Although Wacintaki Poteto is based on the OekakiPoteto 5.1.0a source code, it differs considerably from OekakiPoteto. Please read this document thouroughly.
Before installing Wacintaki Poteto, make sure your server meets the following requirements:
The following is optional:
It is recommended that you have an FTP utility to upload files to your server. It will take you much more time (and effort) to FTP the files manually from a command prompt. Free utilities offer all the basics for running Wacintaki; commercial FTP programs have features useful for maintaining entire web sites:
Note that some Mac FTP clients may only work on MacOS 10. Fetch is one program that will work on older Macs, like System 7 and MacOS 8.
Like any BBS, Wacintaki will put a strain on your server's resources. The developers hold no responsibility if your site goes over its monthly disk or bandwidth usage, and you are charged zillions of dollars, rupees, pounds, etc. because of over usage.
Since Wacintaki is very graphically intensive, make sure your server can handle:
Also keep in mind that certain BBS functions will use more resources than others, as follows:
You are considered a newbie if..
... then you need the Newbie Guide.
If you are using a free site such as lycos, you might want to try the Free Site Guide, but if you still do not know the above, you should try the Newbie Guide for fun.
To update an existing OekakiPoteto or Wacintaki board, please read the readme.html file that came with your distribution.
Before updating, it is recommended that you backup all files in the resource folder. In fact, you should always have a backup of these files.
You will also need to know the version number of your existing board before you can update. To get the current version of your board, view the FAQ on your board.
Make sure you have read the requirements, and have the following information before you proceed:
If you do not know any of the following, please e-mail your web host for the information and if your web hosting plan meets the requirements to install Wacintaki.
Log into your site with FTP. If you're not that experienced with FTP, keep in mind that many FTP programs can use both a www and ftp address to log into a server, so “www.Server.com” and “ftp.Server.com” should both work. If you have trouble, try the ftp prefix instead of www. The “Server Port” is almost always 21. Other ports can be specified by the server, but 21 is the default for most servers and FTP programs. The FTP username and password should be obvious. :)
Many servers have a special folder in which you need to upload files. If you're used to uploading files with a web-based file manager, rather than FTP, you'll need to look for a public share folder which is usually called “public_html”, “www”, “web”, or sometimes “home.” If you do not create your oekaki folder in that special “public” folder, your files are considered to be private and will not show up on the Internet. Some servers do not have this public share folder, so if you don't see it, don't worry. UNIX / Linux servers usually have this folder, Windows servers may not.
Once you're logged in and in the correct upload folder, create a directory on your server for Wacintaki. This directory may be any name you choose, though names in all lower-case letters and with no spaces or weird characters, like apostrophes and symbols, is recommended.
CHMOD this directory to 755 (preferred), or 777. To CHMOD files in most FTP programs, right-click the file and choose CHMOD or something related to changing permissions.
/oekaki CHMOD 755
Example: The “oekaki” directory is created as the directory in which to install Wacintaki.
Within this new directory, upload the contents of the Wacintaki distribution. CHMOD the pictures, resource, and templates directories to 755 (preferred), or 777. The language and shipainter directories do not need to be CHMODed, although the server may set the default to either 644 or 755. Your Wacintaki directory should now look like this:
/oekaki CHMOD 755 /language CHMOD 644 /resource CHMOD 755 /shipainter CHMOD 644 /templates CHMOD 755 2Draw.gif addusr.php banlist.php ...
All folders you create should be named with lower-case letters to minimize problems.
The installer will automatically create a pictures folder for storing your images, so you should not create one. If you must, make sure it is CHMOD to 755.
It's unlikely, but if your FTP program cannot determine that PHP files must be uploaded in ASCII mode, you will have to verify they have been uploaded as ASCII instead of BINARY. Most FTP programs will do this correctly.
You must now CHMOD some files in the resource folder so they are writable. Open the resource folder and CHMOD the following files to 664:
Note that 664 makes files writable. 644 does not (unless the BBS creates them itself). Your directory should then look like this:
/oekaki CHMOD 755
/resource CHMOD 755
banner.php CHMOD 664
hosts.txt CHMOD 664
ips.txt CHMOD 664
notice.php CHMOD 664
pr0n.png CHMOD 644
preview.png CHMOD 644
preview2.png CHMOD 644
rules.php CHMOD 664
The resource folder contains all the files that make your BBS unique and/or may change frequently. Your banner and rules images, as well as other custom files, should go into this folder. Images used for custom templates should go into their own folders in the templates directory. See the “Banana” template for an example.
