Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 21:51:21 -0400
From: HECTOR SANTOS
To: GREG YOUNGBLOOD
Subject: Re: Wishing!
Newsgroups: win.server.wish.list
Message-ID: <1110682549.33.1110411585@winserver.com>
References: <1110411585.33.0@winserver.com>
X-WcMsg-Attr: Rcvd
X-Mailer: Wildcat! Interactive Net Server v7.0.454.5
Lines: 217
You are speaking to the foremost expert on BBS systems having developed
Silver Xpress for 22 different BBS systems in the 80s and 90s. :-)
Silver Xpress was designed to follow the behavior and security of the BBS it
was installed on to the letter. I use to call this Silver Xpress concept:
"Providing the Online Experience..... Offline"
So I am very aware of the differences and Wildcat! was unique among others
in the area of alias and anonymity concepts in the mail areas. It was very
restrictive in this area.
Why?
There was an early conscious decision to concentrate on corporate mandated
security issues. I always felt the evolution of alias and anonymous mail
concept was the primary reason we have spam today.
But you always had the ability to add it via wcBASIC (formerly called wcCODE
for Wildcat!/DOS). It just wasn't built-in.
With that side, when I purchased Wildcat!, this was most definitely an area
I want to pursue, and today, there are some level support for it via some of
the current wcBASIC modules that creates mail for you.
But it was never completed (adding the options in wcCONFIG) and put into the
work list for the planned Message/Conferences database restructuring that
will give you the following:
- Alias and Anonymous Support
- Long File Names support for Wildcat! Message Attachments
- User Mail Limitations,
- Better GUI WCCONFIG Mail Area manager
- Support over 2 GIG databases
- Billing, Accounting, Tracking
- Blogging Concepts
For alias/anonymous support, based on the other BBS systems that offered the
most complete ideas in this areas, the followings is planned model:
First, the definition of alias vs. anonymous:
Alias Mail:
The From Field is a known name, it is part of user account,and the user can
not change the FROM: field.
Anonymous Mail:
The from field is unknown, the user can type any name. No check is done.
So based on the above, the following is done:
Legend:
(_) a Radio Option
[_] a Check Box
For Mail Area Manager, the new conference option is added in the Edit
Conference Settings tab:
Conference From (Author) Options:
(_) Use Default
Default Name: _____________________
(_) Force Real Name
(_) Force Alias Name
(_) Force Anonymous
[_] Allow User to Select (Real, Alias, Anonymous)
[_] Remember user selection per conference
For the Mail Clients, this is where it is very complex because we have many
mail clients:
- ANSI/telnet, (console)
- web mail client
- wcNav
- Offline (OPX, QWK)
- network mail (internet Newsgroups and Fidonet Echos).
- SDK functions
Silver Xpress offline mail reader is 100% ready to handle the above Real,
Alias and Anonymous feature that the particular BBS supports.
For network mail, it is more complex, but it needs to be addressed because
some systems need to follow policies of the network mail area. For SDK,
this means the security must be supported by the Wildcat! Server, i.e., the
server needs to consider stopping 3rd party SDK clients bypassing your
settings.
Nonetheless, in general, the following is offered for the user when creating
or replying to mail:
- Force Default: From: field fixed, no edit allowed
- Force Real: User's real name is used, no edit allowed
- Force Alias: User's alias name is used, no edit allowed. If user has no
alias, use real instead.
- Force Anonymous: User an enter any name.
If the checkbox [X] Allow User to Select, then a prompt is shown:
1) Use my real name
2) Use my alias name
3) Allow me to set name
If the checkbox [X] Remember user selection, then the selection will be
saved in the user's extended database per conference. If he chooses #3,
then the real, alias or anonymous will be the default value.
Like I said above, there was some partial support added based on the model I
described. This was done back in AUP 449.5 (almost 3-4 years ago) but it was
never finished, mostly from a configuration standpoint and making it work
for ALL the clients.
First, the SDK TConfDesc Record structure has the field called "AuthorType"
which can be one of the following:
//!
//! 449.5
//! Option for TConfDesc.AuthorType field. This will define the
//! conference option for how the From field will be defined when
//! a message is created.
//!
enum {
authorDefaultName, // default logic,
authorForceUserName, // force the user name
authorForceAliasName, // force the user's alias (profile string)
authorAllowBoth, // allow either the user or alias
authorAnonymousName // anonymous from name (any name allowed)
};
And I believe, if wcCONFIG allows you to set the AuthorType in the mail
conference, then wcBASIC has the following to honor it
This is part of the CreateMessage() function in MSGUTIL.WCC module (part of
the plus pack) which is used by the Web Mail and ANSI/TELNET client:
dim author as string = "" //user.info.name
if cd.DefaultFromAddress <> "" then
author = cd.DefaultFromAddress
end if
select case cd.AuthorType
case authorDefaultName:
case authorForceUserName:
author = user.info.name
case authorForceAliasName, authorAllowBoth:
dim AuthorAlias as string = user.Profile("alias")
if AuthorAlias <> "" then
if (cd.AuthorType = authorForceAliasName) then
author = AuthorAlias
end if
if (cd.AuthorType = authorAllowBoth) then
//TemplateSetVariable("AuthorSelect",TRUE)
//TemplateSetVariable("AuthorAlias", AuthorAlias)
end if
end if
case authorAnonymousName:
//TemplateSetVariable("AuthorAnonymous",TRUE)
end select
//TemplateSetVariable("author", author)
if (author <> "") then
msg.From.Name = author
end if
As you can see above, it has logic to handle the authortype and it has
commented out TemplateSetVariable() lines that was intended to be use by the
web mail client "http\template\message_create.htm" template to offer the
extended from options.
But it isn't complete and it is certainly not tested to cover all
possibilities.
Anyway, you get the idea, this is the plan and that plan is to do it right
when we also do all the other things regarding the mail system.
If you can't wait, then you have to get a 3rd party developer or do it
yourself using wcBASIC stuff already added above.
-- Hector
wrote in message news:1110411585.33.0@winserver.com...
>
> Hello Hector
>
>
> Any chance in the near future of making a change so that a Win Server
> BBS-Site can use handles but in the message areas having a choice of
> pick a setting for handles or real name. Say handles to log in and
> use in local messages areas but in a network area like fido having a
> switch for real names only.
>
>
> Also, I know a lot of sites also use real names for gaming also, but
> again that is handled through a network.
>
>
> If so, laughing I'll be the first to sign up for AUP!!!
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
> Greg
>
>
>
>
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