************************************************************************
** NeoStats - IRC Statistical Services                                **
** Copyright (c) 1999-2003 NeoStats Group. All Rights Reserved.       **
** This program and all associated documentation is free but          **
** copyrighted software; see the file COPYING for details.            **
** Homepage: http://www.neostats.net/                                 **
************************************************************************

Thank you for downloading NeoStats. 

NeoStats is a powerful and extendable set of *services* for IRC. By 
Services, we do not mean NickServ/Chanserv etc but additional services. 
These additional services include things like StatServ which gives you 
statistics on the number of users/operators/channels/servers, and
MoraleServ, which is a *fun* module, to send funny messages to users, 
and utility modules. Some modules have a useful function on your 
network, other modules are developed for fun, and to make your IRC 
network more attractive to users (that's what it all about right?, 
IRC users?)

With the release of 2.5 series of NeoStats, several changes have taken 
place compared to the old version of NeoStats 2.0 series (don't ask me 
what happened to versions 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 or 2.4, I don't know!)

A detailed list of changes can be found in the ChangeLog file, but a 
brief summary is:
    -ServiceRoots support
    -External MOTD files
    -Module segfault protection
    -Cross IRCD support. Support for more IRCDs than just Unreal
    -StatServ supports dumping Statistics to a HTML file for output 
    (the output of the HTML file is based on a template)
    -Changes to the module API that make it nicer
    -Channel Support!
    -StatServ supports Channel Statistics now!
    -Many bug fixes and changes to the internal NeoStats core
    -Many updates to the various Modules

Visit http://www.neostats.net for the latest news and NeoStats updates.

Please read all documentation included with NeoStats carefully. The 
documents contain all the information you need to get NeoStats running
on your network. These documents include README, and all the documents 
in the doc directory. 

-----------------------------------<>-----------------------------------
All documentation applies to version 2.5.6 and higher. For older 
versions consult the documentation with that version or consider 
upgrading. New versions of NeoStats have many new features and bug 
fixes. We are not able to provide support for older versions of
NeoStats. 

Following is a quick guide to the main NeoStats documentation:

README -        This file. How to install and configure NeoStats 
                and support information.
DOCS/USERMAN -  Manual for run time operation of NeoStats. You should 
                read this when you have NeoStats running for information
                on how to use NeoStats.
DOCS/FAQ -      Frequently Asked Questions about NeoStats.
RELNOTES -      Release notes about the current version. This is 
                displayed during the installation process but you should 
                refer to it if you have problems.
ChangeLog -     Information about what has changed between versions. 
                Consult this document for detailed information about the
                changes. Additionally, some modules contain ChangeLogs 
                in their directories (e.g., dl/statserv) so you should 
                consult these documents as well.                 
README.kptool - Description and instructions for maintaining the 
                NeoStats Internal Database and Dynamic Configuration. 
                FOR ADVANCED USERS ONLY!
-----------------------------------<>-----------------------------------

Contents
--------

1. Installing and configuring NeoStats
    1.1 General notes
    1.2 Getting Started.
    1.3 Running configure
    1.4 Compiling NeoStats
    1.5 Installing NeoStats
    1.6 Setting up the neostats.cfg file
    1.7 Compiling additional modules
    1.8 Running NeoStats
    1.9 Notes for upgraders
2. Support Information
    2.1 Before contacting support
    2.2 Where to get support
    2.3 What to provide when requesting support.
3. Contributions


1. Installing and configuring NeoStats
--------------------------------------

This section explains how to install and configure NeoStats. We 
recommend that you read this section in full before trying to install 
NeoStats.

If you have any problems NOT addressed in this or other documents, 
please see the Support section for how to contact us for help.


1.1 General notes
-----------------

All commands and filenames are case sensitive. This means that 
NeoStats, neostats and NEOSTATS are all different things. When 
typing commands you should use the same case as provided in this 
file or things will not work correctly.


