© 1996-2000 Jan Wolter, Steve Weiss
Prev: Part IV: Apache Configuration (Backtalk Accounts or Backtalk Accounts)
(1) Edit the Global Configuration Script
Almost all Backtalk pages are generated by scripts written in the Backtalk script language, which is a stack-based language somewhat similar to Postscript. All scripts are installed in the script directory under the Backtalk directory. The script/config.bt script is a header script run before every other Backtalk script. Many global settings are defined here. You will probably want to change at least some of them.
Note that lines starting with '%' are comments. Most options are described in details by the comments in the file.
/auto_recompile 1 defThis controls what checks Backtalk does to decide if a script needs to be recompiled. For most people, 1 is a good value. If you are going to be doing significant amounts of script development, then you might want to reset this to 2. If eventually your system configuration gets stable enough that you aren't going to be making changes to the config.bt file, and if you want to make Backtalk run a wee bit faster, you may eventually want to change it to 0.
/bbsname (SITE-NAME) defconstantand change the portion in parenthesis to the name of your conferencing system. It can have spaces in it. For example, if you conferencing system is to be called "Star Forum" you might set this to
/bbsname (Star Forum) defconstant
/bbsgif imghost(/backtalk.jpg)+ defconstantand replace the (/backtalk.jpg) part with the name of your logo image file, replace 125 with the height of your image, and replace 285 with the width of your image. For example, if your logo is a 200 by 400 pixel GIF file named `starforum.gif', then you'd change these lines to to
/bbsgif.h 125 defconstant % height of bbsgif
/bbsgif.w 285 defconstant % width of bbsgif
/bbsgif imghost(/starforum.gif)+ defconstantIf you want the image to be clickable, then find the line that says
/bbsgif.h 200 defconstant % height of bbsgif
/bbsgif.w 400 defconstant % width of bbsgif
%/imageURL (http://localhost) defconstantuncomment it by deleting the initial percent sign, and change the `http://localhost' part to the URL that you want people sent to if they click on your logo image.
/allowanon 1 defconstantJust change the 1 to a 0.
/author_freeze 1 defconstantThey are all normally enabled by default. You can disable them by changing the 1's to 0's.
/author_kill 1 defconstant
/author_retire 1 defconstant
/author_retitle 1 defconstant
/author_erase 1 defconstant
/author_hide 1 defconstant
/author_edit 0 defconstant
The author_freeze option, if enabled, allows the original poster of an item to freeze it, so that no further postings can be made to it by other users.
The author_kill option, if enabled, allows the original poster of an item to delete it so long as no responses have yet been made by other users. If other people have responded to an item, then it cannot be deleted by the author, even if author_kill is enabled.
The author_retire option, if enabled, allows the original poster of an item to retire it, so that it is no longer displayed to users who ``read new'' or ``read all'' but can still be seen by people who explicitly request to see it.
The author_retitle option, if enabled, allows the original poster of an item to edit the title of the item.
The author_erase option, if enabled, allows the original poster of a response to erase that response at a later date. (Normally copies of erased responses are logged.)
The author_hide option, if enabled, allows the original poster of a response to hide that response at a later date. Hidden responses aren't displayed unless the reader makes an extra mouse click. Disabling this would be a bit weird.
The author_edit option, if enabled, allows the original poster of a response to change the text of that response at a later date. (A copy of the previous text is logged.) We think this disrupts the flow of the conversation, and should almost never be enabled. It defaults off.
/fw_erase 1 defconstantThey are all normally enabled by default. You can disable them by changing the 1's to 0's.
/fw_hide 1 defconstant
/fw_retitle 1 defconstant
/fw_edit 0 defconstant
System administrators always have all of these powers. Fairwitnesses can always freeze, retire, and kill items.
The fw_erase option, if enabled, allows the fairwitnesses to erase other user's responses to items in their conferences. The erased text is logged so it can be recovered, but becomes inaccessible to other users.
