README

Phoenix Conferencing System
---------------------------

[This description is better viewed at http://www.phoenix-cmc.org/ to benefit
from hyperlinks.]

This is [an adaptation of] the homepage for the Phoenix conferencing system.

Phoenix is a Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) system which supports
real-time communication between users, currently using a text-based user
interface.  Functionally, this is similar to IRC (Internet Relay Chat), but
the current user interface is patterned after CONNECT, a CMC system (pre-dating
IRC) which comes from a series of CMC systems written and used at Rensselaer
(RPI).  Some users find the interface easier to use than IRC, others consider
it too verbose!  Perhaps it's a matter of what you're accustomed to.

The initial Open Source release of the Phoenix source code (version
1.0.0.beta.1) was made available under the Q Public License [as shown in
the LICENSE.QPL file] on November 30, 2001.  This was the ninth anniversary
of the codebase -- initial development began on November 30, 1992.  For the
first nine years of its existence, the source code was never released by the
author (Deven T. Corzine) and it was only occasionally seen by a very few
selected individuals.

This codebase has existed (on a private server) as a production user service
(albeit with a very small user base) since at least March 5, 1993 when the
initial version was checked into RCS.  There have been very few problems with
the server, and the host computer is typically rebooted (every few months)
more often than the server code actually crashes.

Due to a rather draconian Intellectual Property agreement, no development
work occurred on this codebase between July 23, 1996 and March 10, 2000.

During early development, Phoenix was simply called "conf" for lack of
any real name.  Initial development was in C, from November 30, 1992 until
April 8, 1993.  After that, the codebase was ported to C++ and redesigned as
a series of object-oriended classes.  This redesign was complex, and kept the
codebase in disarray until the first stable C++ version was finally checked
into RCS on December 8, 1993.  At this point, the C version of the server was
retired and the production server was upgraded to the C++ codebase.  "Conf"
was renamed to "Phoenix" on April 21, 1994.

The name was changed to "Gangplank" to coincide with the Open Source release
on November 30, 2001.  A 1.x version number was used for the initial release
of Phoenix because there was already long history under the "conf" and
"Phoenix" names, which could be viewed as (unreleased) 0.x versions.

What's in a name?  Why "Gangplank"?  Actually, the primary criterion was that
a domain name was available!  (Just try to find a good one these days!)  Also,
it was a real word that would be distinctive, memorable and easy to spell.
It sounds bizarre at first, but it tends to grow on you.  Regardless, nobody
ever suggested a better alternative to "Gangplank", so the name stuck...

Meanwhile, Phoenix still needs more work on documentation and the homepage!