OpenOLMS — Open Offline Mail System

Clean-room reimplementation of Peter Rocca's OLMS (Offline Mail System, Version 2000) in Free Pascal with ANSI/RIP rendering.

GPLv3 — Copyright (C) 2026 verta1878, sysop/0, wrench, kiddo, evga. No original source code used. Reimplemented from published documentation.

What It Does

A QWK/QWKE/BlueWave compatible offline mail system for BBS. Two sides:

BBS side (door): scans message areas, packs QWK, accepts REP uploads. User side (client): connects to BBS, downloads QWK via Zmodem, reads mail offline with ANSI/RIP rendering, composes replies with spell check, uploads .REP.

Programs (8)

Binary	Source	Lines	What
OLMS.EXE	openolms.pas	436	Main BBS door — QWK/QWKE/BlueWave offline mail
CONFIG.EXE	olmscfg.pas	307	Configuration editor (12 screens, FV TUI)
EDITOR.EXE	editor.pas	661	Standalone message editor (CRT, word wrap col 72)
MAINTAIN.EXE	olmsmnt.pas	1135	Database maintenance/packing
USERCONF.EXE	userconf.pas	376	User self-configuration (archiver, protocol, areas)
UPGRADE1.EXE	upgrade1.pas	245	Config + message area upgrade to v2000
UPGRADE2.EXE	upgrade2.pas	247	User database upgrade to v2000
MOLMS.EXE	molms.pas	2602	Win32 offline mail client (bonus — connect, read, reply)

MOLMS — The Offline Mail Client

Not a door — the user's program. Complete offline mail workflow:

Connect -> auto-login -> enter mail door -> Zmodem recv .QWK
  -> disconnect -> unpack QWK -> READ OFFLINE -> compose replies
  -> spell check -> pack .REP -> reconnect -> Zmodem send .REP

Auto Mail Run (Alt-M): one key does the full cycle.

Features: BBS address book, area navigation (Tab/Shift-Tab), message threading, keyword search, ANSI/RIP message rendering, reply editor with quoting and Hunspell spell check.

DOS Door (openolms_dos.exe)

Classic BBS door. Reads DORINFO1.DEF or DOOR.SYS. ANSI menus.

openolms              interactive mode
openolms /D           auto download
openolms /U           auto upload
openolms /RG          reset all area pointers
openolms /RS          reset selected area pointers
openolms /RG=50       reset back 50 messages

Formats

Format	Read	Write
QWK	yes	yes
QWKE	planned	planned
BlueWave	yes	yes

Message Base	Read
Hudson (QuickBBS/RA)	yes
JAM	yes
Mystic (via MDL)	stub

Features

• QWK/BlueWave packet packing and unpacking
• Hudson and JAM message base reading
• ANSI terminal emulation (CSI/SGR, 16 color, cursor, scrollback)
• RIPscrip v1.54 graphics (640x350 EGA canvas, 42 commands)
• Per-user keyword filtering (include/exclude mode)
• Twit list (blocked senders)
• Per-user message pointers with reset (/RG, /RS, /RG=N)
• DORINFO1.DEF and DOOR.SYS drop file parsing
• Telnet, Serial/Modem, FOSSIL connections
• Zmodem (>2GB, Int64 fix), Ymodem, Xmodem, Kermit transfers
• BBS address book with auto-login
• Reply editor with word wrap at column 72
• Quote prefixing (author initials + ">")
• Hunspell spell check (dynamic loading, optional)
• Session capture to log file
• Phonebook with saved connections

Source Files (37 units)

OpenOLMS Core (13 units)

File	Lines	What
OL_QWK.pas	259	QWK packet format (128-byte blocks, CONTROL.DAT, NDX)
OL_Config.pas	176	OLMS.CFG configuration records
OL_DropFile.pas	275	DORINFO1.DEF + DOOR.SYS drop file parser
OL_MsgCtl.pas	195	MESSAGES.CTL conference control (64-byte records)
OL_Users.pas	141	Per-user settings + message pointers
OL_Hudson.pas	328	Hudson message base (MSGHDR/MSGTXT/MSGIDX/MSGINFO)
OL_JAM.pas	425	JAM message base (JHR/JDT/JDX/JLR + CRC-32)
OL_Packer.pas	423	QWK packer + REP unpacker
OL_Filter.pas	275	Keyword filtering (include/exclude) + twit list
OL_BlueWave.pas	199	BlueWave format (INF/MIX/FTI/DAT/UPL)
OL_Transfer.pas	281	Automated mail run (connect, login, download, upload)
OL_Editor.pas	231	Reply editor — word wrap, quoting, spell check
OL_MDL.pas	225	Mystic Development Library interface stub

