I was quite impressed with the docs on the wiki until I went back and read
the installation section. The instructions amounted to a single line at the bottom of the page merely saying to prepend the executable with './' while mentioning nothing about whether the installation should or should not be performed by root or whether it drops its privileges right after it starts
and binds the low ports, etc.

Should I be creating an account on the system for Mystic to run under or install as root?

Also, I liked BBBS except for the uid being an 'fname lname' format, and of course, the $60 fee for a 2 node nocommercial license. REALLY? I had assumed
I would just install Synchronet but I'm really intrigued about the potential
of Mystic - any points to consider on why one might be inclined to instead choose Mystic?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer, and again, what about the
uid of the person installing and/or running the install?












--- SLMAIL v5.1 (#SLO409KEDG15G098)
* Origin: The Trashcan - The BEST rubbish * bbs.thenet.gen.nz (3:772/210)

Should I be creating an account on the system for Mystic to run under or install as root?

You can install mystic as a regular user if you have permission to create the destination directory. I have installed as root before to create the directory and then chown -R that directory to the desired user:group.

Also, I liked BBBS except for the uid being an 'fname lname' format, and of course, the $60 fee for a 2 node nocommercial license. REALLY?

BBBS is from the shareware era, and it still works that way today.. :)

I had assumed I would just install Synchronet but I'm really intrigued about the potential of Mystic - any points to consider on why one might be
inclined to instead choose Mystic?

Both are free to use so I guess it's a choice you make. Use what you like and gives you what you were looking for in a BBS.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer, and again, what about the uid of the person installing and/or running the install?

Once you are installed run mis with sudo like this..

sudo ./mis server (or daemon)

and it will bind the ports and drop priveleges and run as the user who owns the
files in your mystic directory.

Remember to shut down and restart mis when you make changes to node configs.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-4
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Hello Bradley,

The instructions amounted to a single line at the bottom of the page merely saying to prepend the executable with './' while mentioning nothing about whether the installation should or should not be performed by root or whether it drops its privileges right after it starts and binds the low ports, etc.
Should I be creating an account on the system for Mystic to run under or install as root?

Running Ubuntu I load MIS on bootup via sudo which allows MIS to bind to the necessary <1024 ports but still run as a runtime user. An excerpt from the install docs:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
MYSTIC INTERNET SERVERS *****
=======================

Mystic (MIS actually) has built in Telnet (with IO redirection for things
like DOSEMU), SMTP, POP3, FTP, and NNTP servers.

When running in Linux/OSX keep in mind that by default the
operating system will not let a service bind to a port less than
1025 unless it is a ROOT user (in Linux) and NOT AT ALL in OS/X.

In Linux, MIS has the ability to switch from root back to whatever the user
and group is that owns the executable AFTER it binds to the ports it needs
for the server. So in Linux you can simply do a:

sudo ./mis

Or if you want to run it as a DAEMON you can do:

sudo ./mis -d

As mentioned, it will NOT run as root. It will only use root until it binds
to your ports, and then it will switch to the user who owns the executable.

NOW IN OS/X THIS TRICK DOES NOT SEEM TO WORK.

Instead you have to load the Mystic Configuration and set your server ports
greater than 1024. We will do TELNET for example here. Set your telnet
server port to "2323" and exit the Mystic configuration.

You can then create a rule to map connections that come in on port 23 to the
2323 port that MIS is listening on, using the following command:

sudo ipfw add 100 fwd 127.0.0.1,2323 tcp from any to any 23 in

Once that is done you can start MIS using ./mis or ./mis -d


NOTE that some people will want to use inetd or something similar to run
their telnet, which Mystic is perfectly capable of. To do this, turn off
the TELNET server in your configuration and refer to the section on
external telnet. ------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, I liked BBBS except for the uid being an 'fname lname' format, and of course, the $60 fee for a 2 node nocommercial license. REALLY?

I have been a BBBS 22 node user for quite a few years now. But the reality is that no BBS/MAILER package does everything in the most preferred manner. Supported software is always a "Work in Progress" which is the best way in my opinion.

I had assumed I would just install Synchronet but I'm really intrigued
about the potential of Mystic - any points to consider on why one might
be inclined to instead choose Mystic?

I also have an installation of Synchronet running on spare Linux PC. I also have the current version of Mystic setup on a Linux PC. I like Mystic for several reasons. First is that it is actively supported, secondly is that it's basic functions are well thought out and easy to configure, thirdly is the documentation either in written, Wiki, or Youtube versions provide detailed info on setup, running, and support.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer, and again, what about the uid of the person installing and/or running the install?

The bottom line as I see it is to look at each and choose the package that works best based on your individual needs and desires


Jeff

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-4
* Origin: Fidonet: The Ouija Board - Anoka, MN - bbs.ouijabrd.net (1:282/1031)

Re: Install on Linux
By: Al to Bradley D. Thornton on Fri Aug 30 2019 03:12 pm






/q

.

