1 Installation

2 Understanding the ADMIN and adding RSS pheeds

3 Finding RSS pheeds you can use as content

4 Adding the BlogBomb results to your pages

This thread will discuss installation, please refer to each thread for more on each subject.

If you're a pro, I suggest using the ReadMe:
http://blogbomb.com/readme-BBx2.html

If you're new to installing scripts, print out the ReadMe and download this videos:

www.dombom.com/iframes/jeffs_blogbomb_videos/video1.zip
www.dombom.com/iframes/jeffs_blogbomb_videos/video2.zip
www.dombom.com/iframes/jeffs_blogbomb_videos/video3a.zip
www.dombom.com/iframes/jeffs_blogbomb_videos/video3b.zip
www.dombom.com/iframes/jeffs_blogbomb_videos/video4.zip

These videos were made by Jeff Hope a few years ago and go step by step getting your BlogBomb up and running.

I didn't embed the videos in the forum because they start automatically each time they are accessed, which isn't good for a forum.

I ran into a small problem or discrepancy between the videos and what Ihave in the actual BlogBomb.pl file:

The read me and the video says to change the password from "Test" to something else. Well, I don't have that linew of code in the pl file.

This is what my file reads:

##############################################################################
### Configuration file for feedsearch.
### (C) 2003, Kurt Melvin
###

$CACHE_EXPIRE = 60 * 60 * 24; # In seconds (60 * 60 * 24 = Once a day).

$DEFAULT_RESULTS = 10;
$MIN_RESULTS = 1;
$MAX_RESULTS = 20;

$SSI_TEMPLATE = q(
<a href="{url}">{title}</a><br>
{description}<br> </br>
);

$QUERY_TIMEOUT = 30;

$FEEDSEARCH_SSI_URL = "http://domain.tld/cgi-bin/blogbomb";;

if (exists $ENV{HTTP_HOST} and exists $ENV{SCRIPT_NAME}) {
$SCRIPT_URL = "http://$ENV{HTTP_HOST}$ENV{SCRIPT_NAME}";;
if ($SCRIPT_URL =~ /^(.*)\/<^\/> /) {
$FEEDSEARCH_SSI_URL = $1;
}
}

$data = {};
require "../fatbomb/data/config.dat" if -f "../fatbomb/data/config.dat";
$ADMIN_PASSWORD = $data->{ADMIN_PASSWORD};
$ADMIN_PASSWORD = 'changeme' unless $ADMIN_PASSWORD;

1;

###
### END
##############################################################################

As you can see, it is totally different then what Jeff has in his.

I checked some of my older ones Qurill installed, and the pl files read like the one I posted.

What do you suggest in this case?

Do I just add this line here:

>$ADMIN_PASSWORD = "test";<

Thanks...

Mary

Btw, if you don't want the code in an actual post, please feel free to delete it!

I assume Kirill installed BlogBomb Xtreme 2?

The password is set in:
/data/config.pl

Also, if you have BBX2 you should download it (in text/ascii mode) from Kirill's installs and upload it to your other sites.

This will give you the most powerful BlogBomb and each domain, as well as be consistent.

Umm I did go by the read me file, and I used the version Kirill uploaded on my other sites.

The code above is what is in the data/config.pl file.

I guess then I do not have to change the password thing until Iget inside the admin area right?

Btw, I also don't have these 2 files:

- data.pl - 755

I presume you meant data/config.pl file for this one right?

- /libwww - 755

And I have no idea what you meant be this one here.

I found a lib folder in the FatBomb and SiderBomb zips, but not with BlogBomb.

Am I missing one for BlogBomb?

Thanks...

Mary

Edited:

I found the place to change the password. I didn't see it at the bottom of the page where it says "changeme" in this line here:

$ADMIN_PASSWORD = 'changeme' unless $ADMIN_PASSWORD;

Lol I was looking for the word "test" and couldn't find it.

Sorry Kurt!

OK...You have a special BlogBomb version that is used with Fatty and Spider, correct?

