SPITFIRE Historical Manuals & Documentation Index

SPITFIRE was more than a single DOS executable. Buffalo Creek Software distributed a detailed operator manual, configuration notes, maintenance utilities, display-file examples, offline-mail tools, and door adapters that together explain how a working SPITFIRE board was installed and operated.

This page is a descriptive guide to that historical documentation. It helps readers find the right manual or utility by subject even when they do not know the original filename. It does not reproduce the manuals, software, display art, registration data, or other proprietary archive contents. Archive links are included only where the site already provides a reviewed public reading or collection page.

Note

Preservation boundary. Descriptions on this page are project-authored summaries. Historical SPITFIRE documents and programs retain their original ownership and are not relicensed by SPITFIRE NG.

How the historical software fits together

The archive is easier to navigate when related programs are grouped by their historical job. These are descriptive archive categories, not claims about how a modern reimplementation must be designed.

  • Built into SPITFIRE: the main program, stock menus and help, board and node configuration, callers, messages, files, scheduled events, and door dispatch documented by the core manual.
  • Companion utilities: focused Buffalo Creek tools such as SFSYSTEM, SFNODE, DAILYLMT, SFHELP, SFDOOR, and SFUSERS that configured or maintained data used by the main BBS.
  • Maintenance utilities: SFPCKMSG and SFPCKUSR for message/caller packing, plus SFFILESA, SFMKLIST, and related upload/file-list workflows.
  • Display and report generators: SFLOG caller-activity screens, SFTOPTEN top-activity screens, SFUSERS statistics bulletins, SFMKLIST file catalogs, and the separately referenced THOUGHTS creator/resource.
  • Door and menu utilities: SFDOOR, SFGUESS, SFMNUEXT, and the PCBoard, RBBS, and Wildcat handoff converters.
  • Networking and offline mail: LAKOTA QWK mail plus the BCSUTI/Postlink and SHILOH workflows described at a higher level by the main manual.

Together, these categories connect terms such as caller packing, message maintenance, FILE_ID.DIZ, top callers, generated bulletins, menu extensions, door drop files, QWK, and net-mail even when a visitor does not know an original utility filename.

Core SPITFIRE manuals

SPITFIRE Bulletin Board System Manual — Version 3.7

The principal operating reference for SPITFIRE 3.7, released January 1, 2010, and credited to Mike Woltz and Buffalo Creek Software. It covers hardware and DOS setup, system and node configuration, logical file paths, callers, security levels, menus, messages, files, scheduled events, doors, networking, multinode operation, and Sysop maintenance.

The manual's display chapters are especially important. They distinguish .BBS ASCII/non-ANSI resources, .CLR ANSI/color resources, and .RIP RIPscrip resources; document format fallback; and define readable control strings such as @FNAME@, @LASTCALL@, and @UPLOADS@. These control strings show that display files were dynamic presentation resources, not just static ANSI or CP437 artwork.

Related material: SPITFIRE.DOC, SPITFIRE.HLP, SFPROTCO.HLP, stock SFMAIN.MNU, SFMSG.MNU, SFFILE.MNU, and SFSYSOP.MNU.

Read the SPITFIRE 3.7 Reference Manual.

SPITFIRE 3.4 Global Record Structures

An official 1993 technical reference for utility and third-party developers. It describes Turbo Pascal record declarations for historical caller, message, conference, file-area, event, system, and node files, along with line-oriented handoff data used by doors and configurable commands.

This is valuable format evidence, but it is not an automatic definition of every SPITFIRE 3.7 byte. Pascal string layout, compiler packing, version changes, and unknown fields must be handled carefully.

Related material: SPITFIRE.REC, SFUSERS.DAT, SFMSG<x>.DAT/.PTR/.IDX, SFSYSTEM.DAT, SFFAREA.DAT, SFMCONF.DAT, SFDOORS.DAT.

This technical reference is cataloged here but does not yet have a separate reviewed Web reading page.

Installation & configuration

System and node configuration utilities

SFSYSTEM 2.1 and SFNODE 2.1 document how a Sysop maintained board-wide SFSYSTEM.DAT settings and node-local SFNODE.DAT settings outside the main program. Both could participate in scheduled maintenance. DAILYLMT 1.1 documents per-security-level limits for call time, daily downloads and bytes, node chat, quick logon, and ratio warnings in DAILYLMT.DAT.

These manuals are useful for configuration, security, subscriptions, node behavior, scheduled events, and the boundary between shared and node-local state.

The companion-programs chapter summarizes several of these tools. Their separate utility manuals do not yet have reviewed Web reading pages.

