Stormer's Note: Sorry about the coolboard.dat file and the main message.html It was not in the download file when I recieved it and I did not check it. oops. Sorry for any inconvienance this might have caused you. =) heh.. I know how it is when you spend a lot of time on a script only to find out you've done everything correct and it still dont work!! Again.. my apologies for not catching it. Ive notified Chase about this as well. ==========IMPORTANT ========IMPORTANT========= The coolboard.dat has two lines of info in it. DO NOT ERRASE THIS. Wait until you have it up and running. Post a message to it. Then take out the two lines and leave your new line that you just posted in the dat file. (keep the number the way it is - Should be #3 when you add your message.) The script does not like to start out with an empty dat file. =) ==========IMPORTANT=========IMPORTANT========= ############################################################################## # The Ultimate CGI Bin Scripts | http://www.tucb.com/ ######################## ############################################################################## ############################################################################## # CoolBoard | Version 1.1 #################################################### ############################################################################## # Copyright (C) 1997, 1998 By Chase Venters. You may use these scripts for ## # free. You may also distribute these scripts freely, as long as they are ## # kept intact, and I get proper credit for the script's creation. If you ## # use this script in internet games, or large products, please include my ## # name and e-mail address in the proper area in your credits, listed as ## # CGI Programmer or such. I assume responsibility for none of any liability ## # issues that may arise from this script's use. If you have trouble working ## # with these scripts, contact "chase@popi.net". It is HIGHLY recommended ## # that you register for the mailing list, at least under the bug reports/ ## # security concerns categories. If you do not, you may never know when a ## # corrected version of the script is released! ## ############################################################################## # Read README for information on this script's configuration. ################ ############################################################################## # ReadMe.txt file # Table of Contents -----+------+----- 1) What does CoolBoard do? 2) How to Install & Configure CoolBoard 3) Usage of CoolBoard 4) History -=1=- What does CoolBoard do? -=1=- CoolBoard is an advanced message board system. It will handle threads, sorting, searching, and "representation gifs" - a feature that allows the poster of a message to set the mood - selecting a picture to represent his feelings or the message's content. Although CoolBoard does not yet have administration capabilities, it is highly reccomended to set up the script now. -=2=- How to Install & Configure CoolBoard -=2=- CoolBoard, like other CGI Scripts, is easy to install. First, make sure you have: * The script and it's files * A FTP client such as CUTE-FTP or WS_FTP If you do not have one of those, goto: ftp://tucb.com/pub Now, you are ready to begin configuring the script. Assuming the script is in a directory on your hard drive, you may proceed by opening the script in a text editor such as Notepad. You will see the header at the top of this readme file followed by a "configuration block." First, look at the first line of the script (#!/usr/bin/perl) Change the UNIX path after #! to be the complete path to the perl interpreter. Perl is usually located in /usr/bin/perl or /usr/local/bin/perl. Next, proceed to the configuration block. Make sure you know how to configure CGI scripts - if not, see the Introduction to CGI area on http://www.tucb.com. Below is a table of each of the script's variables and what each one should be set to. Variable | Value +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ $cginame The filename of the cgi script. $scanmsgs Set to 1 to scan messages for profanity. (doesn't always work) @profanity Set to an array of profane words. $dir The complete filesystem path to CoolBoard. This is *not* the URL. $datafile The name of the CoolBoard datafile, included in the package. $sendmail The path to the sendmail binary. Ask your ISP for this path. $maxlen The maximum length of a message in bytes. $mbname The name of your message board. $mbemail The email address of the message board's owner. $mburl URL where a user can find the message board. $msg_template The name of the file that describes how a posted message looks. $index_template The name of the file that describes how the index looks. $index_line_template The template that shows how a line in the index looks. $s_result The name of the file that describes how search results look. $emailtmpl The name of the template that describes how an E-Mail message sent looks. $nomsgs What CoolBoard will return if no messages are found in a search. $index_html The file that gets written when messages are added to the message board. This is not needed with action ix (described later). However, it still must exist regardless of use. $endul The end-ul mark, or mark that goes after each individual post. $ul The ul mark, that is used to indent each message to the next level. $defoptgif If the user submitted no optional gif, this is what their optional gif is set to. $htmlinmessage Set to 1 to allow HTML tags to be posted in messages. $rep Leave alone.. For now... $mchar The charecter to mark reply text. Once the script is configured, edit the template files (.tmpl) and tailor them to your homepage's look. The files are just HTML files. Note the $'s in the script, as these will be replaced with the user's submitted content. Set your FTP client to ASCII mode: WinZip: Click the ascii radio button CuteFTP: Click the ab arrow button Select the files and upload them where the $dir variable points to. Now, give the script execute permission: WinZip: Left click the file, right click, select chmod, make these checks: All Execute All Read Owner Write CuteFTP: Right click on the file, select File Permissions or Attributes, make these checks: All Execute All Read Owner Write Now, go to the script and run it! -=3=- Usage of CoolBoard -=3=- To view a message in the board, go to the script (coolboard.cgi) like: http://yourname.com/cgi-bin/coolboard.cgi?action=ix It is also possible to allow them to view the messages.html file - but the action ix is reccomended. (Replace the path & domain accordingly) To post a message, use the HTML files you edited or the ones included. Note! Until admin features are added, deleting messages can be accomplished by downloading the coolboard.dat file off of your website, deleting the line in the file that stores the message, and re-uploading the file. There is one message per line, and if you read along, you will probably be able to see what message is on what line. If you delete a message that has been replied to, the replies will become inaccessible. If you are viewing messages.html, it will not be updated until a message is added to the board. -=4=- History -=4=- May 7, 1998 - Released CoolBoard to the public. It *may* not completely work yet. No Admin is avalible.