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Pre-Auth Feedback

Pre-Auth Feedback

The pre_auth_feedback module lets unauthenticated visitors send a private message to the sysop before logging in — directly from the login matrix. This is distinct from page_sysop, which requires an authenticated user.

The sender types a free-text name in the From field. It is stored as-is and never resolved to a user account, so a malicious visitor cannot impersonate an existing user. The To field is locked to the sysop. The full FSE editor is used for composition.

Because the sender has no account, replies to these messages are blocked: attempting to reply from the inbox shows the preAuthFeedbackNoReply notice and returns to the inbox rather than opening a compose screen that would silently discard the mail.

Enabling the Feature

  1. Add a feedback item to your login matrix menu’s VM1 items list and wire it to @menu:preAuthFeedback.
  2. Add a preAuthFeedback menu entry to your login menu config (see misc/menu_templates/login.in.hjson for a complete example).
  3. Create art msg_op_feedback_header with ET1 (From — editable), ET2 (To — locked), ET3 (Subject — editable), and optional TL4 (error message). The body, footer, and help art reuse the standard MSGBODY, MSGEFTR, MSGEMFT, MSGEHLP files.
  4. Create art PREAFNRPLY for the “cannot reply” notice shown to the sysop. The menu auto-advances to prevMenu after 3 seconds.
  5. Add a preAuthFeedback theme block (see theme.hjson) matching the MCI widths and body MT1 height — copy from privateMailMenuCreateMessage.

Art Files

Spec Description Key MCI
msg_op_feedback_header Header form — From (editable), To (locked), Subject (editable), optional error ET1 (from), ET2 (to), ET3 (subject), TL4 (error)
PREAFNRPLY Notice shown when sysop attempts to reply to a ghost-sender message none required

preAuthFeedback Menu Config Keys

Key Default Description
sysopUserName Sysop Display name shown in the locked To field
defaultFromName "" Seed value for the editable From field
defaultSubject Feedback to Sysop Pre-populated Subject (user may edit)
noReplyGhostSenderMenu preAuthFeedbackNoReply Menu shown when sysop attempts to reply

Theming

Add a preAuthFeedback block to your theme.hjson, matching the MCI view widths from your art file and the body MT1 height:

preAuthFeedback: {
    0: {
        mci: {
            ET1: { width: 19, textOverflow: "..." }
            ET2: { width: 19, textOverflow: "..." }
            ET3: { width: 19, textOverflow: "..." }
        }
    }
    1: {
        mci: {
            MT1: { height: 14 }
        }
    }
}

See Also

  • Sysop Chat — two-way split-screen chat and paging for authenticated users.
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