/*********************************************************************
*
- * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/README,v $
+ * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/readme.sgml,v $
*
* Purpose : README file to give a short intro.
*
- * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2004 the SourceForge
+ * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001-2008 the SourceForge
* Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
*
* Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written
* The GNU General Public License should be included with
* this file. If not, you can view it at
* http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
- * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
- * Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+ * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+ * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301,
+ * USA
*
*********************************************************************/
-This README is included with Privoxy 3.0.4-beta. The current code maturity
-level is "beta". Various changes and improvements are underway, and
-preparations are being made for an update of Privoxy. Please report any
-problems to the developers.
+This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.0.11. See
+http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
+is "UNRELEASED", but seems stable to us :).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
-privacy, modifying web page content, managing cookies, controlling access, and
-removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
-very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
-tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
-networks.
+Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
+enhancing privacy, modifying web page data, managing HTTP cookies, controlling
+access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk.
+Privoxy has a flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual
+needs and tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and
+multi-user networks.
Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
1. IMPORTANT CHANGES
-MORE NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another
-maintenance release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the
-configuration and works around some known third-party problems. See the
-ChangeLog for complete details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
+Privoxy development is between releases. The current sources are development
+quality. If you find problems please report them to the developers.
-NEWS! March 2003, Privoxy 3.0.2 is released. This is the first maintenance
-release of Privoxy. There are no significant new features in this release. Some
-bugs are fixed, and some existing features have been enhanced. See ChangeLog
-for details. Upgrading from 3.0.0 is recommended.
+August 2008, Privoxy 3.0.10 is released! There are not any major new features,
+but many improvements and refinements. As usual there are changes that effect
+the configuration. See the "ChangeLog", and the "What's New" section and the
+"Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
-REALLY BIG NEWS! August 2002: The long-awaited, oft-delayed stable version of
-Privoxy 3.0 is finally released! This is way behind schedule, but better late
-than never. The developers all hope the wait was worth it.
+June 2008, Privoxy 3.0.9 beta is released. There are no major new features, but
+many improvements and refinements.
-NEWS! As of 03/24/02, the name of this project has been changed from ijbswa/
-Junkbuster to Privoxy. This is reflected in many of the included files.
+NEWS! January 2008, Privoxy 3.0.8 stable is released. This is a significant
+upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. All Privoxy
+users are encouraged to upgrade. See the "ChangeLog", and the "What's New"
+section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and
+specifics. There are changes related to configuration, so anyone upgrading and
+keeping their old configuration should read ahead first.
-WARNING! If upgrading from earlier versions of this project via RPM packages,
-the new package will delete any previously installed 'Junkbuster' packages.
-
-IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 17 Mar 2002: The default listening
-port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment. You will need to
-change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe firewall, etc.
+December 2007, Privoxy 3.0.7 is released. This is a beta release in preparation
+for the forthcoming 3.0.8 release.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. INSTALL
-See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from source, and the
-User Manual, for other installation types.
+See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
+User Manual, for all other installation types.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. RUN
privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
-[.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
+[.GROUP]] [--chroot] [--pre-chroot-nslookup HOSTNAME ][config_file]
See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
configuration and usage issues.
file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
-Or for Red Hat based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
-
-Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
+Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
-Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
+Or Debian and Ubuntu: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. CONFIGURATION
-See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', and 'default.filter'.
-'user.action' is for personal and local configuration preferences. These are
-all well commented. Most of the magic is in '*.action' files. 'user.action'
-should be used for any actions customizations. On Unix-like systems, these
-files are installed in /etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable
-itself is installed. There are many significant changes and advances since
-Junkbuster v2.0.x. The User Manual has an explanation of all configuration
-options, and examples: http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
+See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
+'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
+configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
+in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
+customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
+etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
+There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
+Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
+www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is
The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
p.p/, as well other options.
+All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
+development process.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. DOCUMENTATION
-There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular, see the
-User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy development, should
-look at developer-manual.
+There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
+completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
+those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
-The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
-configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter'.
+The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
+may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
+files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
+configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
+the top-level source directory.
Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
list, where the developers also hang around.
+Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
+either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
+
+Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
+addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
+of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
+or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
+
+If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
+with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
+get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
+and you won't see them.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6.2. Reporting Problems
+
+"Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
+
+ * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
+ function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
+
+ * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
+ cause a crash.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
+
+Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
+blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
+problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
+11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
+
+New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
+your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
+available from our the files section of our project page.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-6.2. Report Bugs
+6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
-Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
-tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
+Please report all bugs through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/tracker
+/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
-and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form.
+and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
+submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
+help to solve the issue.
-Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
-first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
-The appendix of the user manual also has helpful information on action
-debugging. If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock
-configs to see if the problem is configuration related.
+Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug or
+documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you expected.
+If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
-If not using the latest version, chances are that the bug has been found and
+If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
+see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having problems with a
+feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the mailing list if
+others can reproduce the problem.
+
+If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the bug may have been found and
fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
-upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your
-bug, but this is not required for reporting.
+upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify that
+your bug still exists.
+
+Please be sure to provide the following information:
+
+ * The exact Privoxy version you are using (if you got the source from CVS,
+ please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
+ config.privoxy.org/show-version).
+
+ * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
+ SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
+ should do, in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the distribution.
+
+ * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
+ Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
+
+ * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
+ problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
+
+ * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the Privoxy developers
+ via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere else.
+
+ * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
+ so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
+
+ * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
+ without it?
+
+ * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
+ or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
+ taken).
+
+You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but
+please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages and the
+ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your request if
+they have the same problem or already found a solution.
+
+Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
+we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
+automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request.
+
+The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
+understanding actions, and action debugging.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-6.5. Other
+6.4. Other
For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff