@Shog9 (with regard to the question you just closed as a dupe) What do you think of my recent addition to the suggested edit FAQ regarding the 6-character error and why it exists? (the section "is there a minimum change threshold")
I've found several bugs that I've ignored. If it was FOSS, I'd have the bugs fixed by the end of the week (or at least a patch ready to be included). For free, too.
But we have a lot of eyes. And I don't know about anyone else, but I contribute to FOSS projects that I benefit from. At the very least, that would mean a few more bugs would be fixed that wouldn't have been fixed otherwise.
you gotta commit to it. You gotta manage it, guide it, promote it, moderate it... You're essentially building a community around your code, with all the benefits and headaches that entails.
Oh there's no need for it to be a community-developed software stack. All it would need to be is open source, allowing people to give better bug reports + patches.
Because 1) it would benefit others, and 2) at the very least, the most severe bugs could be found and fixed, even if a bunch of nonsense PRs are ignored.
it'd be one thing if SO was shutting down, and this was one of those, "it doesn't even run, and half the dependencies are missing, but here it is if anyone wants to put 18 months into getting it to work"
so... New repository that doesn't contain anything sensitive, or references to anything sensitive, or any of the last 11 years of history that may've once contained sensitive stuff that was later moved elsewhere...
But yeah, sure, apart from creating that it's pretty much just flipping a switch
I think they should know that their personal information is kept in a repo instead of in a protected database. Because that's a pretty big deal. The smallest breach would result in a total loss of confidentiality and severe problems for them.
@Shog9 Are these just possible roadblocks to open sourcing the codebase, or do you actually have knowledge that credentials and the like are hardcoded in source?
I'm saying it would be extremely irresponsible to just flip the repo to public without a thorough review, which would likely take a significant amount of effort all by itself - at which point, there's likely still no runnable app, just a sanitized, possibly history-free dump of code.
But generally, a well-run company will have measures put in place to minimize the risk of a source code breach. If loss of the code causes more damage than simply releasing "trade secrets", then there is a big problem with how the company is run.
Don't get me wrong: I'd absolutely love it if the bulk of the code for these sites - heck, even chat - were open-sourced. But I don't believe for a second that this would be easy, or quick, or not require ongoing effort.
Since the apps aren't maintained any more, and probably won't in the near future, many users are waiting for bug fixes or new form factors to be supported.
If the SE development team is too busy with other projects, why not outsource the development to the community? Why not make the apps open s...
As far as chat goes I like SE chat (it does replies better and we miss the starwall) more than matrix (which replaces irc when I need self hosted chat) which I like more than IRC.
Miss being around a bunch of passive-aggressive relatives who never say anything interesting but still somehow manage to make you feel like they're criticizing you? Yearn for the feeling of showing up in class late and having to furiously scribble down notes without understanding anything that's being said? Been too long since you went 48 hours without sleep and could enjoy the music of the walls whispering to you? Want to see 3000x THE USDA RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE OF ANIMATED PARROT EMOJI??
Random question: Is there a plan in place in the case that a spammer joins a channel with a dozen or so bots and uses the names and profile images of existing users? Like is there a way mods can mute a room temporarily or kick everyone who joined in the last n minutes? Or a similar protective measure.
Because being able to spoof existing users is silly.
@forest spammers need 20 rep for chat, so it's pretty darn unlikely that'd ever happen. Spoofing profile image/avatar doesn't replace the network reputation. Mods can put a room in timeout for n minutes.
Get 5 bots and they'll be able to vote each other up enough to get 20 rep. I'm sure it'd get noticed eventually but the time between registering and joining chat could be a matter of seconds if it's automated.
Sharepoint Online notifying me that a shared document was opened by a new person: good for security. Gmail sending suspicious email to Spam: good for security. Both of them happening together: not as good.
@JourneymanGeek This answer says that the FAQ (actually the Tour, used to) say this: "Be tolerant of others who may not know everything you know." --- That's pretty close to your quote. I'll leave it to you to visit archive.org but I don't see the quote there; and it isn't archived any earlier. Perhaps you can 'Mod Power' older copies of
"Weight Gain 4000" is the second episode of the first season of the American animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 20, 1997. In the episode, the residents of South Park excitedly prepare for a visit by celebrity Kathie Lee Gifford, whom the boys' third-grade teacher Mr. Garrison plans to assassinate because of a childhood grudge. In the meantime, Cartman becomes extremely obese after constantly eating a bodybuilding supplement called Weight Gain 4000.
The episode was written and directed by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt...
I mean some idiots post random questions begging to get paid for their answers, but it's not like all of Meta is people piling on someone else for doing something dumb.
Not sure I agree with the downvotes there, but I also dislike the term 'pile on' to negate the views of the voters. Perhaps none of them thought the investigation was worth the time?
'not useful' is listed in the tooltip for downvotes
Like meta.stackexchange.com/q/320144/384528 (the pension one) is technically a valid, if silly, question, but it got like, 30 something downvotes because it sucks.
In my opinion, valid, on-topic questions shouldn't be deprived of answers just because some people believe that it won't serve a purpose. Especially on Meta.
It's not surprising that constant negativity breeds contempt. As tink said yesterday, it's a self reinforcing negative spiral, and someone has to break it.
This here tavern is not a place to viciously slag off anyone. If this is truly unintended, consider reflecting on how what you say keeps coming across. Calling someone a liar and dishonest is a direct accusation of bad faith, which runs counter to the fact that we're supposed to assume good faith and be kind in our interpretations here. It's the minimum standard for respectful discourse
@forest I will here, and since I suspect you're still trying to get around a suspension on main and are now trying to discuss whatever people didn't want to discuss in a PM in here, I'm going to delete the above, ask you to use contact-us and leave it at that.
On an unrelated note, how is the ask a question wizard for Meta going? Is that going to be a thing? Asking because I see someone else is lost: meta.stackexchange.com/q/328170/384528
Designing a wizard is difficult. Especially for Meta, which covers so many things - bugs, feature requests, discussion, support, fun, announcements, that's going to take some effort.
Also, when designing a wizard, it's very hard to escape tropes. It's very hard to come up with fresh wizard ideas.
We bought one for our daughter (well, wife parents bought to be accurate) and it fell few days ago, and now it's borked. Any idea what can be done, if anything?
It turns on, but without sound or movement, just fixed green light from eyes.
I do have some people at work who can fix electric stuff and wiring, but they didn't find a way to open it up and reach the inside. :/
I'm not sure about opening one up either. I just turned it off after receiving it (as recommended by Pets chat ;) ) and miraculously remembered to turn it back on before it was picked up :P
@Magisch My youngest brother got an electronic one when young. It was amazingly annoying (it could record and repeat voice snippets)... and the batteries were always mysteriously dead :P
@Tinkeringbell Heh, every time I have an issue with chat... I think the time's finally come that the IT department has seen how much time I spend on this site at work and blocked it :P
I had a back problem when at your age (עקשת) so the doctor said to swim 2km every day for... many days. I did, and it actually helped! No more problems. :P
well, when I was taking lessons, my instructor thought I was great and wanted me to join the swim team... I declined. Now, it'd be nice to like take a lifeguarding course, but I need to get back in practice
@ShadowWizard Not necessarily to become an active lifeguard, but to get a lifeguarding license and get all the skills, since knowing that stuff is helpful regardless of your actual profession