forked from pifty/tutes-dump
242 lines
8.4 KiB
HTML
242 lines
8.4 KiB
HTML
<h1>COM is not IRC</h1>
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<hr />
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<h2>Content</h2>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#whatis">What is COM?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#gettingStarted">Getting started</a></li>
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<li><a href="#faq">FAQ</a></li>
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<li><a href="#commands">Common COM Commands</a></li>
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</ul>
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<br />
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<h2><a name="whatis" />What is COM?</h2>
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<p>
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So you type '<code>irc</code>' at the command prompt hoping to join
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your favorite channel and instead find yourself in this strange
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world where you have to press space to talk, the commands you expect
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don't work, and you can't even figure out how to quit (hint: try
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'<b>q</b>'). This is 'COM' (aka, 'COMMODE' or just 'com').
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</p>
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<p>
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COM is a chat program which is unique to SDF. The original version
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dates back to 1994 and it has been developed and used on the SDF
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servers ever since. Together with the '<code>bboard</code>' BBS it
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is one of the primary ways SDF users communicate with each other.
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Some features may be familiar to you from other programs, but many
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will be new to you. Most notably, COM is command-driven, meaning
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that you are in “command mode” by default and must hit a
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key (spacebar or enter) before you can talk. See below for
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additional <a href="#commands">commands</a>, all of which are simply
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typed in from command mode.
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</p>
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<p>
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So why did you get COM when you expected IRC? For reasons of
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security and concerns about abuse, IRC access is not allowed unless
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you are an ARPA member or higher. If you are reading this then it
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is likely you are not. For this reason when you type
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'<code>irc</code>' at the shell, COM will be launched instead. This
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allows new users an opportunity to interact with other SDF users and
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hopefully answer some of the questions they might have. Unlike IRC,
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COM is not network-based and only users who are currently logged
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into SDF can use it.
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</p>
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<p>
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Basic rules of etiquette to keep in mind:
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<ul>
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<li>Many people idle in com. You can check idle times with
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'<b>I</b>'. If the room has been quiet for a while, say hello but
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give people time to respond. If you have not read the tutorial
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you may get some coarse replies, and you might end up here,
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now, reading this. Welcome. :)</li>
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</ul>
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Things <i>not</i> to do:
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<ul>
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<li>Ask how to 'hack'.</li>
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<li>Attempt to use any IRC commands (they won't work and will make you look foolish).</li>
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<li>Repeat the same question over and over.</li>
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</ul>
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</p>
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<h2><a name="gettingStarted" />Getting started: a walkthrough</h2>
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<p>
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COM is based around 'rooms'. The default room you enter when you start
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the program is 'lobby', SDF's Welcoming Room.
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</p>
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<p>
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Type <code>com</code> at the command line to start com. When
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com starts, you will be placed in 'lobby'. A list of users will
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be displayed. You will also be in <b>command</b> mode. In
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<b>command</b> mode, all you will see the cursor; there will not be
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a prompt. Command mode allows commands to be run such as seeing a
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list of users.
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</p>
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<p>
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In <b>command</b> mode, type <b>w</b> to see a <b>list of users</b>,
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the name of the room you are in, as well as the
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<b>topography</b>.
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</p>
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<p>The output will look something like</p>
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<pre>
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[you are in 'spacebar' among 1]
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wliao@iceland
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</pre>
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<p>
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Now, type <b>l</b> (lower case L) to see a list of rooms. The
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output will look something like
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<pre>
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room-name # created time topic
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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spacebar 16 22-Aug-16 08:49:32 there is life out there
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lobby 1 09-Sep-16 08:49:13 SDF's Welcoming Room
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anonradio 19 09-Sep-16 04:11:06 DJ Kumata!
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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</pre>
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</p>
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<p>
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There seems to be a lot of users in the room "spacebar". Let us join
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in on the fun, shall we? Type <b>g</b> and the name of the room to
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join.
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<pre>
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:goto> spacebar
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</pre>
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When entering the room, a list of users will be displayed. Now, let
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us say hello to the room.
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</p>
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<p>
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Enter <b>a space</b> to enter input mode. When entering input
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mode, <b>a prompt of your user name</b> will appear. Say "hello" to
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the world and end the line with an enter key.
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<pre>
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[wliao] hello world!