The fw_hide option, if enabled, allows the fairwitnesses to hide other user's responses to items in their conferences. Hidden responses are not normally displayed to users, but they can see them with one extra mouse click if they want.
The fw_retitle option, if enabled, allows the fairwitnesses to edit the titles of items in their conferences. This may be useful if the author chooses undescriptive titles, or the conversation drifts into other topics.
The fw_edit option, if enabled, allows the fairwitnesses to edit the content of items and responses posted by other users. The original content is logged. We think letting someone change someone else's words is a horrible idea, so this option defaults off, and we strongly discourage turning it on.
%/show_motd 1 defconstantby removing the percent sign from the front. This is most often used on installations with real Unix logins.
%/useplan 1 defconstantby removing the percent sign from the front. This is most often used on installations with real Unix logins.
/text_interface (Picospan) defconstantor:
/text_interface (Yapp) defconstant
Otherwise, just leave it commented out:
%/text_interface (Picospan) defconstant
%/usepublic_txt 1 defconstantby removing the percent sign from the front.
%/shyfile (/usr/local/backtalk/etc/shylist) defconstantby removing the percent sign from the front, and change the path name in the parenthesis to the place where you want to have your shylist saved.
(2) Edit Pistachio Configuration Script
The ``pistachio'' interface is the most commonly used Backtalk user interface. It consists of a set of scripts. It has it's own configuration file, where there are a few settings you may want to alter. The file is installed under the Backtalk directory at script/pistachio/config.bt.
Actually, you might as well just leave it for now, but if you ever decide you don't like it, this is where to go to change it.
If you only have a couple thousand or so users then you don't need to disable sorting, so you can define dont_sort to 0. Otherwise, set it to 1.
(3) Edit Abalone Configuration Script
The ``abalone'' interface is a newer, prettier, slower Backtalk user interface. It consists of a set of scripts. It has it's own configuration file installed under the Backtalk directory at script/abalone/config.bt.
/default_scheme (coffee) defconstantCurrent color schemes are 'coffee', 'openforum' and 'bright'.
You can create new color schemes by editing the abalone/header.bt script. Each scheme defines the following variables:
variable | function | default |
---|---|---|
bg_color | Background color used on all pages | White |
link_color | Color of link text | Dark Green |
alink_color | Color of link text while you are clicking on it | Dark Green |
vlink_color | Color of link text after you have clicked on it | Dark Blue |
text_color | Default text color | Black |
head_bg_color | Color of background on header lines | Dark Green |
head_fg_color | Color of text on header lines | White |
title_bg_color | Color of background on title lines | Dark Gray |
title_fg_color | Color of text on title lines | Black |
row1_bg_color | Color of background on odd numbered rows (text is text_color) | Light Grey |
row2_bg_color | Color of background on even numbered rows (text is text_color) | Medium Grey |
(4) Edit the Makeacct HTML Files
If you are using Backtalk accounts, then you'll likely be using the makeacct CGI program to create accounts. There are two HTML files installed under the directory you specified as htmldir which are used with this: ``newuser.html'' and ``newacct.html''.
The ``newuser.html'' is the application form for creating new accounts. At a minimum, you'll want to replace all occurrences of the name SITE-NAME with the name of your system. You may ultimately want to do quite a bit more editing on this page. You can add other fields, which will be logged and saved, but which will not be displayed unless you modify the user information scripts to do so.
The ``newacct.html'' file is displayed after an account is successfully created. At a minimum, you'll want to replace all occurrences of the name SITE-NAME with the name of your system. You may want to do more editing on this page, especially if you are creating unvalidated accounts, or if you have other instructions to give users before they use their accounts. I tend to regard the moment when a person has just been given a new account and is wondering what to do with it as a "teachable moment" - a good time to tell the user some things you want all your users to know - since they are more than usually likely to be willing to read instructions at that point.