What your version is doing is reading/using the same keyword for all 3 scripts: Fatty, BlogBomb and Spider...this is so you can log into just one and access them all.

$data = {};
require "../fatbomb/data/config.dat" if -f "../fatbomb/data/config.dat";
$ADMIN_PASSWORD = $data->{ADMIN_PASSWORD};
$ADMIN_PASSWORD = 'changeme' unless $ADMIN_PASSWORD;

In this case, your default password is:
changeme

Just install BlogBomb, then log into the admin and change the password that way. Or, you can change "changeme" in the data/config/pl file to your prefered password.

Thanks! I thought that is why I had the one admin panel for the other sites but didn't know it was a special script.

Anyways, it worked like a charm chief!

Mary

I upgraded BBX2 and so am going by the new directions.

What file do I find this?
5 Upload:
cover.html
main_ex.html

In BBX2 there is no template files, yet you say
6 Upload new TEMPLATES folder, overwriting previous templates.

Thanks for your help.

The templates are in the blogbomb folder /templates and should be included in the BBx2 zip file I sent. I double checked and they are in the zip file sent.

In this case, the templates only refer to the look/feel of the BlogBomb admin and are not web page templates.

To be honest, it is probably easier just to install BBx2 "from scratch" and not upgrade, assuming you haven't spent a lot of time collecting pheeds or building pages.

I then had someone else install and they could not get anything but the 404 page as well.

The hosting service say they have the parser installed. What do you suggest next?

Thanks for your help

It sounds like there's a file missing, but since you've tried two different versions, something is strange.

Still, the 404 error indicates that the wrong page URL is being typed into the address bar when trying to access the BB admin...If a module such as xml parser were missing, it would give a 500 server error, not a page not found error.

Your admin URL should look something like:
http://www.YourDomain.com/cgi-bin/blogbomb/blogbomb_admin.cgi

Make sure the folder path is correct.

If double-checking this URL doesn't work (don't reinstall), email your FTP info to me and either Kirill or I will take a look.

I had that problem with my VPS a couple of months ago after my hosting company upgraded the perl to 5.0.

I contacted them and asked them to double check my server. They first said there was nothing wrong on their end. They later found that there was indeed something wrong, but I cannot remember what it was. All I can say is the server was miraculously fixed and all problems resolved.

So, I would try contacting them too if you know the url is correct.

I don't know if this will help, but it is worth a shot.

Mary

I got an answer back from Kirill today:

"It appears that the problem is not related to the BlogBomb script. Any CGI script uploaded to the "cgi-bin" directory brings a 404 error. I have no idea what could cause this behavior, you need to contact your hosting provider to fix this bug.

Anyway there is an easy workaround against this problem: do not upload CGI scripts into the "cgi-bin" directory, upload them somewhere else. For instance, you could install BlogBomb to the
"http://www.mydomain.com/feeds/"; directory. CGI scripts seem to
work anywhere except for the "cgi-bin" directory of your site."

I host with hostgator, so will contact them. This has been annoying, but now I can move forward! Who would have thought that!

HI Jeannie and Everyone...

This is the same problem Mao had on the RSS Blackhole thread, in that every fle in the cgi bin retutned a 404 "file not found" error...The host being the problem is more common than we think.

For those with less experience installing scripts it can be very frustrating, as we tend to blame ourselves and/or the script, when in fact it is the host.

If you have trouble installing simple scripts, don't be afraid to think that the host is the problem. It happens much more often than you think it would and should be a consideration if installs go wrong...

Yes, I will be sure to keep this in mind in the future.

Even after support said the cgi-bin was turned on for my site, I still could not get things working.

Today, I made some progress in getting information. I host with hostgator, so this may help someone else, I don't know.

"You didn't have executable permissions on the file, and you were missing "print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";" from the perl file."

When I asked for explanations they said:

"Permissions on files and folders can not be world or group writable. Please make sure your files are 644 and scripts/folders 755. Anything like 777 would cause failures".

