TBBS 2.x - Duplicate User Names or IDs

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

DUPLICATE USER NAMES OR IDS
---------------------------

We are often asked whether it's possible to have users with the same name on a 
TBBS system.  The answer is no, but we usually try to explain the reasons 
behind this fact so sysops can understand why this is not allowed.

Virtually everything on a TBBS system is or can be tied to a user ID.  From 
messages on the system, to private pseudo-directories, to surveys and 
questionnaires, user names or IDs are key to identifying a particular user on 
the system.  If we allowed two users to share the same name or ID online, it 
would be impossible to tell the difference.

This is not always easy to accept.  For example, if a user was entering a 
message to JOHN SMITH, and there were six JOHN SMITHs on the system, couldn't 
it just ask which one the person wanted?  Afterall, TBBS does store the 
caller's location.  

That's true, but let's take the extreme.  Let's say the user sending the 
message wanted JOHN SMITH who lives in DENVER, CO.  What if there were two 
JOHN SMITHs living in DENVER, CO on the system?  How would a user know which 
one it wanted?  Any additional limiters or identifiers that could be added by 
eSoft to solve this are ineffective too -- things like age.  Sure, it'd 
unlikely that there are two JOHN SMITHs in DENVER, CO who are both age 35.  
Unlikely, but possible, especially on very large or busy TBBS systems.  

And this is only messages.  What about private pseudo-directories, where no 
name query procedure even exists?  

As eSoft has analyzed this problem, we have felt that no elegant solution to 
this problem exists.  Every possible way around the problem introduces 
additional steps, quirky solutions, and potentially endless qualifiers to 
uniquely identify a user.

Our advice to sysops who run systems where this is problem is simply to ask 
users to login with a middle initial.  Many systems in fact add a short line 
to their SIGNON1 files (logon banner) that tells people if they're a new user, 
and they get asked for a password, that their name is already in use by 
someone else and try logging in with a middle initial.  As long as the user 
name or ID is completely unique, TBBS will be able to do what it needs to do 
(identify particular users online) with minimal hassle for you and your users.

- END -
TBBS0065
Rev. 10/93

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
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IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
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