ClassicConnect

[cadrega]

Hello again everyone!

Some of you may have seen my previous post about CafeNet, an ongoing project meant to provide a platform for 90s internet technologies. It's been 6 months since that post, and much can change in 6 months. I'd like to discuss a few updates both to the platform and the development process.


The move to dial-in

First of all, new developments on the platform: probably the most important change to the service is that it is primarily becoming a dial-in service. End users will dial in to an ISP and gain access to CafeNet services. Rather than do a DNS-over-HTTP proxy (more on that below), there will be an actual proper DNS server serving the same function, plus other services hosted on the network.

Why dial-in? I have several reasons that stem from issues that have surfaced with the project recently. First and foremost, compatibility and access. The DNS-over-HTTP proxy was only able to go so far, and had some glaring issues that limit what it can do. For example, if you host a site on a shared host, and not a dedicated IPv4, the proxy will only allow you to use your original domain name. There were a few quirks like this that I ran into.

Access control is another concern. I originally planned to do IP whitelisting and web accounts to control access. It has quickly become obvious that hacky workarounds like this will not cut it, and that an ISP is necessary. When the ISP is ready, all you will need to do is dial a server and provide credentials. For those who know your authentication protocols and are wondering, I will try to make this as widely accessible as possible while also providing an option for encryption. VPNs are not a great option here either. Many a service adjacent to this one has used a VPN system in the past, either requiring you to get a VPN client for your 9x/NT machines, or put firmware on your upstream router. Dial-in serves this same function, but can be done on a 386, and from any machine with an ISA slot or RS-232 port. No router setup needed.

"But wait, I don't have a landline", probably about half of you say. There are a couple of potential ways around this. I do not have a landline either and would like to allow anyone to access the service. Things like the DNS-over-HTTP proxy will be left up for those using a modern network, although as I said, it will be limited in functionality. There will also be some services, such as dial-up media streaming and fileservers, that will be hosted on my local network (or local virtual network), which will most likely not be available on the wider internet. If you are invested in this project, or want to become invested in dial-up in general, you can still get a "landline" (without begging the local telecom company) for no more than $50-150. All you will need is a solid ATA (analog telephone adapter), a modem, an ethernet network, and a cheap VoIP line (cheap as in a dollar or two a month). I will probably write a comprehensive guide on this setup soon, as I use frequently use it at home myself.


New features

So, all that being said: here are some new features that I have been working on recently:

- Forums: check out our forums! All CafeNet discussion will move here going forward. More info below
- IRC! We have IRC! Hosted on this very domain! Thank you to ClassicConnect for allowing us to use their servers. You can connect at irc.classicconnect.net:6677 (or port 6697 for SSL) and join the #cafenet channel.
- RealVideo and RealAudio streaming server (I am working on getting Computer Chronicles, Net Cafe, and Top Gear onto it right now, more shows to come, may set up a video sharing service if anyone is interested)
- A Gopher server, as well as Gopher proxying support, just because
- A phonebook that includes ISPs, BBSes, and the like that you can call with your glorious 9600bps modem


Life updates and the future of CafeNet

I got a new job shortly after my last post. This is taking up about 50 hours of my week, and I have essentially no free time right now. This is thanks in part to a 50 minute commute. I plan to move as soon as possible, but thanks to the wonderful state of the economy, I'm not quite able to move out without a roommate. I am currently in limbo right now as I try to find one (which will take quite a while as I'm moving to a very small town). The implications of this are that I can't set up any networking stuff at my current place, as I could move as soon as next month if I'm able to find one. This is holding me back from development, but there are other aspects of CafeNet I can work on in the meantime. I currently have all the equipment to host my own robust ISP, I just need the rack, the space for the rack, and the network to put it all together. Let's hope I can work out my living situation soon and really get rolling on this project.


The forums

As I previously mentioned, CafeNet now has forums! All discussion of CafeNet from here on out will be conducted on there, and it will kind of be the semi-public gateway to CafeNet. Tox and I have been working on getting phpBB 2.x (essentially what you are using to view this right now) ported to PHP 8.2, while also increasing compatibility for early browsers, such as Netscape 3 and IE3. At the time of writing this, the forums are so new that the UI is still a bit broken, ironically more so on new browsers than old ones, but I will continue to work on patching the codebase in the coming weeks to make it prettier. Please create an account and join me in discussion there. If you have any ideas for forums/topics/categories that should exist on the CafeNet forums, please let me know. The Fluxer server that was being used for discussion has been shut down, and all discussion will probably take place on the forums and IRC/AIM going forward.


I know this is a monumental amount of information, but CafeNet is a monumental project. Please let me know your thoughts and feelings on the project and the state it's currently in. I'd love to get in contact with more of you and garner some support behind development. I in no way want this to be a me project, I want to build the framework that allows you all to make whatever you want involving the 90s internet.

Thank you so much for reading!
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