IRC log for #bzflag on 20120201

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05:23.47CIA-112BZFlag: 03L4m3r 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r8202 10/Passion: /* April Fools */
05:26.43CIA-112BZFlag: 03L4m3r 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r8203 10/Passion: /* April Fools */
05:49.59CIA-112BZFlag: 03L4m3r 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r8204 10/Passion: /* Passion of the Polygon */
06:00.30CIA-112BZFlag: 03L4m3r 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r8205 10/Passion: /* L4m3r's Re-work */
06:44.57CIA-112BZFlag: 0390.222.185.229 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r8206 10/Passion: /* Current Map */
06:56.12SpazzyMcGee^ that'll be me
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09:48.07CIA-112BZFlag: 03Ahnawiki 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r8207 10/User:Ahnawiki: All about me
09:49.22bradlol what
12:11.36CIA-112BZFlag: 03Blast 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r0 10/User:Ahnawiki: Spamming links to external sites
12:11.46CIA-112BZFlag: 03Blast 07http://wiki.bzflag.org * r0 10/User:Ahnawiki:
12:11.46CIA-112BZFlag: content was: "I am a Business Analyst. I write articles and blogs on different
12:11.46CIA-112BZFlag: topics like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel Travel], Wellness, Business and
12:11.46CIA-112BZFlag: Writing. I am ..." (and the only contributor was
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17:29.07JeffMblast007, perhaps if you quote more things he'll understand
17:29.16blast007;)
17:29.16JeffMI think you shoudl just put your change in bzfs
17:29.27JeffMrange based forced registration is not a bad idea
17:29.46blast007it's kinda silly that a bzid respects the antiban permission
17:29.56blast007because it's a pretty damn specific type of ban ;)
17:29.58JeffMlots of things are kind of silly
17:30.02JeffMyeah
17:30.10blast007though the change was a bit more than that
17:30.24JeffMthe tierd approach you put forward is pretty standard in blocking people
17:30.32JeffMand it makes sense
17:30.34blast007I was going to make it so that issuing a ban by callsign or slot number would still idban someone even if antiban was in effect
17:30.50JeffMthat makes sense
17:30.57JeffMcus you really want to ban THAT dude
17:31.03blast007yeah
17:31.12JeffMantiban honestly only makes sense for ranges to me
17:31.21JeffMit's the only time you will accidently get someone
17:31.22blast007hmm, true
17:31.33JeffMeven a single IP is an attempt to ban a single user
17:31.46blast007well, let's say there's some people at a university or the same household
17:31.52blast007you might want to ban one person, not all of them
17:31.53JeffMok
17:31.55JeffMsure
17:32.00JeffMbut yeah not ID ban
17:32.14JeffMif you are ID banned you are ID banned
17:32.24JeffMthat shoudl be the first ban checked
17:32.30JeffMcus it has the least room for error
17:32.48blast007now, in the event that someone has antiban and you do a /ban by callsign/slot, should it *just* add the idban, or should it add the IP ban as well?
