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Site update slowing Halforums down for 1/2 and hour?!?

#1



SeraRelm


Unacceptable!


#2

Dave

Dave

Easy now. I'm done.


#3

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

This spy thing is slick


#4

strawman

strawman

I agree. Now I will never get any work done.

http://halforums.com/xenforo/spy/


#5

Gared

Gared

Excellent, now when I don't have any work to get done, I can be even more up to date on what's going on around here.


#6

Dave

Dave

-heh- The other changes were:

  • A User Map that will show (without user names or IP addresses) where in the world people are connected from. This will be live as soon as I do a few tweaks to it.
  • An addon that works on signatures. Basically what it does is shows the first instance of a user's signature in a thread but that's it. So if you post more than once in a thread it'll only show your signature on your first post.
  • A Library. This one will be hidden until I get it fully configured and explored, but if I'm reading it right it will allow us to make a subforum where people could post things like articles and chapters. It's like the Blog but will be more suited for things like chapter stories or even (dare I say it?!?) webcomics. So will it be replacing a front page? Who knows? I just got this today so I've not explored anything. Plus, Ame and Zappit have already put work into the front page so I'm not going to step on their toes or rip anything out from under them.
  • The Spy. You have already seen that.
There will be a few more things coming soon. More additions to Conversations, an overhaul of the Post-It addon (which has been abandoned by the author) and other cool stuff.
Added at: 11:56
I do have to find a way to move the Spy button to the other side of the "What's New". That bugs me.


#7

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Spy's sappin' mah Halforums!


#8

Dave

Dave

Is it slowing you down or are you joking? It's really the one thing I worried about when getting it.


#9



SeraRelm

What did Shego threaten you with to get that first one done?


#10

Dave

Dave

SeraRelm said:
What did Shego threaten you with to get that first one done?
Click to expand...
Well it certainly wasn't video footage from last weekend.


#11

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Dave said:
Is it slowing you down or are you joking? It's really the one thing I worried about when getting it.
Click to expand...
I was kiddin'. :)


#12

strawman

strawman

Dave said:
  • An addon that works on signatures. Basically what it does is shows the first instance of a user's signature in a thread but that's it. So if you post more than once in a thread it'll only show your signature on your first post.
Click to expand...
Wow, I might actually turn signatures back on if that's the case.

I also agree on the spy link placement. I like being able to click the rightmost link and know it's "What's new?" without having to actually read it.


#13

Dave

Dave

Well, I figured out how to move it to the left of the What's New but I can't seem to be able to get rid of it on the right. The author has some stuff hard coded and it's hard as fuck to locate it.


#14

Covar

Covar

is there a way to get the spy to stop "reloading" the entire list every time you visit?


#15

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

now we have spy vs spy


#16

Dave

Dave

I noticed that as well. I don't think so because it does a time range. So if you leave and come back soonish it loads the same things. However, if you come back to it after a time it's a great thing. I dislike that as well, Covar.


#17

Covar

Covar

eh, figured it was worth asking. I'll just Ctrl-Click the links, and it should satisfy my need for real-time consumption.


#18

Dave

Dave

It's not. In fact, it's not even supposed to be seen by those not logged in.


#19

Dave

Dave

Animate is the only one it DOESN'T work on.


#20

Dave

Dave

It works now. :p


#21

Fun Size

Fun Size

So I'm the only one who's takeaway from this thread is excitement that Two Guys and a Girl is on next?


#22

ElJuski

ElJuski

this spy thing is disconcerting. Also, fascinating.


#23

Jax

Jax

Dave said:
-heh- The other changes were:
  • An addon that works on signatures. Basically what it does is shows the first instance of a user's signature in a thread but that's it. So if you post more than once in a thread it'll only show your signature on your first post.
Click to expand...
THANK YOU :thumbsup:


#24

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

If I were an artist, I'd draw a picture of a TF2 spy wearing a cheap Halforums mask. :D


#25

Dave

Dave

Amorous Eyes said:
Correction. Per PAGE. Not thread.
Click to expand...


I noticed that as well.


#26

Dave

Dave

Oh, and the User Map is now working. Members->User Map. Note that this does NOT pull up anyone's addresses, nor does it show names or IP addresses. It's just mostly for fun.


#27

Dave

Dave

Hmm. Let me turn it off and look this stuff up before I do anything. I checked to make sure it wasn't close and in the cases of the proxies I tested with it wasn't.
Added at: 15:59
Turned off pending the hiding of people not wishing to be seen.


#28

Calleja

Calleja

Dammit, you turned it off JUST as I was about to check it out, like, within seconds.

I get the privacy thing, though.


#29

strawman

strawman

It's off by 30 miles for me. However it does show moderators differently, and registered users differently. There are only 3 registered user pins in texas, for instance, and one might be able to infer something about Shego's location if one wanted to.

