Posted On: Friday - April 17th 2020 10:15AM MST
In Topics: Websites
Thanks to the Kung Flu and the huge nation-changing panic-fest that was likely purposefully implemented in response, comment numbers are up! The staff will celebrate later with a case of Corona, at a safe social distance from the porcelain goddess, of course.
I feel I'd better emphasize the little trick you have seen and see in the screen-shot above though. This had to be done for SPAM avoidance reasons*, and I hate to put this out there for some asshole to work with, but it's been working very well.
The problem is, if you don't do this, your comment will be COMPLETELY LOST! No, I don't have it, it's not in the glove box, under the couch cushions, or under the caked-up crud behind the sink. It's GONE! Why can't I do it differently, such as saving the comment elsewhere, with a message back? It would defeat the purpose, as whatever was jamming things up before would still be jamming it. Believe me, I've thought of this as part of an eventual site improvement week. I doubt you all want "captcha". It's just annoying, in my opinion.
I apologize profusely to any commenters that have had long comments sent directly to pixel purgatory**. It's something that can cause a SOL! I've done it myself, though not lately. It becomes ALMOST automatic to do it right, but I recommend, and this goes for lots of sites, copying and pasting it to a Notepad file, Notes on the tablet, or whatever before you mash the "Submit" button. Please get in that habit if you like Peak Stupidity, as I feel bad for anyone who loses his writing AND want new readers/commenters to not get disgusted and leave forever.
OK, I have about 3 posts in mind, 2 of them only marginally related to the Kung Flu, and one not whatsoever. With everyone being home most of the time, my writing time is limited, sorry to say. The ideas keep coming, though! The stupid stops for NO MAN!
PS: Right, I mentioned improvements: Yes, I know very well that the scrolling function (proper page placement?) sucks. I did not write the software, though I can understand and modify it, but I'm trying to live with it. When you refresh, you get to the main page - that sucks. Let's see, the other biggie is no search feature. One must try different topic keys to find older posts.
I need a week of 4 hours a day. I can't write and do this programming. It's not that I don't have a "sandbox" (in computer-geek parlance), assuming in a few years it hasn't been metaphorically used as a cat box (meaning deprecated software), in which to work on and test apart from the site. It's a matter of dedication of time. For the last 3 years, I wanted to keep writing. I'll give advance warning when I (ever) do some "very important software work"***.
* See Quick site note ... it's the Russians.
** "Pixel purgatory" sounds cool (just made it up), but it's not accurate, as you are still existing.
*** TM, unz incorporated.
Comments:
Hail
Saturday - April 18th 2020 1:01PM MST
PS--
I've recently put in a "Recent Comments" page:
https://hailtoyou.wordpress.com/comments/
This would be very useful here, if one is possible, considering you have new entries up so often. Seems like up to ten a week.
In the past when I have browsed here, I never much left comments, perhaps because it was not a highlighted feature. A "Recent Comments" page, if technically possible, would turbo-charge commenting, solving the problem Robert mentions below. A Peak Stupidity regular could check the new entries and also check 'Recent Comments,' if inclined. Without some mechanism like this, it seems to me old entries' comment-sections will always tend to die on the vine.
Steve Sailer used to have something like this, I think in blogspot days, but it's now gone; he has all the self-perpetuating comment-momentum he needs. He can get 500 comments for a post whose title is some ongoing event and whose contents are: "Thoughts?"
I've recently put in a "Recent Comments" page:
https://hailtoyou.wordpress.com/comments/
This would be very useful here, if one is possible, considering you have new entries up so often. Seems like up to ten a week.
In the past when I have browsed here, I never much left comments, perhaps because it was not a highlighted feature. A "Recent Comments" page, if technically possible, would turbo-charge commenting, solving the problem Robert mentions below. A Peak Stupidity regular could check the new entries and also check 'Recent Comments,' if inclined. Without some mechanism like this, it seems to me old entries' comment-sections will always tend to die on the vine.
Steve Sailer used to have something like this, I think in blogspot days, but it's now gone; he has all the self-perpetuating comment-momentum he needs. He can get 500 comments for a post whose title is some ongoing event and whose contents are: "Thoughts?"
Moderator
Saturday - April 18th 2020 5:45AM MST
PS: "How hard can that be?" Not hard at all, Robert. See, I spent hours trying to figure out the stupid "anchoring" thing - for those who know even the simple HTML, no, this is not just about #Anchor tags. The software uses a "Header" function to fill in the new page, and I just could not get the info. I wish I still new more web-software guys, but I know they'd tell me just to start TF over!
I was so hung up on this first major problem, that I figured as soon as I get past that, I'll work on the easier, fun stuff. "Business before pleasure", as my Dad would say. What I have done, instead is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Sheeeet. I swear, Robert, you've given me half a mind to get on this right now.
For everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn ...
I was so hung up on this first major problem, that I figured as soon as I get past that, I'll work on the easier, fun stuff. "Business before pleasure", as my Dad would say. What I have done, instead is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Sheeeet. I swear, Robert, you've given me half a mind to get on this right now.
For everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn ...