17:33.43blast007(currently when you ban by callsign/slot on a registered user *without* antiban it will issue both an IP ban and an ID ban)
17:34.50JeffMI think in that case you really want to ban that person so we should take all effort to ban them
17:34.59blast007k
17:35.14JeffMa specific ban act on a user should efectivly REMOVE anti-ban
17:35.42JeffMantiban was intened to prevent specific admins from being locked out in range bans IIRC
17:35.59blast007with the current system, if a trouble maker gets on a whitelist, a server admin can't ban them until the group leader removes that user
17:36.09JeffMyeah that's not fun
17:36.27JeffMif we need a system that prevents lower admins from banning higher admins where both have antiban we'll need some other data
17:36.31JeffMlike an "admin level"
17:36.37blast007yep
17:36.38JeffMand you can't ban higher then your level
17:37.05blast007there's quite a few limitations in our current permission system
17:37.12JeffMyes
17:37.24blast007doesn't integrate with plugins (custom permissions) as well as I would like it to
17:37.40JeffMindeed
17:38.40JeffMa good goal would be to take a look at the entire admin system and write a spec that refactors it based on how players use it
17:38.49JeffMand see what client features could be enabled to assist in that
17:39.07JeffMI'm fine with the client knowing what permisiosn the user has and providing better GUI tools to assist in admin
17:40.15JeffMprobably should look at how freenode does it with services, cus I'm going to bet it's a very similar workflow
17:41.08blast007freenode has 'flags', so basically the same
17:41.44blast007there's a "founder" flag that gives more control over the channel
17:42.02JeffMperhaps we need an owner group by default
17:42.26JeffMthen /password could just put the user in that group for the session
17:42.40blast007in 2.0 I had a plugin that would set operator status on myself so that I could kick idle admins ;)
17:43.47blast007but yes, overall probably need a look through and refactor, much like everything else
17:44.17JeffMgoes to the dentist
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18:10.38BulletCatcherShort of a major reengineering of the ban system, it might be easiest to add a new "registered callsigns only" type of ban for hosts/IP addresses.
18:10.40BulletCatcherThis would provide the desired functionality for those who want it without changing the way the rest of the system works.
18:11.14BulletCatcherAnother goal for a new ban system is IPv6 support.
18:16.54blast007BulletCatcher: what benefit would that provide?  would it ignore antiban?
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18:18.47swigg_JeffM: What do you do as a senior admin when a lesser admin needs to be banned?
18:18.51BulletCatcherThe benefit is that it wouldn't surprise server owners by changing the way the rest of the ban system works.
18:19.06BulletCatcherMy idea would not affect antiban, but that change could be done independently if desired.
18:19.20blast007shrugs
18:19.42blast007either of them won't be done before 2.4.2.. speaking of which.. I need to keep working on that instead of playing minecraft ;)
18:19.56BulletCatcher:-p
18:20.19swigg_I had a problem with someone with an attitude problem who felt they were untouchable, so therefore no reciprocity
18:20.36swigg_until I had the owner remove antiban for lower groups
18:20.45swigg_as per Blast007's advice
18:20.49blast007swigg_: currently you can't do much other than stuff like that
18:21.03swigg_Still want your plugin :P
18:21.12blast007I don't have one for 2.4
18:21.20blast007don't know if it works anymore anyway
18:22.01blast007BulletCatcher: my idea definately needs some more thought put into the implications of such changes
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18:22.50swiggFor bans, Thumper seems to have the best system
18:22.52BulletCatcherYeah.  That's why it is better to just leave the current system as is for now, even though it is imperfect.
18:23.15BulletCatcherIntegrating the idea of upper and lower admins would be something to be done in the ban system rewrite, but realistically that isn'g going to happen in the foreseeable future.
18:23.30blast007well, and honestly, I don't think anyone is going to bother with it anyway, given the current development speed ;)
18:23.32swiggadd it to the wish list
18:23.37blast007so it's all just talk so far
18:24.11swiggwell at least you  all know the inherient weaknesses in the current system
18:24.16blast007swigg: what, a shared ban file?  what else does he have besides that?
18:24.24BulletCatcherAll it takes is for one developer to be motivated, but I don't see that happening.
18:24.32swiggthat tenacious plugin he has
18:24.42blast007meh, not worth it
18:24.47swigglog in and go on a tk spree
18:24.58swiggpretty effective
18:25.05blast007simple stuff like that could be added
18:25.13blast007instead of a kick, do a ban
18:25.14blast007stuff like taht
18:28.54swiggdo you guys forsee being able to amend the whitelist in the same fashion as the banlist?
18:30.29BulletCatcherWhat whitelist?
18:30.37swiggany whitelist
18:30.50swiggserver specific
18:31.04BulletCatcherAre you asking if we could add a whitelist feature to bzfs?
18:31.19swiggyes
18:31.28swiggI guess it could be done via plugin?
