THE PUBLIC HOUSE

is an event-driven UTF-8 WebSocket chat server for the Prospero Web Server.

To install and configure:

0. Edit Makefile.  Instructions are at the top of the file.

1. make install

2. /etc/rc.conf:

   house_enable="YES"
   house_flags="<from those that follow.  Leave empty to use defaults.>"

   -m <max connections>               (default 4096)
   -l <UNIX socket>                   (default /var/run/house.socket)
   -h <hostname>                      (default host's actual name)
   -u <Value of USER in Makefile>     (default www)
   -g <value of GROUP in Makefile>    (default www)
   -o <max occupants per room>        (default 32)
   -t <inactivity timeout in minutes> (default 10)

4. Make the path to the socket defined by the -l option the 5th, 7th, or 9th
   line of prospero's configuration file.  What line is determined by what
   value you choose for the Makefile's WEBSOCKET variable.  See the prospero
   manual for details.

5. service house start
   service prospero restart

6. With a web browser, access /house/.

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TEXT CHAT IS THE SUPERIOR FORM OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION.

1. YOU CAN CHAT IN ANY CONDITION, ANYWHERE, AND HAVE PRIVACY.

   With text chat, you can sit in the back of a cab. You can huddle in a
   tent in the wilderness.  You can sit in a noisy restaurant.  You can lie
   in bed in the dark.  As long as no one else sees your screen, your
   conversation is private.

   With video chat, you must be presentable.  You must be in quiet place.
   If you want privacy, you must be in a secluded place.

2. YOU HAVE A TRANSCRIPT OF THE CONVERSATION.

   With text chat, you can look back over the transcript if you miss
   or forget something someone has "said."  You can go away and come back.
   You can answer email or take calls without missing any of the
   conversation.  You don't have to ask people to repeat what they've
   "said."

   With video chat, you have dropouts due to network congestion.  Even
   without dropouts, you can miss something someone has said and not know
   it.  If you do know it, you must ask people to repeat their words.

3. TYPING ENABLES COMPOSITION AND ENCOURAGES CONCISION.

   With text chat, you can compose your thoughts to be concise and precise.
   Typing discourages chatter for the sake of chatter.

   With video chat, you must compose extempore.  Different people have
   different levels of articulation and enunciation.  Mumblers mumble.
   People "um" and "ah" and search for words when they think on their feet.
   Windbags are free to hold forth.  Meetings are easily diverted from
   their agendas by pedantic personalities.

4. EVERYONE "TALKS" AT ONCE BUT ALL ARE SILENT.

   With text chat, you can take your eyes off the conversation to think
   without interruption from the voices of others.  You can "hear" yourself
   think.  When you "speak," no one can interrupt you.  Because everyone
   "talks" at once, meetings move quickly and cover their agendas.

   With video chat, only one person can "speak" at a time.