WP Updates

Search

Intro

So your BBS may have sent out a direct message (P type) to an un-routable destination addressed to WP and targeted at WW (worldwide), which is incompatible with the WP system.

As WP updates are running from a daily process, this particular error may trigger quite a few warnings to sysops on systems that receive it, which may trigger notices from those sysops to help you fix it.

The New Way

Nowadays, BBS avoid sending WP@WW bulletins due to the constant churn which in turn used to flood the network with redundant system messages and generally clog up BBS bulletin message lists with spam the regular user would have to peruse through.

For quite a few years now, The WP system has been able to handle direct (P-type) messages from peers on the network and some BBS software also have the capability to parse information directly from bulletins passing through the BBS to expand the local whitepage database without the need for WP updates at all.

Some parts of the world (notably Argentina, South America) still send out WP@WW as flood bulletins which are for the most part universally rejected elsewhere, but the software option to do this is still available for those that may still rely upon it.

Unfortunately this feature capability leaves it open to invalid configuration opportunities such as that mentioned in the intro.

The intended target of the WP update should be a real callsign of a BBS that you forward with.

In the popular BPQ-based systems, the text box field used to fill out the destination addresses within the BBS configuration WEB interface should preferably be a full address to help route the mail. 

For example, according to the R-line headers in a recent direct (P-type) message received on my BBS incorrectly addressed to WP@WW, arrived via N3HYM from N8FWD, so as a forward partner with N3HYM, N8FWD can adjust the configuration and set the WP destination address to WP@N3HYM.MD.USA.NOAM

In FBB v7+ the field for WP updates is a line in the fbb.conf options file which is limited to about 34 callsigns or 255 characters (I found this out the hard way 😝).

You may add as many WP peers as you like, though best practice is to send them only towards a few peers directly linked to your BBS.