FAQ

libobby FAQ
===========

1) Why is obby called ``obby''?

  This answer to this one is trivial, but it only sounds funny to those familiar
  with development. The library should be called lobby, and in fact the compiler
  sees it as -lobby when it's linked. Thus, we will call it ``Lobby'' in the
  other responses within this FAQ.

    Lobby because it provides a room for people to express themselves in words
  and in future perhaps also in pictures and maybe in sounds.

2) What is Lobby capable of?

  Lobby provides a network-synced buffer. This means that it syncs the inputs
  of various clients on documents. However, this is only the framework and
  concrete programs need to implement both the server and the client part.

    It can be used to provide chat services or -- more importantly -- an editor
  for collaborative editing.

3) Could Lobby detect other Lobby clients automatically when they are within
   my LAN?

  Yes. Lobby uses libhowl, which is a wrapper around ZeroConf (or Rendezvous)
  which provides local service announcement and discovery. The client could
  use those abstractions to announce its documents to the world. Others are
  able to find it without any further configuration.

    When used on the internet either a dedicated server or a client which is
  reachable for the others is needed. This might require a port-forwarding
  on one side.