---- Binary Board System README ----



Authors: Brian Kirkland - kirkland@binary-concepts.com
         Cory Mickelson - cory@binary-concepts.com



Visit us!
   http://binary-concepts.com/

Software Website and Support
   http://binary-concepts.com/cgi/bbs/

Sourceforge Open Source Project
   http://sourceforge.net/projects/binaryboard/



The Binary Board System (BBS) is a complete Perl/SQL solution. Its features
include a complete user login system, a multi-board interface with easy
administration and categorization, and ease of customization that sets it
apart from the rest.



-- REQUIREMENTS --

CGI enabled web server
Perl 5 or better
MySQL 3.23 or better (lower versions may work, but aren't supported)
Required perl modules: CGI and DBI
Optional perl modules: Time::HiRes (required for execution time display)



-- INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS --

1. Point all perl scripts to the correct Perl interpreter.
   The first line of every .PL file contains the path to the perl interpreter.
   By default, we package it like this: "#!/usr/bin/perl". You may need to
   change this on every PL file, depending on your server configuration. Other
   common paths are "#!/usr/local/bin/perl" or "#!C:\perl\bin\perl".

2. Edit bbconfig.pm
   This is the only file you are required to make signifigant changes to. It
   contains all of the configuration information that is necessary for the BBS
   to function. The file's comments provide a description of each field and
   its signifigance, as well as an example value.

3. CHMOD all .PL files if needed
   If you're running on a UNIX machine, you will need to CHMOD all PL files
   with 755 permissions (rwxr-xr-x).

4. Run the SQL code
   Run sqlexec.pl in a web browser. Or, if you would prefer, run the SQL code
   yourself. It is provided in the _SQL.txt file. Do not delete _SQL.txt,
   because sqlexec.pl reads from it. You may wish to move or delete sqlexec.pl
   after you use it.

5. Test it out
   Access the bulletin board system by running index.pl or login.pl in a web
   browser (note: sqlexec.pl will automatically forward here upon success).
   User "Guest" password "guest" is the default guest user, and by default
   user "Admin" password "admin" is created as the BBS superuser.
   Change the password of the Admin user immediately by logging in, going to
   the "Preferences" menu and using the change password form.

6. (optional) Edit layout.pm and image files
   Layout.pm contains all of the layout and color data for the BBS. This is
   the only file you should need to edit to change entire look and feel of the
   system. Feel free to edit and replace any image files, but keep in mind
   their size constraints.



-- TROUBLESHOOTING --

If you receive a 500 INTERNAL SERVER ERROR:
   1. Check the error log, if you can.
   2. Make sure the .PL files are CHMOD 755 (UNIX only)
   3. Check the shebang line (#!/usr/bin/perl) and ensure it is correct on all
      .PL files.
   4. Check the database connection configuration variables and make sure they
      are correct.
   5. Check for missing semi-colons in the files you modified.



-- NOTES --

- The word filter by default does not contain any words. If you wish to filter
  bad words from messages, add entries to the appropriate arrays in layout.pm.

- To quickly link to a specific board or article from a website or other place,
  there is a specific mechanism to make sure that user is logged in before
  proceeding. Once they log in, it will take them to the specific area.

  To link to a specific board:
     quicknav.pl?board=(id_goes_here)
  To link to a specific article:
     quicknav.pl?article=(id_goes_here)


If you need help setting up an implementation of BBS, contact us!