Description of the system

Revive provides methods for keeping the amount of users on a necessary minimum. This is done via a feedback functionality. In a freely definable timespan (revive span), a feedback process is organized. The revive span starts with the system sending out an e-mail - based on a template - to each of the users. In another freely definable timespan (feedback span), the users have to react to the mailing and visit a web site by clicking on a link in the e-mail. This is all the users are required to do. Within the e-mail, a full link to the revive web site is presented. At the end of the revive span, logs are evaluated and the set of users can be separated into two groups: those who have responded (good users) and those who haven't (bad users).

The good users are rewarded with an extension of their account, they can continue to use it as they did. The bad users however can be punished, e.g. by a chmod 000 on their home directory, thus disabling all home directory functionality - e-mail functionality is so far unaffected. Revive also offers a two-level punishment which enables admins to issue a soft warning after the first time a user failed to revive his account, followed by a punishment after the second failed revive.

Ease of use for both admin and client users are primary goals for the project, along with high customizablity on the technical level, i.e. freely definable time spans, e-mail bodies and punishments / warnings.