a practice thread for the moderators

[xouper]

This is a practice thread where the moderators get "quizzed" on how to fix problematic html codes and keep the forum running smoothly. :D

[xouper]

First quiz: How will you </body></html> fix this one?

[xouper]

xouper: First quiz: How will you &lt;/body>&lt;/html> fix this one?
Hmmm, browsers these days are getting too smart?

[livius drusus]

And I thought I was just too stupid. ;)

(Not that that isn't very likely. I don't get any of this, really. :shrug: )

[justaman]

Eh this thread ain't no good.

Heeeey look at me! I'm J-maaaan I'm the greateest and I wanna kill all humans! bedup be daaah bedup be daaah!

:slide:

"Hey it's justaman! And he's doin stuff!"

[xouper]

OK, next question: how will you <!-- fix this one?

[Crumb]

rg xouper that is frustrating! :fuming:

[Crumb]

-->

Hey, wait a minute. I never wrote this! How did this shit get under my name! :fuming:

[Crumb]

Hey! You stole my sig!

[viscousmemories]

And here I thought you wanted HTML enabled so you could post a color tutorial...

Since I'm as close to a "moderator" (at least who deals with the forum software) as you're gonna find around here, I guess this thread is for me.

So are you gonna be providing solutions for these dilemmas (assuming you know 'em) or are you just looking to prove that I'm far from an expert at HTML and php? Because if that's it I'll just go ahead and admit it now. I'm not sure I could even begin to solve the problem with that comment tag, but I'm definitely starting to have a much better idea of why most forums just disable HTML. :wink:

[Crumb]

Can't you just edit his post and remove or end the comment tag? I know you like to minimize moderation like activities, but I don't think anyone would fault you from editing a thread if it was necessary to make it work correctly.

[viscousmemories]

Can't you just edit his post and remove or end the comment tag? I know you like to minimize moderation like activities, but I don't think anyone would fault you from editing a thread if it was necessary to make it work correctly.
I don't think that would make sense in a thread devoted to illustrating malfunctioning software. :)

[Crumb]

I meant in a situation where this happened in an actual thread. Assuming it was someone making a mistake who had HTML privledges. Maybe a simple solution for this problem would be just to put a comment terminator at the end of any HTML enabled message. If you really thought this would be a problem. My guess is it would be too rare a thing to worry about.

[viscousmemories]

I meant in a situation where this happened in an actual thread. Assuming it was someone making a mistake who had HTML privledges.
Oh yeah, sure. :yup:
Maybe a simple solution for this problem would be just to put a comment terminator at the end of any HTML enabled message. If you really thought this would be a problem. My guess is it would be too rare a thing to worry about.
That might work, but I'd have to play with it. I agree that it's probably rare and unlikely to happen often, but I do think it's interesting to consider these possibilities and useful to devise better solutions than manual human intervention.

[xouper]

And here I thought you wanted HTML enabled so you could post a color tutorial...
Well, that too, of course. But I was also interested helping you practice handling glitches when they occur, which is something you might need to do with html enabled. Glitches don't have to be malicious, they could just be innocent errors, but they still need to be edited to restore the proper display of the thread. What better place to find out than a practice thread where there is no harm done?

So are you gonna be providing solutions for these dilemmas (assuming you know 'em) or are you just looking to prove that I'm far from an expert at HTML and php? Because if that's it I'll just go ahead and admit it now. I'm not sure I could even begin to solve the problem with that comment tag, but I'm definitely starting to have a much better idea of why most forums just disable HTML. :wink:
I am more than happy to help as much as you like. I was just curious if you knew how to edit a post where the edit button isn't visible. It's not hard to figure out. One more tool for your bag of tricks. Go ahead and edit my post to fix the problem, either remove the broken tag or fix it, your choice. :)

[viscousmemories]

No, no. As I said to Crumb I think it's good practice. I can get around fine without buttons and such but the possibility of something like that comment tag wouldn't have even occurred to me, so it's definitely helpful. :yup:

[xouper]

viscousmemories: I don't think that would make sense in a thread devoted to illustrating malfunctioning software. :)
The purpose of this thread is not to illustrate anything, it is for you to practice fixing glitches. I do this to be helpful, not to ridicule anyone's lack of skill. It's similar to using a flight simulator for proficiency training, wherein the instructor gives the experienced pilot an "emergency" to handle so that he can practice his procedures. And that way, when a real emergency occurs, he will be prepared. That's all I'm doing here. I guess I didn't explain that very well in my opening post. Sorry. :doh:

[xouper]

Crumb: Maybe a simple solution for this problem would be just to put a comment terminator at the end of any HTML enabled message.
A pre-emptive fix would be to have an empty comment tag after the body of each post, not just the closing comment tag.

example: &lt;!-- --&gt;

Otherwise, if there is no opening comment tag, then the closing tag might get displayed. With a complete, but empty, comment tag, it will close out any stray opening tags but without causing any problem if there weren't any such stray tags. Am I explaining this ok?

