Mud Portal

[English lad]

Hi All,

As there has been some discussion over on the discord as to getting a webclient up on the website i thought i'd share a resource I don't think a lot of people realise exists - which could easily be linked to for newer players or people exploring the site.

http://www.mudportal.com/play?host=play.theforsakenlands.com&port=1848&name=Aabahran The Forsaken Lands

If The Imms would prefer to integrate it into the site Plamzi has shared the source code for this client on Github anyway - i found it linked to under the Smaug codebase.

https://github.com/smaugmuds/_smaug_/tree/master/www

Although i don't see any harm in sharing a bit of traffic with Mud Portal in the short term.

[Fool_Hardy]

Would anyone like to share what any of this means to an old man who is just wondering what in the heck this can do for me, and more importantly outline all of the ways it could be used by someone else to gather information about me that only trusted staff should have access to? 

Please.

 

[Magick]

2 hours ago, Fool_Hardy said:

Would anyone like to share what any of this means to an old man who is just wondering what in the heck this can do for me, and more importantly outline all of the ways it could be used by someone else to gather information about me that only trusted staff should have access to? 

Please.

 

This means that we'd have an in-browser web client for newbies that don't have one and wish to see what we're about.  While it may not be perfect nor optimal, it's better than nothing.  Especially as we advertise on TMS (and our main page) that we've got one.

[Unknown Criminal]

Its a good tool to have. If it does get added id suggest 'doing the unthinkable' and posting an active players online count with it, reason being it will save people the time of creating characters just to see whos online. The people who like the 100+ players online will just leave while the people who enjoy 20 and under are more likely to make a char and take a look around.

[Magick]

1 hour ago, Unknown Criminal said:

Its a good tool to have. If it does get added id suggest 'doing the unthinkable' and posting an active players online count with it, reason being it will save people the time of creating characters just to see whos online. The people who like the 100+ players online will just leave while the people who enjoy 20 and under are more likely to make a char and take a look around.

The unthinkable was an active who list that can be viewed from outside the game.
I think this considerably more acceptable.  Instead of showing who is online, you see how many are online.  Of course, excluding currently hidden characters.

[Fool_Hardy]

Well, I am not as internet savvy as my son. So I will share the concerns he warns me of.

Logging in allows the staff, and by virtue of a contract, the providing servers access to my IP address. < an acceptable amount of danger

Logging in via a third party? < according to my boy, is a big Hell NO. In fact his settings our in home network would not allow it. So I asked him why and was attacked with the who/what/why BS you might expect from someone who built/runs his own server, thus why I started asking questions.

Subsequent question > Can the yellow/green lights not be used to draw information about what players are logged ii? How would showing what characters are online be much different?

[Anume]

You can set yourself to invisible on the dischord server, I kind of agree with your concern though.

[English lad]

10 hours ago, Fool_Hardy said:

Well, I am not as internet savvy as my son. So I will share the concerns he warns me of.

Logging in allows the staff, and by virtue of a contract, the providing servers access to my IP address. < an acceptable amount of danger

Logging in via a third party? < according to my boy, is a big Hell NO. In fact his settings our in home network would not allow it. So I asked him why and was attacked with the who/what/why BS you might expect from someone who built/runs his own server, thus why I started asking questions.

Subsequent question > Can the yellow/green lights not be used to draw information about what players are logged ii? How would showing what characters are online be much different?

Make sure you don't go outside without your tinfoil hat in case the aliens read your thoughts as well.

While Telnet does have some rather serious security issues - if you want to MUD you take that on board.

You are aware that visiting ANY website provides access to your IP address right? While this does run a websocket proxy - i don't know that i'd define that as logging in via a third party - its just a necessary layer for websocket to talk to telnet.

All the code is also opensourced - so if someone is concerned about what it is doing - take a look at it.

Yes - discord can help people figure out who is playing who.  But seriously do people find it hard to figure out who is playing what character most of the time anyway?  We are not a big community I'd say bringing us together more, and making us more accessible to new people is far more important than anything else right now.

[Unknown Criminal]

Your biggest concern isn't that someone can get your IP, it's the passwords you use when logging into websites, services and apps. For example the websites I run have collected close to a million IP's which I database for tracking purposes, however the people that sign up and log into my websites (are warned against) but still use a universal password. If I was really an 'unknowncriminal' I could open my database, grab their email and password and hack their Facebook, bank account, PayPal, gmail, etc etc with the information they 'gave me'. 

So as long as you use 'dummy passwords' for online garbage and a secure password for your bank type accounts you will be fine.

 

[Fool_Hardy]

9 hours ago, English lad said:

Make sure you don't go outside without your tinfoil hat in case the aliens read your thoughts as well.

Do not flame, its beneath you.

9 hours ago, English lad said:

Yes - discord can help people figure out who is playing who.  But seriously do people find it hard to figure out who is playing what character most of the time anyway

With a little time in game among family members, of course we recognize our people. That is far from the problem, the addition to just another avenue for players to use OOC information is.

OOC is a problem right now, look at @Fireman's last deletion thread (posted here not in game) and the issues that it caused in game by characters who COULD NOT have known the bard had left. One Watcher, ONE was online 2 hours after every level fifty scrambled to get what the bard was wearing. Facts, a breach of OOC rules, ignored. And you think they need more avenues to gather OOC knowledge. Hmm.

