h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Either postings with random smilies will be deleted because they _might_ be code, or someone will have to translate _every_ sequence of smilies to see if it says anything, and only keep it if it doesn't.
Not that something similar hasn't happened to me (repeatedly), and I commend you for trying.



I wonder what would happen if I made a retroactive code? That is, I type gibberish with no intention of meaning, and then invent a system to decode it later? Would the posting with the gibberish get removed, or the decoding system? Or neither, because then the code would become "obvious"? Too many questions? Too few answers? Perhaps I should type a random string of characters at the bottom of all of my postings that I can decode to be Something Offensive later in case I want the post hidden for some reason.

Oh, sorry, I'm being subversive again. I really don't enjoy making enemies, it's just that sometimes I get annoyed when a global response is made to a single incident. (And for the record, I believe that the Response to the Single Incident was justified - but paranoia isn't. And people should be more careful to check their posts for any accidental hidden interpretations in case someone manages to decode something that wasn't ever there... so yes, I'm on both sides.)

Incidentally, was this article removed because it contained a coding system or because it suggested its use on h2g2?

-- Twinkle (and yes, I meant , not Ú.)

...daed si luaP ,daed si luaP ,daed si luaP...

As far as I have been informed, the original article was moderated because, the software I had written was based on the Bubblish Translator which uses references to the exact graphics used here on h2g2 (to present a page that looks like an h2g2 article.) I did not bother to change those graphics though the translation code was substantially different. I have removed those references from my program and have substantially changed the appearance of that page to make it more in keeping with the rest of my website.

I voluntarily chose not to list the url for the generator in this article given the editors' feelings and policy about the use of codes, ciphers, and languages on h2g2. The translator however continues to be available.

I am concerned about the same issues you mention, namely that any extended string of smilies could now be removed on suspicion. That is one of my reasons for leaving the SmileyFish Machine on the web. However, it is a matter of only a few minutes work to modify my program in such a way that it would produce a cipher which could not be translated by the original program. Not allowing an official version will virtually guarantee that, if anyone uses it, it will be modified, since it will only be used among a few friends rather than by a group of cipher enthusiasts. The fortunate thing is that such a cipher is realtively easy to break if the messages have any length at all.

To be quite honest, I have already thought of many ways to continue to use Smilish on h2g2 that would not be caught by the moderators (without huge effort), but they would be tedious and hardly worth my time or that of anyone else.

On the other hand, I am tempted to create a true code that could be used here, would appear to be ordinary conversation, could not be 'translated' without massive analysis even if it was labeled as code. Of course, there's the same temptation to label a conversation as code which is not, just to be perverse.

Barton