ANSI / RIP Rendering (4 units)

File	Lines	What
mtterm.pas	419	ANSI CSI/SGR terminal — parser, scrollback, color
mtrip.pas	267	RIPscrip v1.54 command dispatcher (42 commands)
mtripgfx.pas	409	640x350 EGA pixel canvas — line, circle, fill, BMP
mtcapture.pas	74	Session capture to log file

Connection + Transfer (12 units)

File	Lines	What
mtconn.pas	164	Connection manager — Telnet, Serial, FOSSIL
mtserial.pas	125	AT modem dialer (DOS COM1-COM4)
mtphone.pas	136	Phonebook — saved BBS connections
mtxfer.pas	110	File transfer framework
mtconfig.pas	118	Persistent settings
m_prot_base.pas	894	Protocol base class + state machine
m_prot_zmodem.pas	2530	Zmodem — Int64 fix for >2GB transfers
m_protocol_xmodem.pas	357	Xmodem 1K/CRC
m_protocol_ymodem.pas	307	Ymodem batch
m_protocol_kermit.pas	565	Kermit sliding window
m_protocol_queue.pas	170	Transfer queue manager
m_crc.pas	173	CRC-16 CCITT + CRC-32 tables

Spell Check (2 units)

File	Lines	What
mt_spell.pas	179	Hunspell dynamic loader (Win/Linux/macOS)
OL_Editor.pas	231	Reply editor with spell check integration

Programs (8)

File	Lines	What
openolms.pas	436	Main BBS door (FV TUI)
openolms_dos.pas	353	DOS door wrapper (ANSI menus)
olmscfg.pas	307	Configuration editor (FV TUI)
editor.pas	661	Standalone message editor (CRT)
olmsmnt.pas	1135	Database maintenance
userconf.pas	376	User self-configuration
upgrade1.pas	245	Config + area upgrade
upgrade2.pas	247	User database upgrade
molms.pas	2602	Win32 offline mail client

DOS Door Support (1 unit)

File	Lines	What
OL_ANSI.pas	244	Pure ANSI console output for DOS doors

Architecture

BBS Side:                           User Side:

openolms_dos.exe                    MOLMS (molms.exe)
  |                                   |
  |-- Drop file parser                |-- Connect (Telnet/Serial/FOSSIL)
  |-- Message base reader             |-- Auto-login + enter door
  |   (Hudson / JAM)                  |-- Zmodem receive .QWK
  |-- QWK packer                      |-- ANSI/RIP message rendering
  |-- REP unpacker                    |-- Reply editor + spell check
  |-- Keyword filter                  |-- REP packer
  |-- Area selection                  |-- Zmodem send .REP
  '-- ANSI menus                      '-- BBS address book + phonebook

Data Files

File	Format	What
OLMS.CFG	binary	Main configuration
MESSAGES.CTL	binary, 64-byte records	Conference area list
USERS.DAT	binary	Per-user settings
*.KEY	text	Keyword filter (one per user)
*.TWT	text	Twit list (one per user)
*.QWK	ZIP archive	Downloaded mail packet
*.REP	ZIP archive	Upload reply packet
DORINFO1.DEF	text, 12 lines	BBS drop file
DOOR.SYS	text, 20 lines	BBS drop file (PCBoard)
mterm.cfg	binary	Terminal settings
mterm.phn	binary	Phonebook entries

Docs

File	What
README.md	This file
MANUAL.md	User manual — keyboard, connecting, formats, building
OLMS_CFG_FORMAT.md	OLMS.CFG binary format documentation
SPELL_SETUP.md	Hunspell installation guide
index.htm	Color-coded documentation index

Credits

Who	What
Peter Rocca	Original OLMS author (MCC, 1994-1998)
verta1878	Project lead, architecture
Leslie Given	Co-correspondence for author permission
sysop/0	Terminal, serial UART, compiler
evga	Display, RIPView
kiddo	Serial IRQ, ring buffer, protocols
wrench	Network architecture, OpenOLMS reimplementation
g00r00	Mystic BBS, protocol code (GPLv3)

License

GPLv3 — GNU General Public License v3.0

Clean-room reimplementation from published documentation only. No decompilation, no original source code used.

Original OLMS: proprietary shareware ($25), Copyright Peter Rocca, Multiboard Communications Centre, 1994-1998, Ontario Canada. OpenOLMS created with author's permission.