File areas

File areas are the BBS's download library. Each area lives on disk
under a configurable storage path.

Creating an area

Admin → File Areas → Add Area:

Where files live

Each area stores binaries in its storage_path. Sysop can drop files
in directly (e.g. via SFTP) or users can upload via the web or FTP.

FTP access

When FTP_ENABLED=true in .env (or via Admin → Settings), the
ANetBBS FTP server publishes every active FileArea as a top-level
directory. Three views are served from the same port:

• Anonymous (anonymous / blank password) — read-only, sees only
  active areas with is_sysop_only=false. Earns you the FTN nodelist
  IFC flag once advertised.
• Authenticated users — same login as web / telnet / SSH. Read
  everything not sysop-only, upload subject to each area's
  upload_permission (none / users / sysop).
• Sysop — read + write everything, including is_sysop_only areas.

Uploads via FTP create the same FileUpload row a web upload would,
so they show up in the web file-area browser as well. Per-area
upload_permission is enforced post-write: a denied upload is
deleted from disk and the violation is logged.

Ports to open on the firewall: 21/tcp (control) and the configured
FTP_PASV_PORTS range (default 40000-40050, data channels). See
docs/PORTS.md for the full table. Optional FTPS by setting
FTP_TLS_CERTFILE + FTP_TLS_KEYFILE (reuse your nginx
Let's Encrypt cert).

Upload moderation queue

Set FILE_MOD_QUEUE_ENABLED=true in .env to require sysop approval
for non-admin uploads.

When on:
- User uploads → file lands in data/file-queue/, a
FileQueueEntry row marks it pending.
- Admin → File Queue (/admin/file-queue/) lets sysop approve
(moves to area storage_path) or reject (deletes).

File ratios

Mystic/Synchronet-style ratio control:

RATIO_MIN=0.05    # require uploads to be at least 5% of downloads

When set:
- Each download bumps bytes_downloaded on FileRatio per user.
- Each upload bumps bytes_uploaded.
- A new download is blocked if the user's projected ratio
(after the download) is below RATIO_MIN. Sysops always exempt.

Set RATIO_MIN=0 (default) to disable.

Hatched files (TIC)

TIC ("Ticket File") is FidoNet's file-echo distribution mechanism —
the file-area equivalent of echomail. It runs in both directions:

Inbound

If you've subscribed to file echos via FidoNet, the TIC processor
(anetbbs/echomail/tic.py) auto-files incoming .tic packets into the
matching area. Audit at Admin → TIC Log (/admin/tic-log).

Outbound — automatic, no manual step

This is the part that's easy to miss: uploading a file to any file
area that has a network attached (network_id is not None) queues
that file for outbound distribution to every peer subscribed to that
file echo — automatically, with no extra action. This includes all
9 of the bundled ANN.FILES.* areas (see doc 6 —
Echomail for the full list) as well as any custom
file-echo area you attach to a network yourself.

Concretely: _hatch_if_network_area() in anetbbs/web/file_areas.py
runs after every successful upload — the regular Upload form, the
sysop's Manage → Upload, and Smart Upload all call it, as does
the moderation queue's Approve action in
anetbbs/web/file_queue.py (so a queued upload only hatches out once
a sysop actually approves it, not the moment a user submits it). It
calls hatch_local_file() in tic.py, which queues one HatchQueue
row per subscribed peer (FileEchoSubscription) with a fresh CRC32
and size — the same fan-out process_tic() does for a TIC that
arrived from elsewhere, except this file is the origin hop, so there's
no prior SEEN-BY/PATH to inherit.

In short: if you upload to a network-attached area, you are
broadcasting that file to every peer on that file echo, not just
filing it locally. Purely local file areas (network_id is None)
are unaffected — nothing is queued for those.

Delivery happens on the next BinkP poll per peer. A sysop running this
BBS as a network hub can see the outbound queue's current
pending/failed counts on the TIC / File Distribution tab of Admin
→ Echomail Networks → Hub Management (/admin/echomail/hub/) — see
doc 6 for the full Hub Management writeup. That view
is hub-operator-only (gated by REGISTRY_MODE_ENABLED); the plain
Admin → TIC Log audit page above is available on every install.

Shareable links

Any user can mint an expiring share link for a file in an area they
have access to. Tools → My File Shares.