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Originally posted by TheCotMan
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Image verification at registration is fixed, and has been re-enabled. -
If you find bugs, or want to report problems with the forums, just send e-mail to the address shown at the bottom of the forums.
This thread is being unstuck.Comment
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I agree... major homebrew points to all that put in the effort to get things going again.. (Which reminds me.. I gotta get some ShmooBrew fermenting.. )Originally posted by skrooHappiness is a belt-fed weapon.Comment
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The people that control the forums server have added some new restrictions that have broken a few things, and we know about the following:
* Certain circumstance where a less-than and greater-than character are included in a post or field
* Uploading a "custom avatar"
Wlll both generate an error called "Not Acceptable"
If you find this "Not Acceptable" error and you were not trying to upload a custom Avatar, or using less-than and greater-than characters, please let us know in this thread-- the sooner the better.
Here is some sample text for the error page you may see:
Sorry for the problems this creates. We are looking into this. Your feedback on where this error occurs will help us to include those problems in the group of things under consideration for repair.Originally posted by errorComment
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Looks like the forums will be going down for some scheduled maintenance "real soon." Maybe Saturday, or Sunday, Monday at the latest. I don't expect them being down for more than 1 hour, and probably much less than that.
If you try to log on and see a message about "Scheduled Maintenance" that is probably this expected change.
In other news, there is experimentation with enforcing limits, and if you get any error reports as described above in spaces other than the "less than" and "greater than" and "image uploading" thing, please post the problem leading up to the error, here.
Thanks!Comment
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Sunday. 5:00pm Pacific time. Expected downtime, 1 hour-- probably less.Originally posted by TheCotMan
[Edit: Added]
Yeah, back up just before 6pm.Comment
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Thanks to Converge for the sorting of /dev/null posts. This change includes an alteration of postcounts, for each post in each categorized thread moved to a /dev/null forums:
* Every post in every thread moved to /dev/null is SUBTRACTED from a user's postcount.
* Any post made in a /dev/null forum thread, does not increase a user's postcount.
This is not an endorsement for any implicit value in higher postcounts, but it is meant to deter people that value high postcount from posting non-positive content, or wallowing in /dev/null threads.
We can also see what kinds of violations are happening by frequency to better plan for the future.Comment
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Another user purge is coming soon. Accounts to be reaped:
* User accounts who have had no activity since September 30, 2003 and now have zero posts as a result of their count being reduced to zero with the new policy on not allowing non-positive content forum posts to count towards postcounts.
* All accounts with zero postcount and unconfirmed e-mail from November 30, 2005 and earlier.
When is this purge? On or after December 15, 2005.Comment
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...and the count? ...if it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud; and I'm gonna go there free.Comment
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71-74 in the first group.Originally posted by converge
139 in the seconds group (though this number is expected to grow until November 30, 2005)Comment
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i can't even begin to imagine the effort that must go in to what you guys have been doing... the sorting through page after page of drivel posts in /dev/null, the organizing of accounts, the hours it must take.
you are all damn alright in my book, i'll say that for sure. we appreciate you so much, both for the large maintenance projects like this and for the general upkeep of the posts during day-to-day chatter.
i owe everyone on the forums staff a few rounds of drinks next time i'm out west. in fact, those of you at shmoo can start cashing in on my thank you liquor early."I'll admit I had an OiNK account and frequented it quite often… What made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store… iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc... OiNK it existed because it filled a void of what people want."
- Trent ReznorComment
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I don't do much here. I just twiddle my thumbs. Consider that converge spent many, many hours (more work than me) going through the /dev/null space to organize crapy posts.
With stats on problems, we can try new policies.
Like this change in policy:
NEW POLICY for new users:
A long talked about feature to restrict new users to lurking for a set period of time has been proposed many times.
Well, we are now going to test this.
Here is the new content in the welcome e-mail after a new user has confirmed their e-mail address:
(The item with the "*" may be removed if it causes problems)
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For the next 7 days, your account is restricted and you are encouraged to lurk in order to understand the social rules and forum rules. As a "Lurking User" you now have access to a long history of posts not visible to non-registered users.
After 7 but less than 14 days, you are allowed: limited use of PM, reply to EXISTING threads (on topic), vote in existing polls, and upload a custom avatar.
After 14 but less than 21 days, you are allowed to start new threads, and set a custom description in your UserCP.
*After 21 days and some non-negative forum contributions, a slightly larger Forum PM MailBox
There are no other automated promotions.
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It may take some time to put in the limits.
If something does not work and you can't use PM, send e-mail report of bug to defconforums@gmail.comComment
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Two items:
1) https issue fixed (again)
2) Trying something new with events/contests on the forums.
1) The issue on the forums where logging in with https, and then being pushed to http when clicking on "Archives", "New Posts", "Posting a reply" or "view last unread post in thread" has been fixed (again.)
It seems forum software for SSL detection changed with a recent upgrade, but now the problematic change has been found and a work-around has been added to the code.
2) We are trying something new for a few contest and event areas in the forums this year. We have created a new forum title for contest of event leaders/organizers called "Leader/Organizer."
First, "Leader/Organizers" are NOT moderators. There is a description for them in the FAQ too.
This title is not a reward, nor is it automatically given to any contest or event leader/organizer. It is given to people who are leader/organizers of events or contests that are expected to to need a separate forum for their contest/event, who are active participants on the forums and trusted to abide by the forum rules. It is also temporary, and to stress again, is NOT a moderator title.
Also, if this becomes a problem, it may be cancelled. (The prupose is to make things easier for mods, and leaders/organizers. If it is too much work, it probably will go away.)
What can be done by people who are Leaders/Organizers? First, they only have elevated access in their area.
* Edit threads (title, post icon)
* Manage threads (stick, merge, split)
* Edit polls
* Open/Close threads
Leaders/Organizers can't ban/unban users or /dev/null threads-- these are things done by present moderators.
Our first example of "Leader/Organizer" is Kallahar in the [forum=73]DefCon Robots Contest[/forum]. When you visit that forum, you should see Kallahar's name in the bottom right corner under "Leader/Organizer."
Newer contests or events probably won't even have their own forum and as a result, not have a forum "Leader/Organizer."
Not all contests or events will have their own forum, and not all contest/event forums will have forum "Leader/Organizers." Please don't ask to become a forum Event/Contest Leader/Organizer.
If you are running a contest/Event, but have your own forum that is not here on the defcon forums for discussion and you want discussion to take place there, please let me know.Comment
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Latest changes:
We merged several groups into one (Misc) moved "Rules" to the top of that, and "/dev/null" to the bottom.
"Tech News" has been added and seeded. Please read the sticky before posting there.
"DefCon Archives" has been moved to the DefCon group.
The technology for adding a "Test" for new users to complete, does work, but it has been decided that we not use this at this time.
Coming "soon"
* An update to the Rules (different format to test, and an attempt to make them shorter -- less text to read)
* Klepto's suggestion to return to the old view with avatars in a left column may get tested for a few days to view feedbackComment
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New Rules
The rules have been streamlined, to make them shorter. A new section to address the off-topic nature of Politics and Religion has been added.
We won't keep both formats.
We have two competing formats:
One is a collection of posts that allows linking to specific rules for mods to quote if they desire it.
Another is a flat-view that has been updated to be a bit shorter while adding a comment to "Off-Topic" content that includes Pol&Rel.
We'll see how they work out, and delete the one that is least favored.Comment
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