community suggestions / comments / changes

[Pepe]

... but for how long?

[Heraclitus Akimbo]

Is it just something funky in my browser, or are youtube embeds not working right now?

[Chankgeez]

If your browser's fairly current, I don't think it's your browser. I think it's the forum software. It's pretty old at this point. YouTube embeds haven't worked for me on here for a while (ever since I updated my browser).

[dubkitty]

they work for me, but i have to do them on the computer and use the URL for the actual page (not the search result). you also have to delete the "s" from "https."

[FuzzHugger]

Is it just something funky in my browser, or are youtube embeds not working right now?

YouTube embed will be fixed shortly. Had to update a million other things first.

[MSUsousaphone]

Woot

[Chankgeez]

People complain that they have trouble registering here. Can something be done about that?

[FuzzHugger]

People complain that they have trouble registering here. Can something be done about that?

Short answer: Yes, we're trying out something new, which would allow users to auto-activate.

Historically, without manual activations, we'd get a flood of spambot activations and posts.

For 10ish years, I'd process activations within a day or two.
But in past few years—due to being task-saturated, and also the huge drop in registration attempts—I switched to processing activations once or twice a month. Unless someone clicked the Contact Us button and asked to be activated immediately.

However, nearly all failed activations are because of:
• The "why are you here" question, which asks registrants to refer to forum content, and not just answer something vague, like "discussion." Yet they answer it with something like "to learn," or "to meet people," or "for fun," which are indistinguishable from spambot answers.
• They don't read the text after registering—"This board requires account activation by the administrator. You will be informed when your account has been activated."—and they try to register two or three more times. Also a spambot move.
• They can't figure out the answer to "Four-digit short-hand for a true-bypass footswitch (refers to poles and throws)."

[FuzzHugger]

Re: YouTube / media embeds:

With php, sql, etc., changing, and things like flash being dead, some old bbcodes no longer work properly (or in all browsers), or are security risks, or are dead.

I've added a mod that allows you to simply paste a URL or use the Media button (screen icon), and the content—including YouTube links—will be embedded (if compatible).

I'm hoping to strip instances of the old "[youtube]" bbcode so those videos appear embedded again.

[Chankgeez]

Awesome, Tom, thanks for all your work!

[K2000]

• They can't figure out the answer to "Four-digit short-hand for a true-bypass footswitch (refers to poles and throws)."

That's a really hard question, and maybe you could think of another question that doesn't require a familiarity with pedal building.

I remember trying to answer that question unsuccessfully, multiple times, after looking it up and still getting it wrong (mistyping or whatever)

What about something like "which company invented the Swollen Pickle" or "what was Jimi Hendrix' favorite fuzz" or something less technical?

[oldangelmidnight]

Re: YouTube / media embeds:

With php, sql, etc., changing, and things like flash being dead, some old bbcodes no longer work properly (or in all browsers), or are security risks, or are dead.

I've added a mod that allows you to simply paste a URL or use the Media button (screen icon), and the content—including YouTube links—will be embedded (if compatible).

This shows up when I try to put a YouTube URL in the Media tags using the Media button.

Screenshot 2024-10-29 093340.png (8.36 KiB) Viewed 5056 times

[behndy]

i'm a goof? i can't find a Dark Mode option. goooooooood to see the ILF back!

[oldangelmidnight]

Screenshot 2024-11-01 100325.png (28.6 KiB) Viewed 5026 times

I was missing the button that would let me see all threads with unread messages until I found it nested under Quick links.
No change requested, I just wanted to let folks know the feature still exists if they're looking for it.

[Gone Fission]

Is it just for me that NSFW tagging is unopenable?