This is a perl CGI script for a blackboard. In fact, the number of blackboards is unlimited and the layout is fully configurable for each blackboard. The blackboard won't accept any HTML codes for input (this is because some people put links to pictures in their texts and when the other computer is off-line at the time that someone wants to see your blackboard it takes a long time before a time out is given, if given at all). To install it do the following things: 1. Copy bb.pl to a subdir (eg blackboard) in your cgi-bin directory. Make it executable with "chmod 755 bb.pl" (or something alike). 2. In this subdir you need 1 other dir (the name is free, you define it in blackboard.cnf (step 3): cgi-bin/blackboard/messages (chmod 777 messages, everyone must read and write to it). 3. Copy blackboard.cnf (this name is coded in the perl script) to cgi-bin/blackboard (next to bb.pl). 4. Edit this file with a text editor for your needs. Example entries are available. Here you define a blackboard entry (between []'s) as called in your header file (step 5) by
, where ***** is your entry. Under this entry you define which header, footer and messages file must be used for this entry. Example of blackboard.cnf : [bb] <--- name of entry as typed in the header form header=headers/bb.header <--- name of header file footer=footers/bb.footer <--- name of footer file messages=messages/bb.messages <--- name of messages file (REQUIRED) profile=profiles/bb.profile <--- name of profile containing the message format [billy] Create as many entries as you like. header=headers/billy.header messages=messages/billy.messages Note that the header, footer and profile options are not required. You can choose to put your form HTML codes in the header or in the footer. When someone calls your script for the first time (when no form input is send) you might want to include a message like "Please fill in the above form". Also when someone filled in the form (and thus calls the script for the second time with form data) you might want to display a message like "Thank you for your contribution". If you want this define the variables begin_msg and submit_msg like: begin_msg=Scroll down to see all messages or fill in the above form yourself !