Go to http://www.yourwebsite.com/yourWacintakiDirectory/. You will be redirected to the installer. Use the information gathered in Step 1 to fill out the required fields. If you only want to install one board, use “op_” for both database prefix fields. To install multiple boards, read the section on Installing Multiple Boards before continuing.
If you have manually created a pictures directory, be sure to type it in the proper field on the install page, otherwise, the installer will make it automatically. At the bottom of the page, fill in the login name and password you will use for the owner account. This will be your personal account from which you can both view and maintain the BBS.
After the install has completed, you will be asked to click a button to delete the installer and updater. Click it, and Wacintaki will be ready to use. Further configuration changes may be made by going into the Control Panel.
If something didn't go right, there is an option to remove the database at the top of the installer. Only copy the install.php file back onto the server if you need to delete the database. Once the database has been removed, you can install a new board, or remove the Wacintaki files from your server.
If you remove the Wacintaki files from your server before uninstalling the database, you will have to manually remove the MySQL database, or it will remain on your server forever. This isn't a catastrophe, but it will waste space, as well as a perfectly good database slot. :)
This option is for those who want to set up two or more OekakiPoteto boards, and want to share the member database, so users can use the same login for each board.
On the first board, go to Administration > Control Panel, and note down the following:
The table below is an example of what you might have if you are using the default install configuration.
| Board 1 | |
|
Database Prefix
|
_op
|
|
Member Database Prefix
|
_op
|
|
Encryption Key
|
As
|
Install your additional Wacintaki into a new, separate directory. Do NOT copy your Wacintaki files from the first board. When you enter install.php for the new board, you must do the following:
If you are using the default Database Prefix, Member Database Prefix, and Encryption Key, you can try using these values on your additional board(s).
Note: You WILL receive errors such as:
Table 'op_oekaki' already exists
Duplicate entry '' for key 2
Table 'op_oekakichat' already exists
Table 'op_oekakionline' already exists
Table 'op_oekakimailbox' already exists
Table 'op_oekakikill' already exists
This is normal.
Once installed, members will have to login for each board independently, even though all the boards are sharing the same member database. A workaround is described in the section Sharing cookies with more than one Wacintaki board.
Example of two board configuration:
| Board 1 | Board 2 | Notes | |
Database
Prefix |
_op |
_op2 |
All
boards must not share the same Database Prefix. |
Member
Database Prefix |
_op |
_op |
Must
share the same Member Database Prefix. |
Encryption
Key |
As |
As |
Must
share the same Encryption Key. |
Example of three board configuration:
| Board 1 | Board 2 | Board 3 | Notes | |
Database
Prefix |
_op |
_op2 |
_op3 |
All
boards must not share the same Database Prefix. |
Member
Database Prefix |
_op |
_op |
_op |
Must
share the same Member Database Prefix. |
Encryption
Key |
As |
As |
As |
Must
share the same Encryption Key. |
If you want to have separate member registrations for each board, follow the directions above and upload a new set of Wacintaki files to your server, but do not use the same Member Database Prefix as any other board on your server.
This will ensure that each Wacintaki board will have its own, unique member list. People will have to register for each board independently of each other.
Normally, OekakiPoteto uses one cookie for each oekaki board, forcing people to re-login for each board even though every board uses the same member database. It is possible to resolve this by editing the “functions.php” file.
At the top of functions.php, there is a varible called “$cookie_path.” By editing the path of the cookie you can make a cookie visible to the entire server, or just a part of it. If you have your own server (or domain name), you can use a single slash as the path (the root path), and every cookie made by any one of your Wacintaki boards will be visible throughout the server and work with every board. If you have an account on a shared server, you can specify your account name as the path. For example, if the URL to your oekaki board is http://www.Server.com/MyAccount/oekaki, then the cookie path would be /MyAccount (note the lack of the “http” and server name). This will make the cookie visible only to MyAccount, but NOT to the rest of the server. You wouldn't want other peoples' oekaki boards installed on, for example, Tripod, to all use your cookie.