1.2 Getting Started
-------------------

First, you need to uncompress NeoStats. To do this type the following:

        tar xvfz NeoStats2.5.x.tar.gz 

This will vary depending on the version you run of NeoStats. Change the 
x in NeoStats2.5.x.tar.gz to match your filename e.g. 

        NeoStats2.5.6.tar.gz

For systems that don't run a new version of tar you need to do this:

        gzip -d NeoStats2.5.x.tar.gz
        tar xvf NeoStats2.5.x.tar

1.3 Running configure
---------------------

We have two methods to configure NeoStats. Our Config script is the 
quickest and easiest way to configure NeoStats. 

To run Config, you must first change to the directory where you 
uncompressed NeoStats. e.g.

        cd ~/NeoStats2.5.5

Your prompt should look something like:
    
        [user@host NeoStats2.5.5]

Now type:
    
        ./Config
        
Answer the questions and let the script configure everything for you.
If you choose to use Config, you can now skip to section 1.4 Compiling 
NeoStats. If you require more control over the configuration, you should 
run configure directly as detailed below.

The configure script has been changed compared to older releases and you 
must now make sure you supply the right arguments to configure.

To run configure this, you must first change to the directory where you 
uncompressed NeoStats. e.g.

        cd ~/NeoStats2.5.5

Your prompt should look something like:
    
        [user@host NeoStats2.5.5]

Now type:
    
        ./configure [options]

You should read below for the options you need to pass to configure.

Required settings:
------------------

IRCD Support:
    To specify the IRCD you are compiling for. e.g.:

        --enable-unreal31  - enable Unreal 3.1.x IRCD Support

        --enable-unreal32  - enable Unreal 3.2.x IRCD Support

        --enable-ultimate2 - enable Ultimate 2.x.x IRCD Support

        --enable-ultimate3 - enable Ultimate 3.x.x IRCD Support

        --enable-hybrid7   - enable Hybrid7 IRCD Support

        --enable-neoircd   - enable NeoIRCd IRCD Support

        --enable-bahamut   - enable Bahamut IRCD Support

        --enable-mystic    - enable Mystic IRCD support

        --enable-quantum   - enable Quantum IRCD support

Note: at the time of release of this version of NeoStats Ultimate 
3.x.x was still in alpha, it is possible that Ultimate3 compatibility 
might break in future releases of Ultimate as it matures.

Optional settings:
------------------

Privilege System:

Originally, NeoStats was based on Operator Flags on a network. If you 
had TechAdmin on Unreal, you were basically allowed full control of 
Neostats. Now though, you can enable what is called External 
Authentication. This allows different ways of the NeoStats Privilege 
system. The currently available options are:

        --enable-auth=sr     
        
This enables a ServiceRoots option, which a user must be identified to 
services (with the +r flag) and they will have full access to NeoStats.

If you do not specify --enable-auth then NeoStats reverts back to the 
old NeoStats privilege system, where authentication is based on the 
user's flags (+oOANs etc).

Modules Support:

NeoStats has an expanding set of modules. Some modules have their own 
--enable options, while other modules do not. By default, no modules are 
compiled. To enable a module at compile time (or multiple modules) use 
the following option:

        --enable-modules="module names"

NeoStats ships with the following modules:

        ConnectServ     --enable-modules="cs"
        HostServ        --enable-modules="hostserv"
        LoveServ        --enable-modules="loveserv"
        MoraleServ      --enable-modules="ms"
        StatServ        --enable-modules="statserv"

To compile multiple modules combine the enable-modules options together 
as follows:

        --enable-modules="statserv hostserv"
        (this would enable the statserv and hostserv modules).

If you have downloaded additional modules from the NeoStats website, 
DO NOT specify them in the enable-modules option. Each module has its 
own configure script, and must be configured and installed after 
NeoStats is installed. (See section 6 and the documentation with the 
module).

Debugging:

Most users will never look at this option. It compiles NeoStats 
with debugging turned on. I would only suggest using this if you 
have problems and are about to fill out a bug form.

