The Core

[Tom]

There is something new in the world of BattleMaster. We call it the Core.

Here is a quick overview of what it does and why you'll like it:


Management Abstract
The Core is a central identity and login system. Instead of having many different user accounts on all the various sites related to BattleMaster, users have one central account at the Core, and from there can automatically log in to and even create accounts in the sub-sites.


How it Works
Go to http://core.battlemaster.org and create an account or log in if you you already did so. On the page labelled "Sites", you can see which other sites are already linked into your Core account. For those who are not, there are instructions on how to link them if you already have an account there, or a button to create an account on that site with just one click.


Security
The Core authentication system sets a cookie that contains a ticket that sub-systems can use to verify you are indeed who you claim to be and log you in. The ticket itself is bound to your IP address and has a limited lifespan, so even if someone else were to get hold of it, it would not be of much use to him or her in most scenarios. The total security of this system is higher than of a normal login system, as login-relevant information is sent less frequently over the open Internet.


Limitations
With this being a very new and somewhat experimental system, there are some important limitations. Right now, it does not synchronize the Core and sub-site accounts. So if you change your password or e-mail, interesting things may happen. I'm working on fixing all that.