[Freeciv-Dev] Re: client/server authentication (PR#1767)

["Raimar Falke" <rf13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, May 08, 2003 at 09:00:11AM -0700, Mike Kaufman wrote:
> On Thu, May 08, 2003 at 07:23:47AM -0700, Raimar Falke wrote:
> > > Instead, I want a command line option for the server to switch off
> > > auth. [1]
> > 
> > This may be useful.
> 
> no it won't. As I said before, very few will actually want an authenticating
> server. Those who do will compile it via --enable-auth.

I would like to see the default authentication included at configure
time as the default. On of the reasons is code coverage. We should
include the code in the normal compilation to find errors and to
include it on changes we do. Just think of the code in the clients
which don't get compiled regularly.

If the authentication is enabled or disabled by default is another
story.

> > > The server tells the client what (if any) authentication is
> > > required, and the client displays a password entry field below the
> > > user name field, or not.
> > 
> > I agree.
> 
> I absolutely disagree. This will not happen. This is a challenge, response
> system. There are a variety of reasons why a server will or will not want a
> password. The very issue that one can register a user directly from the
> connect dialog is enough to not want to do this.

These are technical reasons. Take a step back and think what a user
may want. The user is used to enter both username and password. At
least I think so.

But I agree that implementing this is a technical problem. One
solution would be that the client sends the join_request after the
user pressed RETURN on the username.

        Raimar

-- 
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