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

Well, that's certainly made me think of you in a different light, Barton.

This is as good a place as any to say:

. . .

yeah.

Anyone who thinks I should let this thread die, rather than posting to it, WHY ARE YOU SUBSCRIBED????

Unless you're a member of the Community Team, and reading this thread is in any way part of your job, in which case I'm very sorry. I was just venting where I didn't think it would do any damage. I'm not planning to break any rules, or offend anyone, with this posting. (Although this paragraph begins with a fragment, and I didn't capitalize 'yeah' above. Subediting ) These walls are so dirty, no one will notice another stain...

*Splat!*

See, blends right in.



*Splat!*
*Splat!*



It was in 'Intelligence' [sic], one thread down from here I believe, where the divider use of the smiley was pioneered, by myself and Lucinda. The next to to pick up on the usage were Barton and Arpeggio (or whichever of LeKZ it was typing just then). Soon Mark Moxon was doing it. Once, in a fit of boredom and pride, I dug up links to all the forum postings in which this was going on, and I compiled an Entry, describing and linking to them. A661547. Anyone who wants to can probably take this as evidence that I have any of a number of character flaws.



Why, yes. Yes, I am talking to myself. Thanks for asking, mind if I get back to it?



Wow, look at all the spilled popcorn. Here's a , to clean it up a bit. Aw, isn't that cute? He's really going to town on that stuff. Careful, , don't overeat! Here's a couple friends to help you!



*sigh*

Whatever happened to xyroth's "Intelligence" Uni project? I think I'm listed as an author on some of those Entries...



I arrived at this thread today via the following series of links: My page -> Don't Ban Quincy (just updated by Jim Lynn's announcement) -> Discussions Relating to the Lifetime Ban of Arpeggio -> Here!

I noticed on the way in how barren and bleak the 'Discussions' page looks. It's weird how... I mean they're all Classic Goo (unless you're an Alab*****d), so they all look basically the same, but it's weird how this page actually looks like a negelcted and unwanted junk corner.



It's more like... how many threads? Three. It's like the shell of an old house. Burned down, a while ago. In the yard are three junked cars, variously on blocks, missing engines, windows busted out, weeds growing up through the spaces. We, any of us still here, we're the, what? The mice? Insects? Flowers, even? Maybe stray cats. A few stray cats still wander around the old house. Maybe the owner used to leave food out for them. Maybe they ate the old owner, I dunno.



TrusT has been deleted. I dunno why. Barton says there was an anonymous complaint. Ok. That seems odd to me, because it was a private list, so anyone who didn't like what they saw there could just go away. Nothing was being posted in public, for the world to see. Oh well. I mean, it was just supposed to be a list of a few friends having a place to talk. We were doing our best to change the subject away from h2g2 and everything related to it. I mean, "our best"... There was a certain will to do that. It takes time for a person to let go sometimes.

Why would someone complain that a group of friends were just talking? At first, I was like, whodunit? There were 17 people subscribed, let's see... how many used hotmail, square root, carry the 7, take the remainder and swallow it like a diet pill... who cares? Who has the energy for it? (Again, why are you reading here? Unsubscribe, go away, leave me alone!)



I think I've got an Entry I should finish up and submit to Peer Review. I know there are emails I could be writing. Why am I here?



The view isn't terrible from this old place. Maybe... maybe, I'm sitting in one of the old wrecked cars, the only one with a seat left that won't give me tetanus (sp?), watching the sun set through few remaining charred timbers of the old house. Soon the lightning bugs will come out. Then I'll wander back home, before it gets cold or someone starts to wonder where I've gone.

Ah, they've said the cyber-cafe's closing in 15 minutes, so I have to stop. Good. So long, Lifetime Suspension Thread! so long...

(get it? "so long"! It's like, a pun! like, "so long", as in goodbye, and like the thread is "so long", like how many posts? like, too many!!! it's "long"! get it?!?)

