the Forums Are Dead, Long Live the Forums

on February 9th (after one weeks notice) forums.secondlife.com went offline, and after a short while, were reborn in a drastically reduced form on blogs.secondlife.com/community/forums.... I'm not exactly happy with this fact, especially since vBulletin was replaced with (such an apt company name) Jive Software's "Clearspace".... meh... lots of missing and broken features, but at least they're still alive.

Now one weeks notice kinda hurt, and I spent most of that week ignoring phonecalls, archiving most of the scripting library, and starting a group to collect the people that frequented Scripting Tips, plus all the Content Creation stickies, and several posts and items of personal value. then it was off to Jira to file over two dozen bug reports and feature requests for the new forums, so that they could be as feature rich as the old ones... I was in the middle of doing that during the changeover.

The Old forums are set to be archived, and should be searchable sometime in mid March.

So what have I been doing the last few days since it died? Well I cleaned my house (since I hadn't touched it since this mess started) took a moment to congratulate myself for doing what I did, caught up with some friends, and did something that YOU dear reader, will appreciate... I wrote a Greasemonkey script for FireFox, that allows you to IGNORE those pesky people that just really seem to add nothing to your forum reading....

// ==UserScript== // @name SL Forum Ignore // @namespace Private // @description +Ignore Links on User Posts on SL Forum Discussions/Questions, +Make Linden Names RED, +OP Edit fix // @include https://blogs.secondlife.com/thread/* // @include https://blogs.secondlife.com/message/* // @match https://blogs.secondlife.com/thread/* // @match https://blogs.secondlife.com/message/* // @version 1.3 // @copyright Void Singer 2009 [ https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Void_Singer ] & BlindWanderer [ http://userscripts.org/users/4223 ] // @license CC-BY [ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 ] // @licesne.ext Free to copy, use, modify, distribute, or sell, with attribution. // ==/UserScript== /*//-- added match statements for compatibility with chromium 'content scripts' --//*/ /*//-- IE7pro unsupported: lacks CSS inheritance & getElementsByClassName --//*/ //-- compatibility replacements for Chrome4+, Opera10.5+, Safari4+, I hope if (typeof GM_addStyle == 'undefined'){ function GM_addStyle( vCss ){ var vStyle = document.createElement( 'style' ); vStyle.textContent = vCss; document.getElementsByTagName( 'head' )[0].appendChild( vStyle ); } } //-- "it's possible that *this* GM_ function is supported in chromium, but the others are not. can't find docs" //-- compatibility replacements for Chrome4+, Opera10.5+, Safari4+, I hope if (typeof GM_setValue == 'undefined'){ //-- native JSON and localStorage for GM_*Value replacement GM_getValue = function( vKey, vDefault ){ var vReturn = JSON.parse( window.localStorage.getItem( vKey ) ); return ((vReturn == null)? vDefault: vReturn); } GM_setValue = function( vKey, vValue ){ window.localStorage.setItem( vKey, JSON.stringify( vValue ) ); } GM_deleteValue = function( vKey ){ window.localStorage.removeItem( vKey ); } } //-- function contributed by BlindWanderer function uHide( vPostNode ){ vPostNode.className += ' ignored-user'; } //-- function contributed by BlindWanderer function uShow( vPostNode ){ vPostNode.className = vPostNode.className.split( ' ' ).filter( function( v ){ return v != 'ignored-user';} ).join( ' ' ); } //-- function contributed by BlindWanderer, modifed by Void Singer function uToggleIgnore(){ //-- no ancestor support outside of xpath? var vName = this.getAttribute( 'username' ); //-- ?is there really any savings to caching instead of a direct call to GM_getValue? var vAction = (vIgnoreCache[vName] = !vIgnoreCache[vName])? uHide : uShow; if (vIgnoreCache[vName]){ GM_setValue( vName, true ); } else{ GM_deleteValue( vName ); } var vSwaps = document.getElementsByClassName( vName ); var vCount = 0; for (vCount; vCount < vSwaps.length; ++vCount){ vAction.apply( vAction, [vSwaps.item( vCount )] ); } } //-- adds styles, ignore