EMERGENCY BBS OPERATION RULES
Version 2.10	08 April 2008

                   EMERGENCY BBS OPERATION RULES


Outpost Packet Message Manager should normally be used for passing traffic to
the OpArea EOC because of its ease of use. Outpost can be downloaded from 
www.SCC-ARES-RACES.org.

CONFIGURATION OF OUTPOST

To reduce message congestion, Outpost should be configured as follows for 
emergency operations: 
 
-  Set AUTOMATION to "OFF" County will inform when a message has been posted for    your station.
-  Set RETRIEVING to "Retrieve Private Messages and Retrieve New Bulletins"
-  Set RECEIVING to uncheck "Keep Messages on BBS".
-  Set NEW MESSAGES to "Default to PRIVATE".
-  Set NEW MESSAGES to check "Add Message Number to Subject Line".
-  Set TRACKING to uncheck "Always request a Delivery Receipt" and "Always 
   Request a Read Receipt".
-  Set REPORT SETTINGS to show "Tactical ID" (This will insert the three 
   letter ID into the subject line along with the automatically generated 
   message number).

MESSAGE PROTOCOLS

1.  Messages should usually be sent only to the Santa Clara County OpArea EOC.
If intended for a different jurisdiction, first line of the message should 
state, "Pass to ___ EOC".

2.  All traffic between EOCs and County EOC will be handled by tactical IDs.

3.  Each EOC has a six-letter tactical ID shown in the list below. When the 
BBS is in emergency mode, you will be prompted for the tactical ID for your 
EOC when you connect. Invalid tactical IDs will be rejected. Outpost handles 
this automatically.

4.  Even though the emergency BBS allows many stations to be connected at 
the same time, stay connected only as long as is necessary to download 
your mail, and to send mail. Outpost handles this automatically.

5.  You can send mail from one EOC to another by using the proper tactical 
ID as a callsign. The difference between sending a private message and a 
bulletin (i.e. "sb") is who can list and read your message. If your traffic 
should specifically be seen by all EOCs, please always send private to XSCEOC.
The county packet operator will send such messages to ALLEOC if specifically 
so requested. Private messages as well as bulletins may only be deleted (killed) 
by the sender or receiver.

6.  For the subject of the message, use the following format:
      ORIGINATOR - MSG # - SEVERITY/HANDLING ORDER* - TYPE OF MESSAGE**
      Example: XSC120-U/P-PACRIMS SITREP 1
      *Emergency=E, Urgent=U, Other=O / Immediate=I, Priority=P, Routine=R
      **e.g., CityScan, LogReq, SitRep, MissionReq, Other descriptor as applicable 

7.  As always, within the message, use good amateur practice by specifying:
      To:  ADDRESSEE, EOC Position
      From: SENDER, EOC Position


INTERACTIVE MODE

Outpost can also be used in "Interactive Mode". Certain actions that can only be 
performed in Interactive Mode may be useful. The following information provides 
guidance on how to use interactive mode.

1.  Click on "Connect" on the first window. This establishes a connection 
between Outpost and the TNC.

2.  The command to connect to the BBS is: c w6xsc-1. Use the tactical call sign 
of your station.

3.  If you are at the San Jose EOC (SJCEOC), for example, you can list what 
messages have been sent to you by typing:
      "l> sjceoc"         OR        "lm"   for "list mine".
This will allow you to see what messages are "to" San Jose.  Then read 
the message by typing:
      "r #" (# is the actual message number)
      Or, use the command "rm", which means "read mine".

4.  To see if a message you sent has been read, look at the message status 
field. A "Y" means the message has been read by the recipient. You can delete 
messages sent to you after reading them by using "k #", where "#" is the message 
number.

5.  Other useful commands:
      "LB"  - List bulletins (all of them)
      "JN"  - Who is logged on now
      "JL"  - Who has logged on recently
      "L> ALLEOC"  -  See which messages have been sent to ALLEOC
      NOTE THAT ONLY COUNTY PERSONNEL SHOULD SEND MAIL TO ALLEOC.

6.  Here are the standard abbreviations to use for tactical callsigns, which 
have been taken from the county-wide standard abbreviations for the various 
cities. In effect, these are the ONLY allowed users when in emergency mode. YOU 
MUST USE THESE TACTICAL CALLS FOR ALL TRAFFIC both in emergency and normal mode.

	Santa Clara County             XSCEOC
	City of Campbell               CBLEOC
	City of Cupertino              CUPEOC
	City of Gilroy                 GILEOC
	City of Los Altos              LOSEOC
	Town of Los Altos Hills        LAHEOC
	Town of Los Gatos              LGTEOC
	City of Milpitas               MLPEOC
	City of Monte Sereno           MSOEOC
	City of Morgan Hill            MRGEOC
	City of Mountain View          MTVEOC
	City of Palo Alto              PAFEOC
	City of San Jose               SJCEOC
	City of Santa Clara            SNCEOC
	City of Saratoga               SAREOC
	City of Sunnyvale              SNYEOC
	Santa Clara Valley Water Dist  VWDEOC
	NASA - Ames                    NAMEOC
	Stanford University            STUEOC
	Los Gatos Red Cross            LGREDC
	Palo Alto Red Cross            PAFARC
	San Jose Red Cross             SJCARC
	County Communications Center   COCOMM