[viscousmemories]

Crumb: Maybe a simple solution for this problem would be just to put a comment terminator at the end of any HTML enabled message.
A pre-emptive fix would be to have an empty comment tag after the body of each post, not just the closing comment tag.

example: &lt;!-- --&gt;

Otherwise, if there is no opening comment tag, then the closing tag might get displayed. With a complete, but empty, comment tag, it will close out any stray opening tags but without causing any problem if there weren't any such stray tags. Am I explaining this ok?
Ahh. Yes, that's a perfectly clear explanation of a good solution. Thanks. :)

[viscousmemories]

Ahh. Yes, that's a perfectly clear explanation of a good solution. Thanks.
Hmm... except it doesn't appear to work. I tried all three of these, and none had any effect:

<!-- random text -->
<!-- -->
<!---->
Ideas?

[viscousmemories]

Well, I tried to cheat and ask for a solution at vBulletin.org (the primary vBulletin hacking site) and instead got piled on by staff and members telling me how stupid and clueless I am for taking such an incredible security risk as enabling HTML. Of course when I asked for them to give some explicit examples of these great risks I didn't get much of an answer, but I did get many, many reiterations of the same admonishment. :D

[Crumb]

Well in a few months when your server hasn't exploded, you can't start another thread there telling them they are all idiots.

[ceptimus]

<marquee>:bat:</marquee>

[viscousmemories]

Now that's cool. :)

[ceptimus]

How about this one? </table>

[ceptimus]

Looks like the {/table} bug doesn't affect this forum. :D

[Crumb]

<marquee>:bat:</marquee>

This is very cool.

[Crumb]

Looks like the {/table} bug doesn't affect this forum.

It did mess with the bottom of your post a bit.

[Skep]

Looks like the {/table} bug doesn't affect this forum.

It did mess with the bottom of your post a bit.
It would've messed up a lot more if that post hadn't been the last one on the page.

[Crumb]

It would've messed up a lot more if that post hadn't been the last one on the page.

It isn't for me (I have 40 posts per page) and it is no big deal.

[viscousmemories]

It does seem to screw the postbit pretty good, and it made the Roman columns both appear on the left for me in Firefox.

[viscousmemories]

Interesting. The effects are much less dramatic in MSIE.

[xouper]

Looks like the {/table} bug doesn't affect this forum. :D
How about the </div> tag?

[Ensign Steve]

In Safari, it didn't move the columns, it just added a black bar on the right side of the window. And it moved the "quote" and "Q" buttons beneath the column. Weird.

[xouper]

#4. How about the <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.xoup.net/ff2.css"> tag?

[pescifish]

:taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz:
HTML on bulletin boards is evil, pure evil.
I'm never clicking this thread again. :eek:
:taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz: :taz:

[Ensign Steve]

I don't know how xouper and pesci replied to the blank screen. Was it as easy as this?

[viscousmemories]

I guess it wasn't the {/div} that did it. :D

[Legs]

viscous gets enough practice just following me around, fixing my links :yup:

[pescifish]

Oh no, I did reply to a blank screen -- I just built my reply URL from the post number. I couldn't see my reply after it was loaded on the page, either. Just the scary partially loaded page with the big fat lying "Done" in the browser Status Bar.

[viscousmemories]

I'm impressed that pesci and JD both figured out how to post without buttons, though. :)

[xouper]

Ensign Steve: I don't know how xouper and pesci replied to the blank screen. Was it as easy as this?
It wasn't blank when I replied to it. I was the one who made page two go blank with a &lt;link&gt; tag. But VM fixed it. Well done. Based on that, seems to me that there won't be any "wayward" html codes he cannot fix.

Edited to add: I also like the way he fixed them, encapsulating the "offending" html tags the way he did so we can all see it.

[pescifish]

I'm impressed that pesci and JD both figured out how to post without buttons, though. :ovation: :winner:

[viscousmemories]

Ensign Steve: I don't know how xouper and pesci replied to the blank screen. Was it as easy as this?
It wasn't blank when I replied to it. I was the one who made page two go blank with a &lt;link&gt; tag. But VM fixed it. Well done. Based on that, seems to me that there won't be any "wayward" html codes he cannot fix.

Edited to add: I also like the way he fixed them, encapsulating the "offending" html tags the way he did so we can all see it.
Thank you, thank you. :bowing:

[Ensign Steve]

I just hit the "Reply" button on page 1 of this thread. Yes, I am a fucking genius!

[pescifish]

HTML is fucking evil, I tell you, evil. :sadcheer:

Here's what I got immediately upon an attempt to load ceptimus' thread in Watering Hole:
http://www.pescifish.net/images/evilHTML.jpg

[Ensign Steve]

Oh, that's yucky. I only get the first warning (the one from cep) and although I usually hate little popup warning deals, since this one was from somebody I knew I felt special like I know a celebrity. Plus I thought it was cute and nice.

That other one is ugly tho! What up with that?

[viscousmemories]

Interesting error. I know what a failed assertion is in debate, but not so much in MS C++. :D