Be very careful when using this feature, as an improper value may make it impossible for people to log in, and cookies made global to the entire server may conflict with other boards not owned by you. PHP knowledge is also recommended, as you are editing the source code directly and mixing single and double quotes can cause errors that will render the board inoperable. If you mess up, just replace the functions.php file, and leave the $cookie_path variable alone.
Here is a list of account types. For more information on account management and user flags, view the “Global > Modify Permissions” menu.
There are four types of menus at the top of the main page. The one that starts with “FAQ” is the main menu and will be visible to the public. The “Admin” menu is available to all members to manage their pictures and posts. “Global” is a menu reserved for administrators and super administrators and provides several methods for board moderation. There is also an “Owner” menu reserved exclusively for the board owner. Other admins and super admins cannot access the owner functions.
Use the “Global > Edit Banners” menu. The banner will show up above the main menus, the notice will show below the menus and above the page numbers. HTML is required for both. A plain <div> is automatically used for banner content. For clarity, consider using <div class="infotable"> for the notice. That will pad the information and put it on a plain background.
Use the “Global > Edit Rules” menu. HTML is required, so use a <div>, <p>, or <table> for the content, and a <br /> is required for each line break. Unordered lists, made with <ul> and <li> tags, are recommended.
Only owners may access the control panel. Most of the features have explanations below each item as to what it does. Unlike OekakiPoteto, if a Wacintaki feature is not compatible with your server, it will be automatically disabled in the control panel.
Do not modify the SQL database information in the control panel unless you have a good reason to do so!
If you are using a pending system to add in members, you will need to go to “Global > View Pending” to accept or reject pending members. Note that if you switch to the automated registration system, people already in the pending members list will still have to be manually accepted or rejected.
If you are using an automated registration system, make sure that you have set an e-mail that will properly send out in your “Owner > Control Panel.” When a user registers on an automated registration system, an e-mail will be sent to them with a verification code so they can activate their account. However, you may still go to “Global > View Pending” to manually add or reject pending members.
If you want to make someone an Administrator or a Super Administrator, go to “Global > Modify Permissions.” Use Immunity to prevent a member from being removed by the auto-kill feature if it is enabled. Uncheck a member's General User tab to suspend their account without deleting all their pictures and posts, as deleting an account will remove all traces of that person from your board(s)!
DO NOT MODIFY YOUR OWN FLAGS. You will lose your owner status if you do. If you do lose your owner flags for some reason, look for “flagrestore.php” in the docs folder. Edit and run it on your server to get your flags back.
Sorry, unlike OekakiPoteto, Wacintaki Poteto does not yet support localization. Translating the english.php file will not allow the use of other languages as many language variables in that file have been obsoleted.
Mail errors were redesigned in Wacintaki v1.1.3 so they should no longer crash the script. Instead, they will print directions on what to do since e-mail is not working on your server. If your server does not support sending e-mail, and you want new registrations to be automatically accepted, you should set the Control Panel option “Require Approval?” to “No (Forced).” This will force Wacintaki to automatically approve any registration. Otherwise, administrators will be required to approve each registration manually.
You might want to ask your tech support to enable e-mail support, since it allows more sophisticated moderation of the board.
Templates won't work: This happens if you delete a default template but don't update the setting in the control panel. Also, if you delete a template that someone is already using, their pages will show up very plain. Tell that member to go into Edit Profile and select a new template
Templates don't update: This is a limitation of the Wacintaki template engine. If you make changes to the templates's PHP file, you will have to manually delete the template's CSS file before the new changes take effect. Wacintaki will then build a new CSS file. Opening the header.php file and setting $force_build to 1 will make Wacintaki build new templates every time someone views the board, which makes generating templates easier. Set this value back to 0 when you are done, though, or bandwidth usage will go up considerably!
This problem is common with OekakiPoteto 4.x installations, since 4.x automatically creates the picture directory. Since this directory is under server permissions, you cannot modify anything in it. In the /documentation directory, edit “chback.php” and run it to attempt to get the pictures directory to be modified. In the worse case scenario, if it does not CHMOD, you will have to ask your tech support to CHMOD it for you.
The Wacintaki updater attempts to chmod the pictures and templates folders to allow the storage of images, and the generation of templates. If it fails, the “draw.php” file will not allow people to draw pictures until the issue has been resolved. CHMOD these folders to 755 or 777 to use them. If you cannot CHMOD them, ask your sysadmin to do it. Even if you cannot CHMOD the directories, some servers will allow you to delete them via FTP and re-create them, though you will lose all contents in those directories.