        --enable-debug        Enables Debugging

XWindows Configuration Tool:

To enable building of the configtool program (Needs X windows)

        --enable-configtool

Enabling RAW command:

We strongly recommend against the use of this option. Use of RAW 
commands can cause desync on your network and badly formatted commands 
can crash your network. If you do enable this option, we will not 
provide any support for your use of this command. Please do not contact 
us for support of the RAW command.

        --enable-raw 

The configure script will then check to see if all necessary programs to 
run NeoStats are installed on your system. A small note here, for those 
of you who have emailed me paranoid, NeoStats DOES NOT actually check 
your back account balance, nor can it.

1.4 Compiling NeoStats
----------------------

Ok, you should now be back at a shell prompt, type:

        make

it will go through the source and compile it into an executable 
binary file. If you get some warnings, please ignore them -- we are 
working on the warnings.


1.5 Installing NeoStats
-----------------------

If you are upgrading a working version of NeoStats. Please read section 
1.9 Notes for Upgraders now.

With version 2.5.0 and higher, NeoStats needs to be "installed" into 
its own directory. By default NeoStats will install into ~/NeoStats/ 
i.e. in your home directory e.g.

        /home/fish/NeoStats/
    
If you wish to change the install location, please type 

		./configure --help
		
and follow the instructions on screen.

To install NeoStats type:

        make install

This will create the necessary files, and copy them to the 
installation directory. 


1.6 Setting up the neostats.cfg file
------------------------------------

Now you should change to the installation directory (~/NeoStats/, or 
whatever you specified in ./configure) e.g.

        cd ~/NeoStats

Your prompt should look something like:
    
        [user@host NeoStats]

Once in this directory, you need to create a configuration file. You
should now run the makeconf script and answer the questions:
    
        ./makeconf

You must edit neostats.cfg to check that everything is set the way you 
want it before NeoStats will run. You can do this with:

        pico neostats.cfg

All the options are described below and in the neostats.cfg file. Once 
you are done editing the file save it. 

If using pico as in the previous example, press Ctrl-X then hit Y and 
enter to save the file.

NOTE: some additional modules have additional configuration options that 
must be specified in the neostats.cfg file. Please see the documentation 
for the individual modules for any configuration options. 

The available options for the main NeoStats distribution are described
below. 

Each of the options has an indicator as follows:
    [REQUIRED]    - must be set or NeoStats will not run
    [RECOMMENDED] - optional but may cause problems if not set
    [OPTIONAL]    - optional and the feature will be disabled if not set
    [DISCOURAGED] - may cause undesirable side effects if enabled

IRCD Linking Configuration Options
----------------------------------

SERVER_NAME <hostname> [REQUIRED]
    Specifies the name of the NeoStats Server as it will appear on 
    the network. e.g. 
      
          SERVER_NAME stats.neostats.net        
      
    When NeoStats links, it will appear as stats.neostats.net.

SERVER_PORT <port number> [REQUIRED]
    Specifies the port to connect to on the IRC Server e.g.
    
        SERVER_PORT 6667        
    
    When connecting, NeoStats will connect to port 6667

CONNECT_TO <ip address> [REQUIRED]
    Specifies the IP address to connect to. e.g.
        
        CONNECT_TO 127.0.0.1    
    
    This will force stats to connect to 127.0.0.1

CONNECT_PASS <link password> [REQUIRED]
    Specifies the password used to connect. This must match your C/N 
    lines in your IRCD configuration e.g.
  
      CONNECT_PASS linkpass    
      
    Send "linkpass" as the password to connect
    
SERVER_INFOLINE <info line> [REQUIRED]
    Specify the description of the server that
    appears when you do /links e.g.
    
        SERVER_INFOLINE Network Auxiliary Services    
    
SERVER_NUMERIC <numeric> [RECOMMENDED]
    Specify the numeric of the server to send on connect.
    This must be a value between 1 and 254, and must not be in use by
    any other IRC server on the network.  
    Currently only Unreal IRCd uses this option.
    
        SERVER_NUMERIC 1

STATSERV_NETNAME <network name> [REQUIRED]
    Your network name, if unknown refer to your network file. Does not 
    apply to all IRCDs e.g. 
    