18:32.02BulletCatcherAnything is possible, but right now motivated developers are scarce.
18:32.11swiggI thought it was interesting that you mentioned whitelisted players being unbannable
18:32.46BulletCatcherThe current whitelist method involves a global group whose members get the anitban permission.
18:33.17BulletCatcherThat does, indeed, make them unbannable while they belong to the group.
18:34.56swiggso... It's only accessable to group leaders. Ok
18:35.28BulletCatcherMaybe it would be sufficient to make the antiban permission apply only to poll bans.
18:35.30BulletCatcherLet the server owner sort it out if admins start banning each other.
18:36.05swiggBenfish fixed it with a three teir rank system
18:36.12swiggcops, admins and trusted
18:37.14swiggwe had probs with admins abusing perms, making racial slurs, etc
18:38.30swiggbut admins banning other admins is truly going nuclear; That can make blood wars
18:39.44BulletCatcherThe server owner has ultimate responsibility for choosing admins, and the current system supports that.
18:40.21swiggReminds me of the scene in Indiana Jones when he had the rocket launcher pointer at the ark and said "It all depends on how reasonable we're all willing to be"
18:40.33swigg*pointed
18:41.42BulletCatcherYup, and it is the server owner's job to choose reasonable admins.
18:41.46BulletCatcherPresumably, an admin who bans another for the wrong reason will soon lose admin status.
18:42.48I_Died_Onceare you guys about to draft a bill of rights for admins, players, and server owners?
18:42.53swiggofficial servers as JeffM suggested would be great for all of that too.
18:43.23swiggMaybe a "Bill of privilages"?
18:44.00BulletCatcherI_Died_Once: No.  The project plans to continue to support server owner dictatorships.
18:44.28BulletCatcher:-|
18:44.42I_Died_Once<PROTECTED>
18:45.08BulletCatcherThat *is* how it works in the BZFlag universe.
18:45.14I_Died_Oncethat, and fear of this battle station....
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18:45.53swiggThat would be neat, as a discrete chain of command could be established instead of "Go whine to the owner"
18:46.16I_Died_Onceyeah but i aint answering to nobody as to why i banned any given asshat
18:46.45swiggha! just like 'Sniper15' did to you. :P
18:46.47I_Died_Oncethen again, i am one of those regional governors
18:48.13swigga dog with no teeth has no bite to his bark
18:48.23BulletCatcherThe difference is that you don't have to fear a visit from Darth BulletCatcher, I_Died_Once.
18:49.11I_Died_Onceour blockade is perfectly legal and we would be happy to recieve ambassadors
18:50.29I_Died_Onceget it, blockade?
18:50.47I_Died_Once='s bans
18:51.10I_Died_Oncei'll be here all week, try the veal!
18:51.52swiggVeal = "Some kind of meat" as per 'Meatballs'
18:52.03JeffMwow that's a lot of text
18:52.26JeffMswigg, that should be up to the owner, admins should not be managing themselves
18:52.42JeffMthe owner picked them, if the owner picked a bad one they should manage it
18:53.58swiggJeffm: Every incident makes for a 'court of slander'. Thank heaven I have f5'd every time something happened
18:54.47swiggnever mattered what actually happened; it was all in how it was presented
18:56.15JeffMyes that is one reason I think having a subset of the servers be run by the project would be a good idea
18:56.16swiggI do agree; every owner should have a guide to instruct and train admins on conduct and accountability
18:56.25JeffMit also would help new players have a good place to go
18:56.45I_Died_Oncebeen doing that for years
18:56.52JeffMwell I think we have too many servers because we use servers to mean map
18:57.01JeffMand people want map options.
18:57.05blast007swigg: the server owner should also have log files that they can read for situations like that.  a screenshot should not be necessary.
18:57.45swiggOh well; Mother necesisity.
