
           ######         ##             ####
             ##                            ##
    ##       ##                            ##         ##          ##
##  ##  ##   ##         ####     ########  ######   ########  ##  ##  ##
  ######     ##           ##   ##    ##    ##    ##   ##        ######
##  ##  ##   ##           ##   ##    ##    ##    ##   ##      ##  ##  ##
    ##       ##           ##   ######      ##    ##   ##          ##
             ##      ##   ##     ##        ##    ##   ##
           ############ ######   ######  ######  ####   ####
                               ##      ##
       Version 2.7.30p5        ##      ##
                                 ######         . . . It's Just Not Lame


==========================
Frequently-asked questions
==========================


Q: The tab key doesn't do what I want it to!

A: Step 1: Start Light's Configuration Assistant by typing /config
   Step 2: Select the Miscellaneous Options menu
   Step 3: Make sure the "Prefer nick completion over TabKey" option is
           turned ON.


Q: I've turned off the "Automatically use double-height status bars"
   option in the Status Bar Options menu, but all my windows still have
   double-height status bars.

A: This option only controls whether *new* windows will have their status
   bars doubled.  Existing windows are not affected.  To turn off a
   window's double-height status bars, use the /window double off command.


Q: When I start EPIC, I see local: file not found.  What's wrong?

A: EPIC has two files that it automatically reads on startup from its
   script directory, called global and local.  global contains stuff that
   every copy of EPIC everywhere loads on startup, and local contains
   stuff that the local administrator has put in it.  If you haven't
   created a file called local in EPIC's script directory, then EPIC
   can't, of course, load it.  Let me repeat: this isn't Light, it's EPIC.


Q: The Lines Per Minute counter seems to be counting everything that
   goes to a window, not just channel traffic.

A: Yes, it does.  This is by design.


Q: Light's builtin help sucks!

A: I know.  Want to help me fix it?


=========================
Installation instructions
=========================


* To install:

    cd ~
    gunzip -c path/to/Light-2.7.30p5.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
or: bunzip2 -c path/to/Light-2.7.30p5.tar.bz2 | tar -xvf -

  Then edit your .ircrc, and add in these two lines somewhere:

    eval set load_path ~/Light:$LOAD_PATH
    load loader

* To make sure Light is set up to your liking, be sure to check out
  /config!


Where to find it
================
Although this may sound a bit redundant, since you already have it,
I'd just like to list the various places you can get it from:

Via FTP:
========
Light's "canonical" home is ftp://ftp.light.canuck.gen.nz/pub/Light/
which is a round-robin of the following sites:

  * ftp://ftp.silug.org/pub/Light/
  * ftp://ftp.miranda.org/pub/Light/
  * ftp://ftp.orcas.net/pub/Light/

I only provide this list in case one of the mirror sites is broken - if
you find such a site, email me and I'll either get it fixed or remove it.

Via HTTP:
=========
Light currently doesn't have a homepage of its own, but I'm working on it.
In the meantime, you can download Light via HTTP at the following site:

  * http://www.silug.org/pub/Light/


Call for Features
=================
Don't let Light stagnate -- submit your bug reports and ideas for new
features to light@canuck.gen.nz without delay!


Thanks and acknowldgements
==========================
Pooka and flux, for providing me with the shell accounts that started
this; #chatzone, for providing me with impetus for getting one; Poet,
whose opak was the first thing to be assimilated; Shadow, for coming
back to his terminal; orabidoo, for writing zer0, upon which Light is
largely based; Nuke, for goading me into continuing; DanielS, mwilson,
jgaddis, and FreakzZ, Light's QA team; silug and Bret and chr1s for FTP
space; DanielS, for getting Light into Debian; stephen_, for adopting
it; HoopyCat, for AMES; Paul-K, for comic relief; my beloved tiger cub,
for just being there; and everyone who's suggested features and reported
bugs over the last eight years.


Upcoming Features
=================
* Auto-op and auto-voice integrated into /config.
* Keybindings!


Summary of Changes in 2.7.30
============================
Many parts of Light have been completely rewritten for this new release,
marking the beginnings of the ramp-up to 3.0 that's been quietly ticking
away behind the scenes.

During this last year of development, EPIC has undergone significant
changes, and Light has undergone many changes as a result.  If you're
still running an older EPIC4pre release, I strongly recommend you upgrade
to EPIC4-1.0.1.

The biggest improvement probably lies in the handling of multiple servers
with one client instance.  Daniel Stone has ruthlessly chased down
and reported all manner of ways in which Light would become confused,
including a few that required substantial overhauls.  There are probably
a few cases left that Light can't handle yet, and bug reports in this
area are appreciated, especially if they can be reproduced reliably.

More details:
* Advanced title bar handling
* zsh-style menu completion, as well as advanced context-sensitive
  completion
* /config has been given several facelifts, and much more of Light --
  including color -- is now configurable.
* New net.split handling code
* Many, many bugfixes!


Known Bugs in 2.7.30
====================
* IMPORANT NOTE: The auto-op subsystem has been completely disabled for
  this release.  It will neither auto-op nor auto-voice any client under
  any circumstances.  It will not permit its configuration to be altered.
  It WILL, however, preserve all your settings until the next release,
  which will introduce a shiny new auto-op subsystem!
* CTCP ACTIONs (/me's) received through a DCC CHAT sometimes display in
  ... surprising fashions.  [DanielS]
* Light doesn't retry channel joins or nickname changes if you're
  connected to a Hybrid6 server that has "no join on netsplit" enabled.
* All output in a window is counted in that window's Lines Per Minute
  counter.  This bug will probably never be fixed.

(For the list of new and fixed stuff, see the file CHANGELOG.)


Bug Reports and Mailing Lists
=============================
Please send bug reports and feature requests to light@canuck.gen.nz.
There is also a Light-users mailing list, which I strongly urge every
user of Light to subscribe to, if only to be notified when new versions
come out.  Besides, it's nice to get bug reports against the latest
version. =)

To subscribe to Light-users via the Web, visit:

  http://www.canuck.gen.nz/mailman/light-users

To subscribe via email, send an email to light-users-request@canuck.gen.nz
with:

  subscribe

in the body of the message.

If you make any changes to Light that others might be interested in,
please submit them to light@canuck.gen.nz for possible future inclusion
in Light.


Copyright
=========
Light is (C) 1994-2002 J. S. Connell.  License details can be found in
the accompanying file, LICENSE (oddly enough).  LagMeter, LightPaste,
and SmartBans are trademarks of J. S. Connell.  The Automatic Moron
Ejection System probably isn't a trademark of Ryan Tucker, but popular
opinion holds that he started it, so I acknowledge him anyway.

--Liandrin
