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tutorials:node7.html [2011/04/30 20:28] – [6.2.2 COM Session Example] georgtutorials:node7.html [2011/04/30 20:32] – [6.2.3 What to Do if You Are Caught in the Newbie Loop] georg
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 1. Newbie starts on the unix command line. 1. Newbie starts on the unix command line.
  
-2. Newbie enters COM Mode by typing ``com'' & pressing the Return key.+2. Newbie enters COM Mode by typing ''com'' & pressing the Return key.
  
 3. Newbie might have to wait a few seconds, but she eventually sees com start. (I think new users see a menu of the com commands & have to answer Yes that they have read & understood the menu.) After com starts, Newbie will be in the lobby & will see a list of the people in that room. (The lobby is the default room & is where most of the chatting happens.) 3. Newbie might have to wait a few seconds, but she eventually sees com start. (I think new users see a menu of the com commands & have to answer Yes that they have read & understood the menu.) After com starts, Newbie will be in the lobby & will see a list of the people in that room. (The lobby is the default room & is where most of the chatting happens.)
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 4. Newbie wants to say hello to everyone, so she types the Space Bar & waits until she sees a ''[newbie]'' prompt. Then Newbie types <nowiki>"</nowiki>Hi all. I'm new.<nowiki>"</nowiki> & then types the Return key. 4. Newbie wants to say hello to everyone, so she types the Space Bar & waits until she sees a ''[newbie]'' prompt. Then Newbie types <nowiki>"</nowiki>Hi all. I'm new.<nowiki>"</nowiki> & then types the Return key.
  
-5. Everyone in the room will see ``[newbie] Hi all. I'm new.''.+5. Everyone in the room will see ''[newbie] Hi all. I'm new.''.
  
 6. Newbie is doing well so far, but now let's have her make a mistake. 6. Newbie is doing well so far, but now let's have her make a mistake.
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 The problem is compounded by com's modality & Newbie's failure to realize that com is modal. Sometimes, com is waiting for Newbie to type a command. Some commands are single key. (The ''q'' & ''h'' commands are examples.) Other commands wait for Newbie to type something, & during that time, com does not interpret her keystrokes as commands. (The Space Bar and Return commands, both of which are for saying text into the room, are examples.) The problem is compounded by com's modality & Newbie's failure to realize that com is modal. Sometimes, com is waiting for Newbie to type a command. Some commands are single key. (The ''q'' & ''h'' commands are examples.) Other commands wait for Newbie to type something, & during that time, com does not interpret her keystrokes as commands. (The Space Bar and Return commands, both of which are for saying text into the room, are examples.)
  
-      The other people in the room see what Newbie is going through, but there isn't much they can do because they can't see Newbie's screen & help her figure out whether com is waiting for her to type a command or waiting for her to type text. What's more, whenever they say something like ''Type h by itself'', Newbie types an ''h'' & then a Return. So Newbie keeps going around & around.+The other people in the room see what Newbie is going through, but there isn't much they can do because they can't see Newbie's screen & help her figure out whether com is waiting for her to type a command or waiting for her to type text. What's more, whenever they say something like ''Type h by itself'', Newbie types an ''h'' & then a Return. So Newbie keeps going around & around.
  
 12. Eventually, Newbie figures it out while com is waiting for her to type a command. At this time, Newbie types ''q'' (& does not type any other characters at all). 12. Eventually, Newbie figures it out while com is waiting for her to type a command. At this time, Newbie types ''q'' (& does not type any other characters at all).
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 Here's why the steps in Table 6.3 work: Here's why the steps in Table 6.3 work:
  
-   1. If com is waiting for you to type a command, then you could type the command anyway, but you type Space, which gets you a prompt (com isn't interpreting commands). Then you type Return, which ends that prompt. So now com is waiting for a command again. So the Space Bar & Return sequence was unnecessary, but it did not harm. (People in the room won't even see it because if you try to ``say'' an empty line, com doesn't print anything.) +1. If com is waiting for you to type a command, then you could type the command anyway, but you type Space, which gets you a prompt (com isn't interpreting commands). Then you type Return, which ends that prompt. So now com is waiting for a command again. So the Space Bar & Return sequence was unnecessary, but it did not harm. (People in the room won't even see it because if you try to ''say'' an empty line, com doesn't print anything.) 
-   2. If com has prompted you & is not interpreting your commands, the Space Bar won't do anything useful, but the Return key will end that prompt. If you had mistakenly typed Return earlier & com was waiting for you to say something into the room, the Space Bar will do nothing, but the Return will end that mode, & com will now wait for you to type a command.. (If you had typed things before the Space Bar, you will ``say'' them into the room.)+ 
 +2. If com has prompted you & is not interpreting your commands, the Space Bar won't do anything useful, but the Return key will end that prompt. If you had mistakenly typed Return earlier & com was waiting for you to say something into the room, the Space Bar will do nothing, but the Return will end that mode, & com will now wait for you to type a command.. (If you had typed things before the Space Bar, you will ''say'' them into the room.)
  
 ====  6.2.4 COM History ====  ====  6.2.4 COM History ==== 
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 From a section's menu, prompts you for a message number (which you must enter exactly, including leading zeros). Then it prints the message & all replies to your screen.  From a section's menu, prompts you for a message number (which you must enter exactly, including leading zeros). Then it prints the message & all replies to your screen. 
          
-q+''q''
  
 Quits the bulletin board.  Quits the bulletin board.