Websites using Alliance Auth

Okay, let s break down Alliance Auth. It s a powerful, open-source authentication and authorization system, primarily used in the EVE Online community, but adaptable for other purposes.

What is Alliance Auth?

• Core Function: Alliance Auth (AA) is a system that verifies the identity of players in EVE Online and controls access to various services and applications based on their roles and in-game activities. Think of it as a single sign-on and permissions management system specifically tailored for the complex social structures found in EVE.

• Key Features:

  • Authentication: Verifies users identities using EVE Online s SSO (Single Sign-On) system. This ensures that the person logging in is actually who they claim to be in the game.
  • Authorization: Controls what users can access and do within AA and integrated services. This is based on their in-game character, corporation, alliance membership, roles, standings, and other criteria.
  • Integration: Provides a framework for integrating with other web applications, services, and tools used by EVE Online groups. This allows for centralized access control across a wide range of resources.
  • Modules: AA has a modular design, allowing you to extend its functionality with various community-developed modules. These modules can provide features like:
    • Discord integration (role assignment based on in-game status)
    • Forum integration
    • Inventory management
    • Ship fitting tools
    • Killboard integration
    • Many more EVE specific services

• Target Audience:

  • EVE Online Alliances and Corporations: The primary users. AA helps them manage access to internal tools, communication platforms, and strategic resources.
  • Game Developers: AA s architecture can be adapted for other games or applications that require robust authentication and authorization.
  • Open-Source Enthusiasts: Anyone interested in contributing to and customizing a powerful authentication system.

Revenue

• No Direct Revenue for the Core AA Project: Alliance Auth is an open-source project, primarily driven by community contributions. The core project itself does not generate revenue. It s licensed under the MIT license, allowing for free use, modification, and distribution.
• Potential Indirect Revenue (for service providers):
  • Hosting and Support Services: Some individuals or companies might offer paid hosting, installation, and support services for Alliance Auth instances. This is a common model in the open-source world.
  • Custom Module Development: Developers could offer custom module development services to organizations with specific needs not met by existing modules.
  • Training and Consulting: Experts could provide training and consulting services to help organizations effectively implement and manage AA.

Alternatives

There aren t direct, drop-in replacements for Alliance Auth that offer the same level of EVE Online integration and community-developed modules. However, here are some alternative approaches and technologies, with explanations of their trade-offs:

• Custom-Built Authentication/Authorization System:
  • Pros: Complete control over features and security. Can be tailored exactly to your needs.
  • Cons: High development cost, significant ongoing maintenance effort, requires deep expertise in security and authentication best practices.

• Generic Authentication Platforms (with custom EVE integration):

  • • Examples: Keycloak, Auth0, Okta, FusionAuth
  • Pros: Robust, well-maintained, feature-rich, and often offer commercial support.
  • Cons: Requires custom development to integrate with EVE Online s SSO and to understand EVE s data structures (corporations, alliances, roles, etc.). May have licensing costs (especially for commercial platforms). You would likely need to create the modules found in AA yourself.

• Homegrown Scripts/Basic Access Control: Relying on simple scripts and manually managed access lists. This is generally not recommended for anything beyond the smallest and simplest organizations.

  • Pros: Low initial cost.
  • Cons: Insecure, difficult to manage, prone to errors, not scalable, and a huge time sink in the long run.

Pricing

• Core AA: Free (Open-Source) - No licensing fees for the core Alliance Auth software.
• Hosting: Depends on the provider (if you choose to use one). Could range from a few dollars a month to hundreds, depending on the resources required.
• Custom Development/Support: Hourly or project-based rates, depending on the developer or service provider.
• Commercial Alternatives: If you choose a commercial authentication platform, you ll need to factor in their licensing costs. These can vary widely based on the number of users, features required, and support level.

Customer Care Details

Since Alliance Auth is an open-source project, there is no formal customer care department. However, the following resources are available:

• Official Documentation: The primary source of information. Start here.
• GitHub Repository: For reporting bugs, requesting features, and contributing to the project.
• Community Forums/Discord Servers: The best place to get help from other users and developers. Search for Alliance Auth in EVE Online communities.
• Third-Party Hosting/Support Providers: If you re using a paid hosting service, they will provide customer support related to their services.
• Stack Overflow: You may find relevant questions and answers related to AA on Stack Overflow.

In Summary

Alliance Auth is a free, powerful, and flexible authentication and authorization system that is best suited for the EVE Online community. Its open-source nature means that there is no traditional customer support, but the active community can be a great resource for help. If you are looking for a fully managed, commercially supported solution, you will need to look at other authentication platforms and develop the integrations yourself. However, that comes with a potentially much larger cost.