I'm pleased to announce the new version of Datasphere, the WWCN
server package. We're now at version 0.14 (still a long way to go!)
but this version features a wealth of new code, including:
- implementation of administrator users (with special capabilities)
- implementation of user registration and identification
- implementation of local system channels to monitor server operation
- polished-up /connect command (USAGE will tell you what/how/when)
and also some small things, like /VERSION and /NAMES <channel>, and
some fixed installation bugs. Please mail me if you encounter problems
with the "make install*" Makefile targets.
Registering a user mainly works as follows: the user sends a message
"REG <mail address> <real name>" to the server. The server responds
by sending a userid/password to the designated mail address using the
"send_regmail" script. You will have to place this in the cnd/bin directory
MANUALLY if you're upgrading an existing server! If the mail address is
valid, then the user will be able to identify himself using a message
"ID <userid> <password>". Being a registered user does not yet have any
advantages, except that you don't get a message after 5 minutes about
not being registered ;)
The registration process will be enhanced in later versions (24hr delay,
exclusion of free-mail domains etc).
Adminstrators already running a server should have a look at the example
config file in ds-0.14/cnd/config to see how to configure the admins and
the server channels.
These features are also described in the RELEASE_NOTES file, of which
an abstract will be put on the website one of these days.
As usual, send comments to grit@wwcn.org. You can find the distribution
at ftp://wwcn.student.utwente.nl/pub/germware/ds/src/ds-0.14.tgz.
Good luck with compiling and installing the server!
Grit