Operator configuration, monitoring, and maintenance

The SPITFIRE 3.7 manual documents an extensive local Sysop control surface at the “SPITFIRE ready for use” prompt and while a caller is online. Topics include board and modem configuration, paths, message conferences, file areas, caller maintenance, scheduled events, activity logs, daily statistics, caller-time/security changes, Page the Sysop and chat, lockout, and controlled disconnect. The caller-facing Sysop Menu provided another route to appropriate maintenance functions.

Companion manuals add the offline and scheduled utility side of that operator story: SFSYSTEM and SFNODE configuration; SFUSERS caller maintenance; SFPCKUSR/SFPCKMSG packing; SFFILESA and SFMKLIST file maintenance/catalogs; SFLOG/SFTOPTEN statistics displays; SFDOOR/SFMNUEXT external programs; and LAKOTA offline mail.

Search terms: Ready prompt, Sysop Menu, ALT+A, ALT+C, ALT+E, ALT+F, ALT+L, ALT+M, ALT+P, ALT+R, ALT+Z, F1 logs, F5 statistics, callers, events, maintenance, file areas, message conferences, chat, lockout, doors, and QWK.

Read the manual chapters for special function keys, the Sysop section, and special commands for Sysop status.

DOS and multitasking environment notes

The SPITFIRE 3.7 distribution includes focused notes for DESQview 386, LANtastic, OS/2 2.x and Warp, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and fax modems. They document the practical environment in which DOS-era boards ran: serial-port ownership, task settings, network shares, modem initialization, and batch-file hooks such as SFFAX.BAT.

Related files: SF-DESQ.DOC, SF-LAN.DOC, SF-OS2.DOC, SF-WIN.DOC, SF-WIN95.DOC, SFWIN-95.DOC, and SF-FAX.DOC.

Read the preserved notes for DESQview 386, LANtastic, OS/2, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 95 setup, and fax modems.

Display Files & ANSI/RIP

Display files and control codes

SPITFIRE used a family of caller-facing display resources. .BBS was the historical ASCII/non-ANSI form, although surviving files may include high-bit CP437 characters. .CLR was the ANSI/color form. .RIP was the RIPscrip form. A resource could be available in all three forms, in BBS/CLR only, or in one fixed form. RIP callers normally fell back from .RIP to .CLR and then to .BBS when a matching resource was absent.

Display files also understood control characters and readable control strings. They could insert caller information, clear the screen, sound a bell, control paging, or temporarily prevent/allow caller interruption. Search terms for this subject include .BBS, .CLR, .RIP, ANSI, RIPscrip, CP437, @FNAME@, @LASTCALL@, @UPLOADS@, control strings, display variables, More prompt, and NOABORT.

Some historical variables exposed phone, birth date, security level, or even password. Their existence is historically significant, but modern SPITFIRE NG does not restore plaintext-password exposure or make private identity/contact data public.

Related sources: SPITFIRE.DOC §§5.4 and 5.7, the distributed DISPLAY package, and RIPTIPS.DOC.

Read SPITFIRE file paths and display resources and the RIP graphics technical note. The separate DISPLAY package does not yet have a reviewed public description.

RIP graphics notes

The “SPITFIRE and RIP Graphics” note explains how a RIP-capable board and terminal fit SPITFIRE's display selection, including RIP control panels such as MAINCTRL.RIP, MSGCTRL.RIP, and FILECTRL.RIP. It is a historical reference; it does not imply that every modern SPITFIRE implementation or terminal supports RIP.

Related files: RIPTIPS.DOC, MAINCTRL.RIP, MSGCTRL.RIP, FILECTRL.RIP.

Read SPITFIRE and RIP Graphics.

Messages & Net-Mail

Message storage and maintenance

The main SPITFIRE manual describes per-conference message families such as SFMSG<x>.DAT, .PTR, .IDX, and .LMR, message conferences, private and received state, threading, last-read pointers, and net-mail behavior. SFPCKMSG 2.1 documents external message-base packing and purge policy, including its relationship to scheduled Event M and SFMSGPCK.BAT.

Related sources: SPITFIRE.DOC, SPITFIRE.REC, SFPCKMSG.DOC.

Read the message-section chapter and the manual's companion-programs overview. The separate SFPCKMSG manual is not yet available as a reviewed Web page.

Net-mail and external exchange

SPITFIRE's manual describes net-mail conferences, routing/tagline data such as BBSNAME.DAT, and external drivers that exchanged messages with other boards. These historical workflows should be distinguished from later Internet-era mail systems and from modern SPITFIRE NG network adapters.

Read SPITFIRE Net-Mail Capabilities.

Files & Transfers

SFFILES Assistant — Version 3.0

SFFILESA helped a Sysop create and maintain the SFFILES.BBS listing in each download area. Its documentation covers FILE_ID.DIZ extraction, multiline descriptions, sorting, date and size correction, missing-file review, and file-sharing operation.