Re: Install on Linux
By: Al to Bradley D. Thornton on Fri Aug 30 2019 03:12 pm

Should I be creating an account on the system for Mystic to run under or install as root?

You can install mystic as a regular user if you have permission to create the destination directory. I have installed as root before to create the
directory and then chown -R that directory to the desired user:group.

Once you are installed run mis with sudo like this..

sudo ./mis server (or daemon)

and it will bind the ports and drop priveleges and run as the user who owns the
files in your mystic directory.

Remember to shut down and restart mis when you make changes to node configs.

Fantastic!

Thanks Alan! That's exactly what I was looking to find out. I was at the wiki before actually d/l'ing the software as I was still trying to eval from a distance. I've gone through the docs in the bundle have a coupple of dev instances running before deployment into production, but that does answer my question - install as root into whichever dir, chown -Rv that tree and Mystic will run as that user once it binds to the ports and drops privs :)

I have another question now, although it may be a little off-topic here. I found http://bbs.nz/files/fidoapp.txt but I'm not sure if I need to contact the NC for 1:/120 or if it's okay to just send the application to Paul via netmail. I was 1:120/127 and wish to be again.

BTW, I'm really liking Mystic, although I'm still saddened that Searchlight fell off the map ages ago. Maybe later I'll try firing that up under dosemu as a side project, but I'm elated to be preparing to enter the fold after all these years.

Re: Install on Linux
By: Jeff Smith to Bradley D. Thornton on Fri Aug 30 2019 04:05 pm

Hello Bradley,

Hi Jeff!

I have been a BBBS 22 node user for quite a few years now. But the reality is that no BBS/MAILER package does everything in the most preferred
manner.
Supported software is always a "Work in Progress" which is the best way in my opinion.

Yes :) It appears that both you and Alan have live BBBS systems ;)

I can remember nightmares compiling node lists and finicky particulars with D'Bridge back when. I still have my little, 'mini museum' in a sea container sitting in cold storage at a friend's ranch in Apple Valley. Some old C64's and Timex Sinclairs and a bunch of IBM 5150 machines with 64K motherboards
and stuff like that. I've been thinking about driving out there to grab my old 3270 AT because I used to love that keboard so much.

I made a bad call way back in the early nineties, even though I came from a 4.2BSD background I banked on something like RIP being the technology being that which would win out over HTTP, or at least keep BBSes mainstream. Now, like Gopher, they've once again established relevance above and beyond just a nostalgic tinkering amongst hobbiests - some boards have been online the whole time without ever having gone on hiatus or retired.

I had assumed I would just install Synchronet but I'm really intrigued about the potential of Mystic - any points to consider on why one might
be inclined to instead choose Mystic?

I also have an installation of Synchronet running on spare Linux PC. I also have the current version of Mystic setup on a Linux PC. I like Mystic
for
several reasons. First is that it is actively supported, secondly is that it's basic functions are well thought out and easy to configure, thirdly
is
the documentation either in written, Wiki, or Youtube versions provide detailed info on setup, running, and support.

I realized, after posting, that it really wasn't a fair question for me to ask. I meant no offense to any dev and apologize if I did. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't believe that both were not only viable, but rather, exceptional platforms to begin with.

I had toyed with the idea of re-launching a BBS service a few times over the years, and to me, the biggest stumbling block was the relatively arcane
Linux based systems like DOC and the lack of originally DOS based systems having been ported to UNIX platforms. Although that period has passed, I might have, as a former instructor for the MCSE program, harbored less regret today had I at least deployed a board under NT. But as a long time FOSS advocate I guess I'm a little prejudiced, or at least jaded, lol.

Thanks again to both of you, and I really got a good chuckle when I saw both of those responses coming from your BBBS systems :)

On 31 Aug 2019, Bradley D. Thornton said the following...

Should I be creating an account on the system for Mystic to run under or install as root?

I read the couple replies after this, and didn't know that Mystic switches to the owner. BUT, on some installs of Linux, running sudo in a bash script or something similar to launch on startup can be a little complicated, with my experience having to pipe the password in plain text. An RPi with Raspbian
will happily let you run sudo without a password in a terminal or bash
script; Mint won't, for example.

What I do is install with sudo, then chown and chmod the Mystic directory recursively:

chown -R maskreet:maskreet /mystic
chmod -R 755 /mystic

Then just run:

setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' /mystic/mis

to allow non-su to run on ports lower than 1024 for that particular program, MIS.