Windows servers generally run Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Services), and not Apache. IIS will not, by default, serve files without registered MIME types. Therefore, the animation files will return a “404 Not Found” error, even though they are visible in the pictures folder. If you click “View Animation” and the pop-up shows the filesize, but you cannot download the animation via the link, you will have to add MIME types to your server.
Add the following MIME types:
| PaintBBS PCH: | “video/pch” |
| ShiPainter SPCH: | “video/spch” |
| OekakiBBS OEB: | “video/oeb” |
Check the FAQ after installing Wacintaki Poteto. It includes information for general users as well as how to get oekaki applets working, and how to install Java.
Please read through the entire Newbie Guide before doing anything else. :)
This Newbie Guide will cover most of what you need to know, including which servers can run oekaki boards, PHP, MySQL, CHMOD, FTP, and bandwidth.
It also covers a little about Java, which you do not need on your server, but all of your members will have to have on their computers. Don't worry, most computers these days have Java technology built-in, or a clone like the Microsoft Virtual Machine, and Wacintaki has directions for members on how to get Java if they don't have it.
To learn how to set up a MySQL database or an FTP account for your server, take a look at the control panel for your server, or ask your system administrator for help. Every system is different, and how much you can do depends on how the account on your server is set up.
Try using the free site guide. Keep in mind that many free sites have advertising banners which may momentarily block certain features of your oekaki board, so choose carefully. You can always make your banner taller to keep menus from being blocked by ads.
The essentials are a server that offers the ability to upload script files, as well as a database. The scripting language used for Wacintaki is PHP, and the database is MySQL, a free database system (not MS SQL, which is made by Microsoft). PHP and MySQL are considered a pair these days, so servers that have PHP most likely have MySQL, too. Most free web sites offer one database, and pay sites usually offer between two to six -- or more. Only one database is required for Wacintaki.
You must also have the ability to access PHP and MySQL, so just because your server supports it, doesn't mean you can use it. Ask your system administrator if you have the ability to use PHP and MySQL, and how many databases you can use. PHP requires no special setup, but you will have to create a MySQL database yourself. This can normally be done with your web site's tools, the most popular of which is CPanel.
Creating an SQL database via CPanel is beyond the scope of this guide, especially since there are many versions of CPanel, and only some servers use it. Getting SQL working involves creating a database user, creating a database, and giving that user permission to use the database. The user name, password, and database names are what is used in the Wacintaki installer to set up the tables in the database, which actually store the information for your oekaki board. If you get stuck, it's best to ask your system administrator or check any available documentation to which you have access from your server provider.
Some servers have a tool called phpMyAdmin, which lets you create, maintain, and back-up databases. It will not let you create a database user or password. Ask your system administrator for help with setting up a database user and password. phpMyAdmin is helpful for maintaining a database, but is not recommended for creating one.
PHP is a free scripting language specifically designed for making very complex web sites and web programs, like BBSes. All you really need to know about PHP is that your server must have it installed, and it must be a reasonably recent version. PHP scripts end with “.php”, and are plain text files so they must be uploaded to a server in ASCII format with an FTP program. Most FTP programs already know PHP files must be uploaded in ASCII mode.
SQL stands for “Structure Query Language”, and is a standard for talking to databases. The type of SQL database used for Wacintaki is MySQL, which is available on almost every server that has PHP.
Creating a MySQL database isn't terribly difficult, but how you do it depends largely on what kinds of tools are available for your server. If you have a control panel for your server, like CPanel, you should find a way to make a database on the main page (not through an administration tool, like phpMyAdmin, which can be difficult to use). If you don't have a control panel, ask your system administrator for help.
CHMOD is a way of modifying a file's permissions, so it can be read, written, or run. There's more to server security than that, but CHMOD is the only one you'll have to worry about to install an oekaki board. You pronounce it as “Shmod” -- as one syllable that rhymes with “clod.”
Several CHMOD programs exist, though it is often used as a verb, as in, “to CHMOD a file.” FTP programs have the ability to CHMOD files. Web-based file managers offer similar functionality, but use read/write/execute flags instead of the CHMOD number standard.
