[MLB-WIRELESS] SSIDs and access to the network

[Dan Flett]

An issue arising out of the legal discussion we've been having is that
of permission to use an AP and the SSID of that AP.

With Melbourne Wireless APs we generally want them to be open access -
and we generally want anyone who connects to them to access the network
and learn more about it.

I feel that the "nodexxx.wireless.org.au" and similar SSIDs don't
adequately convey the message that the node is open access to anyone.
Relating to what we've discussed, we don't want anyone to be afraid of
legal issues when connecting to our APs.

I propose that we use SSIDs like "FreeNet wireless.org.au" or similar to
convey the message at a glance that our APs are open-access - and that
access is indeed encouraged.  I think that the "nodexxx" is mostly
unnecessary, as it is quite easy for someone who has heard of
wireless.org.au to find out the actual node name.  From the MAC address
and/or IP address, one can use LocFinder and the mailing list to find
out which node one has stumbled.  And the name of the node is pretty
unimportant to the average punter - the content on the network is much
more interesting - we want people to be able to access that content
easily.

"FreeNet" of course doesn't actually mean free Internet - but it will
encourage someone who connects to the AP to type something into their
web browser to test if there is net access.  I would say that most
people who just stumble upon one of our APs would not have the knowledge
to look at their DHCP-assigned settings to see the default gateway, and
then type that gateway IP into their web browser.  Most people would
just type something like "google.com".

To "capture" that browser you can run a "captive portal" program on your
wireless router.  NoCatAuth (http://nocat.net/) seems to be the best
captive portal app out there for Linux.  Here's a link that explains how
it works:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2001/11/09/nocatauth.html

If you're interested in spreading the Melbourne Wireless gospel with
your public AP, I think a program like NoCat is a must for your node.

There are other methods for redirecting visitors to your node webpage -
I run a DNS server and a firewall that redirects all non-authorised
visitors to a special "Welcome" page that explains what's going on.  But
that's pretty much what NoCat does anyway.

Dan

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