So is this right and will this work for this script?:
- blogbomb_admin.cgi - 644
- feedsearch_ssi.cgi - 644
- data.pl - 644
- /data - 755
- /data/cache - 644

- /templates - 755
- /XIT - 755
- /libwww - 755

"I believe Dave was refeering to the actual cgi script feeds_admin.cgi"

So Kurt, where would I put the line "print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";" in the blogbomb_admin.cgi file? Is that
written up correctly? "print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";"

At this point, I get a 500 error for the admin log in. I don't know if they put the line "print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";" in or not. They say they don't do script support.

Thanks for your help.

Did you get fatty to run on hostgator?

I just testing and I get the same 404 error that you are reporting.

I have installed fatty and BBX on different servers and have not had a single issue.

I suspect it might be hostgator...

My 2 cents,

Ed

I have been with hostgator for a couple of months, and they have a cpanel bug, at least on my server, that the stats stop updating every few weeks.

Since cgi-bin was checked when I set it up, it never dawned on me I would need to have it set up specifically, but I am finding that true of each site. It appears things are offered, but you have to ask for them.

Then I ran into this whole new problem with Kurts script. I have gotten better at tech stuff, but I am not that good, so I waste a lot of time double checking myself and reinstalling and don't always know what to do. I am not happy at this point with hostgator.

Sorry to hear the problems.

I am using hostdime.com and don't have any problems at all with the cgi-bin and installs.

Let me know if you need any help.

Blessings,

Ed

Christopher

It would be helpful to know the exact steps you took to get the installation working on hostgator. I know Jeannie will probably appreciate it.

Blessings,

Ed

Hi Jeannie,

Anything that had permissions set at 777 should be set at 755 on your server.

Also, try installing a simple script first in the cgi-bin, to make sure the cgi-bin even works.

Start with Bo's Amazon script and get it to work or other simple to install script.

I finally got time to upload BlogBomb - RSS version and I have run into a problem. It's probably something that I have or haven't done, though I am pretty good at following instructions.

When I try to log in I get an error message which says "password id empty"

I have uploaded the files 3 times and have double checked and triple checked the permissions.

If I enter an incorrect password then I get the message - "invalid password" so it knows that it's incorrect. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Lewis

Hi Lewis,

It's not a permissions problem, as that would give you a 500 error, so don't mess with that.

Also, don't use Notepad, as it can create strange errors.

You said on the other thread that you have opened data/config.pl and checked the password. Try changing it, and reupload the config file to the data folder.

Copy/paste (don't type) the new password and see if it works. Make sure you don't copy the quote marks.

Double check that you are really logging into to correct instance of BlogBomb and not another installment.

Email me your FTP info at lvha@aol.com . I'll take a look when I get a chance.

If I can't figure it out, you'll need to pay Kirill for an install and he'll figure out the problem...

But, please help me out with this. I am now trying to install it in my root domain so that I am able to use it for all subdomains as well as sub directories from one installation.

Please help me out. I am going crazy with this.

Hi Faraz,

I sent your error "premature end of script headers" to Kirill for his opinion. My guess is that you're not uploading all the files, but let's wait for his opinion.

In the meantime:

- Have you already installed BlogBomb successfully on this hosting account?

- Are any perl scripts already successfully installed on this hosting account?

On a side note: If you're using WHM/cpanel, you have a folder called a "skeleton directory". Anything you install in this directory will be installed on any new domain you add.

This means if you create a cgi-bin and install BlogBomb (coorrectly) here, BlogBomb should be installed each time you create a new domain.

I'm not sure if this works with "add ons" or you need to create a new account each time using WHM.

Once you get BlogBomb working on a domain, you may want to ask your host how much for them to install BlogBomb in your skeleton directory.

>In the meantime:
>
>- Have you already installed BlogBomb successfully on this
>hosting account?
>
>- Are any perl scripts already successfully installed on
>this hosting account?

Actually, I have fatbomb and blogbomb installed in this hosting. Fatbomb is installed on the root domain while blogbomb is installed on an addon domain.

