Backtalk Administration Guide:

Opening and Closing Conferences

Version 1.0.9

© 1996-1999 Jan Wolter, Steve Weiss

Backtalk conferences can be either open (so anyone can join them) or closed (so only users on a list maintained by the fairwitness can enter them). Opening or closing an existing conference can be done either from the Backtalk web interface or from Unix. Both procedures are described here.

Opening or Closing Conferences From Backtalk:

To open or close a Backtalk conference, follow the following steps. (The checkboxes below perform no function - they are just for your convenience.)

  1. Log into the administration account

    Point your browser to the Backtalk adminstration page, which has a URL something like:

       http://your.host.name/cgi-bin/adm/bt/admin/begin
    
    You should be asked to login when you try to access this page. You should login to the Backtalk adminstrative account, usually called ``cfadm''. You should bookmark this page so you can find it easily whenever you have adminstrative tasks to do.

    The URL above runs the copy of Backtalk in the "adm" subdirectory instead of the usual "pw" subdirectory. This copy of Backtalk isn't really any different, but the two programs are set up to authenticate separately, so that you can simultaneously be logged in to the "pw" version with your regular user account and to the "adm" version with the conference adminstration account. This can be a little confusing, but otherwise you would have to exit and restart your browser to change between two identities like that.


  2. Goto the conference edit page.

    There is a link on the administration page labelled "Edit a Conference". Click on this.


  3. Specify the conference to be edited.

    You will be shown a form containing one box. Enter the name of the conference that you want to edit here and kill the button labeled "Edit It".


  4. Specify the new conference mode.

    The form that comes up next will include checkboxes for all conference modes currently supported by Backtalk - currently "open", and various variations on "closed" and "fishbowl". Check whichever you want and then click on the "Change Settings" button.


    Opening or Closing Conferences From Unix:

    The procedure from Unix identical to that used for Picospan or Yapp 2.3 conferences.

    To open or close Backtalk conference, follow the following steps. (The checkboxes below perform no function - they are just for your convenience.)


    1. Log onto the Unix conference administration account.

      This is the account that owns all the conference files and the backtalk program itself.


    2. change directory to conference directory

      Each conference has a directory where all its files are kept. There is a pointer to this directory in the conflist file. The location of the conflist file depends on how your system is configured.


    3. Edit the conference config file

      Inside the conference directory, you will find (among other things) a file named config. This is the file we need to edit to open or close the conference. A typical config file looks like this:

          !<pc02>
          .martian1.cf
          0
          marvin,carter
          0
      
      The fifth line of this contains a numeric code which tells if the conference is open or closed. That line may be missing in which case the conference is open. There may be some other lines after these. We need to change the value in the fifth line (or add the line if it doesn't exist).

      The possible values that can be used here are:

      0 all users may read and post [default]
      4 only users in the ulist may read and post
      5 only users who know the password may read or post
      6 only users who are in the ulist and know the password may read or post
      8 all users may read and post (but item files not directly readable)
      20* only users in the ulist may post / all may read
      21* only users who know the password may post / all may read
      22* only users who are in the ulist and know the password may post / all may rea
      * Picospan doesn't support fishbowl conferences (though Yapp does), so if you want to be compatible with Picospan, modes 20, 21, and 22 are unusable.

      So all you have to do is change the fifth line of the conference config file to one of the other values in this table.


    4. Update the conference ulist file

      For conferences with modes 4, 6, 20, or 22 there is a list maintained of which users may enter the conference. This is in a file named ulist which is in the same conference directory as the config file. It simply contains the Backtalk login names of the users who may join, listed one per line.

      If you are opening a formerly closed conference, you may want to delete this file (though you don't have to).

      If you are closing a formerly open conference, you may want to create it and edit it to contain an initial list of users. Or you can just leave it to the fairwitness to do this through the Backtalk interface. (Note that the fairwitnesses of a conference can always join a conference even if they are not in the ulist.)


    5. Change the conference password

      For conferences with modes 5, 6, 21, or 22 there is a password stored in a file named secret in the same conference directory as the config file. It simply contains the password, stored in plain text. Obviously, this file should not be read permitted.

      If you are opening a formerly closed conference, you may want to delete this file (though you don't have to).

      If you are closing a formerly open conference, you may want to create it, making sure to permit it mode 644. Or you can just leave it to the fairwitness to do this through the Backtalk interface (fairwitnesses and conference administrators will see a "Change Password" button on the conference home page). If there is no secret file on a conference whose mode is 5, 6, 21, or 22, then no password will work to get in. However, the fairwitnesses of a conference can always join their conference without giving a password, so they will be able to get in to set the initial password.