(from fmail documentation: https://www.pcorner.com/list/BBS/FM106.ZIP)

THE AREAS.BBS FILE
==================

This section demonstrates everything FreeMail will understand in an AREAS.BBS
file and explains the rules it follows in interpreting the lines. It is aimed
at the user who is not familiar with FidoNet mail programs. I recommend all
users at least skim it to get the syntaxes FreeMail allows.

AREAS.BBS is a text file which gives FreeMail (and most other FidoNet
compatable mail programs) the information it needs about the message areas. It
is required. Notice that everything after a semicolon (;) is ignored, and can
be used for comments.

The accepted format for each line is...

... (; )

...where is the official area tag of the echo, and the
es
are addresses of other systems which you share this echo with. The
tells FreeMail where and how to store the messages for that area; the format
depends on the type of message-base you use:

(a single-Hudson-base board)
@ (a multiple-Hudson-base board)
! (a Spitfire conference number)
(a *.MSG echomail directory)
# (a pass-through area; the is optional)
P (alternate pass-through designation)


FreeMail also recognises three control lines in the AREAS.BBS file. The first
is the /FROM line. This is used when running echomail in multiple networks. It
tells FreeMail to use one of your alternate addresses as the primary address
for the areas following it. For example, if you had an AREAS.BBS file like
this:

!05 HOUSTON_CHAT 1:106/1000 ;Houston Chit-Chat conference
!06 SPITFIRE 1:106/1000 ;Spitfire Support conference
!07 DBASE 1:106/1000
/FROM 81:400/21
!81 OS2MSGS 81:400/100
!82 OS2BUGS 81:400/100

Every area listed after a /FROM line will use the address on the /FROM line as
the origin. The message will be shown to have come from that address, and the
Origin line (if FreeMail has to append one) will use it also. The address
*must* be one of yours, listed in an ADDRESS or AKA statement in the
FreeMail.CFG file. If it isn't, FreeMail will complain and refuse to run.

The second control line FreeMail understands is the /ORG line, to specify a
customized Origin line for one or more echo areas. This is mostly useful only
in Spitfire setups, in which FreeMail must add an Origin line to every
outgoing message. Like the /FROM line, it affects every area listed after it,
until another /ORG line overrides it. If you had:

/ORG The Jhereg's Den -- Home of FreeMail
!10 FREEMAIL 106/4196
!11 SPITFIRE 109/50
/ORG The Jhereg's Den -- An it harm none...
!21 MUNDANE 109/120

The first /ORG line would affect both the FREEMAIL and SPITFIRE conferences.
The second would affect MUNDANE and any conferences listed after it. Those
areas which have no /ORG line will use the SYSTEM line from the FREEMAIL.CFG
file, or a default origin line if SYSTEM is not specified.

The last control line is the /GATE. This allows you to set up a "gateway"
between two different echo areas. All messages going into one of these areas
will be "gated" into the other as well. Most people will never need this.

The format of the /GATE line is:

/GATE
...

...where the is the address (must be one of yours!) that you
want these messages to come from; the is the name of the gated
echo, and the
es are the systems you want to send that echo to.

To set up a gateway between the echos ERIS and ERIS&MOO, for instance:

/FROM 1:109/536
!93 ERIS 1:109/120 228
/GATE 93:9800/0 ERIS&MOO 93:9300/0 9800/3 9810/0

Using these lines, the ERIS echo would be stored in the Spitfire message area
93, and sent from 1:109/536 to 1:109/120 and 1:109/228. It would also be gated
to the ERIS&MOO echo in zone 93, from 93:9800/0 to 93:9300/0, 93:9800/3, and
93:9810/0. Any messages coming into either of these echos would go out in
both, with the proper origin lines appended on the gated side. WARNING:
Because gating removes all SEEN-BY and PATH information, there must only be
*one* system doing the gating per echo area!


Examples:

2 L_SYSOP 271/247 ; Felicia's Local messages-to-sysop area
9 SYSOP-109 109/5 40 400 500 700 800 ; Sysop-only echo for net109

In the first example, the first line shows that the echo L_SYSOP should be
stored in the Hudson-style echomail area #2, and it is being sent and received
from 271/247. The zone, if not specified, will default to that of the origin
address for that echo.

The second line is similar. The echo SYSOP-109 is being sent to six different
addresses from here. Notice the short-form address list -- you don't have to
specify the "net" portion again if it's the same as the previous one on that
line. The same it true for the zone, if you use multiple zones.

Hudson-style message bases are limited to 200 areas each. The board number
MUST be between 1 and 200, inclusive, or FreeMail will complain and refuse to
run. I don't know of any specific limit on the number of Spitfire areas. There
is no limit to the number of areas FreeMail can handle except memory; it
stores the area file in a digested form for speed. One beta-tester runs over
520 areas with no problems.


C:\BBS\FUBAR\ FOOBAR 109/542 536 271/248

This line says that the FOOBAR echo is a *.MSG-style area, stored in the
C:\BBS\FUBAR directory. It is being passed to three other systems: 109/542,
109/536, and 271/248. The trailing backslash on the directory name is
optional.


# SAMPLE 109/542 271/248
P SAMPLE 109/542 271/248

These lines are identicle in meaning. They say that the echo SAMPLE is being
passed between 109/542 and 271/248 through my system, but not stored here --
it is a PASS-THROUGH area. I don't read the hypothetical SAMPLE echo, and my
users aren't interested, so I don't want to keep it around taking up disk
space.

Most Hudson-base mail programs use the 'P' to designate pass-through; most
others use a pound sign (#) followed by a directory name. FreeMail recognises
either, but does NOT need a directory name for such areas. It uses one pass to
toss and scan such messages and does not store them locally.


An Example of a simple Spitfire AREAS.BBS File:

!05 HOUSTON_CHAT 1:106/1000 ;Houston Chit-Chat conference
!06 SPITFIRE 1:106/1000 ;Spitfire Support conference
!07 DBASE 1:106/1000
!08 CLIPPER 1:106/1000
!09 FOXPRO 1:106/1000
!10 PARADOX 1:106/1000
!11 CLARION 1:106/1000
!12 CONSULTING 1:106/1000
!13 PC_CONSULT 1:106/1000
!14 DBRIDGE 1:106/1000
!15 NEW_SYSOP 1:106/1000
!16 SYSOP 1:106/1000