18:59.54blast007JeffM: I'm not even sure if people want map options.  map authors and server owners certainly think that people want options.. yet players stick to the same maps for years
19:02.24swiggblast007: a 'featured map' in listserv would introduce variety
19:02.58swiggbasically a map picked by the listserv leaders
19:17.54JeffMblast007, players play where other players are
19:18.16JeffMso yeah we have a bunch of crap servers that simply exists so someone can play a map once
19:18.24JeffMthats why I like the room idea
19:18.35JeffMit lets maps come and go as needed
19:18.39JeffMwith out cluttering up a list
19:19.11JeffMit woudl change how maps are published of course, they would be submited to the official servers for inclusion
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19:19.30JeffMbut then that's also cool since you don't have go and beg people to host a server just for your map
19:55.21KTLwill try to avoid having to download 900 small pics by using the sprite-approach, one big pic from which selections get used
20:07.18JeffMbe warry of blending due to mip mapping if you pack them too close
20:07.30JeffMyou could get edge pixels from other images to blur in
20:13.06JeffMblast007.... too... many....quotes......
20:13.39JeffMand all because I put a name on your idea... wow
20:26.53KTLmmm ... it gives a nice speedup to make the extents-zone length in only one dimension, as if you have some invisible orthogonal line in the map... the trick that follows is to choose the location and dimension of the extents line in such a way that the mesh associated with it is shown as much as possible (aka doesnt mysteriously vanish half the time)
20:27.25KTLalso, the graphics card doesnt like many extents on the same spot
20:27.42KTLtry to avoid overlaps with extents
20:30.13JeffMthe graphics card? or our octree?
20:30.27JeffMcus the graphics card dosn't know what "extens" are :)
20:30.31KTLthere is nothing to collide with ...
20:30.43JeffMthe graphics card dosn't know or care about collisions
20:30.54KTLwhat is the octree (meant of collision detection as far as i know) do with the extents?
20:30.56JeffMit's just told to draw a bunch of fragments
20:31.07JeffMit uses it to know what nodes the object is in
20:31.20JeffMso it knows who can collide wiht it, and when it's vissable
20:31.30KTLhe... weird ... all those meshes are just drawinfo's
20:31.44JeffMto the card all objects are meshes
20:31.49KTLand those extents really have influence on what is shown and what is not
20:31.55JeffMyes
20:32.02JeffMthe octree is used for visablity
20:32.25JeffMthey are used for the octree to decide if the object is inside the camera frustum
20:32.36KTLthen it is the octree that get's crazy with many overlapping objects
20:32.41JeffMthose outside the frustum are not drawn or sent to the card
20:32.42JeffMyes
20:32.43KTLextents*
20:32.55JeffMour viz system isn't that great
20:32.59KTLis there a separate octree for collisions?
20:33.02JeffMit's WAYYYYY Ybetter then it used to be
20:33.03JeffMnope
20:33.14KTLmmm :)
20:33.28JeffMthe same world octree is used to determine what objects are near a player or shot
20:33.38JeffMit's used in a different way of course
20:33.46JeffMbut then drawinfo geometry is never collided with
20:33.53JeffMthats why it's DRAWinfo
20:34.06JeffMthe normal mesh geometry is used for collision
20:34.22KTLi will try to keep all that in mind (while making maps)
20:34.42JeffMremember that draw info was intended for graphic only effects, like fire
20:35.05JeffMso for collisions, ether you don't care, or surround it with an invisible real object
20:35.22KTLi dont care about the collisions, i do care about fps
20:35.38JeffMyour FPS slowdown is probalby swaping to each texture
20:35.50JeffMGL is fastest when drawing multiple faces using the same texture
20:35.56KTLbarely, it's the extents that make a huuuge difference
20:36.00JeffMmoving from one texture to another is a slower operation for most cards
20:36.06KTLso a lot of my slowdown must be ... because of the octtree
20:36.16JeffMthe extens will help the octreee decide when to draw it
20:36.22KTLi can make it very fast by tweaking the extents
20:36.34JeffMif the extens are too big the octree will thing the object is visible when it is not, so it is drawn pointlessly
20:36.52JeffMthe extens should be as close to the actual size as possible
20:36.59KTLeven a lot smaller
20:37.07KTLyes it will not be drawn all the time
20:37.08JeffMyou can run into clipping issues then
20:37.15KTLbut it will be much faster still
20:37.21JeffMsure cus you draw it less :)
20:37.39JeffMhonestly moving it to one texture will be a big speedup
20:37.39KTLi have been able to experiment here with 900 panels with each another texture rotating around 0,0,0
20:38.05KTLand suppose i would have 900 extent boxes of the same size on 0,0,0 then the octtree will hang the game for an instant
20:38.30KTLbut if i have 900 extent-line that do not overlap and are long enough to be usually in the view ... then every goes fine
20:38.53JeffMyeah it was not meant for that kinda density
20:39.02JeffMremember it's a silly LAN game :)
20:39.27KTLit's the only thing i know where i can try to do this kind of stuff :)
20:40.14JeffMreally? cus most real graphics engines will do a lot better then this
20:40.23JeffMuse an ogre sample app.....
