Description
Like other offline readers, QWK was similar in operation to the Fidonet: messages for a particular user are gathered up by the BBS-side QWK software, compressed using an application such as PKZIP, and then transferred to the user. This is usually accomplished via a "BBS door" program running on the BBS system. In the case of QWK, the messages were placed in a single large file that was then bundled with several "control" files and then compressed into a single archive with the .QWK file extension (and typically the BBSes "id" name as the base filename). The file normally sent to the user automatically using the self-starting feature of the ZModem protocol, although most QWK doors allowed a selection of protocols to be used.
Once the resulting file has been received by the user, the steps are reversed to extract the files from the archive and then open them in a client-side "reader". Again, these individual steps are typically automated to a degree, meaning that the user simply has to invoke the door software on the BBS and then run the client, the intermediary steps being automated. QWK originally did not include any functionality for uploading replies, but this was quickly addressed as QWK became more popular. QWK placed replies in a .REP file (again, typically with the BBSes "id" as the name) that was exchanged automatically the next time the user called in.
QWK clients varied widely in functionality, but all of them offered basic e-mail and public forum support. Prior to the introduction of QWK and similar systems, it was not uncommon for users with large message volumes to set up their own FidoNet node to quickly gather their mail, but QWK dramatically reduced the required setup, and dramatically increased the number of users of offline mail.
QWK Format was used for years similarly to Fido Technology Network (FTN) for BBS networks, as a means of message forum syndication, by software including Synchronet, Wildcat Winserver and others.
Read more about this topic: QWK (file Format)
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