Elysium Presents: Plex

[xtothez]

For the last several months I have been working on a project with the intention of contributing a little more of Elysium's unique qualities to the communities of both Pl@netia and Planetarion. While this project has not yet reached completion, I am ready to reveal details on the followup to the Pilkara source released last year.
After several years around various web-based gaming communities, I quickly reached the conlcusion that virtually all existing IRC services packages were in some way not suitable for those who require a secure or highly customised environment. With this in mind, I began work on Plex.


Plex IRC Services v6 is the latest incarnation of Elysium's own custom-made IRC software. It has been designed from the start with the intention to be used by webgaming communities such as Planetarion. Plex v6 will include many features and unique ideas to benefit community leaders and their members:

• Entirely open source - Plex version 6 is written in the C lanaguage, and all parts of the finished source code will be available for public inspection, modifcation and improvement.
• Standard services features - NickServ, ChanServ and OperServ clients for username, channel and network management respectively.
• Group management system - This allows many users to share access to a set of channels to allow ease of use when controlling access. A user may be added or removed from several channels with a single command simply by adding or removing them from a group. The final release version of Plex v6 will include sample scripts to demonstrate how to synchronise groups automatically with third-party software, such as a forum or memberlist tool.
• Detailed logging - IRC Admins have full control over how much debugging and security information the services record. If you want to keep track of every action on your network, this option is for you. Also included is the 'logchan' function, which updates a given network channel with the latest vital information such as failed login attempts and major access list changes.
• Automatic 'perform' list - Plex NickServ allows you to save your own 'perform' list inside services, automatically inviting and placing you in all needed channels and setting automatic modes. These settings are preserved and applied not matter where you login, so there's no need to memorise a list of essential channels.
• SQL-based backend - This allows for easy access and modification of the core services data, as well as providing a basis for third-party applications to interface with (such as web-based user/channel management).
• Customisable Help - All services command information will be stored in the SQL database, making it easier for IRC admins to edit command access levels, change help text to alternate languages, and other such features. Services will also include a 'search help' function, allowing users to track down needed commands using keywords.
• Add-on modules - This very special feature was the incentive to begin Plex version 6. The IRC services allow user-created custom modules to run, opening up huge avenues for customisation. One of the first public module releases will be a new edition of Elysium's Ares attack service (also known as Bowser to Planetarion 1up members). Other possibilities include a network PBOT-style service, an IRC arbiter interface, or member data collection).
• Redundant backup system - Although it does require IRC daemon modifcation to be fully effective, this unique feature allows multiple instances of Plex to operate on the IRC network, ensuring maximum services uptime and accessibility.
• And more...

Right now Plex is in an Alpha stage of development, with most core features complete (NickServ, ChanServ and OperServ), and progress has begun on the advanced features such as module support. Unfortunately, due to limited time constraints I have been unable to test the current build on anything more than a single location. I'm now looking for technically-minded volunteers to take a look at the current build and have a go with alternate environments or conditions. While still several months away from a final release status, development will be greatly improved by individuals who can find bugs and incompatibilites while it is still early in the development process. For anyone interested in running the services, please note the following:

Operating System: Plex currently only supports and plans to support *nix-based systems. So far all development has been done on the Debian distribution of Linux.
Environment: Plex currently requires support from MySQL (with available database), libssl, and UNIX Dynamic Shared Objects.
Skills: Written entirely in C, anyone looking to find bugs should have a working knowledge of the language, with experience in a C debugger, such as gdb.

If you are interested in contributing to the development of this new project, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or on irc.netgamers.org in #elysium.

XtotheZ
Elysium Techie

-------------------------------------------

Brief history of Plex:
v1 and v2 AuthServ client written in PHP by Talmage. Checked Elysium member logins against the member database. Ran alongside Epona IRC Services
v3 Full services suite written again in PHP, by Sakera. Incorporated it's own Nickname and Channel Services alongside several brand new features such as autoinvites, user groups and the Ares Planetarion attack service.
v4 and v5 Another complete services package written by myself in Java. Built upon the previous version and added support for community "super-groups" and the unique redundant backup services system.

