
                                TightURL
                            Version 0.1.3.2

  What is it?
  -----------

  TightURL is a LAMP-based (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) blind redirection
  service similar to TinyURL, designed for personal or company use by
  those who prefer not to use external services, or cannot use them for
  legal or logistical reasons.  It may run correctly on a WAMP server
  (Windows Apache MySQL PHP), but it is unknown if it does or not.

  The major consideration in the design was the ability to customize
  the application without altering program code.  All browser output
  except fatal error messages is produced by HTML-based templates.

  A fair amount of customization is possible simply by setting a few
  configuration variables in the configuration file or editing the
  included HTML template files. Under no circumstances does the program
  script file ever have to be edited, unless you're a developer.

  The primary reason for a blind redirection service is to avoid
  e-mailing URLs to people that are broken when received, because the
  recipient's e-mail program is unable to pick up the rest of the URL
  after a line-wrap. It is called a blind redirection service because
  you can't tell where you'll end up just by looking at the link.

  For the purposes of TightURL, we want to generate the shortest
  redirection URL possible, thus we use a blind redirection URL, and
  encourage the use of mod_rewrite or the "404-page Method" to achieve
  the shortest possible URL.

  Can I use it without getting a special domain for it?
  -----------------------------------------------------
  Yes.  The requirement for TightURL to be considered useful is the
  ability is to create a URL that won't wrap in a plain text e-mail
  message.  That means the upper limit is about 72 characters of URL.
  A worst case scenario looks like this:

  http://www.a-really-quite-long-name.com/~example01/tighturl.php?i=abcdef

  Even this example can actually be made 10 characters shorter in most
  cases without needing to ask the webmaster for special settings:

  http://www.a-really-quite-long-name.com/~example01/t/?i=abcdef

  See INSTALL for more details on how to "squeeze" your base URL down
  to the smallest possible size.

  Why was it written?
  -------------------

  This software was written for the oldest reason in the Free Software
  book; to scratch an itch.  The author had been looking for some 
  Free Software to run his own URL shortening service.  Finding no Free
  Software that fit the bill, and wanting a first PHP project to work
  on, TightURL was born.  Issuing an HTTP Redirect is not exactly 
  rocket science, what the URL shortening service is really providing
  is convenience and processing resources.

  The software itself can be boiled down to a very few lines if it is
  hard-wired to its configuration values and output screens.  But
  since the author had been looking for some cookie-cutter software and
  couldn't find any, he decided to write this so that hopefully no one
  else will have to.  It can be cosmetically tweaked from the config
  file very easily, and in more depth by editing the HTML templates.


  Additional Disclaimer
  ---------------------

  Original author's code sucks.  He is a rank amateur, evertything a
  professional developer despises.  (I wouldn't run code written by me
  if I were you.)

  Contributing (code) to TightURL
  -------------------------------

  Patches welcome.  Critical advice welcomed if gently given.
  Access to CVS or Arch possible, please contact maintainer.
  ron-a-t-vnetworx.net 

  The Latest Version
  ------------------

  Details about the latest stable and development versions are
  available at the TightURL Web site at http://tighturl.com/ .

  Documentation
  -------------

  The documentation available as of the date of this release is the
  contents of this README file.  Additional documentation is available
  at runtime in the browser for using TightURL.

  Requirements
  ------------

  PHP - Should work with any version >= 4.3.0
  MySQL - Should work with versions greater than >= 3.x
  
  Features
  --------

  * Can create very short URLs using mod_rewrite or the "404 Method"
  * ID size kept very short by using Base-36 IDs
  * The same URL entered more than once always returns the same ID
  * All output is generated by templates.
  * Site design is controlled by a single template.

  Known Limitations
  -----------------

  TightURL probably works under Windows with Apache and MySQL, but we
  have no way of knowing for sure until someone reports they've tested it
  and it works. One possible problem would be if TightURL can't find
  nslookup on the PATH. The Windows version uses nslookup as a kluge for
  missing functionality in PHP for Windows.
  
  Coming Features
  ---------------

  Please see the file called TODO.

  Installation
  ------------

  Please see the file called INSTALL for detailed installation
  instructions.

  Anti-spam Features
  ------------------
  
  A problem with blind redirection services is they can be abused by
  spammers to conceal the domains their spam is trying to get people to visit.
  The TightURL Library attempts to screen out other known redirection
  services, Windows executables, and matches against your local blacklist.

  To keep spammers and phishers from abusing TightURL, it checks the URI
  blacklists at multi.surbl.org and black.uribl.com . TightURL will refuse to
  add URLs that appear on these URI BLs.  You can add additional URI BLs.
  
  Licensing
  ---------

  Please see the file called LICENSE.

  Acknowledgments
  ----------------

  The TightURL developer(s) acknowledge the following copyrighted works
  that make up portions of the TightURL software:

  Bad Behavior
