Auto Purge is a utility to automatically or manually delete users who have not logged on in a set amount of time. In the automatic mode Auto Purge will go through the user list each day at a time you choose and mark those who have not logged on as deleted. It has an undelete feature in case you set it up incorrectly.
Installing it.
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Auto Purge consists of both a user and sysop external, but has not other associated files. To install it simply put Auto Purge in the externals folder and restart.
Setting it up.
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All customizing of Auto Purge is done from the sysop external. From the sysop external (the system preferences item under the sysop menu) you can customize Auto Purge to suit your needs.
Toggling the 'On/Off' option will turn Auto Purge on and off (it will not be called in the idle loop which is where all the action takes place) without having to remove it from the externals folder. If you turn it off you can still use it in manual mode but it won't work in automatic mode.
The next item you need to set is who should be exempted from the deletion. Chose the restriction character and SL of users who will not be deleted. All users with either the restrction you chose or a security level higher than the one you choose will NOT be deleted.
Next there is a small black box that has the time that Auto Purge should start processing the user file. Click on this box to change its value. You will get a dialog similar to the one Hermes uses to set node and sysop available times. NOTE: You should not set the process time too close to midnight. The reason is that both Hermes and lots of externals do special processing then. Auto Purge is a little rude when doing its processing and if you try to do to much at once it may cause problems.
The last setting is for setting the number of days before a user is marked for deletion. Only users who haven't logged on in at least the number of days you enter will be deleted.
Running it.
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Nothing special is required to run Auto Purge in automatic mode. Each night Auto Purge will scan the user record with the options set in the sysop external. It will do this after the time that you set in the preferences dialog, but will wait until all users have logged off before it does it.
You also have the option of runnning Auto Purge in the manual mode from the externals menu. Here you have two options: Delete users and Undelete users.
Delete users will do the same thing that happens in the automatic mode. Users who are deleted will be listed so you will now exactly what is happening. In both automatic and manual mode all actions will also be written to the daily log.
Undelete users is provided as a sort of saftey feature. Each time Auto Purge runs it will write a unique number for that 'run'. This number can be found in the daily log. If you chose undelete then you will be asked for this number. All users who were deleted during that 'run' will be undeleted. (NOTE: If a deleted user has been replaced by a new user then they can not be undeleted.)
Limitations, problems etc.
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The only real problems I can see are if you set up the external incorrectly. With a previous version a user once complained that it had deleted all the users on his BBS. Well he had set it to delete all users who hadn't logged on in one day. Well it did exactly what he asked and deleted everyone. Hopefully the undelete option will help out in cases like this. Just make sure you have everything set up correctly and all should be fine.
The plea.
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Auto Purge is SHAREWARE. I think this is a really useful product. I am more than willing to support it but new versions are of course dependent on interest and interest is dependent on feedback and the best feedback is registration. I have written a few shareware applications and it is getting discouraging, not to mention financially hard, to justify all the time. If you use it please register your copy. I feel that shareware has fallen into the same trap as the commercial system it is supposed to be an alternative to. Authors ask for such large fees because so few people actually send them in. This in turn causes fewer people to send them in, which makes authors feel they need to ask for more, which…you get the picture. I have intentionally made the price so reasonable you don't have any excuse not to pay the shareware fee. If you don't think the external is worth $10 then DON'T USE IT.
Registration info
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To register send $10, *and* the registration form below (the form does make things easier) to Chris Owen, PO Box 1471, Garden City, KS 67846 (before August 1994 you can send it to me at 27 Bishop St #2R, New Haven CT 06511 for faster registration).
Auto Purge is part of a larger "pack" of externals. Please see the enclosed document on how to register all of them at a much reduced price.
If you have any questions or comments about Auto Purge, I would appreciate hearing them. I can be reached on Olympus or at the addresses below.
Chris Owen (#681, I think)
owen-christopher@yale.edu <-- I prefer this address
Mulligan's Valley ("official" support board) 203-772-4485 (2400)