Robert
Friday - April 17th 2020 10:05PM MST
PS: Re: Comment/Site software improvements. It would be nice to know when the last comment was posted rather than just the number of comments. You have some very good commenters here, and currently I have to either
a) keep track of the number of comments on any particular post, or
b) keep looking again.
Not knowing anything about your system, I ask, How hard can that be? ;-)
a) keep track of the number of comments on any particular post, or
b) keep looking again.
Not knowing anything about your system, I ask, How hard can that be? ;-)
Robert
Friday - April 17th 2020 8:16PM MST
PS: 'Brain Fart' --- Its been a while since I heard that term. I always liked it, and regularly have them (and regular ones too.)
P.S. Did you know that Ben Franklin wrote an essay, 'Fart Proudly'? Bits like this made going to an all boys High School more lively. And, yes, that was on a History test. That, and that he liked to bathe with the ladies while eating his (3:00 p.m.) breakfasts when he was the French Ambassador. Now that I have written this, I should see if it was true. Never know with those sneaky Jesuits.
P.S. Did you know that Ben Franklin wrote an essay, 'Fart Proudly'? Bits like this made going to an all boys High School more lively. And, yes, that was on a History test. That, and that he liked to bathe with the ladies while eating his (3:00 p.m.) breakfasts when he was the French Ambassador. Now that I have written this, I should see if it was true. Never know with those sneaky Jesuits.
Moderator
Friday - April 17th 2020 6:41PM MST
PS: I am sorry, Dtbb, but there is no specific mobile phone version of this site. I have not tried to write comments via a smart phone, and I don't know how you (Dtbb) even attempt this. Thank you for commenting, one way or another.
Moderator
Friday - April 17th 2020 6:40PM MST
PS: Thank you, Robert. I enjoyed your Simpson's mix too. (Man, I never realized how light in the loafers Smithers was).
Even after reading the instructions, we all have our brain farts once in a while, and that's what I don't like about this system. I had to change something in a hurry, and this works.
Yes, the IP numbers pointed to Russia per iplocation.net. Then there WERE some Chinese ones too. Hey, you know I'm not all "it's the Russians!" and "it's the Chinese!", but I will say that your annoying hackers and government trolls seem to be from far parts of the world like this. I don't know why. (One can spoof IP numbers too, so I dunno, I just need them to leave this poor site alone.)
Even after reading the instructions, we all have our brain farts once in a while, and that's what I don't like about this system. I had to change something in a hurry, and this works.
Yes, the IP numbers pointed to Russia per iplocation.net. Then there WERE some Chinese ones too. Hey, you know I'm not all "it's the Russians!" and "it's the Chinese!", but I will say that your annoying hackers and government trolls seem to be from far parts of the world like this. I don't know why. (One can spoof IP numbers too, so I dunno, I just need them to leave this poor site alone.)
Dtbb
Friday - April 17th 2020 5:57PM MST
PS:I would submit longer comments sometimes but over a certain length the submit tab disappears and I can't figure out how to proceed. Probably because I only have my cellphone to read and comment with?
Robert
Friday - April 17th 2020 4:39PM MST
PS: I, for one, like the anti-spam comment system you have.
Captchas (captchae?) are quite annoying, and have a dumb name besides --- You talk like a fag, and your sh*t's all retarded. (Not you, Mr. Moderator. :-) )
Think of it as an intelligence (stupidity) test. Or at least if one is paying attention.
P.S. At one point I worked in a shop with a couple of moderately dangerous machines that were also accessible to our customers. I used to unplug them, on the theory that if you were too stupid to see what was wrong, you should not be playing with them. I, several times, had people complain that they were broken. Good. Others, more properly, asked if it was OK to plug them back in. I told them the reason, and they almost always approved.
"Look at all those idiots."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaDhY2OpeR0
P.P.S. It's always the Russians, until it's the Chinese.
They are apostates from the Communist faith, and so can now be blamed for all things by our Betters.
Captchas (captchae?) are quite annoying, and have a dumb name besides --- You talk like a fag, and your sh*t's all retarded. (Not you, Mr. Moderator. :-) )
Think of it as an intelligence (stupidity) test. Or at least if one is paying attention.
P.S. At one point I worked in a shop with a couple of moderately dangerous machines that were also accessible to our customers. I used to unplug them, on the theory that if you were too stupid to see what was wrong, you should not be playing with them. I, several times, had people complain that they were broken. Good. Others, more properly, asked if it was OK to plug them back in. I told them the reason, and they almost always approved.
"Look at all those idiots."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaDhY2OpeR0
P.P.S. It's always the Russians, until it's the Chinese.
They are apostates from the Communist faith, and so can now be blamed for all things by our Betters.
Moderator
Friday - April 17th 2020 10:58AM MST
PS: Sorry, Mr. Blanc. Peak Stupidity can't give any more details for fear of someone piercing our corporate whale.
MBlanc46
Friday - April 17th 2020 10:53AM MST
PS More than once has Moby Dick, qualitatively and quantitatively, been eaten by your merciless software.
Yes, most of those change do seem easy enough, but now I think I'd better start a rearrangement of the inner workings to not have to depend on one part that I don't understand well enough.