This README file explains the basics of bip configuration.
Bip can be used in two different way:
- Unix service style with and init.d scripts and the logs in /var/log
- Old school bnc user style: easy and straightforward.

This small README file explains both type of usage.

* With the old school type:
**************************
 - you do not need the root privileges.
 - gives easy access to the logs of the users of this bip to the one owning the
   shell.
 - Still the preferred type.

If you are using a distribution package, the bip.conf sample configuration file
is likely to be shipped in /usr/share/doc/bip/examples/bip.conf.gz or something
similar.

Create your bip configuration an log directory:

# mkdir -p ~/.bip/logs

Put the uncompressed configuration file in your ~/.bip directory (its path
should be ~/.bip/bip.conf), and edit it.

When you are done editing the configuration, you can start bip normally:

# bip

Using the default (or sample file) configuration, logs are in ~/.bip/logs/

See "Understand the configuration file" below to configure bip.conf

* With the new Unix type:
************************

 - bip is started automatically on boot, as a classical service
 - logs in /var/log/bip, keeps users out.

For this configuration, you need to edit /etc/bip/bip.conf. This particular file
might contain some user password so check its permissions.

See "Understand the configuration file" below to configure bip.conf

* Understand the configuration file.
************************************

Most importantly the "user" section that contains information about you and the
servers you will want to connect to. The "name" field in the "user" section is
your login to connect to bip.  The "password" field is a hash of the password
you will use to connect to bip.  To generate a hash value from a password, use
bipmkpw, program which comes in the bip package and source.
The "name" field of the "connection" subsections are the server identifier for
when you connect to bip.

Once bip starts, it connects to the different servers you defined in
"connection". Then you want to use your regular irc client and connect to bip.
Point your client to the machine bip is running and set the proper port number
(defined in your bip.conf). You should then configure the client to use a
specific irc server password constructed this way:

user:password:network

The user is the name field of the "user" section, the password is the clear
password that you used to generate the hash you entered in the "password" field
of the same user section (the hash is generated with bipmkpw) and the network
is the "name" field of the "connection" subsection. This is how bip
authenticates you and puts your client to the correct network.

Happy ircing!