*GTB stops laughing as abruptly as he had started, sighs again, and lets someone lead him away from the empty room he's been addressing*

> "No one has read ALL the backlog."

Yeah. I'm starting to think that should be one of those sets of rules:

1) Don't criticise someone until you've read all the backlog.
2) No one has read ALL the backlog.
3) Some of the backlog - you can't even SEE.

I wonder if the will develop a taste for ?

I also wonder if the TrusT vamoosing is somehow related to Jim Lynn's announcement, despite the fact that his posting appeared this morning and TrusT seems to have bought the farm last night some time (roughly 12 hours between happenings, as near as I can reconstruct.) Maybe I'll hear something from the TrusTees I emailed. (GTB, I still have to dig around for your eddress yet, so don't think I ignored you or an email went astray... Thanks for the explanation in your post above.)

I wonder as I wander...

"I also wonder if the TrusT vamoosing is somehow related to Jim Lynn's announcement, despite the fact that his posting appeared this morning and TrusT seems to have bought the farm last night some time (roughly 12 hours between happenings, as near as I can reconstruct.)"

Absolutely unrelated. I was still looking at logs 12 hours before I posted those messages, and I didn't tell anyone (except for Bernadette) what I'd found until this lunchtime, shortly after which I posted to the threads. It isn't Friday, either.

TrusT was the replacement for FolkZ but it wasn't public, right? (Which would explain why I could never find it, I guess). Whoever owned the group would know. Perhaps you should ask them? If they don't tell you, perhaps they don't TrusT you

This post has been removed.

I have a copy of LeKZ removed posting... in case someone is interested.

I've unhidden it, and I've responded to it here:

F82421?thread=160922&post=1686637#p1686637

saw it. Thanks for the link anyway.

GTBacchus asked what happened to "xyroth's inteligence project" at the university.

It has hit a number of problems.

First, for the last 6 or six weeks, I have been ill, so I have not been able to do much with it. I am now recovering, so this should be remidied soon.

I also asked for feedback, from any thread I found that was even vaguely relevant. This was not really forthcoming, and if any project needs feedback, this one does.

I also asked the named sub-ed if he would take a glance at the current entries and see if they were conforming to the style guidelines for the edited guide.

I am still waiting to hear if they have been glanced at.

I also requested feedback from the editors in the relevant thread as to what happens when a page needs extending and expanding, or plain just needs rewriting from a different viewpoint to remain consistant with a university project.

The reply was that updates to edited entries were their perogative. Requests for further clarification were not replied to.

I hope this answers your question.

:-S

>1) Don't criticise someone until you've read all the backlog.
>2) No one has read ALL the backlog.
>3) Some of the backlog - you can't even SEE.

Nice. I like these. In another world, I'd forward them to everyone in my inbox, but I'm not the type, and this isn't email, and the truth to cuteness ratio is just a touch high. Thank Zarquon...

(Ok, so "truth" isn't technically a quality of imperatives. Sue my freakin' pants off.)

xyroth, thanks. That does answer my question, quite thoroughly. I'm sorry that the project has been so much trouble for you.

There is one Entry in it for which I provided some small feedback, some months ago. If you'd like, I'll try to get back to it and do something more constructive within the near future. What I'd like to do would involve writing what I feel would be the other half of the Entry, and I had gotten the impression that you didn't want anyone else to do much of the actual writing...

Has someone hidden it again then? I can't find it by following the link

I haven't been able to find it again, either, Nitpicker. But I, like Tube, have a copy. Once I figure out what to do with it that won't be "posting on the part of a banned researcher", I'll be happy to do something useful with it...

(Oh, and Jim: I *did* hear from the TrusTees. I guess, for what it's worth, they trust me.)

"(Oh, and Jim: I *did* hear from the TrusTees. I guess, for what it's worth, they trust me.)"

