setup

Setting Up the BBS

Before setting up the NetObjects Fusion Message Board component, there are three key pieces of information that you need to know:

  1. Are you publishing to a UNIX, Windows, or Macintosh server?
  2. Does your server allow you to execute CGI scripts from any subdirectory or do CGI scripts need to be placed in a specific directory?
    (ie. can you run CGI scripts from www.hostname.com/username/subdirectory/cgi-bin/ or do all scripts need to be run from www.hostname.com/username/cgi-bin)
  3. UNIX servers only:
    What is the path to the perl5 executable on your server?
    (usually one of the following: /usr/bin/perl   or   /usr/local/bin/perl)

Once you have this information, you can insert the Message Board component on your page. When you do, you will see the Message Board Properties palette. Based on the answers to the  above three questions, fill in the values accordingly.

Publish To
Select the proper platform from the pull-down

Perl Path for Unix
Enter in the path to the Perl5 executable on your server

CGI-bin Directory
If your server allows you to run CGI scripts from any directory, leave the default value: bbs/cgi-bin
If your server requires CGI scripts to be run from a specific directory, enter in that path. (ie. cgi-bin/ would be the path if CGI scripts are required to be run from the root/cgi-bin/ directory)

You have now successfully configured the Message Board Component and are ready to publish the site!

Permissions

After you have publishing the site containing the Fusion Message Board, you will need to verify that proper permissions have been given to the directories. You will need to log onto  your webserver and go to the bbs/ directory. The following permissions need to be given:

  • bbs/cgi-bin directory
    The cgi-bin directory needs to have Read and Execute permissions given to all. This allows your viewers to access the directory and run the CGI scripts  and view the CGI scripts from the browser (useful for troubleshooting). You can give yourself, the owner of the directory all permissions.

    If publishing to a Unix server, you will need to change  directories to the bbs/ directory and type in the following at the UNIX prompt:
       chmod 755 cgi-bin/
       chmod 755 cgi-bin/*     (changes the permissions on all files in the cgi-bin directory)

    If publishing to a Windows server,  choose which server you are publishing to:
         Internet Information Server 3.0 (IIS 3.0)
         Internet Information Server 4.0 (IIS 4.0)
         Netscape Enterprise Server (NES)
         Apache Server for NT
     
  • bbs/message directory
    The message directory needs to have Write and Execute permissions given to all. This allows your viewers to access the directory and run the CGI scripts  and write a message to the Message Board. You can give yourself, the owner of the directory all permissions.

    If publishing to a Unix server, you will need to change directories to the bbs/  directory and type in the following at the UNIX prompt:
       chmod 733 message/

    If publishing to a Windows server,  choose which server you are publishing to:
         Internet Information Server 3.0 (IIS 3.0)
         Internet Information Server 4.0 (IIS 4.0)
         Netscape Enterprise Server (NES)
         Apache Server for NT

Perl Path

The Perl Path setting is only relevant if you are publishing to a Unix server or a Windows server running Perl. The Message Board component requires that you are running Perl5.
The  two CGI scripts that are used in the Message Board component are Perl5 scripts. You must have Perl5 installed and running on your server in order for these scripts to be interpreted properly. If you are not running Perl5 and you try to run the Message Board, you will get a Server Error.

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