ARSC - ARSC Really Simple Chat
=======================================================================
Version 1.0beta1 - 2001-08-09 - Thank you for using ARSC!
Copyright (C) 2001 Manuel Kiessling
=======================================================================

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307,
USA.

=======================================================================
Due to the fact that my mother language is not english, it is possible
or better very probably that there are several mistakes - i hope they
are at least funny... if you find one, then please send me an eMail to
manuel@kiessling.net. Thank you very much!
=======================================================================

ATTENTION! This is a beta version!

It should run ok on most configurations, but it is not widely tested -
this is why I released this version actually: I need feedback from
betatesters. So please give me feedback on bugs you find or features you
miss. You find the bug reporting tool here:
<http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=32699&atid=406296>

Thank you!


Requirements:
-------------

You need a webserver that supports at least PHP version 3.
<http://www.php.net>

The PHP installation must support MySQL.
<http://www.mysql.com>

You need a running MySQL server where you may add tables.
The client must be a web browser that understands framesets.
It is much more comfortable if the browser also understands JavaScript.

I tested ARSC successfully with the following browsers:

Server push version:

- Netscape 3.x - 6.x (Win/Linux)
- Mozilla 0.9.x
- Internet Explorer 4.x - 5.x
- Opera 5.0 for Linux - 20010510 Build 024
- Opera 5.x for Windows

It should work with Netscape 2.x also, but my NN 2.2 crashes...


JavaScript version:

- all of the above except Opera (it worked with the last release,
  just don't ask me why not now...)


Header version:

- all of the above
- Netscape Navigator 2.02, Win32


Text version

- all of the above of course
- Lynx


Konqueror causes real headache... dunno wether I do something wrong
or the K team ;-)

If you tested it with other (and more exotic) browsers,
then please email me.


Installation:
-------------

Extract the archive.

Edit the file 'config.inc.php' to fit your MySQL server settings.
The MySQL server must be running of course, and the database in
which ARSC will create its tables must already exist.

Put the extracted files somewhere on your web server beneath a
directory called "chat" or whatever you like.

In your browser, open this adress:

http://www.yourdomain.com/your_chat_directory/install.php

When it says "ARSC is installed.", then everything went fine, and you
SHOULD(!) delete the file 'install.php' from your server!

Now ARSC is ready to run. You can reach it via
http://www.yourdomain.com/your_chat_directory/index.php

If it doesn't tell you "ARSC is installed.", then you can email me and
ask me what to do: <manuel@kiessling.net>

The installation script creates a room called 'Lounge'.
If you want to add rooms, then you must copy the table
'arsc_room_standard' and then rename it. If you want to call the new
room 'Members only', then you must call the table
'arsc_room_members_only'.

More examples should make the pattern clear:

Room name                       Table name
I Like Chatting                 arsc_room_i_like_chatting
Software / Hardware             arsc_room_software__hardware
Games / Cheats And Tutorials    arsc_room_games__cheats_and_tutorials

Some hints how things work inside the chat:
(You will see this test if you type /? inside the chat)

In the right frame you see all users that are currently in the room.
Users with the symbol @ in front of their name are operators and can
kick users out of the chat and can give and take operator status to
and from users. By clicking on one of these names, your message field
will be filled with the command that is necessary to send a private
message to this user - just add your message at the end.

General commands:
 /me message -- Symbolize an action, e.g. /me feels fine will print
                * username feels fine
/msg user message -- Send a private message to user

Operator commands:
/op user -- Give operator status to user
/deop user -- Take operator status from user
/kick user -- Kick user out of the current room

One feature that is undocumented here: if you type
 /selfop <password>
then you will be kick-ass-dude in the chat, meaning that
you can op, deop and kick everybody and nobody can do this
with you. The <password> for this command is set in the
config.inc.php file.


The homepage of ARSC is:
http://manuel.kiessling.net/projects/software/arsc/

Development takes place on SourceForge:
http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/arsc/

Please send me an eMail with your opinion about ARSC.
Send me an eMail if you have questions.
If you are a PHP programmer then give me feedback about the code.

Manuel Kiessling
manuel@kiessling.net