Then you never have to deal with sudo to run Mystic again.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A43 2019/03/02 (Linux/64)
* Origin: http://www.throwbackbbs.com -\- meriden, ct -\- (1:142/799)

To: nospam.Todd.Yatzook
Re: Re: Install on Linux
By: nospam.Todd.Yatzook to Bradley D. Thornton on Sat Aug 31 2019 11:07:18

If you are on ubuntu and don't want to have it ask for password when starting it up, you can create a /etc/sudoers enter like this:
bbsowner ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/chroot

That will let it use chroot. I suggest you only put there the actual script you are going to run...

Marisa
--- https://SynchronetBBS.org/OurServers - A list of all our websites
--- https://SynchronetBBS.org/HostSplash - SBBS hosting for $14/month
--- Synchronet 3.17c-Linux NewsLink 1.110
Message from the AmigaCity BBS. Join us at: telnet://amigacity.xyz

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* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)

Re: Re: Install on Linux
By: Todd Yatzook to Bradley D. Thornton on Sat Aug 31 2019 11:07 am

On 31 Aug 2019, Bradley D. Thornton said the following...

Should I be creating an account on the system for Mystic to run under or install as root?

I read the couple replies after this, and didn't know that Mystic switches to the owner. BUT, on some installs of Linux, running sudo in a bash script
or
something similar to launch on startup can be a little complicated, with my experience having to pipe the password in plain text. An RPi with Raspbian
will happily let you run sudo without a password in a terminal or bash script; Mint won't, for example.

I think perhaps, if you want to use sudo, you could just put them in the sudoers file with visudo and adjust so they can run whatever particular shell commands they need. That could restrict them down.

What I do is install with sudo, then chown and chmod the Mystic directory recursively:

Then just run:

setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' /mystic/mis

to allow non-su to run on ports lower than 1024 for that particular program, MIS.

Then you never have to deal with sudo to run Mystic again.

I do that with some things, like Pleroma and recently I wanted Gitea to run on a low port as the git user, because I run SSHD on non-standard ports but wanted Gitea listening with its own SSH server on TCP 22.

For MIS, however, since it drops privs I just set it up to run with systemd on Debian Bullseye.

Thanks for that Todd :) I like seeing all the different ways people like to do things.

Re: Re: Install on Linux
By: Marisag to All on Sat Aug 31 2019 09:44 pm

If you are on ubuntu and don't want to have it ask for password when starting it up, you can create a /etc/sudoers enter like this:
bbsowner ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/chroot

That will let it use chroot. I suggest you only put there the actual script you are going to run...

Marisa

Ah... I didn't realize I just repeated what you said :)

I have another question now, although it may be a little off-topic here. I
found http://bbs.nz/files/fidoapp.txt but I'm not sure if I need to contact th >NC for 1:/120 or if it's okay to just send the application to Paul via netmail
I was 1:120/127 and wish to be again.

I think your still on topic here.

I think you need to contact RJ Clay to get that process going. I'm not sure of his contact info though but a netmail to him direct would be a good place to start, or an email if you have or can find (maybe on his web page) his email address.

Contacting Paul wouldn't hurt either, I'm sure he could help.

BTW, I'm really liking Mystic, although I'm still saddened that Searchlight
fell off the map ages ago. Maybe later I'll try firing that up under dosemu as
a side project, but I'm elated to be preparing to enter the fold after all these years.

I still see, rarely but I see messages from Searchlight. I don't know anything about that software though. Joe Martin just released an updated version of ViaMail 2.00 for Searchlight and a version for Wildcat! (4.0 I think). I have them here in the mailer directory, ftp://trmb.ca/bbs/mailer or the BBS at telnet://trmb.ca:2030.

If you have IPv6, use the IPv4 address, ftp://172.105.19.127. Something in the IPv6 support of BBBSs ftp server needs work.. :)

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-4
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

On 01 Sep 2019 at 09:18p, Al pondered and said...

I think your still on topic here.

It's all good in the hood by me

I think you need to contact RJ Clay to get that process going. I'm not sure of his contact info though but a netmail to him direct would be a good place to start, or an email if you have or can find (maybe on his
web page) his email address.

agreed

Contacting Paul wouldn't hurt either, I'm sure he could help.

Yep if you want an echomail feed and/or a place to route netmail from I'm
happy to help.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A43 2019/03/03 (Windows/32)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (3:770/100)

To: nospam.Bradley.D..Thornton
Re: Re: Install on Linux
By: nospam.Bradley.D..Thornton to Marisag on Sun Sep 01 2019 07:17:24

Ah... I didn't realize I just repeated what you said :)

:)

Marisa
--- https://SynchronetBBS.org/OurServers - A list of all our websites
--- https://SynchronetBBS.org/HostSplash - SBBS hosting for $14/month
--- Synchronet 3.17c-Linux NewsLink 1.110
Message from the AmigaCity BBS. Join us at: telnet://amigacity.xyz

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* Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)