Improvements

[Sunflower]

Yeah it's fairly simple but time consuming, seeing as I need to search the thread for the individual posts... I'm also not sure if I can move the topics into their own thread, or into existing one... I'll look at it later today, or tomorrow.

So if we see topics that we think deserve to be sliced off into their own threads (like "weird dreams"), should we PM you (admins Noako/Eich) with the URL of the earliest message in that topic?  Or would you prefer that we handle it some other way?

[noako]

So if we see topics that we think deserve to be sliced off into their own threads (like "weird dreams"), should we PM you (admins Noako/Eich) with the URL of the earliest message in that topic?  Or would you prefer that we handle it some other way?

That sounds good actually. Link to the first message, then I continue the job from there. ^_^

[Sunflower]

How about a birthday calendar?  No years, just months/days.  That way, we can all celebrate Our Dear Creator's birthday in January, and wish one another many happy returns of the day if we feel like it.
Low priority, I admit...

[tedlar]

adding a langages part to the forum members profiles

[Fimbulvarg]

adding a langages part to the forum members profiles

We have that, see page 5 in this thread.

[tedlar]

We have that, see page 5 in this thread.

In the signature field you need to insert image brackets: Norwegian flag (http://satwcomic.com/flags/no.gif)

Is the owner of this site ok to let you borrow those flags?
Are there all nations?

[Nimphy]

In the signature field you need to insert image brackets: Norwegian flag (http://satwcomic.com/flags/no.gif)

Is the owner of this site ok to let you borrow those flags?
Are there all nations?

Flags are generally public property, if I'm not wrong, and Humon looks like a nice girl anyway. I don't know if there are all nations, but I did find Albania, which is unusual, so I'm thinking that as long as you know the right code (and don't write "SW" instead of "SE" if you live in Sweden or stuff like that) you can find the flag.

[JoB]

Flags are generally public property, if I'm not wrong, and Humon looks like a nice girl anyway.

Flag designs are usually exempt from copyright. The renditions of that design that you can find on Wikipedia/Wikimedia have usually been put in the public domain, while others' - especially more "artistic" - renditions can be copyrighted and may or may not be available for a license fee. Causing traffic on one website (say, SatW) to have someone's browser display a page purportedly hosted on another (say, this forum) is called "bandwidth theft" and, as long as traffic has to be paid for, a demonstrable damage the owner of the former site may sue for.

There's a reason why, over on the wiki, I strongly recommed to download flag images from Wikipedia and upload them to the Wikia server itself after some editing.

[Nimphy]

Flag designs are usually exempt from copyright. The renditions of that design that you can find on Wikipedia/Wikimedia have usually been put in the public domain, while others' - especially more "artistic" - renditions can be copyrighted and may or may not be available for a license fee. Causing traffic on one website (say, SatW) to have someone's browser display a page purportedly hosted on another (say, this forum) is called "bandwidth theft" and, as long as traffic has to be paid for, a demonstrable damage the owner of the former site may sue for.

There's a reason why, over on the wiki, I strongly recommed to download flag images from Wikipedia and upload them to the Wikia server itself after some editing.

...Oops. Should we switch to different flags, then?

[JoB]

...Oops. Should we switch to different flags, then?

I think the first thing to get pinpointed is whether flag icons can be uploaded to and served off the PCRiot.com server (my guess: Eich, but not the random user, can upload them as "emoticons" - which raises the question whether the click-to-add list atop the window to edit your postings will suddenly fill the entire screen ...).

If they can, we can grab them off Wikipedia royalty free like I proposed for the wiki.

If not, we would have to have the forum load them off some other server. I didn't check yet, but I don't think that Wikia will be happy to serve them just because wiki and forum have largely the same user base ...

[Fimbulvarg]

I think the first thing to get pinpointed is whether flag icons can be uploaded to and served off the PCRiot.com server (my guess: Eich, but not the random user, can upload them as "emoticons" - which raises the question whether the click-to-add list atop the window to edit your postings will suddenly fill the entire screen ...).

If they can, we can grab them off Wikipedia royalty free like I proposed for the wiki.

If not, we would have to have the forum load them off some other server. I didn't check yet, but I don't think that Wikia will be happy to serve them just because wiki and forum have largely the same user base ...

Mine are now hosted by photobucket though, won't that suffice? I mean, the "intellectual property" aspect can only be worked around using e.g. wikipedia's icons but at least there is no bandwith leaching involved since photobucket kind of exists to serve that purpose.

[JoB]

Mine are now hosted by photobucket though, won't that suffice?

Well, I didn't say that finding a provider willing to host cross-site icons is downright impossible, though there's some conceptual problems with it (user behavior getting logged on both servers and false CSS alerts when you run an analyzer) ...

[Has a quick looksie at the Terms and Conditions of Photobucket]

Those Terms and Conditions IMHO actually fail to pinpoint whether having one Photobucket user (say, you) maintaining a collection of icons for use by other users on this forum is considered permissible use. I'ld guess they do allow it, though - after all, it all counts for the metered bandwidth you'ld be paying for.

The actual gotchas are someplace else, I suppose ...

Photobucket reserves the right to terminate your Membership at any time (even if you've paid), without warning for any or no reason, with or without prior notice or explanation and without liability

"Thanks for the money (and the imagery you just uploaded and granted us permission to use for free), now get out." ???

Photobucket has the right to place advertising, promotions, notifications or identifiers and watermarks on or near your Content, and how and what are up to us.

Comical effects of shoe-horning a 700x300 ad banner into a 20x15 flag icon aside, the flags are symbols of the respective governments' authority and having it tacked onto a commercial is exactly the kind of use that might be considered illegal by said government. Not very likely that they will take legal action (it would be quite difficult to prove intent of any involved party), but still ...

[Fimbulvarg]

Well, I didn't say that finding a provider willing to host cross-site icons is downright impossible, though there's some conceptual problems with it (user behavior getting logged on both servers and false CSS alerts when you run an analyzer) ...

I'm sorry, can you translate what you just said into tech-illiterate idiot-friendly language?

[JoB]

I'm sorry, can you translate what you just said into tech-illiterate idiot-friendly language?

a) Your browser to Photobucket's server: "Hi, the SSSS forum told me to retrieve the XY icon from you so as to include it into their ABC page." Result: Photobucket knows when and what you've been doing on the forum. Even if you're neither the registered Photobucket user nor the forum poster who included the icons in his post.

b) Having parts of a page you load come from two different servers means that the admin of one server can mess with the outcome if he wants to, on top of the information leakage from a). Any decent software that you let analyze your website for possible problems will be yelling bloody murder when it sees such a contraption.

Or, the really short version: You do want to put all your eggs (software, content) into one basket (server) if your goal is to make an omelette (everything coming together into a web page) in the fastest and simplest way.

[Nimphy]

Hmmm, could our mods transfer the language-related threads in General Discussion to the Language Board? The Language Exchange Program and Learning Russian threads at least definitely belong there.