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QWK.NET ‐ Glossary
Terms used across QWK.NET documentation. For detailed explanations, see the linked canonical pages.
BBS - Bulletin Board System. A computer system that provided message boards, file downloads, and online services in the 1980s and 1990s.
QWK - Quick BBS Mail Packet format. The original offline mail packet format for BBS systems.
QWKE - QWK Extended. An extension to the QWK format that adds long headers, file attachments, and reader configuration.
REP - Reply packet format. A QWK-compatible format for offline readers to send replies back to BBS systems.
CONTROL.DAT - Required metadata file in QWK packets containing BBS information, user details, and conference listings.
MESSAGES.DAT - Required file containing all message headers and bodies in a QWK packet.
.NDX - Index file extension. Conference-specific binary files providing random access to messages (e.g., 0.NDX, 1.NDX).
TOREADER.EXT - QWKE extension file containing commands from BBS to offline reader (area selection, filtering, etc.).
TODOOR.EXT - QWKE extension file containing commands from offline reader to BBS (attachments, requests, etc.).
DOOR.ID - Optional metadata file containing mail door software information.
WELCOME - Optional text file displayed when user connects to BBS.
NEWS - Optional text file containing BBS news or announcements.
GOODBYE - Optional text file displayed when user disconnects from BBS.
Conference - A message board or forum area within a BBS. Each conference has a numeric identifier.
Kludge - A metadata line in a message body, typically used for QWKE long headers or message routing information.
Long Header - QWKE feature allowing TO, FROM, and SUBJECT fields to exceed the 25-character QWK limit via kludge lines.
Message Header - A 128-byte record containing message metadata (sender, recipient, subject, date, etc.).
Message Body - The text content of a message, stored in 128-byte blocks with 0xE3 line terminators.
Status Byte - First byte of a message header indicating message status (read, private, deleted, etc.).
Alive Flag - Byte in message header indicating whether message is alive (0xE1) or killed (0xE2).
Block Count - Number of 128-byte blocks comprising a message (header + body blocks).
MSBIN - Microsoft Binary Format. A floating-point format used in index files to encode record offsets.
Record Offset - The position of a message header in MESSAGES.DAT, measured in 128-byte records.
Index Entry - A single entry in an .NDX file mapping a message number to its record offset.
CP437 - Code Page 437, also known as DOS Latin US or OEM-US. The character encoding used by DOS-era BBS systems.
Extended ASCII - Bytes with values 0x80-0xFF. The meaning depends on the encoding (CP437, Latin-1, etc.).
0xE3 - The byte value used as line terminator in QWK message bodies. Represents π (pi) in CP437 encoding.
Line Terminator - Character or byte sequence marking the end of a line. QWK uses 0xE3, QWKE may use CR.
Validation Mode - The strictness level for parsing and validation: Strict, Lenient, or Salvage.
Strict Mode - Validation mode that throws exceptions immediately on any specification violation.
Lenient Mode - Validation mode that logs warnings but continues parsing with default values. Default and recommended for most scenarios.
Salvage Mode - Validation mode that attempts best-effort recovery from damaged or corrupted packets.
Validation Report - A collection of validation issues (errors, warnings, informational messages) found during packet parsing.
Validation Issue - A single problem detected during validation, categorised as error, warning, or info.
Error - A validation issue indicating a structural problem that prevents correct parsing.
Warning - A validation issue indicating a format variation or minor problem that doesn't prevent parsing.
Info - An informational validation message about packet characteristics or processing decisions.
Archive - A container file (typically ZIP) holding QWK packet files. QWK packets are distributed as archives.
Archive Extension - A separate package that adds support for archive formats beyond ZIP (e.g., TAR, RAR).
ToReaderCommand - A command from TOREADER.EXT sent from BBS to offline reader.
ToDoorCommand - A command from TODOOR.EXT sent from offline reader to BBS.
QwkeLongHeaders - Extended header fields (TO, FROM, SUBJECT) exceeding the 25-character QWK limit.