Re: WiFi hotspot BBS?   
     By: Cykros to All on Fri Jan 14 2011 02:36 am   
      
    > So, I've had this idea for awhile, and figure it should be fairly doable,   
    > though I don't particularly know where to begin in figuring out how to make    
    > work.  One thing I think that is lacking both in the BBS world and the   
    > internet in general these days is good local communication channels (they're   
    > there, just not nearly as widely used as they were back in the pre-internet   
    > bbs days).  Getting the inspiration from wifi hotspots that send you   
    > automatically to a local web page as a portal when a browser is directed   
    > anywhere, I came up with the idea of setting up a BBS to connect this day   
    > through an external program (as much as I appreciate ftelnet, and would   
    > probably use it as a backup option, it's just not the same experience).  Whi   
    > I'm sure with enough digging I could probably figure it out on my own (and m   
    > still anyway), I figured this may be something other people might be   
    > interested in doing, and thus is worth asking about on here for ideas on how   
    > to set it up, and any other concerns that may arise out of this type of setu   
    > I'm not entirely sure this echo is where it would best go (as this wifi   
    > hotspot need not actually route people to the internet at all), but I figure   
    > it was close, and meanwhile may help the place seem more "lived in" as other   
    > people have put it.  Anyway, let me know if you have ideas about setting thi   
    > kind of thing up.  It even seems like the type of thing that releasing a   
    > fairly easy to install package may be worthwhile with.   
    >    
    > (Oh, and for those of you who don't think this would bring in enough users t   
    > be worthwhile, consider that I'm posting from inside Boston...college studen   
    > everywhere with laptops, wifi that is mostly available in any large apartmen   
    > area, and lots of people jumping on when they see free wifi.  If nothing els   
    > the novelty seems like it'd be a draw enough to get things going, and would   
    > take no effort on the part of the users).   
    >    
    > Cykros   
    >    
   Hello All   
      
   One option I came across, though not all that elegant, would be setting up a   
   DNS server that redirects all requests to the bbs (this would still be a web   
   page, but a telnet:// link along with ftelnet wouldn't be the worst thing   
   ever), and then set this DNS server up as the default on the wireless router.   
   I say not all that elegant because by manually configuring their DNS client,   
   an end user can just find themselves on the internet, rather than through this   
   makeshift captive portal.  On the other hand, if this isn't a big deal, then   
   it seems a lot easier than the various captive portal software packages (most   
   of which seem to have a specific aim that isn't this one) or fussing around   
   with iptables and using an extra computer as the router. Just figured I'd   
   throw in this update, and still welcome any ideas on how to do this more   
   elegantly from anyone with the expertise.   
      
   Cheers,   
   Cykros   
   s   
      
      
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