There are few moderators, and they show up as red pins, so they're going to have a hard time hiding.

I like the idea, but you should at minimum make all the pins the same color so you can't tell registered from unregistered or from moderators.


#30

drifter

drifter

Calleja said:
Dammit, you turned it off JUST as I was about to check it out, like, within seconds.

I get the privacy thing, though.
Click to expand...

It had you located somewhere near Queretaro (sp?), I think.

For me, it was off, but closer than makes me entirely comfortable. Like, single digit mileage.


#31

ElJuski

ElJuski

how do I access this to see how creeped out and invaded I should be feeling?


#32

Tress

Tress

Mine was quite a ways off, so I guess it was hiding some of us well.


#33

Calleja

Calleja

Queretaro is exactly right. I don't get why you guys would be creeped out, though... even a mile of difference is big enough to avoid being murdered... what exactly are you people afraid of? Do you have vast illegal weed fields or something? Not criticizing, just actually curious.


#34

ElJuski

ElJuski

Because I think it's really weird that strangers and quasi-strangers can pinpoint where I live.


#35

Calleja

Calleja

But WHY? What are those strangers and quasi-strangers going to do with that information? Anyone outside your house when you leave/enter has a much better idea of where you live, do you avoid those too? Again, not judging or anything, but it's a thought process that's really alien to me and I'm trying to understand the fear/weirdness here.

I mean, consider this is coming from someone that uses his actual last name as his online handle pretty much EVERYWHERE. I post my location and stuff on twitter with something like 1200 followers and shit, so I might be on the other extreme of the spectrum here.


#36

ElJuski

ElJuski

I'm not a public and open person, and I think this whole open-internet thing is going to cause plenty of trouble for everyone.

And regardless of WHY, I think it's a pretty reasonable concession to NOT force everyone out in the open if they don't want to. I just don't feel like being out there constantly.





But seriously, how do I check this out and change it if I want to change it?


#37



makare

I don't like stuff like that either. Being able to turn it off would make me happy too.


#38

ElJuski

ElJuski

oh, cool!


#39

Calleja

Calleja

Oh no, yeah, I agree that it HAS to be opt-in, either that or none at all, of course. What I'm trying to understand is purely academical... what problems is the open internet thing gonna cause? I have neighbors who know where I live, but I don't live in fear of them murdering me in my sleep.

Well, not until now I didn't. :aaah:


#40

ElJuski

ElJuski

purely academical


#41



makare

I just don't like it. It isn't fear or anything. I don't find those kinds of things amusing and I don't want to be a part of it. That's all.


#42

Espy

Espy

stienman said:
There are few moderators, and they show up as red pins, so they're going to have a hard time hiding.

I like the idea, but you should at minimum make all the pins the same color so you can't tell registered from unregistered or from moderators.
Click to expand...
Pff, us Mods have far to much power to be contained by mere user pins. SO MUCH POWER :Leyla:


#43

Calleja

Calleja

Amorous Eyes said:
I'm sure you can walk across town at 3am without a problem as well.
Click to expand...
I.... can. Did so just this Saturday when my idiot friend left without me and I had to do just that. It was literally at 3am and change and everything. I mean, I'm way taller than the average Mexican and bald and bearded to boot, which, granted, may help with the "intimidation" factor... but I do live in a safe city.

Wait... how does walking at 3am relate to internet anonymity, come to think of it?


#44

ElJuski

ElJuski

Regardless, not everybody wants to peacock themselves all over the vast expanse of the internet. And I don't think it's weird that people don't, but much more that other people do.


#45

Dave

Dave

I think it's a cool thing and not at all that intrusive...but only if you can "opt out". And by opt out I mean log in incognito. Invisible, even!


#46

strawman

strawman

Calleja said:
what problems is the open internet thing gonna cause?
Click to expand...
You know how stupid people sometimes get when they're arguing about something unimportant on the internet, and then they start attacking the person in every way they can? Digging up old threads to annoy them? Finding their email and subscribing them to peta alerts? Finding them on facebook, or blog, or elsewhere and annoying them?

Imagine if they knew your address. It's very easy to fill out a magazine subscription with "bill me later" checked. But there are lots of other worse ways to annoy someone you feel has done you a grave wrong.

Further, for those of us with children, we can either post pictures of our children online, or post our address, but it's not particularly safe to do both, because there are some sick people in this world, and even though it's only a 1 in a million chance (and it's probably lower than that anyway) as a parent can I justify taking that tiny risk when it can so easily be avoided?

Lastly, somewhat like hanging out in a private clubhouse, some want to come here and unwind in ways that might seem at odds with their life. They don't encourage their friends to visit them here, and they don't encourage people in the forum to get to know them in real life. It's not necessarily that they are hiding anything, but compartmentalizing things gives them a sense of freedom they might not otherwise have.