20:40.36KTLi cant play in that
20:40.51JeffMthey have a standard movement controll :)
20:40.54JeffMso yes.. yes you can
20:41.19JeffMthey even let you use shaders
20:41.21JeffM:)
20:41.42KTLi try to ... avoid making something that goes in some dusty directory to never come out of it again
20:42.02JeffMumm... that pretty much describes this project right now ;)
20:42.33KTLsssjjt there still are players, the database is still filling up, the viewer/bzflag client can easily be installed everywhere
20:42.55JeffMsoon you will get to braganing, it's ok
20:44.23JeffMbut try the single texture thing, with one extens box, I think that will be your best bet
20:44.44JeffMyou are getting a speedup by using multiple extens because then only subsections of the object are drawn
20:44.49JeffMand that's less texture swaps
20:44.51KTLi will do that, the moment i have some mental idea on how to organize it all
20:45.03KTL(i want it to be regenerated every so many days)
20:45.08JeffMat some point you will spend more time in the octree then you will on a texture swap so it'll loose adavantage
20:45.42JeffMwe sort our drawing by material(texture) if we can to minimiize texture swaps for that same reason
20:46.20KTLso all texmats with the same texture come in a row ?
20:46.27JeffMyes
20:46.33KTLthis is gonna be fun
20:46.43JeffMopenGL is a state machine, it only has one texture "Active" at a time
20:47.14JeffMwe keep the textures loaded in card memory with bindings, but there is still a delay when you activate or rebind a texture to the current context
20:47.24JeffMso you want to do that as few times as possible
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22:29.13blast007man, responding this this thread is becoming painful
22:29.25JeffMthen don't
22:29.36blast007pfft, but I'm OCD, so I have to :P
22:29.51JeffMyour idea is valid, his is another idea that is based on not understandin how the code or admins actualy work
22:30.09JeffMI'm sure it would work. It would just be more cumbersom
22:30.17blast007he keeps making stuff up as he goes along so that he sounds like he's right
22:30.21JeffMmost of his arguments are just about what he think he did or did not say
22:30.27JeffMit's just babble
22:30.34JeffMyeah he wants to be "right"
22:30.41JeffMwhen there isn't a right or wrong
22:31.07JeffMhe has to have the last word
22:31.16blast007but I can lock threads ;)
22:31.37JeffMtrue
22:31.59JeffMremember this is the guy who can't keep java, javascript, j# seperate in his head
22:32.03JeffMhe's a LOON
22:32.06swiggwhat thread?
22:32.24JeffMif you do't know then you don't need to know ;)
22:32.26swiggEvery time  I lock threads the instigator usually just starts a new one
22:32.32JeffMhe won't
22:32.39blast007then I delete it that new one ;)
22:32.46JeffMbut then that's blast's deal with
22:32.47JeffMyeah
22:32.49blast007s/it //
22:35.23JeffMI put a generic "we'll review it" comment in
22:35.32JeffMhow hard is your fix?
