From 457c2bf135be68b3c49ff20d3f23a6f8507aeda5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: elijah <elijah@riseup.net>
Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2012 02:02:24 -0800
Subject: initial commit

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+Nickserver
+==================================
+
+Nickserver is the opposite of a key server. A key server allows you to lookup
+keys, and the UIDs associated with a particular key. A nickserver allows you
+to query a particular 'nick' (e.g. username@example.org) and get back relevant
+public key information for that nick.
+
+Nickserver has the following properties:
+
+* Written in Ruby, licensed GPLv3
+* Lightweight and scalable
+* Uses asynchronous network IO for both server and client connections (via EventMachine)
+* Attempts to reply to queries using four different methods:
+  * Cached key in CouchDB (coming soon)
+  * Webfinger (coming soon)
+  * DNS (maybe?)
+  * HKP keyserver pool (https://hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net)
+
+Why Nickserver?
+----------------------------------
+
+Why bother writing Nickserver instead of just using the existing HKP keyservers?
+
+* Keyservers are fundamentally different: Nickserver is a registry of 1:1
+  mapping from nick (uid) to public key. Keyservers are directories of public
+  keys, which happen to have some uid information in the subkeys, but there is
+  no way to query for an exact uid.
+
+* Support clients: the goal is to provide clients with a cloud-based method of
+  rapidly and easily converting nicks to keys. Client code can stay simple by
+  pushing more of the work to the server.
+
+* Enhancements over keyservers: the goal with Nickserver is to support future
+  enhancements like webfinger, DNS key lookup, mail-back verification, network
+  perspective, and fast distribution of short lived keys.
+
+* Scalable: the goal is for a service that can handle many simultaneous
+  requests very quickly with low memory consumption.
+
+API
+==================================
+
+You query the nickserver via HTTP. The API is very minimal at the moment:
+
+    curl -X GET hostname:6425/key/<uid>
+
+Returns the OpenPGP public key for uid.
+
+Installation
+==================================
+
+You have three fine options for installing nickserver:
+
+Install the gem:
+
+    $ gem install nickserver
+
+Install from source:
+
+    $ git clone git://leap.se/nickserver
+    $ cd nickserver
+    $ rake build
+    $ rake install
+
+Install for development:
+
+    $ git clone git://leap.se/nickserver
+    $ cd nickserver
+    $ bundle
+
+Usage
+==================================
+
+None yet, just a bunch of unit tests.
+
+    rake test
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