RainbowRing

RainbowRing connects independent websites through a modern webring inspired by the community spirit of the early web and built around the ZX Spectrum Next community.

This plugin is intentionally small. It connects WordPress to the RainbowRing service, displays the RainbowRing widget, and lets a site administrator manage the widget settings supplied by RainbowRing. Membership, approval, traversal and ring behaviour remain on the RainbowRing service rather than being duplicated inside WordPress.

Once connected, visitors can use the RainbowRing widget to move through participating sites with Previous, Random and Next, use LUV, or follow JOIN to learn how to become part of the ring.

The plugin supports two display modes:

• Fixed — RainbowRing is inserted automatically across the site.
• Inline — place [rainbowring] where you want the widget to appear.

Widget style, appearance, size and alignment are managed from Settings > RainbowRing and synchronised with the RainbowRing service.

Connecting a site

For a site already registered with RainbowRing, the plugin makes one automatic connection attempt immediately after activation. The WordPress Site Address must exactly match the site URL registered with RainbowRing.

Automatic pairing uses a short-lived proof challenge so RainbowRing can confirm that the active WordPress installation controls the registered URL. Your RainbowRing account password is never stored by this plugin.

If that first automatic attempt cannot complete, the plugin stops. It does not keep polling or retrying in the background. WordPress displays a clear notice directing the administrator to Settings > RainbowRing, where Try automatic connection again performs one explicit fresh attempt.

If automatic pairing is not available, an advanced manual connection option can use the Site ID and connection key supplied by RainbowRing.

External service

RainbowRing is a service plugin and requires communication with the RainbowRing service at:

https://rainbowring.zingot.graphics/

The plugin contacts the service in order to provide its core functionality. Depending on the action being performed, this includes:

• one automatic pairing attempt immediately after plugin activation;
• an additional pairing attempt only when an administrator explicitly chooses Try automatic connection again;
• matching the WordPress site URL to a registered RainbowRing site during pairing;
• completing the short-lived pairing challenge;
• retrieving and updating widget settings;
• retrieving the site’s RainbowRing status when the RainbowRing settings page is viewed;
• checking whether the RainbowRing installation is detectable when an administrator chooses Check installation;
• requesting final approval when an administrator chooses Request final approval;
• loading the RainbowRing widget JavaScript on public pages where the widget is enabled.

There is no recurring pairing process, timer, cron task or background polling loop.

Authenticated requests use the RainbowRing Site ID and connection token. The connection token should be treated like a password. The plugin does not store your RainbowRing account password.

The public widget is provided by RainbowRing and loads the service script from:

https://rainbowring.zingot.graphics/widget/webring.js

Because this script and the widget communicate with the RainbowRing service, normal web request information such as IP address, user agent, referrer information where supplied by the browser, and request timestamps may be received by RainbowRing’s web infrastructure. The RainbowRing Privacy Policy will describe how service data is handled.

RainbowRing service: https://rainbowring.zingot.graphics/
Privacy Policy: https://rainbowring.zingot.graphics/privacy.php
Terms of Service: https://rainbowring.zingot.graphics/terms.php

Privacy

RainbowRing is an external service. The plugin sends information to the RainbowRing service only as required to connect the WordPress site and provide RainbowRing functionality.

The plugin may send the site’s public WordPress URL, RainbowRing Site ID, site-specific connection token, widget settings, installation-check requests and approval requests to rainbowring.zingot.graphics.

On public pages where the RainbowRing widget is enabled, the visitor’s browser loads RainbowRing’s remote widget JavaScript. As with normal web requests, RainbowRing’s server infrastructure may therefore receive technical request information including the visitor’s IP address, user agent, request timestamp, and referrer information where supplied by the browser.

The plugin does not add its own analytics or advertising system and does not create custom WordPress database tables.

Privacy Policy: https://rainbowring.zingot.graphics/privacy.php
Terms of Service: https://rainbowring.zingot.graphics/terms.php