Glad to hear it. They clearly don't trust me, despite that fact that I'm merely reporting what the logs show. Did they say *why* TrusT was closed? Just curious, since I really doubt it was a complaint.

Funny you should mention that "complaint" thing, Jim. Actually - and I read through the 2-3 copies I got of the 'official' notice from Topica *very* quickly - the list was closed pretty instantly after an anonymous complaint that we were engaging in harassment, character asassination, defamation, etc., etc., etc... and posting personal e-mail addresses without permission . As we all know, harassment, character asassination, defamation, etc., etc., etc. are as nectar and ambrosia to the LeKZ and their mindless minions; but this last bit about the e-mail addresses puzzles me.

There were a few copies here and there of correospondence between LeKZ and non-TrusTees (*other* than the 'h2g2 editors) (gasp! oh my heart!), but no one not already known to TrusT, and they (the ones I remember seeing, anyway) were all also participants in the "How Confidential *Are* These Darn E-mails, Anyway?" discussions here.

Barton (the list owner) is currently dealing with a family medical situation, and has been unavailable for the nonce to track down any more information. We are hopefully awaiting further clarification when he has the time to deal with it.

A separate, collaborative-writing group was already in the process of being formed when this all came down. Once my application to them has been approved, I 'spect I'll be back in the Topica again. I mean, what? I should spend *all* my time here? I'd have to write guide entries then, to justify the space I take up...

Now, about these server logs: just for grins and giggles, can you tell me a few random times when *I've* logged on, and from where? I am far from a techno geek (I've been avoiding installing my OS X for weeks because I worry that I won't be able to figure it out once it's up and running), but it seems to me that any 'program' (?) that can precisely identify exactly all the computers that sign on to H2G2 at all hours of the day and night from all over the world with 0% errors and/or generalities is some dang fine 'program'. I think I'd be happier if something *that* intelligent was president of the US. Any chance of a loan?

And how come you work nights, anyway? Do you get to turn the music up louder or something?

"Now, about these server logs: just for grins and giggles, can you tell me a few random times when *I've* logged on, and from where? I am far from a techno geek [...] but it seems to me that any 'program' (?) that can precisely identify exactly all the computers that sign on to H2G2 at all hours of the day and night from all over the world with 0% errors and/or generalities is some dang fine 'program'."

If I didn't know better, Rob, I'd think you were questioning my veracity.

I *can* tell you when you've logged on, *and* often if you happen to have used the same machine to log into a different account, but not necessarily where from. That's never been an issue here. What the logs tell us is that *the same machine* was used to create and/or log into the three accounts in question. Since one of them was, by her own admission, created and used by a banned researcher, what other explanation is there other than the other two accounts were also their creation?

As for your history, you've logged in on these occasions:

2002-01-19 14:15:10
2002-01-20 22:04:08
2002-01-21 11:03:05
2002-01-22 04:36:51
2002-01-22 11:25:07
2002-01-23 01:37:54
2002-01-23 10:57:55
2002-01-24 11:32:10
2002-01-25 17:46:17
2002-01-27 20:54:40

All from IE5 on your Mac, except on the 25th which was from a Windows PC. Times are in GMT.

"And how come you work nights, anyway? Do you get to turn the music up louder or something?"

I connect from home. And I can't have the music too loud or I'll wake the little ones.

Not that Isobel returns the favour, when she wakes up and screams at 4 in the morning.

Jim,
My knowlege of this stuff enables me to switch it on, usually. One thought which has occurred to me:
If I don't "log out" before I switch off the machine - and I usually don't - I don't have to log in next time I hook up, which is convenient BUT (and this is my question)
how soon does (assuming it does) your sniffer dog realise that I have hung up without logging out?
and question 2
does it get cross because I failed to bid farewell?
and another one, sorry,
as I don't have to log in (as above) does it become aware of me as soon as I establish an internet connection or just lie in wait until I visit?
These may seem easy or silly to you, but I may be able to help you with your knitting patterns.