After the recent Mediabot v3 wiki rebuild, the project README also needed a cleanup.

The goal was not to duplicate the whole wiki inside README.md.

The goal was better:

README.md = essential install path + project overview + strong wiki entry point
Wiki      = full operational documentation

This update makes the README shorter, clearer, and much harder to misuse during a fresh install.

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Why this cleanup was needed

The previous README contained a lot of useful information, but it had started to drift away from the current installation reality.

The biggest issue was the installation flow.

Mediabot now expects a fresh install to go through:

./configure

not through a manual:

cp mediabot.sample.conf mediabot.conf

The sample config is still important, but it is a reference file. It helps operators add optional or newer settings that ./configure may not generate yet.

It is not the main fresh-install entry point anymore.

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README versus Wiki

The README now clearly points users to the GitHub wiki near the top.

The wiki is the operational documentation hub:

Installation
Configuration
Database model
Public commands
Private/admin commands
Partyline
Testing
Troubleshooting
Release and upgrade notes

The README keeps only the essential path so a new user is not lost immediately.

If someone needs details, the README sends them to the right wiki page.

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Fresh install path clarified

The README now documents the fresh install flow more honestly:

install bootstrap Debian packages
create the dedicated mediabot user
clone or download Mediabot
run ./configure
let ./configure handle the initial setup
review mediabot.conf
validate schema
run syntax checks
run tests
start foreground
register/login by private message
validate Partyline

This matches the current project workflow much better.

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./configure is now central

The README explicitly says:

./configure is the supported fresh-install entry point.

And it also documents the important database recreation prompt:

If ./configure detects that the target database exists and asks whether it should recreate it:
- answer yes for a brand new install database;
- answer no for an existing production or historical database.

That matters a lot.

On a fresh install, the installer must be allowed to create/recreate the new database cleanly.

On an old production instance, doing that would be destructive.

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First registration and login fixed

The README now documents the real first auth flow.

The first registration/login is done by private message to the bot:

/msg mediabot register <user> <password>
/msg mediabot login <user> <password>

Then authentication is checked with the configured command prefix:

<prefix>whoami

This avoids the previous ambiguity where the README implied that register/login were normal prefixed commands.

Passwords should not be sent in a public channel.

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Testing path aligned

The README now uses the same validation direction as the wiki:

perl -c mediabot.pl
find Mediabot -name '*.pm' -print -exec perl -I. -c {} \;
perl tools/check_schema_drift.pl --conf=mediabot.conf --strict
./t/full_test.sh -d /tmp/mediabot_tests

The temporary test log path is now:

/tmp/mediabot_tests

This keeps the README generic and avoids documenting local backup paths as if they were universal.

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Partyline clarified

The README now keeps Partyline documentation short and accurate:

telnet localhost 23456

Then the Partyline prompts interactively for:

nickname
password

It no longer suggests a fake .login user password workflow.

The README points to the wiki for the full Partyline documentation.

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Security reminders kept

The README still keeps the essential security warnings:

do not run Mediabot as root
do not commit mediabot.conf
do not commit secrets
remove temporary sudo after installation
do not keep passwordless sudo on an IRC-connected bot

Those are too important to hide only in the wiki.

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Result

This README update makes the project front page much healthier:

shorter
clearer
less redundant
wiki-first
configure-first
fresh-install safe
password handling corrected
testing path aligned
Partyline flow corrected

It also reduces the chance that a new user follows a stale install path.

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Spell of the day

Accio Documentum!

The wiki now carries the full spellbook.

The README points to it, keeps the essentials, and stops pretending it can contain the whole castle.

Mischief documented. 🧙‍♂️📚