[Banned]

That's pretty

[Tatu]

Entirely open source

Before you even consider using this, you _must_ go through all the code, understand every last bit of it and only then install the software. The author is the last person I would accept a security/privacy protection software from.

[Kal]

nice work, this is exactly the sort of thing communities like this need to survive - people willing to do work and release it to others so it can be improved and enhanced, rather than everyone doing their own thing and hence having a lack of overall progress and innovation.

[butter]

nice xto... seems in eyes of some you will never get the recognition you deserve...
you put a lot of time and effort into these things while not even playing to benefit those who do
anyone who has had the opportunity to operate with your irc services seriously finds it a pain when they don't have them.

I hope the community can realise the amazing offer you are making and read what you say before making ill informed comment...
'Entirely open source - Plex version 6 is written in the C lanaguage, and all parts of the finished source code will be available for public inspection, modifcation and improvement.'
how much clearer and open can it be.

As most are aware Elysium has had the benefit of XtoTheZ's irc services for a long time.
Speaking as one known not to be fantastic with irc commands I will say these services make life so much easier.
Not just for command who need to control groups and access but also for all members who need remember nothing more than how to log in... the integrated services do everything else for them ensuring they land in all needed channels.
Also when removing access one command is all that is needed.

I hope those in the gaming communities of ******** and planetarion who have the skills do offer assistance and input in this project which will benefit all.

[Guran]

very very nice

[Doorsdown]

sweet

[TheRat]

Originally Posted by Tatu

The author is the last person I would accept a security/privacy protection software from.

Haha, riddiculus.

[Phil^]

Nice one.

For those who are 'paranoid' : Consider this. What possible gain could there be for ely if this was released as open source, where anyone can look at it.
You cant exactly hide a back door in it, and if there were one, its political suicide.

Now, if it was closed source, binarys only i would understand your position but as it is, its untenable

Accept this as it is, a very very nice gesture to the community, and thank them for it.

[Stifler]

Originally Posted by Phil^

Nice one.

For those who are 'paranoid' : Consider this. What possible gain could there be for ely if this was released as open source, where anyone can look at it.
You cant exactly hide a back door in it, and if there were one, its political suicide.

Now, if it was closed source, binarys only i would understand your position but as it is, its untenable

Accept this as it is, a very very nice gesture to the community, and thank them for it.

Another point to that Phil^, Elysium doesnt actually play PA together as an alliance.

Its just Tatu making a fool of himself having a go at xtothez at every chance he can

[wakey]

While its nice to see people trying to help the community its just a shame that projects like this are still kept out of reach of the alliance who could really use the help. If they dont have the techies to put together their own system then chances are they dont have the servers to do this.

Perhaps someone else can take a lead from this and release their tools to the community, hopefully in something that will be more new user friendly than this seems like it will be.

[Tatu]

Yes, it's personal. XtotheZ is known for spying on people's private discussions. This has nothing to do with Elysium or Planetarion, it's in his person.

I would search the source code for backdoors and spyware if I was ever to use the software. Open source does not mean a skilled coder couldn't hide such features in the code mass. He can just rely on the fact most people can't fully analyze thousands of lines of undocumented code.

[xtothez]

Originally Posted by Phil^

For those who are 'paranoid' : Consider this. What possible gain could there be for ely if this was released as open source, where anyone can look at it.

The only gains to Elysium by this release would be
a) Bugs found more quickly due to a larger userbase
b) Better features and improvements suggested by the new users
c) Improving Elysiums legacy to the PA and PLT communities.

Originally Posted by wakey

While its nice to see people trying to help the community its just a shame that projects like this are still kept out of reach of the alliance who could really use the help. If they dont have the techies to put together their own system then chances are they dont have the servers to do this.