SFFILES.BBS is historically a BBS-only listing resource rather than an ANSI .CLR file. SPITFIRE could still color recognized file rows for ANSI or RIP callers; the comma in the displayed file size was significant to row recognition/coloring.

Related files: SFFILESA.DOC, SFFILES.BBS, SFFILES.<x>, FILE_ID.DIZ.

The SFFILES Assistant manual and package do not yet have a dedicated reviewed public page; this catalog entry remains intentionally unlinked.

Make SPITFIRE Files List — Version 2.5

SFMKLIST combined per-area SFFILES.BBS data into a board-wide downloadable file list, normally BBSFILE.LST or another selected name. It could optionally archive the result and add it to a file-area catalog, making it useful in scheduled maintenance.

Related files: SFMKLIST.DOC, SFFILES.BBS, BBSFILE.LST.

The SFMKLIST utility does not yet have a dedicated reviewed public page; this catalog entry remains intentionally unlinked.

Transfers, requests, and caller delivery

The main manual and protocol help describe built-in and external transfer choices, upload/download menus, file-area limits, offline file requests, and resources such as SFEXTUP.BBS, SFEXTDN.BBS, SFPROTCO.HLP, SFILEREQ.LOG, and SFNOUP.DAT. SFSENDIT 1.3 documents a companion workflow for making a file available to one caller or a security group.

Read the file-section chapter, external file-transfer protocols, and the companion-programs overview. SFSENDIT does not yet have a separate reviewed Web reading page.

Doors & External Programs

SPITFIRE doors

The main manual's door section explains SFDOOR.MNU, door security entries, labels in SF.BAT, and transient handoff files such as SFDOORS.DAT and DOOR.SYS. SFDOOR 1.0 is the official menu-maintenance utility. SFGUESS 3.0 is the distributed demonstration door and setup example.

Historical door handoffs could contain sensitive caller and session values. They are important compatibility evidence, not a recommendation to expose a host operating-system shell or plaintext credentials today.

Related sources: SPITFIRE.DOC §15, SFDOOR.DOC, SFGUESS.DOC, SPITFIRE.REC.

Read the SPITFIRE doors chapter and companion-programs overview. SFDOOR and SFGUESS do not yet have separate reviewed Web reading pages.

Door conversion utilities

Three official utilities adapted SPITFIRE's handoff for other door formats: SFPCBDR 2.0 for PCBoard 12.x/14.x, SFRBBSDR 1.5 for RBBS/DORINFO-style doors, and SFWCDR 2.0 for Wildcat 1/2/3 doors. Their manuals are useful to door authors and preservation developers studying cross-BBS compatibility.

SFPCBDR, SFRBBSDR, and SFWCDR do not yet have reviewed public utility pages; their catalog entries remain intentionally unlinked.

Menu Extension — Version 2.0

SFMNUEXT expanded configurable choices on the Main, Message, File, and Door menus. Its package includes documentation plus sample .MNU, .BAT, .BBS, .CLR, and .RIP files. It demonstrates nested external menu workflows and the separation between SPITFIRE's menu authority and third-party programs.

Related files: SFMNUEXT.DOC, SFMNEXT.MNU, SFMESEXT.MNU, SFILEEXT.MNU, SFDOREXT.MNU, and the MNEXT, MSEXT, FEXT, and DREXT display families.

SFMNUEXT does not yet have a dedicated reviewed public page; this catalog entry remains intentionally unlinked.

Utilities & Maintenance

Caller database utilities

SFUSERS 1.5c documents offline caller maintenance, sorting, subscription work, duplicate-value checks, and statistics bulletins. SFPCKUSR 2.0 packs callers marked for deletion or selected by documented inactivity/security criteria.

The manuals are historically valuable, but old duplicate checks involving phone numbers, birth dates, or passwords do not define modern privacy or authentication policy.

Read the manual's companion-programs overview. SFUSERS and SFPCKUSR do not yet have separate reviewed Web reading pages.

Caller statistics and activity bulletins

SFLOG 2.1 reads CALLERS.LOG and creates a caller-statistics display using a chosen BBS/CLR/RIP filename; it can also rotate the log to a date-based name. The SPITFIRE manual gives a scheduled-event example that creates a weekly BULLET1 screen.

SFTOPTEN 1.41 creates top-caller, top-uploader, and top-downloader displays from SFUSERS.DAT. SFUSERS can also create aggregate statistics in numbered bulletin files.

Search terms: caller log, last callers, top ten, weekly activity, system statistics, bulletin generator, CALLERS.LOG, SFLOG, SFTOPTEN.