22:35.56swiggI was going to suggust you capitulate
22:36.15JeffMhis ideas are valid, if not optimal
22:36.18JeffMhe just likes to argue
22:36.24JeffMand it's pointless to continue that
22:36.38JeffMthe point has been brought up and a developer will review it
22:36.41JeffMthat's all we can do
22:37.24JeffMlocal reg will not be reenabled :)
22:40.46blast007I'd wait until after 2.4.2 for it, if at all
22:40.54JeffMok, so never
22:40.58blast007sure ;)
22:41.00JeffMthat was it, we tried
22:41.50JeffMif it's just due to time you have, can you describe the changes to someone else? could probalby convince someone to poke at it
22:42.02JeffMor are you conscerned about stability?
22:42.21blast007well, it was a bit more than just changing the bzid to ignore antiban
22:42.30blast007the '/ban' command would need changing as well
22:42.32JeffMis the risk high?
22:42.45blast007probably not terribly high
22:42.49blast007since it's pretty simple logic
22:43.02JeffMif it can be described decently we can have someone try to do it
22:43.05JeffMlike mudskipper
22:43.15JeffMand roll it out if it dosn't fly
22:43.16blast007it's just determining which types of bans to issue when banning by slot or callsign
22:43.33JeffMwell we can start with a subset and see how that works
22:43.43JeffMI say do IP and ID and go from there
22:44.15JeffMif it's a big issue or people want options we store what bans are done in a var or config option
22:44.15blast007if we say that banning by callsign/slot always issues an IP ban (and ID ban if registered), then it's simplier
22:44.29blast007I was initially doing it where it would *only* do an ID ban if they had antiban
22:44.36JeffMnaw do both for now
22:44.36blast007so it got more complicated
22:44.38JeffMsee how it works
22:45.04swiggwhat else is there? There doesn't seem to be any consistency with host strings.
22:45.24JeffMthere is the super secret client ID we could use
22:45.27JeffMbut I don't like using that
22:45.43swiggnever trust the client, you all say
22:45.58JeffMit's very partial to the star sign the player was born under
22:46.04JeffMdosnt' always work for gemini
22:46.06swiggI always wanted something based on the MAC address
22:46.21JeffMyou can set your mac to anything
22:46.40swiggit would still work for all but the most persistant
22:46.47JeffMnot really
22:46.58JeffMwe have tried to secure against a number of things here
22:47.05blast007swigg: it's a simple registry tweak, and some drivers have it right in their interface
22:47.11blast007and you wouldn't even need to do that
22:47.18blast007you just change the client to not read that
22:47.21JeffMyeah MAC and VID are not that secure
22:47.32swiggwell, one thing I note: The client detects the video card
22:47.39blast007so?
22:47.40swiggyeah but not everyone is that smart
22:47.43JeffMthe client lies
22:47.46blast007it just takes one ...
22:47.56JeffMthe client asks GL what the card decided to tell GL it was
22:48.18swiggwell.. in my business we can shoot for 95%
22:48.28blast007swigg: this is shooting for 0%
22:48.34swiggthe last 5% is about 20 times more expensive
22:48.34blast007since it would. not. work.
22:49.22swiggwell... If you consider trying to outsmart Blast or Jeffm... maybe
22:49.42swiggbut there are very few blasts and Jeffm's
22:49.50JeffMadding additonal ways to ban people is not how we should be spending time on bz
22:49.57blast007a brain dead squirrel could figure out how to change the line of text that sends the MAC address
22:49.59JeffMfor the little amount of time we spend on BZ
22:50.14JeffMthe ID ban change is simple and makes sense
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22:50.58swiggI always thought you guys could make unique id's via self destructing code
22:50.59JeffMbut we don't need to waste time figuring out exotic ways to get yet another ID from the client
22:51.05JeffMhuh?
