README - Installation Instructions for Discus 3.10

Thank you for choosing to download and install Discus version 3.10. You have selected to install Discus using the telnet or console procedure. To be able to use this file, you must have telnet access (ability to use a telnet program to access a server) or console access (ability to sit down at the server itself).

If you have only FTP access to your server but you don't have telnet or console access, you won't be able to use this file. DiscusWare has a procedure by which Discus can be installed using only FTP. Follow this procedure from the freeware Discus download page or the Discus Pro download page as appropriate.

System Requirements

Installation Requirements

At least 4.0 MB free space on your server*
Ability to execute CGI scripts in your account*
Ability to change permissions on files via telnet and/or FTP*
Ability to change permissions to world-writable for files and directories*
If using CGIWrap, ability to change owner/group on files if uploaded files are owned by the incorrect UID/GID to allow CGIWrap execution.*
FTP client or telnet client on your local machine for accessing your server*
Program capable of handling zip files (such as 'WinZip' or 'StuffIt') if you are doing the FTP installation*

Perl Requirements

Perl interpreter of version 5.0 or higher*
Perl interpreter must support the 'crypt' function¹*
Perl interpreter on Windows 95/98/NT must support the Win32::Process module for e-mail notification*
Discus Pro compression of backups is supported only if the Compress::Zlib module is installed

E-mail Sending Requirements

Command-line mailer installed on your server²*
No anti-spam filter installed on your server*

Reply by E-mail Requirements³

Ability to receive e-mail at your WWW server*
Ability to "intercept" e-mail with a .forward or .procmailrc file at your server*

*Indicates that these features are identical in the free version of Discus and Discus Pro. If you are able to install the free version and it works, then the professional version will also work.

Notes

¹ On Windows 95/98/NT, the ActiveState port of Perl supports the 'crypt' function. The CPAN port of Perl does not support this function and is therefore insufficient to meet our system requirements.

² Most unix servers have 'sendmail' installed and available. Most Windows servers do NOT have a command line mailer installed by default, so configuring Discus on Windows NT will likely require installing a compatible command line mailer (your web host will probably need to do this installation for you). Version 3.10 of Discus has an option to use the Net::SMTP Perl module instead of a command line mailer.

³ Most Windows servers do not have this ability so reply by e-mail will not work with a normal Windows server. Whether or not you can do this depends on your web host.

Installation Instructions

The latest Discus installation instructions are found at DiscusWare's Installation Instructions. Instructions for installing and upgrade Discus on all types of supported servers are found from that page.

Some Additional Links

The Discus Support Center provides additional troubleshooting documentation as well as an extensive library of information related to customizing Discus.

The Discus Support Forum is a discussion board (running Discus of course) that can be used to ask questions of DiscusWare's support staff and other Discus users throughout the world.

The Discus Site Checker will check your discussion board for common installation problems and provide custom-selected documentation to assist you in fixing any problems related to installation misconfigurations.

The Active State Tool Corportation produces and distributes ActivePerl, which is the Perl port that is required for installation on Windows platforms.

License

Discus is copyright © 1997-2000 by DiscusWare, LLC, all rights reserved. The Discus License Agreement can be found at DiscusWare's site. Anyone not agreeing to the Discus License Agreement must not install Discus.