        STATSERV_NETNAME neostats
        
    For irc.neostats.net

NeoStats Configuration options
------------------------------
    
NEOSTAT_HOST <host> [REQUIRED]
    Specifies the Hostname that NeoStats comes from Some people like to 
    make it the same as the Services host (e.g., services.neostats.net) 
    or one just for NeoStats (e.g., stats.neostats.net) e.g.
    
        NEOSTATS_HOST stats.neostats.net    
    
    The bot will appear as NeoStats!user@stats.neostats.net
    
NEOSTAT_USER <user> [REQUIRED]
    Specifies the User/ident of the NeoStats Bot (the part before the 
    @host) e.g.
    
        NEOSTATS_USER neo    
            
    The bot will apear as NeoStats!neo@Host

SERVICES_CHAN #<channel name> [REQUIRED]
    Specify the channel that all bots on NeoStats
    will automatically join, and echo out any
    important information e.g.
    
        SERVICES_CHAN #services    
        
    Makes NeoStats, and all the other bots join #services channel on 
    start-up/load.

NO_LOAD [YOU MUST REMOVE THIS]
    If this is in the neostats.cfg your NeoStats WILL NOT START UP. To 
    disable this simply comment this line out. e.g.
        
        NO_LOAD  <- NeoStats will not load.
        
        #NO_LOAD <- NeoStats will load.
    
WANT_PRIVMSG [NOT RECOMMENDED]
    Specify if the bots should send all messages as privmsgs or as 
    notices (Most Services use notice) e.g.
     
        WANT_PRIVMSG    
    
    If present, will send all messages as privmsgs (if commented out, 
    it will send as Notices) *NOTE:* This option Violates IRC RFC, and 
    can cause flooding problems on your network. Its NOT recommended. 
    
RECONNECT_TIME <seconds> [RECOMMENDED]
    If NeoStats server gets split from the network, how long to wait 
    before attempting to reconnect to the network. A value of 0 will 
    cause NeoStats to shutdown and not attempt to reconnect. e.g.
    
        RECONNECT_TIME 10    
    
    Specifies wait 10 seconds before trying to reconnect
        
        RECONNECT_TIME 0
    
    Tells NeoStats to never reconnect to the network
    
    If not specified, NeoStats will default to 10 seconds.
    
ONLY_OPERS [OPTIONAL]
    Restrict NeoStats and StatServ to opers use only.
    If not specified, users will have some access to NeoStats
    and StatServ commands. e.g.
    
        ONLY_OPERS 
        
    Only opers may use NeoStats and StatServ.
    
BINDTO [OPTIONAL]
    Make NeoStats bind to a particular IP Address. If not
    specified NeoStats will attempt to find this address
    itself. e.g. 
    
        BINDTO 203.203.123.12
    
    All outgoing connections from NeoStats will originate from this 
    IP address. 
    
LOGFILENAMEFORMAT <format> [OPTIONAL]
    Defines the format for dated log files. This allows you to choose 
    what date format is used for log file names when they are rotated at 
    midnight. The option uses the parameters passed to strftime so you 
    can use any options valid for that function. Common ones are:
        %a    Abbreviated weekday name 
        %A  Full weekday name 
        %b  Abbreviated month name 
        %B  Full month name 
        %d  Day of month as decimal number (01 <20> 31) 
        %m  Month as decimal number (01 <20> 12) 
        %y  Year without century, as decimal number (00 <20> 99) 
        %Y  Year with century, as decimal number 

    Examples using 30 September 2003 as the date:
    For NeoStats0930.log:
        
        LOGFILENAMEFORMAT %m%d
    
    For NeoStats20030930.log:
    
        LOGFILENAMEFORMAT %Y%m%d      
    
    If not defined, default is "-%m-%d" i.e. NeoStats-09-30.log

Module Configuration Options
----------------------------
    
LOAD_MODULE <module name> [OPTIONAL]
    what module to load at start-up. e.g. 
        