There's also a sense of control. You can "turn off" your online friends merely by disconnecting. The sense of control over your relationships when you know they can't bug you unless you choose to be bugged is liberating for some.

Those are a few reasons, certainly not a comprehensive list.


#47

Dave

Dave

Remember, someone showed up at JCM's house once to kick his ass. Because of something off of the Image forums.

That's why this does not give any personal information at all or is not close to where people live (or so I thought).

I've got it up again, but now all logged in people are red like Admins. For some reason it wouldn't let me take Admins out or change their color. Working on the invisible thing now.


#48

Dave

Dave

And off again. Unless I hear from the dev I won't be turning it back on. The options don't seem to be doing anything. Gonna look at the php for now.


#49

strawman

strawman

Amorous Eyes said:
I was looking at the Javascript in an effort to exclude myself completely or move my location by 20-40 degrees in any direction. >.>
Click to expand...
You like swimming that much?


#50

figmentPez

figmentPez

Calleja said:
Wait... how does walking at 3am relate to internet anonymity, come to think of it?
Click to expand...
Are you being intentionally obtuse, or do you really not get this? There are portions of the population who are, unfortunately, more vulnerable than others because they are more likely to be the target of various forms of assault. These include, but are not limited to: women, children, homosexuals, ethnic minorities, religious minorities and more. The same threats that make these groups often feel unsafe walking around a major city at 3AM, are also the same threats they don't want tracking them down over the internet.

I'm a straight white male protestant, and even I hesitate when giving out my real name on the internet. Not many people share my last name, so it's quite possible to find my address with very little info about me. There's not much reason for me to worry, but I do have sisters who I would like to keep as safe as possible.

It's my observation that women who talk about themselves online, who share their thoughts and feelings for the world to see, quite often end up with guys who feel unduly attached to them. Most of the time this isn't much of a problem, as the silent majority of the internet are either nice or are too lazy/scared/etc to do anything bad. There are the rare exceptions, though, who become problem stalkers, and when that happens a home address can be the difference between threatening emails and something much more serious.


#51

Espy

Espy

Dave said:
Remember, someone showed up at JCM's house once to kick his ass. Because of something off of the Image forums.
Click to expand...
Well hey now, I mean, who hasn't gone over to kick JCM's ass? At least 2/3rds of this place has I'm pretty sure :p


#52

Dave

Dave

If we only had a dollar, right?


#53

Covar

Covar

Espy said:
Well hey now, I mean, who hasn't gone over to kick JCM's ass? At least 2/3rds of this place has I'm pretty sure :p
Click to expand...
That's some strong self-loathing.


#54

Calleja

Calleja

Well excuuuuuuuuse me for asking what I thought was a valid question in a polite way. I sure learned that lesson. You guys know my name and location, visit me whenever you feel like it, I probably won't be coming back to the forum.


#55



SeraRelm



#56

ElJuski

ElJuski

Dave said:
I think it's a cool thing and not at all that intrusive...but only if you can "opt out". And by opt out I mean log in incognito. Invisible, even!
Click to expand...
Well right, I don't think much is intrusive if you can opt out of it. That would be the point of having an option, right?

Calleja said:
Well excuuuuuuuuse me for asking what I thought was a valid question in a polite way. I sure learned that lesson. You guys know my name and location, visit me whenever you feel like it, I probably won't be coming back to the forum.
Click to expand...


#57

Espy

Espy

Calleja said:
You guys know my name and location, visit me whenever you feel like it,
Click to expand...
Done. See you Sunday when my flight gets in.


#58

strawman

strawman

Calleja said:
I probably won't be coming back to the forum.
Click to expand...
That's too bad, I was hoping you'd stick around.


#59

Dave

Dave

The Mex has departed? That sucks. Not sure why. Privacy is a very personal thing that, like virginity, can not be gotten back once taken.

And I talked to the dev and he states it's not something that possible, this opting out. Damn it.


#60

strawman

strawman

It's possible, he's just too lazy to implement it.


#61

Dave

Dave

Damn. Thought I had it. I found the following:

PHP: 
$conditions = array(
            'cutOff' => array('>', $sessionModel->getOnlineStatusTimeout()),
            'getInvisible' => $bypassUserPrivacy,
            'getUnconfirmed' => $bypassUserPrivacy,

            // allow force including of self, even if invisible
            'forceInclude' => ($bypassUserPrivacy ? false : XenForo_Visitor::getUserId())
        );
I commented out the 'getInvisible' and 'forceInclude' but it did nothing. But it looks like he on purpose included invisible people. So he very well may just be lazy as fuck and not wanting to help out. He's probably mad at me because I gave him crap about the Spy addon which included things like Mod actions.
Added at: 10:03
I'll be invisible for a while while I test stuff.
Added at: 10:06
I think I got it.


