Support_Updater Privacy

Uploaded by Queuenard

The add-on board icon. Support Mods
The add-on file name icon. Support_Updater_Privacy.zip
The add-on upload date icon. Sep 4th 2017, 5:10 AM
The add-on download count icon. 1,080

Description

Support_Updater by Greek2Me, a component of many mods including Blockland Glass, integrates server- and client-sided username/IP tracking. This add-on mitigates that.

Any client connected to a server with this mod can type /UpdaterPrivacy and, if a response is received, can be told that the server has this mod.

In the client component of Support_Updater, whenever it accesses a repository to check for updates, it includes the username in the query. Servers also use this component. This privacy mod blanks the username field which could otherwise be used in conjunction with the master server to record a user's IP (associated with a BLID) and when a user starts the game.

In the server component of Support_Updater, there is a feature that uploads connecting clients' IPs, usernames and BLIDs. The primary purpose of this component is to record statistics and nothing else.

Greek2me publishes name/BLID statistics at http://mods.greek2me.us/statistics/index.php ; Support_Updater should not include a hidden feature, enabled by default, to build a name/BLID list. It is not clear what is done with the IP statistics.

Recording IPs and usernames from add-on repository queries is not primary to the mission of providing a repository for code. Such function is completely superfluous and perhaps unwelcome in an add-on with such apparent limited function. Scripters should not have the expectation that including a mod with very specific scope will also by default enable

This situation would be somewhat equivalent to the minigame framework Slayer including a feature for reporting name/BLID statistics of everyone who joins a server with Slayer. (Slayer is coincidentally also made by Greek2Me)

Bug: this mod does not yet work for the preloading stage of Support_Updater which happens before all add-ons are run. Typically, a dedicated server won't have $Pref::player::NetName set anyway but it can be set if a dedicated server instance had been previously run as a client.

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