The manual mentions using SFINIT.BAT for a last-ten-callers screen, but this archive does not contain a named official last-ten utility or its output.

Read the companion-programs overview. SFLOG, SFTOPTEN, and SFUSERS do not yet have separate reviewed public pages.

Logon, logoff, and scheduled hooks

SFINIT.BAT ran after a caller disconnected and before modem initialization; the manual suggests last-caller display generation or checking uploads as uses. SFLOGON.BAT ran after successful logon and system information. SFSEC<x>.BAT ran after logon for an exact security level. Scheduled events A-M were configured in SPITFIRE and dispatched through SF.BAT; Event M was reserved for message packing and could be followed by SFMSGPCK.BAT.

These were DOS process hooks, distinct from display control strings. They are also distinct from any future general scripting system.

Related sources: SPITFIRE.DOC §§5 and 14, distributed SF.BAT, SFLOG, SFTOPTEN, SFUSERS, SFNODE, and SFSYSTEM documentation.

Read SPITFIRE file paths, the scheduled-events chapter, and the companion-programs overview.

Networking & Offline Mail

LAKOTA SPITFIRE Mail System — Version 2.0

LAKOTA was SPITFIRE's companion QWK offline-mail utility. It created QWK download packets, accepted reply packets, and connected the offline-reader journey to SPITFIRE message conferences. The package includes its manual and separate BBS/CLR presentation resources.

Related files: LAKOTA.DOC, LAKOTA.COM, LAKOTA.BBS, LAKOTA.CLR, NEWSFILE.CLR.

Read the LAKOTA Mail System manual.

Historical networking overview

The SPITFIRE manual discusses net-mail and QWK-based exchange with external utilities. These sources are useful for understanding original workflows, but they should not be read as evidence that modern FidoNet, SMB/DOVE-Net, CircuitNet, or Internet adapters are already implemented.

Read SPITFIRE Net-Mail Capabilities.

Multinode

SPITFIRE's manual describes shared MESSAGE, WORK, and DISPLAY paths, node-local SYSTEM files, SFWHOSON.DAT, caller visibility across nodes, node chat, and coordination rules around packing. SFNODE documents external and scheduled node configuration. LANtastic and multitasking notes show common DOS deployment environments.

Related sources: SPITFIRE.DOC §20, SFNODE.DOC, SF-LAN.DOC, SF-DESQ.DOC, SFWHOSON.DAT.

Read Operating a Multi-Node SPITFIRE, the multitasking/network chapter, and the LANtastic note. SFNODE does not yet have a separate reviewed Web reading page.

Historical thoughts and generated information

THOUGHTS.BBS is documented by the SPITFIRE 3.7 manual as a DISPLAY-path resource created with THOUGHTS.EXE. It belongs only to the .BBS ASCII/non-ANSI class; no .CLR or .RIP counterpart is documented. The manual says SPITFIRE displays a thought to callers when the file exists, but it does not explain when or how a record is selected.

The presently indexed archive does not contain THOUGHTS.EXE, a utility manual, or a THOUGHTS.BBS sample. Its exact record format, delimiters, limits, error handling, and selection or randomization behavior therefore remain open. The resource's purpose and display class are known even though its exact parser is not.

Other documented generated information includes caller-activity bulletins from SFLOG, top-activity screens from SFTOPTEN, statistics bulletins from SFUSERS, and aggregate file lists from SFMKLIST. The archive does not establish a separate random-quote generator or a recent-upload screen generator.

Search terms: thoughts, THOUGHTS.BBS, THOUGHTS.EXE, random content, quote, caller statistics, top callers, activity bulletin, generated display.

Read SPITFIRE file paths and display resources and additional SPITFIRE features. No separate THOUGHTS utility or sample page is linked because neither source is present in the reviewed public collection.

Technical references

For format and preservation research, the most useful technical set is:

  • SPITFIRE 3.7 manual — operational behavior and file/resource ownership;
  • SPITFIRE 3.4 record structures — version-bounded Turbo Pascal declarations;
  • SFHELP — fixed caller-help records;
  • SFFILESA and SFMKLIST — file-list creation and maintenance;
  • SFPCKMSG and SFPCKUSR — message/caller packing;
  • SFPCBDR, SFRBBSDR, and SFWCDR — door handoff adapters;
  • RIP tips and distributed DISPLAY examples — ANSI/RIP resource behavior; and
  • official platform notes — the DOS multitasking, networking, modem, and host environment.

Exact compatibility work should combine these documents with preserved sample bytes and controlled original-runtime observations. A filename or one sample alone is not enough to infer an undocumented binary layout.

Read the manual's technical-reference chapter and companion-programs overview.

Continue browsing