22:51.21JeffMwe can only make IDs on code we control, and we don't control the client
22:51.33swiggsomething that does a hardware id, phones home and deletes itsself
22:51.53JeffMthat still requires the remote client to execute something
22:51.55blast007swigg: would. not. work.
22:52.06JeffMalso a HUGE security risk
22:52.10blast007and besides, we're not ubisoft
22:52.10JeffMand a deployment nightmare
22:52.12swiggmaybe one day I'll have a good idea
22:52.13JeffMyeah
22:52.35JeffMdo you want every server sending an executable for you to run?
22:52.41JeffMeven if deletes your C drive?
22:53.19blast007well, we have to nuke your drive from orbit. it's the only way to be sure.
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22:53.32JeffMit woudl make bzflag very secure
22:53.35JeffMas in unplayable
22:53.37JeffMbut secure
22:54.17JeffMif identifying a user is needed for something, then we should add registration to the game
22:54.23JeffMand just make everyone register
22:54.28swiggI think if you did a closed source module like they do with VM's it might be possible
22:54.32JeffMand limit what servers they can play on untill they verify
22:54.37swiggnever release that code
22:54.55JeffMthe trust relationship runs a different way there
22:55.02JeffMthat is the client trusting the host
22:55.03swiggyeah, official servers would fix that
22:55.09JeffMso they choose to download a component
22:55.18JeffMdosn't work the other way around
22:55.26JeffMthere is no way for us to be sure they ran what we asked them to run
22:55.31JeffMsince they can always lie
22:55.38JeffMalso there is no way for the client to trust our code
22:55.50JeffMalso we don't have packages for every platform
22:56.02JeffMso that would be very hard in the linux space
22:56.16swiggbut if it were done with a secure key, if the response wasn't what you expected they couldn't authenticate
22:56.20JeffMthere woudl be several dosens of packages for every CPU/runtime combo
22:56.50JeffMthey could still run a different app, one that had been hacked to return a valid code
22:56.54JeffMand so what if they authenticate
22:56.57JeffMwhopty do..
22:57.00JeffMthey can stil cheat
22:57.11JeffMand jsut get another ID and authenticate as an other user next time
22:57.14swiggwell... look at the havoc that happens when listserv goes down
22:57.29JeffMthat's because so many people tie permisions to logins
22:57.36JeffMso we don't need another way to authenticate
22:57.42JeffMthen one we have works
22:57.45JeffMwe just have to use it for everyone
22:57.58JeffMthe core issue being discussed is what do with people that don't authenticate
22:58.27JeffMthats why I say the simplest solution is to not allow those people to exist
22:58.44swiggok... I'll kill them. give me the address
22:59.21Erroneousor actually, y'know, admin your servers.  you don't need to know who exactly everyone is, just whether or not what they're doing is acceptable or not.
22:59.31JeffMyeah
22:59.44swiggwhy not do an experiment then?
22:59.47JeffMif the admins were paying attention most of these discussions would not be needed
22:59.49Erroneousauthentication should be superfluous for most players
22:59.52swiggpick one miscreant
23:00.00swiggspoogebobspermpants
23:00.13swiggfind a way to defeat him
23:00.15JeffMdon't we autoban for saying that name?
23:00.27swiggonly overseer does that IIRC
23:00.27JeffMyou are talking about a different problem that has nothing to do with authentication
23:00.41swiggit would be an interesting study
23:00.43JeffMI know how to minimize what we can do
23:00.48swigghe's not that smart
23:00.59swiggyet he always returns
23:01.01JeffMnether is bzflag
23:01.10JeffMsure cus it's easy to cheat
23:01.17JeffMmake it harder to cheat and he's done
23:01.25JeffMthat's different then making it harder for him to login
23:01.38JeffMcus making it harder for him to login often makes it harder for OTHERS to log in too
23:01.53JeffMtoo many people focus on the connection aspect for people like that, not the rest of it
23:02.00JeffMand the solution is simple
23:02.09JeffMput good admins on all servers
23:02.16JeffMhe will be removed as he shows up
23:02.52JeffMif you don't want to baby sit every game, then we have to start limiting what he can do with a client
23:02.58JeffMdo death checks on the server
23:03.07JeffMthat takes out a huge group of cheats
23:03.25swiggheuristical analysis
23:03.43JeffMof what? laggy inconsistent dat?