What I have done is downloaded the blogbomb install from my subdomain and uploaded it again to the root domain where I am trying to install it now. So, I dont see how I could miss any files there.

>
>On a side note: If you're using WHM/cpanel, you have a
>folder called a "skeleton directory". Anything you install
>in this directory will be installed on any new domain you
>add.
>
>This means if you create a cgi-bin and install BlogBomb
>(coorrectly) here, BlogBomb should be installed each time
>you create a new domain.
>
>I'm not sure if this works with "add ons" or you need to
>create a new account each time using WHM.
>
>Once you get BlogBomb working on a domain, you may want to
>ask your host how much for them to install BlogBomb in your
>skeleton directory.

I have a cpanel account but I dont know about a skeleton directory.
I hope I can get this to work with your help and when I am making more money I will just change to a better host which doesnt create trouble while installing scripts.

bye,
faraz

Hi Jason,

Yes to both. You want one main install that will contain every RSS pheed of your own. Then, you will want to install BB on those domains you wish to use RSS pheeds on.

I don't really understand what you mean exactly. Let's see if my understanding is correct:

>Yes to both. You want one main install that will contain
>every RSS pheed of your own.

Do you mean one main install (say site A) of BB in cgi-bin, so that this main install takes in all incoming RSS pheeds from my own websites?

>Then, you will want to install
>BB on those domains you wish to use RSS pheeds on.

And then on my other websites (sites B, C, D, E, etc) where I want to have incoming RSS, I use SSI (or PHP includes) to insert the RSS from site A? And not having to install BB on cgi-bin on those sites B, C, D, E, etc.

Am I understanding you correctly?

And if there's an existing post that's already explained it in detail, please point me to it, thanks.

Hi Jason,

You're correct. You have one main BB. You will use this to install any and all of YOUR OWN rss pheeds you create. For example, do you have a Twitter account? It creates an RSS pheed, install it in your main BB.

Use the main BB to EXPORT to all your other BB installs.

Now any domain you have that you want to include your own RSS pheed, you will need a way to put them on your pages, so you will use BB to IMPORT RSS pheeds, including your own.

By doing this, anytime you create a new resources, such as Twitter or a WP blog, you just add the RSS pheed to your main BB install and all your other BB installs will add the new content to those domains. You don't need to go to each domain and create links, your cross-linking is being done automatically using RSS.

The error I get is 404 not found
The server can not find the requested page:

(port 80)

Russ1

Hi Russ,

1. Upload and install it in the skeleton as you normally would, including setting the permissions.

2. I'm guessing you're not quite entering the coorect URL to BB admin, based on the directory names and structure you are actually using. FTP to a site with BB installed and double check you are using the same URL to correspond with all directory names.

One common problem is the directions may say "blogbomb", when the real directory name is BBX2RSS.

Russ1

Hi Russ...

The host domain in the config file is the one thing you'll need update each time, to match each domain.

When I install BB following your instructions I get

The requested URL /cgi-bin/BBX2RSS2.2/blogbomb_admin.cgi was not found on this server.

I will forward my server details so you can see in separate PM but I assume this missing file is relevant?

I would appreciate you taking a look as keen to get going again as we discussed.

Hi Graham,

Sorry, but free install and trouble shooting services isn't part of our deal.

Your 404 error is moste likely due to you not entering the correct URL in your browser window. If you didn't upload a file, or something was wrong with the install, you would get a 500 error. 404 is "file not found", not "something isn't working".

I will work out how to solve this but if that file is not there I need to know if should be.

Thanks

Graham

HI Graham,

If a file was missing, you'd be getting a 500 error...You're not entering the correct URL into the browser, this will produce the 404 error...

Installing scripts isn't that hard if you actually read the instructions I feel a right fool sorry!

It works fine now as far as I can tell more fun to follow...

I'm super new, like 4 days into this, and in the past I've been ok once I get used to things.

I am thinking that getting familiar with BlogBomb is a good place to start, but I'm stuck on the instructions.

I am getting the 500 error after following the instructions.