By default, all files uploaded to a server can be read by the public, but not run as scripts, or written or deleted by anyone but you. A file's permissions are determined by a set of flags or numbers. Although every server uses different numbers for determining a file's permissions, most FTP programs use the UNIX CHMOD standard, which uses a three digit number.
Don't panic... the installation instructions tell you which numbers to use for each files, and only a small number of files must have their CHMOD number modified. Most files are just uploaded as they are and the installer will take care of the rest, so you don't really need to know what the numbers mean.
FTP stands for “File Transfer Protocol”, and is the most important Internet standard for uploading and downloading files to and from a server. It differs from HTTP (what web browsers use), in that you must use a password to get access to files. Although you can use a raw FTP program from a command prompt, there are a number of free, simple programs that will handle all the hard stuff for you and just let you transfer files and CHMOD them. A list of programs is provided in the Wacintaki Pre-Installation section.
All servers support FTP, and you should be able to use it, but some servers provide alternatives, like web-based file managers. These may be used if they allow you to set file permissions (either with the CHMOD standard or with read/write/execute flags), though FTP is the most reliable method.
Many FTP programs can use both a www and ftp address to log into a server, so “www.Server.com” and “ftp.Server.com” should both work. If you have trouble, try the ftp prefix instead of www. The “Server Port” is almost always 21. Other ports can be specified by the server, but 21 is the default for most servers and FTP programs.
Many servers have a special folder in which you need to upload files. If you're used to uploading files with a web-based file manager, rather than FTP, you'll need to look for a public share folder which is usually called “public_html”, “www”, “web”, or sometimes “home.” If you do not upload files in that special “public” folder, they are considered to be private and will not show up on the Internet. Some servers do not have this public share folder, so if you don't see it, don't worry. UNIX / Linux servers usually have this folder, Windows servers may not.
Technically, bandwidth is the measure of how fast you can transfer data from one place to another. In web lingo, is the amount of data delivered by your server to the public in a given amount of time. Most Internet service providers measure bandwidth monthly. If you go over your allotted bandwidth for a given month, you may be charged extra money for your hosting or your site might be disabled temporarily until next month. The amount of bandwidth used depends how many people are using your oekaki and what they are drawing (mostly, the size of the canvas used).
Bandwidth is usually measured in Megabytes and Gigabytes. One Megabyte is good for downloading 10-15 standard-sized pictures (not thumbnails). A Gigabyte is approximately 1,000 Megabytes.
Wacintaki is much more efficient with bandwidth than OekakiPoteto, so if you're upgrading from OekakiPoteto to Wacintaki, you shouldn't have to worry. If your board is hugely popular and has hundreds of members, you may need 5-10 Gigabytes of bandwidth a month. A board with a few dozen members shouldn't use much more than 1 Gigabyte. You should keep track of bandwidth usage in your server's control panel if your host only gives you a small amount, like 1 Gigabyte per month or less.
As of 2004, most free websites will give you between 200 Megabytes to 1 Gigabyte per month. Paid sites will generally give between 5-30. Bandwidth is important to many people, so a web site host will usually make it clear how much you will have per month before you sign up.
Note that many chat rooms use a lot of bandwidth, so if you're having a lot of bandwidth issues, try disabling the chat room first. Oekaki is a forum, after all, so the lack of a chat room shouldn't be a big deal.
For more help on bandwidth, read the section on Using Wacintaki Poteto in this manual
Many free hosting services offer the ability to run Wacintaki, as they offer PHP and MySQL. Currently, only directions for Tripod are available. Consider contacting Waccoon or making a post on the OekakiPoteto support forum if you find a particularly good, free hosting service that you would like added to this section.
This guide assumes you already have an account.
Step 1
Login to the site builder. Click on PHP4U / mySQL. Click on Activate my PHP4U account and set up mySQL database.
Step 2
Follow the Wacintaki install directions, and use this information for the database fields in the installer:
- Database Name: loginname_uk_db (replace loginname with the name of your login account).
- Database Username: The name of your login account on the site builder.
- Database Password: The login password for your account on the site builder.
OekakiPoteto ©Copyright 2001-2003 Theo Chakkapark and Marcello Bastéa-Forte.
Wacintaki modifications ©Copyright 2005 Marc A. Leveille.
PaintBBS and Shi-Painter paint applets are ©Copyright Shi-cyan
OekakiBBS paint applet is ©Copyright Poo