#62

Jay

Jay

Is it normal I can't see the names of people on their tags?


#63

Dave

Dave

Yes. For privacy sake it's just a pinpoint of a near-by location. No names and now invisible people don't show up.


#64

bhamv3

bhamv3

Well, my pin is pretty easy to identify. :)


#65

Dave

Dave

bhamv3 said:
Well, my pin is pretty easy to identify. :)
Click to expand...
Not if you were surfing invisibly. ;)


#66

Jay

Jay

Meh, now I won't know which pin is Shego's as she approaches my location.


#67

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

Either another registered user is my neighbor or the surfing invisibly thing isn't working for me.


#68

Shakey

Shakey

Mine shows me in a completely different state. It says I'm in Madison, Wisconsin.


#69

Dave

Dave

How do you know that's you? They don't have names attached.


#70

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

There's an option in the pulldown menu for "Show Yourself".


#71

Dave

Dave

Oh. Yeah. Duh.
Added at: 15:08
If I'm posting anonymously it doesn't show me, but when I do the "Show Yourself" it does go to the map, but without a pin.


#72

ElJuski

ElJuski

So can I have directions so I can both see how this thing works and then figure out how to opt out of it?


#73

Shakey

Shakey

Yeah, that's how I found it. Not surprising though, our ISP always seems to display our location info as Madison. Which is where their corporate office is.


#74

Fun Size

Fun Size

I'm pretty sure this is broken. When I selected "Show Yourself", it just flashed a picture of my penis.


#75

Dave

Dave

To opt out, click the little arrow by your name at the top right and then UNcheck the little box that says "Show Online Status".

opt out.png


opt out2.png


#76

ElJuski

ElJuski

Yeah but how do I even see this map thing? That's my other big confusion.


#77

Dave

Dave

Ah. Members -> Member Map. I could put up a tab for it but wasn't even going to consider it until I got the bugs worked out.


#78

ElJuski

ElJuski

oh, neat. An unregistered user is currently nine blocks away from my house.


#79

Dave

Dave

Or their pin in. These things range from pretty close to wildly off but still close in a general way.


#80

ElJuski

ElJuski

so they could be OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

but I'm pretty sure that's just me.


#81

LittleKagsin

LittleKagsin

Oooh, thats fun! I feel all alone in the midwest-ish...

I'll try not to stalk anyone to hard. :)


#82

ElJuski

ElJuski

I thought you were Canadian or some shit


#83

LittleKagsin

LittleKagsin

Nope, not at all.


#84

ElJuski

ElJuski

mind blown
Added at: 21:46
PS, to the poor bastard that lives in Bloomington, Illinois: dear god I'm sorry.


#85



makare

Since I am set as invisible does that mean I can just see myself and no one else can see it?


#86

Telephius

Telephius

IMO need more Canadians on this thing, I can't be the Most Northiest Canadian that comes to these forums!

EDIT: when I said we needed more northier Canadians I did not mean Regina ;p


#87

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

Amorous Eyes said:
So I set him to invisible but it seems it doesn't retroactively removes people who set themselves to invisible after the addon is activated. :/
Click to expand...
what.

Whoever designed this add-on did not do that good a job at it.


#88

Shakey

Shakey

I think it only shows people currently on the site. So they'll drop off when they leave.


#89

Dave

Dave

It's supposed to be a current thing. I'm beginning to wonder if it's more trouble than what it's been worth. I think if we were a much bigger board with more users scattered all over it wouldn't be such a big deal.


#90

Dave

Dave

Oh well. It was a fun experiment.

I'm trying to make things cool around here.


#91

Dave

Dave

There's actually an addon that can do things like the HalBucks...but there's nothing to do with them as of yet. So I haven't bothered.


#92

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

No one even remotely close to my location, but accuracy goes way down as you zoom in. :)


#93

strawman

strawman

Aw, and here I was thinking of ways to get around it. By taking snapshots of the activity list and the map list periodically one could have eventually figured out which points belong to which members. If the location error is random, one would even be able to average that out over time and get a very close location. If it's not random, then one could figure out the offset with a few tests.

Not that I would have done that (too much work, and for what?) but it's fun to think about security holes...


#94



makare

I will never love halbucks again for I have loved them and they have taken all my money and run.


#95

Frank

Frankie Williamson

My location is off by nearly half a city's distance. Where I am is remarkably easy to figure out.


#96

Jax

Jax

I don't see any map options.. The only things available are Registered members, Current visitors and Recent activity


#97

Dave

Dave

It was a failed experiment.


#98

strawman

strawman

It's been disabled due to privacy issues, which the author of the plugin doesn't appear to want to address.


#99

Jax

Jax

Too bad, I was curious as to how accurate it would be for me :)


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