My welcome email has a blogbomb zip file download and it yields:

Folders: data , templates & XIT

and

blogbomb_admin.cgi & feedsearch_ssi.gci & readme

ie. No "data.pl" or "/libwww" anywhere that I can find.

In my blogbomb download I also got a godfather zip file that yields a bunch of other stuff, but I don't see them in there, either.

The videos in the first post seem to show quite a few more files than I have.

Maybe I just need "data.pl" & "/libwww"

Any assistance with getting my tailbone to the starting line would be greatly appreciated.

Todd

Hi Todd,

Later versions of BlogBomb don't have those files, so you can just disregard them. Sorry for the confusion.

The most common reasons for a 500 error would be:

- Didn't FTP using the ascii/text mode in your FTP program. Try uploading everything again using ascii/text mode.

- Incorrect path to perl - First line of script. Check with host for correct path to perl.

- Something didn't upload correctly - Try uploading everything again using ascii/text mode.

- Host hassn't correctly set up your cgi-bin. This is more common than one may think. Do you have any other perl scripts installed and working right now?

Recheck the first 3, if that doesn't fix the problem, send me an email with your details and I'll take a look.

Thank you.

Back to work on it now.

Todd

Is the Blogbomb software a premium download? and if so were can I get it?

Roger

Hey Roger,

Until recently, Blogbomb and some other scripts were part of the initial package.

Blogbomb will be offered here, probably for soemthing like $20.

Before, you had to buy it to gain membership, but:

1. It was too much at once and people were getting over-whelmed.

2. Now, you don't have to buy it, but can if you want.

3. I want to "semi-retire" a couple of the scripts...But not BlogBomb. While it's a pretty old script, it still functions very, very well, and still has tons of uses.

And a better word for "old" is "stable". It's been tested and tested over time and has stood the test of time. It's a well written, bug-free script.

I'll try to make BlogBomb available within a few days.

Admin works fine to start.

it seems I only get the error when I try to add or modify categories.

The only way to update categories is manually update the file:
user-categories.dat

I followed all the permissions from the instructions.

Then i went back and increased all but cgi to 777

Kelvin

Hey Kelvin,

Not sure what the problem is...Never seen this before.

But it's not the permissions. If it was, you should get a 500 error, not an access error. It seems to be more of a server issue, but again I'm not sure.

It actually comes out as a 403 error. It is listed as the title tag on the failed operation.

Kelvin

Hey Kelvin,

403 is an access error. But it's a server error, not one BlogBomb is is giving, which is what I can't figure out.

Is this a new install? Or was it working then started to fail?

Are other instances of BlogBomb working on this server?

Have you tried to reupload the files?

After testing, it is happening on old installs and new.
At one time all the scripts did work on my servers. I pretty much stopped using them after tuelz came out.

So, in that time, maybe some upgrades or changes to the server caused problems. I had them check all the recommended perl modules, and they are installed.

======================

I also tried a new godfather install, and get the same thing.

Most items work, but a few give the error, as if it can't access or write. I changed several permissions to 777, with no success.

On blogbomb, I can manually update the category file.

==========================
I was hoping to use the newsletter effect of godfather, for rss newsletters.

In the mean time, I guess I will just go back to tuelz. On a couple of sties, I can just use scrubs a couple times a week, and manually copy that into my autoresponder and send as broadcast.

Kelvin

I emailed you the last version of BlogBomb. See if it works.

Tried new version:

No go.

Also, there is no file called:

data.pl

and no folder called
/libwww

These are listed in the instructions.

Not sure if they should have been included, or created.

Tried to create them.

still not working.

Kelvin

Hey Kelvin,

Those two files aren't needed in the newest version of BlogBomb.

When you edit the categories by hand, do you just need to add RSS URLs, or do you need to update it each time?

If you just need to edit the file once when you add a new RSS URL, it may not be that bad of a work around.

Once created it will accept the RSS as normal.

Kelvin

Not great...But at lesat that's workable and shouldn't be a big problem.

Sorry I can't come up with a better fix.