23:03.45JeffMdata
23:03.52JeffMwe don't have a consistent gamestate to anaalize
23:04.05Erroneoushumans are great at heuristics.  computers not so much.  so...use good admins.
23:04.10JeffMthey are all affected by differing amounts of lags
23:04.12JeffMyeah
23:04.14swiggwell, if it were made into a report, it would create a watchlist
23:04.28JeffMor we could just force his client to die when shot ;)
23:04.29swiggand essentially do the same thing
23:04.58swiggthat would make a good plugin
23:05.25JeffMI love how people sugest these huge hard tasks to do what people do to stop cheaters instead of just sugesting what every other game does that is easy
23:05.31JeffMit can't be a plugin
23:05.39JeffMwe have to redo the sim system
23:05.41Erroneousapparently not THAT easy ;)
23:05.42JeffMit's not hard
23:05.45JeffMit's just a lot of code
23:05.56Erroneousindeed it is
23:05.59swiggI would like to see something to alert the admins of suspect players, then we could watch them
23:05.59JeffMit's easier then replecating human reasoning for refing a game :)
23:06.30JeffMthis is why I think this project is doomed, too many people think like that
23:06.40JeffMautomate the people instead of fix the game
23:06.46JeffMit will never end in fun
23:06.53swiggThese problems are not unique to BZ
23:06.58JeffMexactly
23:07.08JeffMand look at how other games solve them
23:07.25JeffMthey get an authorative game state
23:07.29JeffMthat takes care of most cheats
23:07.42JeffMthen you can use specific huristics for some aspects, like aimbot trackin
23:07.48JeffMbut they will always be wrong in some cases
23:08.03JeffMwe arn't even close to having to worry about that level
23:08.11JeffMwe can't even say "that dude should have died"
23:11.30swiggI dunno; Most of the time when I see a miscreant, I just get a gut feeling, then cross check them and am usually right
23:11.44JeffMsure cus you are made out of meat
23:11.58JeffMlet me know when you are done writing code that simulates meat ;)
23:12.12JeffMpeople are good at that
23:12.14JeffMmachines are not
23:12.17JeffMall they can do is math
23:12.36JeffMwhat math do you do in your gut?
23:12.44swiggestimation
23:12.48JeffMof what?
23:13.01swiggnumbers, behaviors, etc
23:13.02JeffMand how much is based on the player name? ;)
23:13.11JeffMsee you can't even desribe it
23:13.17JeffMhow can you program that
23:13.31swiggThat takes engenuity
23:14.35swiggwell... at least it's not for lack of want
23:16.49swiggI think that if you guys can find a solution it will help online gaming in general
23:17.02swiggeven message boards, etc
23:17.29JeffMyou really don't play any other games do you?
23:17.41swiggsome, not much
23:17.46JeffMand yes writing a smart AI would help the WORLD not just games ;)
23:17.48swiggwhat do you suggest?
23:17.52JeffMyeah most other games don't have this issue
23:18.04JeffMthose that do are for a very small subset of issues, like aimbots
23:18.13JeffMand for that some games use punkbuster
23:18.23JeffMit does something similar to what you descrive
23:18.35JeffMuse statistiacs to determine validity levels of players
23:18.39JeffMbut it needs a clean state
23:19.04JeffMgo play another FPS online
23:19.12JeffMthey don't have the same level of cheating that we have
23:19.26swiggmost of them make me sick with vertigo
23:20.29JeffMexcuses excuses
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