        LOAD_MODULE statserv
    
    Will load up StatServ at boot
    
    Multiple instances of LOAD_MODULE may be specified 

ExtAuth Configuration Options
-----------------------------
    
If you have enabled the ServiceRoots authentication module, then these 
additional configuration options are available:

SERVICE_ROOTS <nick!user@host> [OPTIONAL]
    Who should get access to NeoStats regardless of their O line flags. 
    You can specify this option up to 10 times to specify different 
    nicks who will be allowed this privilege. e.g.
    
        SERVICE_ROOTS fish!?Fish@*.neostats.net
        
    Will give "fish" access to NeoStats Privileged commands if fish has 
    Umode +r and comes from the specified hostname and ident. 

1.7 Compiling additional modules
--------------------------------

If you have downloaded other NeoStats modules e.g. OPSB, you should now 
install them. If you are upgrading NeoStats, you must rebuild all other 
separate modules to work with the new version of NeoStats. See the 
documentation with these modules for instructions on building and 
installing them. 

1.8 Running NeoStats
--------------------

NeoStats is now configured and installed. 

Before running NeoStats you must make sure that your server(s) have C: 
N: and U: lines for your NeoStats server. 
I WILL NOT ASSIST YOU WITH ADDING C: N: AND U: LINES TO YOUR SERVER, 
YOU SHOULD READ THE IRCD DOCUMENTATION IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO 
IT!!! DO NOT CONTACT US ABOUT C: N: and U: Lines

Once your C/N/U lines are setup, you need to start NeoStats. You should 
change to the directory where NeoStats in installed e.g.

        cd ~/NeoStats

Then to run NeoStats type:

        ./neostats

It should link and sync with your server in a matter of seconds.

Please now read USERMAN for details on how to operate NeoStats from an 
IRC Client.

If anything goes wrong, there *might* be an error message in the log 
files. Have a look in ~/NeoStats/logs/NeoStats.log it might give you a 
clue to what's wrong! NeoStats might also send a wallops to the network 
about what went wrong. Check the status window of your IRC client. 

There are some command line options for NeoStats that you may find
useful:

    -h        will display a help screen showing these options.
    -v        will display the version number
    -r        Enable recv.log
    -d 1-10   Enable debugging output 1= lowest, 10 = highest
    -n        Do not load any modules on startup
    -q        Quiet start - for cron scripts
    -f        Do not fork into background (for debugging)

To use these options, add the option(s) you require when you run 
NeoStats, e.g.:

	./neostats -h
	
Note: although you can combine most of these options, -v (version)
and -h (help) will return information to you and NeoStats will not
process any other options you pass. 	


1.9 Notes for upgraders
-----------------------

If you are upgrading from an older version we recommend that you backup 
the current version first. 

If you are running crontab for NeoStats, we recommend that you disable 
this before making the upgrade so that cron does not start up an older
versopn while you are working on the upgrade. 

Make sure that NeoStats is not running. In an IRC client connected to 
your network type:

        /msg NeoStats shutdown Upgrade

NeoStats will save important information so wait for this to finish. 

To make the backup go to your home directory and type:

        cp NeoStats NeoStatsBackup -r

If you fail to perform this backup and the upgrade causes you problems, 
you might lose all NeoStats information. 

We also recommend rebuilding any additional modules after upgrading
NeoStats. You may not need to upgrade the additional module, just 
rebuild and reinstall it after the make install in Step 1.4 above.

If after upgrading, NeoStats crashes when loading one of your modules 
e.g. OPSB, this usually means that you did not rebuild the module for 
the latest version of NeoStats. 

If you do run into problems upgrading and need to restore your backup, 
you can do so by going to your home directory and typing:

        cp NeoStatsBackup NeoStats -r

Your old modules will also be restored along with the old version of
NeoStats so there is no need to rebuild them for a restore. 


-----------------------------------<>-----------------------------------

2 Support Information
---------------------

2.1 Before contacting support
-----------------------------

** IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTACTING US **

In order that we can dedicate time to developing NeoStats and can 
address support issues quickly, there are some ways you can help to 
reduce unnecessary support calls to the NeoStats team. 

