http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=1026 Grammar Nazis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4vf8N6GpdM (better if you've seen Inglourious Basterds). kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Sat, 09 Oct 2010 01:17:03 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=1026 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=834 Yes!! kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) idkfa Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:57:13 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=834 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=831 You forgot to mention that the above post should be read with a deep, husky voice in mind. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) idkfa Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:04:31 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=831 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=828 I'm the webmaster idkfa deserves, but not the one it needs right now. And you will condemn me, because I can take it. I'll be the silent, coding guardian. A watchful protector. A dark knight. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:56:14 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=828 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=823 Robbie was right. You are a tyrant. Sit in thy tower, oh Lord of the Interweb Domain IDKFA. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) idkfa Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:40:35 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=823 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=822 The formatting I do is to ensure: - Proper rendering of what you're typing on all browsers. - Proper rendering within idkfa's display constraints. - Restrictions on what kind of terrible things even the least-skilled hackers could use to insert malicious content into posts. - Restrictions that people don't overload or fill up the idkfa database with blank spaces or excessive newlines (which won't render correctly in HTML in the first place, even if they are intended). - What you see as you're typing in the comment box is as close as possible to what the post will look like when you're previewing the post or after you're submitting it. I like to err on the side of caution rather than have the ability to display ASCII art. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:35:14 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=822 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=821 I don't think I like auto-formatting, as a general rule. Because then you can't get creative with how you represent your posts! Maybe auto-formatting should be an option that you can disable for a post. Food for thought. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) idkfa Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:21:57 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=821 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=623 Try control instead. I wasn't able to get both Command and Control working how I wanted. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:04:42 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=623 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=622 I was playing with my computer and I can't seem to get the "one...two...three!" to work for me. When I press command it doesn't do anything. Is this not safari supported? Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) idkfa Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:02:43 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=622 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=600 Improper grammar or syntax wont be caught with a spellchecker - that is the bigger problem. I appreciate a spellchecker as I would a dictionary, rather than a handicap. It's a tool to educate as well as keep me from misspeaking. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:39:44 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=600 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=599 Enjoy idkfa however you like, I appreciate that you find the time to visit in the first place. I've just become a card-carrying member of the Language Nazis in my old age, don't mind me. And to be clearer, I disabled the embedded spellchecker portion of idkfa because it would send what you were typing to a third-party site I don't trust, and left it so the Firefox, Safari, and Chrome built-in browsers would take its place. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:59:13 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=599 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=598 hmmm... Well, alright then. From here on out, I will make certain to pre-write each of my idkfa posts in Word and copy/paste them here to prevent mistakes... I guess in my mind, a forum limited to friends who know me ought to be a place where I should feel comfortable to make mistakes without being judged, but I'll reassess that now and just approach this means of communication as I do communication with basically all my other friends groups. As for the "Preview" button... I – like everyone here – am not incapable of proof reading my writing. However, I spend seemingly endless amounts of time editing and rewriting things that matter for work or school or otherwise. So, when I come on idkfa (or facebook, or any other online sources I use for mental breaks) I don't really intend to spend a lot of time writing long eloquent editorials; I usually just come to take a few minutes away from thinking about whatever I'm doing at the moment and interact in a fun way with friends. But I guess the "Preview" button is more important to others than it is to me, so I'll keep that in mind. As for your family member who fell victim to your comments, I can't really say I would have felt differently about that. Especially if it is a person who doesn't make those types of mistakes frequently, I would understand that type of reaction. CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) idkfa Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:49:21 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=598 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=596 Be judged! No, no. Seriously though, I realize proofreading is tedious and a spellchecker makes it less so. However, I do appreciate good writing, and that usually involves some proofreading and analysis on what people are trying to say. Spelling, to me, is just the first part. I read a couple hundred emails a day from intelligent, technical people who, for their spelling and grammar mistakes and their inability to form ideas into words, shouldn't have passed high school English. I attribute this to the rising popularity of spellcheckers. (Also, I make mistakes all the gd time. That's why I made a preview button.) (Fun side note: I once corrected a family member on Facebook on one of her status updates. At first she responded cheerily, laughing at her mistake. Her response had a spelling error, and was in text speak. I mentioned this. She responded more abrasively. Her response had another error. I mentioned this. She has now blocked me from her status updates.) kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:44:47 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=596 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=595 What I meant is that I'm comfortable enough with you all to just make a fool out of myself and look