In my experience with the intel gathering side of PA/PLT, I've paid special attention to the tech side of other alliances. It's been my oberservation that a large proportion of alliance 'techies' are people who buy a shell account and follow the setup instructions. So many people are capable of installing something like this but lack the experience to configure it to be suitable for the highly secure environment of a private server.
The most common scenario is techies using Epona/Anope based services, which is a package designed for a public IRC network. The default configuration can give away alot of information on the alliance, and it lacks any form of redundancy (you can't backup services data while they're running, etc).
While you can't expect alliance tech staff to know all the needed issues before they start, you can provide the tools that covers them while they learn. Plex is targeted to eventually be a 'one-click' install to help future techies learn the ropes, while allowing more experienced ones expand on a solid framework.

Originally Posted by Tatu

Yes, it's personal. XtotheZ is known for spying on people's private discussions. This has nothing to do with Elysium or Planetarion, it's in his person.

Yes, 2 years ago I did "the wrong thing for the right reasons". This however has nothing to do with this discussion, so I'd recommend you take your personal bias into a more suitable thread.

Originally Posted by Tatu

I would search the source code for backdoors and spyware if I was ever to use the software. Open source does not mean a skilled coder couldn't hide such features in the code mass. He can just rely on the fact most people can't fully analyze thousands of lines of undocumented code

The key reason for this alpha release is to allow people who know what they're doing to learn the layout of the program before it get much bigger. For the record Plex currently weighs in at 215kb and ~9,000 lines of code.

[Intruder]

/me claps for the innitiave

I believe many will appreciate and benfit from it. thumbs up for ya

[edit]: I hope you aim this project to a level wider than only PA/Pia, and dont mind cos i have shown this thread to some people outiside this border, mainly players of other clones ( from my country ) so they have the chance to contribute/enjoy the benefits these tools would bring them.

[Ali]

is there an expected release date for all this?

[bwtmc]

Nice work XtotheZ, look forward to developments

[Dorraj]

looks good, thumbs up.

[xtothez]

Originally Posted by Ali

is there an expected release date for all this?

The code is 90% feature-complete, and I believe the nastiest bugs have been stamped out during Plex running for the last 3 weeks on ElyNet. Most of the remaining work depends on testing Plex on systems other than Elysium's limited setup. Once I've seen other IRCds and operating systems run fine I can begin to write the 'one-click-install' setup scripts and docmentation. I'm hoping to be at a proper release stage by the end of summer. Unfortunately my time is currently tied up writing Plex modules to support Elysium in Pl@netia.
Right now anyone can contact me for the source code and have a working copy up in under half an hour, it just needs a little more technical expertise than the final version will.

[mazzelaar]

Originally Posted by XToTheZ

Plex stuff

Superb - a shining example of everything good about this community.

Originally Posted by Tatu

Before you even consider using this, you _must_ go through all the code, understand every last bit of it and only then install the software. The author is the last person I would accept a security/privacy protection software from.

Ass - a shining example of why this community is so distrustful of one another and why changes for the better are such a pain in the arse to propogate.

[Ali]

don't know why I got neg repped in this thread but just want to say that this will definitely be appreciated by alliances who lack coders to make something like this.

[Guran]

I got neg repped aswell just for saying 'very very nice' but I don't care anymore. The whole reputation system sucks @ss when all kinds of idiots gets kicks from neg repping whatever, without a reason.

Indeed, I think many will be interested in this, and not only PA alliances. Tell kaos to make an oneclick install for pilkara aswell or do it yourself Xtothez.

[ArcChas]

Originally Posted by Guran

<snip>
The whole reputation system sucks @ss
<snip>

You got that right. I haven't even bothered to find out how it works.

Seems to be aimed at kids who care about such things.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Tatu

Yes, it's personal. XtotheZ is known for spying on people's private discussions. This has nothing to do with Elysium or Planetarion, it's in his person.

I would search the source code for backdoors and spyware if I was ever to use the software. Open source does not mean a skilled coder couldn't hide such features in the code mass. He can just rely on the fact most people can't fully analyze thousands of lines of undocumented code.

Shut up and take yout twisted little prejudices elsewhere u ignoramous

[xtothez]

Someone has neg-repped every post in the thread. They must have an exciting life, etc.

In other news, kaos has begun work on a PHP wrapper for the Plex6 module system. The essentially means Plex will be able to support custom PHP scripts as well as C modules.

[Ali]

anyways great initiative