First, check you are using the latest release version of NeoStats as 
found on the NeoStats download page. It could be that your problem is 
fixed or your suggestion implemented in the latest version. We are not 
able to provide support for older versions of NeoStats than the current 
release. 

We provide no support for CVS snapshots whether released on the web site 
or not. If you have downloaded a CVS snapshot and are having problems, 
you should revert back to your previous working version or if this is 
your first installation, the current release build as indicated on the 
web site. Please do not contact us about problems with CVS versions. We 
will advise users occasionally to try a CVS snapshot to fix a problem, 
but as we do not put our CVS versions through extensive testing, there 
might be new bugs or problems. 

Before contacting us with a problem or a bug, please make sure you have 
read all the documentation provided. You should then check the web site 
bug list and search the forums to see if your problem has already been 
reported and if a solution has been posted. 

Before sending us a suggestion, you should check the forums carefully to 
see if your suggestion has already been made and if the NeoStats team 
have decided to implement it or not. The use of the "Search" feature on 
the forums is a great way to quickly get answers to your problem if 
other users have already encountered the issue. 

You do not have to read all the messages to find out if your issue has 
already been discussed. The message board has a search function so 
you can quickly check to see if there is a discussion on your problem. 

NeoStats Group are only able to help with issues affecting NeoStats. 
We are not able to help set up your IRC Server or Services on your 
network (including the setup of C: N: and U: lines) so please don't 
ask us. If you have a question about your IRC Server or Services 
package, please check the documentation that came with them and contact 
their team if you still need assistance. 

The RAW command is an unsupported command. If you need help using it,
you should probably not be using it. Please do not ask us for help
on the RAW command.

Thank you. 


2.1 Where to get support
------------------------

You can get support for NeoStats in a number of different ways so choose
the one that suits you best.

* Bug reporting system
A new bug reporting section has been introduced and you can check this  
to see if there are any known bugs in NeoStats and find out when they 
are fixed. Soon you will be able to report bugs using this system. 
For the bug tracking system, visit:

        http://bugs.neostats.net/index.php 

* Message boards available at:

        http://www.neostats.net/boards/

* The NeoStats IRC support channel at:

        server:  irc.irc-chat.net 
        channel: #neostats

Be warned that we are not always available on the channel to help you. 
There is a bot there called neoserv that contains the latest bugs and
support information (duplicated from the NeoStats board).

2.2 What to provide when requesting support
-------------------------------------------

It always helps to provide as much information as possible about your 
environment when asking for help. Please make sure you include at least 
the following information:
    
    Operating system version (i.e., Redhat 7.0, Mandrake 9.1 etc)
    gcc version (found via gcc -v)
    Version of NeoStats you are using and if the problem is with a 
    module, the version of the module (found via /msg neostats modlist)
    The type of IRCD you are attempting to connect to (and version 
    number)

We may request that you enable debugging and submit us the results of 
debugging. To enable Debugging, use the following command to start 
NeoStats:

        ./neostats -d 9 -r

When it crashes, or the bug has been reproduced, send us:
        
        logs/NeoStats.log
        logs/recv.log (if it exists, You may wish to edit the first few 
        lines of the file to remove the link password)

This will help us to be able to reproduce the bug and create a fix for 
it.

-----------------------------------<>-----------------------------------

3. Contributions
----------------

Want to Help us? 

We are always looking for help.

Currently, what we really are looking for is people to help us out with 
translating our documentation and of course, other people that can code 
in C to help us with development.

We hope to shortly provide a Module Programmers Guide to help those 
people out there take advantage of NeoStats and write their own 
extensions (or Modules) for NeoStats.

If you would like to help out, See Support Information above for details 
on how to contact us.

-----------------------------------<>-----------------------------------

************************************************************************
** This document was last updated on October 6th, 2003 by M and is    **
** on documents originally created by Shmad and Fish.                 **
************************************************************************