Subject: Escape Characters

From: [email-masked] (Theodore F Vaida ][)
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1993 08:37:47 -0800

I would like to echo the beliefe that the direct ascii sending routine
should be supported in the next possible server version.  Like o_n_c it
would be optional to the person who compiles the software.  However, I also
think that since the current front end should not be changed directly.  The
out_of_band operator provides the best place to put this (Pavel even states
such in the header files folks...) extra information.  Placing colored
text, underlined text and such is foolery, and dangerous when dealing with
an unknown client (fustrated users who get garbage quit playing).

I for one would be willing to write a simple text client (for the times I
and others cant get to that neato X terminal) and perhaps an X client, I'll
just have to set my priorities right!  In any case...

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From: Mike O'Brien <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1993 10:56:07 -0800

Warning, Will Robinson!

        The reason things like "talk" and "write" and the shell and a
bunch of other things won't send control characters not originated locally
by the program is because people really, seriously have had their accounts
robbed this way, and in wholesale lots, too.  It's serious business.

	The other point I'd mention is that if you do send control
characters, one tempting thing to do is to define a graphic standard
set, or dig up such a standard, and then have clients which translate
these into the codes used by the local terminal.

	In the past, this hasn't worked.  MIT designed the SUPDUP protocol
to do exactly this, and the technology just never caught on.  Hence all
the messing around with TERMTYPE and the like.  Unless you think you can
get SUPDUP or its equivalent to fly, when it flopped fifteen years ago,
I suggest you think more along the lines of storing a termtype with the
player information, and just Do The Right Thing in the server directly.
Sad, but that's the way it worked out out the last time.

Mike O'Brien