Information about TPP Release 1.13

Many bugs and potential bugs were fixed from PingPong, as well as added many features (most from TNOS's Conference Bridge), including:

• protection against overrunning name/personal/topic buffers with strings that exceeded the buffer size
• fixed a bug that occurred when entering the program with a non-default channel number that was greater than the highest channel number currently in use. This would wipe out all channel info.
• finished mods to make all listings sorted in channel order.
• fixed bug that prevented an operator from changing/removing a topic from a channel, unless he was ON the channel. This was a missing set of parenthesis in the source code.
• added Warren's Backup Link patches, which will remain until the priority and groups are complete or replaced.
• added an '/observer' command to the server (-o option to convers), that permits users to VIEW the Conference activity, but restricts them from ALL commands that produce output to others. They also cannot enter any text to others.

  Observers are NOT listed in non-TPP programs, since it send a new host command "/..OBSV", which serves the same purpose as the "/..USER" command, but identifies the 'user' as an observer-only. All non-TPP programs will ignore this command as unknown ;-)

• added a '/restricted' command to the server (-r option to convers), that permits only users listed in a convers.access file to be able to access the server.
• added an optional parameter to the convers.conf file in the first line which can be 'restrict', or 'observe'. If not set, the restrictmode is as it was before, i.e. non-restricted. If this parameter is set, then the '/name' command will be treated as the '/restricted' or the '/observer' command, if the user is not found in the convers.access file.
• added code to forward on to all other connected hosts any 'host'-type commands received that it doesn't understand. Previously, any 'new' commands got bit-bucketted at a host that didn't recognize it, whether the next one down the line knew what to do with it or not. This will allow servers to add new functionality, without requiring all servers to add this in order for it to be used.
• added a command ('/CQ [topic]') by which a user could send a message to all users, which displays something like:

          callsign@host channel xx calling CQ [topic]

  for people to establish QSO's without having to go to any particular channel to see who's there and what's happening. It allows those who are looking for conversation partners to make it known!

• changed the nickname code to output in a format of if a user has a nickname defined.
• added a command ('/sysinfo [host]') by which a user can get specific information about a Conference host.
• added a way to allow the command set of a TPP system to be extended by external commands, provided by special servers.
• the default display for a '/who' command used to be the long display. It is now the same as the quick display, making '/who' and '/who q' the same. to get the original, normal display, use '/who n'.
• The syntax of '/who @ hostname' is now supported, which gives a normal (long) who display, but only of users at 'hostname'. The 'hostname' parameter can be a complete name, or only the beginning of a name, for brevity.
• Added two operator mode commands, /restart and /halt. There was a suggestion by Heikki Hannikainen &[email protected]> for a new operator mode command to TPP, that I have added but made into TWO commands. Both of these require the local user to be an operator.

  The /restart command will disconnect all links and users, but NOT exit the server. This can be used to flush out a system, and help clear up any 'strange' users lingering around from links that no longer exist.

  The /halt command does all of the same things as the /restart command, and then goes into an infinite, do nothing loop, preventing links and users from re-connecting. Heikki had brought up a good point that several PP sysops have the PP set up so that when it exits, it comes back up again. Well, while this is good, it is not so good if there is a problem, like the long topics where causing a little while ago. This allows you to stop the server in its tracks, without requiring you to telnet into the box and transmit the Linux root password over the air.

  While the usefulness of these is admittedly limited, when you need them, you will NEED them ;-)

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