Vanilla Netrek Server Development Archive
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[VANILLA-L:804] Change to default sysdef file( removal of auto-doosher )




As promised, I am sending out a patch to have the auto-doosher default to
being disabled in the default server configuration.

I posted a message about this on RGN, it has some of the reasons I dont like
the auto-doosher.  Those arguments mainly stem from its lack of
appropriateness, and the auto-dooshers spam like qualities.
I'd like to address some of the network aspects of it on this forum.

Almost all of the server->client messages are preprogrammed into the
client.  This allows for a more compressed communication, which results
in less data to transmit - which results in fewer packets - which results
in less packets lost - which results in lower lag.  Now obviously the extra
12-16 bytes of the auto doosher is irrelevant, but thats not really
the point.  The point is, the auto doosher isn't organized to minimize
server and network overhead like the rest of the messaging code is.
The server should not put the doosher message on the message queue (it should
be generated by the individual ntservs), and it should not be transmitted
as text ( it should go out as an RCM ).  Of course, if someone took the time
to make an RCM for the doosher that person would quickly realize that it
shouldn't have an RCM because its existence and content can be duplicated
entirely from the DMKILL RCM.

All that summed up - the doosher message is 100% superfluous.  It should be,
and already is, a feature of the client.

(If the person who originally implemented the auto-doosher is on this
list, please accept my apologies now.  I know I am coming off
very negative, but it is only because of the fact that all the pickup
servers are now blindly using this feature.  I want to stop this before
we get the INL robot up.  I dont want to find all the INL servers running
this way.)

====================================  patch follows ======================
*** sample_sysdef.orig	Wed May 14 19:01:42 1997
--- sample_sysdef	Thu Feb 26 16:45:33 1998
***************
*** 26,32 ****
  EVENTLOG=0
  #
  # 	Auto-Doosh messages (0 = no, 1 = yes)
! DOOSHER=1
  #
  # 	Show why dead messages (0 = no, 1 = yes)?
  WHYMESS=1
--- 26,32 ----
  EVENTLOG=0
  #
  # 	Auto-Doosh messages (0 = no, 1 = yes)
! DOOSHER=0
  #
  # 	Show why dead messages (0 = no, 1 = yes)?
  WHYMESS=1

-- 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 | Kevin O'Connor                     "BTW, IMHO we need a FAQ for      |
 | koconnor@acsu.buffalo.edu           'IMHO', 'FAQ', 'BTW', etc. !"    |
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