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</pre>
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</p>
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<p>
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The next thing you'll probably want to know is what people talked
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about before you entered so you can join in the
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chatter. Type <b>r</b> to get a short 18 line "r"eview of what was
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said last. If you want more context, press <b>R</b>. You will se a
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prompt like this:
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<pre>
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:lines>
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</pre>
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Just type the number of lines you are interested in and finish with
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return; you'll get a scrollable history of said lines length.
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</p>
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<p>
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When you are ready to quit, type <b>q</b> to leave com. You will see
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an <b><code>Unlinking TTY ..</code></b> message appear.
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</p>
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<h2><a name="faq" />FAQ</h2>
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<p>
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<dl>
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<dt>How do I use backspace in com?</dt>
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<dd>Try <b>-</b> in command mode in com to toggle behavior. Or,
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use stty or 'bksp' to set the backspace correctly.</dd>
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<dt>How can I be in com multiple times?</dt>
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<dd>The basic rule is to be on a different server when entering
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com. Some common ways of doing this is to use screen, run ssh
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twice, etc.</dd>
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<dt>How do I send private messages?</dt>
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<dd>Use the <b>s</b> command in command
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mode: <b>s</b>user@host. Please note the @host portion; this is
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a required element of the command. If the user is in another
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room, add an optional host parameter to send the
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message: <b>s</b>user@host room.</dd>
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<dt>How do I see what happened in the past?</dt>
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<dd>Use the <b>r</b> key to review. Use <b>R</b> followed by a
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number to control how many lines of history to review. The
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<b>p</b> key can be used to see the history of another room:
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<b>p</b>roomname. The <b>p</b> command can also take an
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optional number of lines to display: <b>p</b>roomname
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number.</dd>
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<dt>How do I see who is in another room?</dt>
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<dd>Use <b>W</b> (upper case w) to see who is in another room.</dd>
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<dt>I see <code><wliao@iceland DUMPs in 22 characters of 2
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words in 3 lines></code>. What does that mean?</dt>
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<dd>Use the <b>r</b> or <b>R</b> command.</dd>
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<dt>I see <code><wliao appears></code>. How do I do that?</dt>
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<dd>Use the <b>e</b>mote command in command mode. Use <b>e</b> followed
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by the action at the prompt: <code>:emote> tests this out</code>.
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<dt>Why do I have to keep pressing the spacebar to talk?</dt>
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<dd>Other keys can be used to enter input mode. Try the
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<b>h</b> to see what keys are not being used such as the enter
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key.</dd>
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<dt>How do I erase a line?</dt>
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<dd>Use ^u (control + u) to erase the line. ^w (control + w) will erase
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a word.
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</dd>
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<dt>I accidentally ignored somebody! I didn't mean to do that :(</dt>
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<dd>'i'gnore the same user again to remove from the ignore list.
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</dd>
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<dt>Why isn't anybody talking?</dt>
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<dd>That's life. Harden up.</dd>
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</dl>
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</p>
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<h2><a name="commands" />COM Commands</h2>
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<p>
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Here is a list of commonly used COM Commands. It only covers the
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basics, so refer to the online help (with '<b>h</b>') or man page
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for more information. Some of the commands will not be available to
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pre-validated users.
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<ul><code>
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<li><b>e</b> - emote</li>
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<li><b>g</b> - goto a room</li>
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<li><b>h</b> - command help</li>
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<li><b>I</b> - user idle query</li>
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<li><b>l</b> - (lowercase L) list open rooms</li>
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<li><b>L</b> - post a link to com</li>
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<li><b>p</b> - peek into room</li>
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<li><b>q</b> - quit commode</li>
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<li><b>r</b> - room history</li>
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<li><b>R</b> - extended history</li>
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<li><b>s</b> - send private</li>
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<li><b>w</b> - (lower case w) who is in the current room</li>
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<li><b>W</b> - (upper case w) who is in a different room</li>
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<li><b>-</b> - (hyphen) key in command mode will fix your backspace (use this if your backspace keeps showing up as ^h or ^?)</li>
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<li><b>+</b> - tell you utc</li>
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<li><b>U</b> - (capital u) will tell you how long other users have been members and if they are ARPA or Meta-can-validate you</li>
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</code></ul>
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<strong>Note:</strong> <em>Although you type '<code>com</code>' to
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start com, the man page is accessed with '<code>man
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commode</code>'</em>
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</p>
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<hr />
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$Id: comnotirc.html,v 1.17 2018/04/30 13:20:33 wliao Exp $
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