 

[Fool_Hardy]

1 hour ago, Unknown Criminal said:

So as long as you use 'dummy passwords' for online garbage and a secure password for your bank type accounts you will be fine.

I do not bank online, however my son's medical information and a plethora of other private things are stored in this computer. My son has already showed me how he can pull up every file in my computer from the neighbors house because he knows my IP. He did not go to college to learn his tricks, he learned them online. I do not password protect my documents do you? I would hate for the book I have spent years writing to suddenly be online for free. Just saying.

[Rygothran]

I think this is all a moot point, @Fool_Hardy. You have a client most likely and have no need or desire to use the mud portal. It is for those who want to try out the game without installing a client.

While I don't think it is a terrible idea, most players will prob be familiar with other muds and already have a client they can plug info into.

[Erelei]

The issue with using 3rd party web applications is that they use java - which is notoriously insecure unless updated to the latest version, and continually updated and secured with 3rd party java modules. 

Anyone on the internet can get your IP address - and it doesn't matter as much as it did before, either. Your public IP is usually routed through your ISP and several gateways - who gives a shit if someone got your IP? You're unlikely to ever be identified by IP alone, unless you're a Government agency with access to records and connections to the ISP where you were assigned an IP at a certain time, etc.

On 3/9/2018 at 4:34 PM, Fool_Hardy said:

Logging in via a third party? < according to my boy, is a big Hell NO. In fact his settings our in home network would not allow it. So I asked him why and was attacked with the who/what/why BS you might expect from someone who built/runs his own server, thus why I started asking questions.

I'm confused by what you mean here. How would his home network settings not allow him to sign in some where, much less a '3rd party' website? What defines '3rd party'? I'm assuming that your son is pulling your leg here, and/or you're not providing enough information to be correct about it - no offense!

19 hours ago, English lad said:

While Telnet does have some rather serious security issues - if you want to MUD you take that on board.

These security issues only really affect you if you're transferring information (like a file, and/or sending information that should be encrypted) that you don't want to be seen. Connecting to a server via telnet only provides the remote server with your IP, which as I mentioned before, isn't a big deal. Your IP is your NAME on the internet, and a way to contact you.

19 hours ago, English lad said:

You are aware that visiting ANY website provides access to your IP address right? While this does run a websocket proxy - i don't know that i'd define that as logging in via a third party - its just a necessary layer for websocket to talk to telnet.

The only reason to use a VPN or a proxy would be to hide the location you're browsing from and keep location cookies from tracking you, and keeping your browsing 'private' (since you're essentially connecting to another server and browsing from that server). Funnily enough, that server's information is not private, however, the server that your VPN connects to with whatever you're browsing to can't identify you as the user - just the machine.

Anyways, lots of misinformation and tin foil hats here guys. 

[aaa]

11 hours ago, Rygothran said:

While I don't think it is a terrible idea, most players will prob be familiar with other muds and already have a client they can plug info into.

The less barriers to entry for people to try, the more hits you'll get.

You want people to be able to click the out link, then play, then type in whatever name they want and start playing. Once theyre invested, they'll move to a client.

[f0xx]

I've tried getting some people to play.... the problem usually comes when I tell them they need to download and instal a client....

 

[Magick]

I've run into the same problem Foxx has, even with a client as lightweight and easy to use as Gmud.  Get them in first, have them look around.  Then introduce them to a client.

To use a fishing metaphor, you're not going to tell them they need a tackle box and to get this selection of hooks and lures and various strengths of line.  See?  You're bored already just reading this.  You give them a rod that's already prepared and stick their ass in a chair.  Hook them first.

[Fool_Hardy]

I can see the value of the tool brothers. I just think a tab at the top that says [PLAY] linked to it would get the job done, without giving away who Is online.

I will never be able to use it, like I said, the boy's securities do not allow me to currently and its not worth the negativity of an argument.  But as @Rygothran says I do not need it.

 

[Celerity]

Why not just bundle FL into one or two of the free clients and provide them as a download? Then instead of downloading a 'client' you are just downloading the game, since the downloaded client is preconfigured for this MUD.

[Magick]

I think @Fool_Hardy that you're missing that the original post says nothing about seeing who is online while you're not logged into a character.

UC mentions allowing a character count, but again, nothing about which characters are actually logged.

As for @Celerity's suggestion, why not both? A web based portal and a bundle. Not everyone trusts downloads. 

[Fool_Hardy]

No @Magick I did not miss that. In fact It was not the post that brought me into the discussion, but rather the green and yellow lights that are now on my home screen that intrigued me.

[Magick]

Ah, the Discord status lights. Chat application made with gamers in general in mind, not in game online status. I wouldn't put much faith in trying to tie one to the other if that was your worry, though I can see the concern as well. Easily manipulated as Anume stated. 

[aaa]

You can just set your status to invisible if there are any concerns about being detected. It's a non-issue. 

If anything, the forum "who's online" is worse because as far as I could see, there's no invisible mode. 

[Twinblades713]

On 3/11/2018 at 5:42 AM, f0xx said:

I've tried getting some people to play.... the problem usually comes when I tell them they need to download and instal a client....

 

This exactly, for me. 

[Trick]

@Twinblades713

Are you playing..?

[Twinblades713]

Ehh, regardless of if I’m playing or not, I always refer people to this game. I love FL, it was a great part of my childhood and I’ve made some lifelong friends here. Sorry I didn’t really answer your question but that was by design.