Q - Will SNDTWEET work on any System i?
A - SNDTWEET will work on any system running OS/400 or i/OS with release levels of V5R3M0 or higher. As of this writing, we are exploring providing the software for earlier release levels. We will update this FAQ when that is completed and tested.

Q - Can I pre-check our network to make sure that SNDTWEET will connect successfully?
A - Yes! From terminal session on your system, just run the following command:

PING RMTSYS(TWITTER.COM)

If your ping fails, you may be able to configure your system to work correctly by updating the Host Name Table with an entry for Twitter.com. Using a PC attached to your network, issue a ping to "twitter.com". If it is successful, then make a note of the IP address that it resolved to. Then, go to the CFGTCP menu in the OS and run option #10. Create a new entry for twitter.com that points to the IP address that you just obtained from your PC. At this point, you should be able to ping Twitter.com and SNDTWEET will work on your system.

Q - Can SNDTWEET be used for any Twitter account?
A - Yes! - You can Tweet for any active Twitter account.

Q - Can SNDTWEET be used from iSeries Access?
A - Yes! - Just select the "Run a command" option in the lower right list of Connection Tasks. To use this option, the TCP/IP remote execution server must be active on your system.

Q - Can I restrict who can use SNDTWEET?
A - Yes! - When installed, SNDTWEET is set up to allow access by all users. The user manual includes specific instructions on how to restrict use of the application to a defined list of users.

Q - Can I monitor a message queue on my System i?
A - Yes! - As of release 1.03, SNDTWEET includes fully functional message monitoring feature. You can monitor any message queue on your system and when a qualifying message arrives, SNDTWEET will send it out as a tweet from your system.

Q - Will I be able to reply to error messages on my system?
A - YES! New with release 1.03, SNDTWEET lets you respond to error messages from monitored message queues and submit message responses through Twitter.

Q - Can I post a daily status message from my System i?
A - YES! SNDTWEET can be used to post daily status messages. However, you have to remember that Twitter has code in place to suppress duplicate tweets. If you issue the exact same message each day at the exact same time, it is quite possible that some of these tweets will be suppressed by Twitter. The solution for this issue is to include a date and time stamp in your message so that the status messages are each unique.

Q - I'm confused about how to set up with Twitter, what do you recommend?
A - We recommend that you set up two Twitter accounts, one for you and a separate one for your server. If you have additional users you want working within your "group", it would work best if they each had their own Twitter account. The Tweets issued by your system should be done under the server's account. On your Twitter account, you should set yourself up to follow the Twitter ID for your server. When you set up this follow link, make sure that you specify that you want to get the Tweets on your cell phone if that is where you also want notification.

Here's an example:

Your account is called "My_Twitter" at Twitter. You set up a second account for your server called "My_iSeries". When you set up this account for your server, make sure that you specify that you do not want it to be a public account and that you want to approve people who sign up to follow the account. It is one of the options when the account is created.

Using your "My_Twitter" account, set up to "follow" the Twitter ID "My_iSeries". When you do this, make sure you specify that you want to get the Tweets on your cell phone. This will prompt Twitter to send an email to the email address you used when setting up the "My_iSeries" account asking permission to follow. Make sure you approve this before you do any testing.

Once this is all done, use SNDTWEET using the "My_iSeries" account to send a test message. It should flow through to your "My_Twitter" account and end up at your cell phone if that is also configured.