Editing CompuServe (section)

=== CompuServe GUIs ===
Over time, there were several [[graphical user interface]]s developed for accessing CompuServe.<ref name="CIS1.NYT" /> Unlike what AOL gave for free, ''The New York Times'' wrote about them "which Compuserve ought to give away, but does not". Among their names were WinCIM, TapCIS and NavCIS.

At a time when subscribers paid for timed access (as well as long-distance calls in some countries) and had to spend time online reading and replying to messages, their goal was to bypass CompuServe's [[CompuServe Information Manager|WinCim]] interface, and streamline<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 27, 1989 |title=TAPCIS |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knLofWownIIC |magazine=[[Computerworld]] |page=103}}</ref> sending all pre-written email and forum postings that the user had written offline, then receiving new messages, downloading requested files, and logging off CompuServe.

==== TapCIS ====
'''TapCIS (The Access Program for the Compuserve Information Service'''){{efn|sometimes referred to as TAPCIS}}<ref name="AudMyPC">{{Cite web |date=March 19, 2010 |title=TAPCIS |url=https://www.auditmypc.com/tapcis.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710205600/https://www.auditmypc.com/tapcis.asp |archive-date=July 10, 2019 |access-date=July 10, 2019}}</ref> was an automated [[MS-DOS]]-based [[software application]] that sped up access to, and management of, CompuServe email accounts and forum memberships for PC users from 1981 until 2004 when advances in CompuServe technology rendered it obsolete. It was described as "archaic-looking (but) .. remains a powerful tool for accessing CompuServe forums."<ref name="TapTapCIS.PCmag">{{Cite magazine |date=February 23, 1993 |title=Access Program |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RN8nH8oZ2QC&pg=PA322 |access-date=July 10, 2019 |magazine=[[PC Magazine]] |page=322}}</ref>

TapCIS was written in Borland's [[Turbo Pascal]] code by Howard Benner, a marketing executive from [[Wilmington, Delaware]],<ref name="Howard Benner">{{Cite web |title=TapcisForum - Howard Benner Tribute |url=http://www.tapcis.com/benner.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406233642/http://www.tapcis.com/benner.html |archive-date=April 6, 2019 |access-date=January 31, 2020 |website=tapcis.com}}</ref> who joined CompuServe in 1981. The software, which was [[shareware]] and retailed at {{US$|79}}, had a community of users who continued to maintain their own website.

Since it was able to issue administrative commands, TapCIS was the preferred program for dozens of CompuServe [[system operator]]s (sysops).<ref name="Farewell">{{Cite web |title=TapcisForum - CS Farewell |url=http://www.tapcis.com/farewell.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708164330/http://www.tapcis.com/farewell.html |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |access-date=January 31, 2020 |website=tapcis.com}}</ref>

==== CIM and WinCIM ====
Regarding WinCIM (and predecessor CIM), ''[[PC Magazine]]'' wrote<ref name="TapTapCIS.PCmag" /> that "They give you a broader view of what's available" and by using it "you can more easily navigate the service." They explicitly caution that, unlike TapCIS, it  "won't save any money ... it could actually take you longer to retrieve and answer messages ... than without it."<ref name="TapTapCIS.PCmag" />

==== OzCIS and OzWIN ====
Although OzCIS and OzWIN (its Windows-based successor) were described as "free for personal use"<ref name="TapTapCIS.PCmag" /> by ''PC Magazine'', it was [[shareware]],{{efn|$65<ref name=CaTrib94/>}}<ref name="CaTrib94">{{Cite news |last1=Coates |first1=James |last2=Petersen |first2=Clarence |last3=Gwinn |first3=Eric |last4=Moore |first4=Kevin |date=April 15, 1994 |title=Seek a navigator and ye shall find savings |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-04-15-9404150251-story.html |access-date=July 10, 2019 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> like WinCIM, TapCIS and NavCIS.

The programming was done by Steve Sneed using [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]]-like [[Delphi (IDE)|Delphi]] code;{{efn|formerly a [[Borland]] product}} the software was published by Ozarks West Software Inc.

Like TapCIS, it had sysop features such as moving and deleting messages, administering the file libraries, and "flagging" users (giving and denying sysop rights). Unlike other offline readers such as [[TapCIS]] and [[NavCIS]], which added proprietary ways of formatting text (colors, fonts, attributes), OzWin always remained "plain text" and never displayed any custom styles.

In May 2005, CompuServe discontinued access to the OzCis and TapCIS forums on CompuServe.

==== AutoSIG ====
AutoSIG<ref name="CaTrib94" /><ref>named "ATOSIG.EXE" on the CompuServe server</ref> was free, unlike WinCIM, TapCIS, NavCIS and OzCIS/OzWIN.

==== VisCIS ====
Visual CompuServe, also known as VisCIS, was a demonstration concept of a [[VRML]]-based client by programmer John D. Gwinner which modelled the CompuServe interface into a 3D virtual environment.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schrag |first=Zachary |year=1994 |title=Navigating Cyberspace - Maps and Agents |url=http://twentyfiveyears-assets.telegeography.com/TeleGeography-1994.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423171242/http://twentyfiveyears-assets.telegeography.com/TeleGeography-1994.pdf |archive-date=April 23, 2018 |access-date=February 23, 2020 |magazine=TeleGeography |page=51}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Information Resources in Virtual Reality |url=http://www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/knowledge_base/irvr/irvr.html |website=hitl.washington.edu}}</ref> It was later redeveloped by Gwinner into VisMenu, a general-purpose VRML menuing system.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VisNet's VisMenu VRML menu software |url=http://www.northnet.org/VisNet/vismenu.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991011043258/http://www.northnet.org/VisNet/vismenu.html |archive-date=October 11, 1999 |access-date=February 24, 2020}}</ref>