximus behaves while a caller is online. If you’re migrating from CTL and wondering “why does it keep asking for a last name?” or “why are ANSI screens disabled?” — the answer is probably in this file.

Quick Reference

Logon & Identity

These settings control how callers identify themselves during login and new user registration.

Key Type Default Description
alias_system bool true Prefer aliases (handles) for display and message authoring
ask_alias bool true Prompt new users for an alias
single_word_names bool true Allow single-word usernames (suppresses “What is your LAST name?”)
no_real_name bool false Skip real name requirement during registration
ask_phone bool true Prompt new users for a phone number

Terminal & Graphics

Key Type Default Description
check_ansi bool true Verify ANSI capability at logon
check_rip bool true Verify RIP capability at logon
min_graphics_baud int 1200 Minimum speed for ANSI/AVATAR graphics
min_rip_baud int 65535 Minimum speed for RIP graphics (set to 65535 to disable RIP)
charset string "" Character set mode: "" (default), "swedish", or "chinese"
global_high_bit bool false Allow high-bit (8-bit) characters in names and descriptions

Starting Points

Key Type Default Description
first_menu string "MAIN" Menu displayed after logon
first_message_area string "Local Areas.1" Default starting message area for new users
first_file_area string "1" Default starting file area for new users
logon_priv int 20 Default privilege level for new users
logon_timelimit int 15 Maximum minutes allowed to complete login
min_logon_baud int 0 Minimum connection speed to log on (0 = no minimum)

Timeouts & Session Limits

Key Type Default Description
input_timeout int 15 Minutes of idle before timeout warning (then 1 more minute before disconnect)
exit_after_call int 5 Process exit code returned after a caller disconnects
compat_local_baud_9600 bool false Treat local console as a 9600-baud connection for feature gating

Editors & Chat

Key Type Default Description
edit_menu string "" Menu name for editor functions (defaults to "EDIT" if blank)
local_editor string "/usr/bin/pico \"%s\"" External editor command — %s is replaced with the temp file path
disable_magnet bool false Disable the full-screen BORED/MAGNET editor
chat_program string "" External chat program (prefix with : for a MEX script)
chat_capture bool false Auto-log sysop/caller chat sessions
yell_enabled bool true Allow the Y)ell command to make noise on the console
disable_userlist bool false Disable the ? user list at the “To:” prompt in private messages

File Transfers & Listings

Key Type Default Description
strict_xfer bool false Terminate file transfers if the caller runs out of time
min_free_kb uint 200 Minimum free disk space (KB) required to accept an upload
upload_log string "log/uploads.log" Dedicated upload log file
virus_check string "" External virus checker command (invoked per uploaded file)
upload_check_dupe bool true Reject duplicate file uploads
upload_check_dupe_extension bool false Include file extension in duplicate checks
autodate bool true Read file dates from the filesystem (vs. manual FILES.BBS entries)
date_style int 0 Date format: 0 = mm-dd-yy, 1 = dd-mm-yy, 2 = yy-mm-dd, 3 = yymmdd
filelist_margin int 0 Indentation for wrapped file descriptions in listings
save_directories array [] Drive letters to save/restore when launching external programs (legacy DOS)

Area Navigation

Key Type Default Description
area_change_keys string "[]?" Key bindings for area navigation: char 1 = prev, char 2 = next, char 3 = list
highest_message_area string "ZZZZZZZZZZ" Upper bound for message area scanning/navigation
highest_file_area string "ZZZZZZZZZZ" Upper bound for file area scanning/navigation

Mail & Attachments

Key Type Default Description
comment_area string "1" Message area where log-off comments are stored
kill_private string "Never" What to do after reading private mail: Never, Ask, or Always
max_msgsize uint 8192 Maximum uploaded message size (bytes)
use_umsgids bool false Use unique message IDs (Squish bases only — never reuses numbers)
gate_netmail bool false Gate-route interzone NetMail through the FidoNet zone gate
mailchecker_reply_priv int 0 Privilege required for mailchecker reply actions
mailchecker_kill_priv int 0 Privilege required for mailchecker kill actions
attach_base string "data/mail/attach" File attach database (root name)
attach_path string "data/mail/attach" Holding directory for local file attaches
attach_archiver string "ZIP" Archiver type for attach storage
msg_localattach_priv int 30 Privilege required to create a local file attach
kill_attach string "ask" How to handle received attaches: never, ask, or always
kill_attach_priv int 30 Privilege threshold for the ask attach behavior

Message Tracking (MTS)

Key Type Default Description
track_base string "" Tracking database path (root name — leave empty to disable MTS)
track_privview string "" Privilege to view other users’ tracking info
track_privmod string "" Privilege to modify/delete other users’ tracking entries
track_exclude string "" Path to a text file listing users excluded from auto-tracking

Deep Dives

Alias System

If you want a handle-based BBS where callers appear by their alias in “Who’s Online”, message headers, and most displays:

alias_system = true
ask_alias = true
single_word_names = true

If you prefer real names but still want to collect aliases for specific areas or doors, enable ask_alias alone and leave alias_system off. Callers can always log in using either their real name or alias regardless of these toggles.

Terminal Detection

check_ansi and check_rip control whether Maximus probes for terminal capabilities at logon. If auto-detection can’t confirm support, the caller is prompted. The min_*_baud settings gate features by connection speed — set min_rip_baud to 65535 to effectively disable RIP for everyone.

The charset key activates special character set handling. Leave it empty for standard operation. Setting it to "swedish" enables Swedish 7-bit character mapping; "chinese" enables BIG5 support. Both interact with global_high_bit in some configurations.

Starting Points

first_menu, first_message_area, and first_file_area determine where new users land after completing registration. Existing users remember their last area. If you change first_message_area, make sure the area tag you specify actually exists — a typo here means new users start in a nonexistent area.

logon_priv sets the default privilege level for new accounts. If you use access levels to gate content, this is the “front door” level. The Access Levels page covers the privilege system in detail.

Input Timeout

Maximus handles idle timeout in two stages:

  1. After input_timeout minutes with no input, a warning is sent.
  2. After one more minute of silence, the session is terminated.

Valid range is 1 to 127 minutes. Remote callers always have this timeout active. Local console sessions only time out if local_input_timeout is enabled in Core Settings.

External Editor

local_editor specifies a command to launch instead of the built-in MaxEd editor. Use %s as a placeholder for the temporary message file path:

local_editor = "/usr/bin/nano \"%s\""

If the caller is replying to a message, Maximus pre-populates the temp file with quoted text before invoking the editor. After the editor exits, the contents of the temp file become the message body.

Prefix the command with @ to allow qualifying remote users to use the “local” editor (controlled via mail flags in the access level configuration).

File Transfer Settings

Message Tracking (MTS)

The Message Tracking System lets callers track the lifecycle of messages (think lightweight ticket tracking). To enable it, set track_base to a path root:

track_base = "data/tracking/mts"

track_privview and track_privmod control who can see and modify other users’ tracking entries. If you’re not using MTS, leave track_base empty and these settings are ignored.

See Also