like an idiot... I don't feel judged around you all like I do with most friends. Is that a bad thing? CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) idkfa Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:59:36 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=595 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=593 (rubs pain from eyes) kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:22:16 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=593 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=592 Firefox does too. I've grown insanely dependent on it. And with you all, I figure you can just deal with my errors so I just don't take the time to open up another tab and look things up. CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) idkfa Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:19:37 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=592 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=588 Pros and cons, I guess. I like the convenience of "what you see is what you get" this comment box business provides, but I don't like how large a shadow it draws over the rest of the page. I liken the capturing of right-clicks to when people try to stop you from looking at their precious HTML source code by popping up a "Not allowed" message when you right click anywhere on a page. It's infuriating, and ultimately gets in the way eventually. Though... hmm. That gives me an idea. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:54:08 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=588 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=587 Ah, that is good to know. I've grown use to Chrome, which just lets me right click misspelled words and grab the correct spelling. At one time it would have been enough to just identify misspelled words, but these days I like the convenience of correcting things on the fly without having to look them up. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:37:00 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=587 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=586 Doing some quick research: if you hold Control (Windows) or Command (Mac) when doing a right click, you can override the CKEditor menu and open the native browser menu (which should let you do the Safari-based spellchecking). kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:19:46 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=586 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=583 I specifically took out the spellcheck feature that was part of the comment box code because it would actually slow down the browser if you were on a slow connection that couldn't dial out to a mysterious spellchecking service somewhere on the Internet. Isn't it enough that Safari tells you that you spelled it wrong? kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:46:23 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=583 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=582 New complaint- on my mac it automatically red underlines misspelled words. Usually I can left click on them and it gives me suggested corrections. When I left click in your comment box it has a different menu. So I have NO SPELLCHECK. By this, I cannot abide. Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) idkfa Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:41:35 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=582 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=346 Hmm. You could generalize it. Make it care less about Ms, and instead figure out a "word width" based on relative width of letters (A could be 1, M would be 2, I would be 0.3, something like that). There's already the thesaurus feature in various word editors. Just make the editor sort by our "word width" metric, and choose accordingly. I'm immediately remembering this. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:47:28 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=346 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=345 I think time would be well spent in the 3+ list; whittling away the obscure or veritably unusable. The remainder would serve as a good base to employ in padding the character count of a various paper. Irregardless of context, I'd be curious if there was a brainless way to integrate such M heavy words into an article without it appearing obviously forced. Otherwise this is basically a discussion of learning to use a thesaurus and/or working on ones vocabulary. A better use of ones time would probably be to hit the GRE word bank. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:32:51 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=345 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=344 In my dictionary, there are 4000+ words with two or more Ms in them that don't start with M, 239 with 3+, 6 with 4+. You could spend some time with the 3+ list to get rid of stuff like "thalamomammillary," and stick with more basic staples like "communism" and "flimflammer," depending on the context of the article. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:24:12 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=344 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=343 I was hemming and hawing over putting such thought into the post. I settled on alliteration. Truth be told, I just wanted to work in menagerie. So how would you narrow a search for words containing a high number of M's? How would you eliminate the most obscure and unwieldy? Would you even want to? I think it would be more useful to somehow narrow a query until you have a ~100 word vocabulary from which to cherry pick from at will. You could assign metadata to them referencing common synonyms, and then substitute at will. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:08:18 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=343 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=342 Yeah, you have to get creative, they totally figure out what you're doing if you're too alliterative. Curiously, it's harder to think of words that only contain M rather than just starting with M. Though, I can think of a good way to find that programmatically today... kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:03:07 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=342 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=341 "Mister Mormont Mummer mucked the moody monkeys mew while moaning of the mismanaged magistrates monotonous malnourished menagerie." C minus, Mike. This drivel has nothing to do with the Battle of Hastings. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:52:39 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=341 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=340 I made sure to employ a lot of M's. Widest character in almost every font outside of fixed-width fonts (Courier, etc.). kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:18:41 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=340 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=339 I would bold and all caps to intimidate the instructor into giving me high marks. Comic Sans was employed if I was feeling whimsical. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:16:19 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=339 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=338 Was everything bold as well, gotta make your paper look intimidating and serious as well right? MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:14:07 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=338 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=337 I always just used 3" margins and 32pt font. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:12:49 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=337 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=336 I always just considered it a way to make papers slightly longer if ever in a bind... CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:56:56 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=336 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=335 The avatar/profile picture stuff on Twitter/Socialbook isn't necessarily a bad idea, just more complicated than what I have currently. Right now, I only have to store simple, small images. If I were to implement being able to enlarge avatar pictures, I would have to store multiple versions of it at various qualities, spend time during the upload process making each version, and provide some relationship in the database between the user and their multiple versions. It's not impossible, just more complicated. Here's what I can do: I've increased the quality of the still images to 100%. This means that if you re-upload the avatar, your picture of dear Jean-Luc will no longer be mottled by compression algorithms. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:13:10 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=335 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=334 As regards the italics issue, still waiting on that. As regards the avatars, I'm sorry that I briefly intimated that anything on your site could possibly be related to any feature on any other site ever invented, particularly Twitter or the-social-networking-site-that-dare-not-speak-its-name-here. But my point is that for these avatars to be useful, they have to be so small that you can't see what the picture is. With the exception of yours and perhaps JD's I can't really see what is going on in these pictures, rendering them useless. I like Twitter's convention of being able to click on the photo (from the user info page) and enlarging the picture to full size. I like and appreciate your small but notable inclusion of some non-text based interface. We'll make a graphic designer out of you yet! Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:04:31 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=334 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=333 Tyrant. I understand full well that the APA, MPA, and Chicago styles all recommend single spaces after periods, but I was taught a better way, damn it! Double spaces 4 LYFE. Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:58:53 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=333 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=331 In this case, Robbie's double-spacing effort was actually rendered as two or more spaces, when it should have been reduced to one. So... I fixed the glitch. You can space all you want, but it'll never render as anything more than one. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:20:43 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=331 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=330 Double space is a relic of the typewriter. Break that habit! Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) idkfa Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:07:48 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=330 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=295 Well, there are your icons, Robbie. And I think I've got your spacing problem fixed, as well. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:39:09 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=295 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=291 so demanding!! CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) idkfa Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:55:20 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=291 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=286 It's not enough that it renders exactly the same on the computer as on the iPhone, but you want a skin dedicated directly to your own personal browsing device? Hmph. Yeah, I thought on it. It's sort of hard to do, but it's a future "nice to have." The more I read the italics, the less I like them as well. I wanted to visually distinguish "idkfa" text versus "user" text, but I'll have to figure something else out. Because myidkfa is simply a searching tool, and because you can click on "RSS Feed" whenever you search, any search you care to implement can then be turned into an RSS feed. You're welcome. The only caveat is stuff that requires you to be logged in (read/unread posts) won't work when accessed via Google Reader, as Google has no idea what your idkfa logon is. More graphics? I'm not a graphic designer. In the hands of a talented artist, sure, idkfa could be an aesthetically pleasing and artful read. But in my careless stewardship, it would be like if Gandalf took the One Ring from Frodo, in that through the ring, I would be an instrument of evil that would undo our Middle Earth. Also, I talked to 5 or 6 people to get their opinions on the current idkfa skin, and they mostly told me politely that it just "wasn't it." I can only retract my olive branch-hand back so many times covered in claw and bite marks before I stop caring and tell people to write their own damned CSS. I could do graphics on the root/latest/etc. stuff. Not sure how I'd depict those notions in a space less than 10 pixels squared. Avatars != profile pictures. They are just icons to distinguish your posts from everybody elses. Josh smash. And what the hell? Did you learn to type on a typewriter? I'm pretty sure all strings of space or spacing characters (newlines, etc.) are reduced to single characters once they're posted. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) idkfa Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:57:20 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=286 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=284 Suggestion-complaints: AN IPHONE APP. Or at least a mobile skin, a la tumblr. This is hard to read on phone. I have trouble reading the italics in the recent comments box/search returns, but I'm also viewing on either a TV from far away or a phone. And I have awful eyesight. So maybe an "old person" skin with larger, less italicized fonts? How about a feed in myidkfa like google reader where you can organize unread posts by user or topic heading? I like the "view all unread" option, but I need a better thumbnail to browse by. More graphics, less text. How about images for root/latest/up/search/reply instead of all text? Something I don't like about avatars, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe an option to enlarge, a la twitter? Or a full version/thumbnail version, a la that-one-social-networking-site-that-dare-not-speak-its-name-here? Also (I'm typing from the preview page now), it seems like when I double space after a period it sometimes line breaks between spaces, like in graph 3, line 3 above (although this could change I guess when I post). Do I have to break myself of my double space after a full stop habit, or can you clean this up? Love you! Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) idkfa Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:26:16 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=284&msg_id=284