toggles, and marks post containers function uTweakPage(){ //-- use style to reduce load, contributed by BlindWanderer, modifed by Void Singer GM_addStyle( [ '.GM-Fix-Thread-Edit {', ' background: url( "../images/jive-icon-edit-16x16.gif" ) no-repeat scroll left center transparent;', ' font-weight: bold;', ' padding-left: 17px;', ' margin-right: 0.5em;', ' float: right;}', '', '.GM-ignore-link-wrapper { cursor:pointer; }', '', '.GM-ignore-link-wrapper .ignore { display:block;}', '.GM-ignore-link-wrapper .unignore { display:none;}', '.ignored-user .GM-ignore-link-wrapper .ignore {display:none;}', '.ignored-user .GM-ignore-link-wrapper .unignore {display:block;}', '', '.ignored-user .jive-author { padding-top:0; padding-bottom:0; }', '.ignored-user .jive-author-avatar-container { display:none!important; }', '.ignored-user .jive-author-avatar-container { background-image: none !important; }', '.ignored-user .jive-author > em { display:none; }', '', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-post-body-container { min-height:0; background-image: none !important; padding-bottom:8px; }', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-post-subject { float: left; width:auto; }', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-post-subject h2 { display:none; }', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-post-message { display:none; }', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-post-details { background-image: none !important; padding-top:0; margin-top:0; width:auto;}', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-post-subject-content { background-image: none !important; padding-bottom:0; margin-bottom:0; }', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-post-subject-content .jive-thread-post-reply { display:none; }', '', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-reply-body-container { min-height:0; padding-bottom:6px; }', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-reply-subject { float: left; width:auto; padding-bottom:0!important;}', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-reply-subject strong { display:none!important; }', '.ignored-user .jive-thread-reply-message { display:none; }', '.ignored-user .jive-content-controls { text-align:right; width:auto; padding-top:0; padding-bottom:0;}', '', 'div[class$=".Linden"] div.jive-author div.jive-username-link-wrapper > a { color:#BB0000; }', ].join( '\n' ) ); //-- clone edit thread link to OP var vGetOP = document.getElementsByClassName( 'jive-thread-post-details' ).item( 0 ); var vGetEdit = document.getElementsByClassName( 'jive-link-edit' ).item( 0 ); if ((null != vGetEdit) && (null != vGetOP)){ //-- need to text both for flat paged views (edit still shows on follow-up pages) var vCloneEdit = vGetEdit.cloneNode( true ); vGetOP.appendChild( vCloneEdit ); vCloneEdit.className = 'GM-Fix-Thread-Edit'; } //-- create generic toggle for ignore buttons, contributed by BlindWanderer var vToggleBox = document.createElement( 'div' ); vToggleBox.className = 'GM-ignore-link-wrapper'; { var span = document.createElement( 'span' ); span.appendChild( document.createTextNode( 'Ignore' ) ); span.className = 'ignore'; vToggleBox.appendChild(span); } { var span = document.createElement( 'span' ); span.appendChild( document.createTextNode( 'Unignore' ) ); span.className = 'unignore'; vToggleBox.appendChild(span); } function uInsertToggles( vPostNodes ){ //-- contributed by BlindWanderer, modifed by Void Singer var vCount = 0; //-- loop through posts for (vCount; vCount < vPostNodes.length; ++vCount){ //-- get user profile link for position, and grab their system name var vUserLink = vPostNodes.item( vCount ).getElementsByClassName( 'jive-username-link' ).item( 0 ); var vName = vUserLink.href.substring( vUserLink.href.lastIndexOf( '/' ) + 1 ); //-- tag post for ignore handling vPostNodes.item( vCount ).parentNode.className += ' ' + vName; //-- changed to class vs custom attribute if (vName.split( '.' ).slice( -1 )[0] != 'Linden'){ //-- check and ignore post if user already on ignore //-- ?is there really any savings to caching instead of a direct call to GM_getValue? var vIsIgnored = vIgnoreCache[vName] = GM_getValue( vName, false ); if (vIsIgnored){ uHide( vPostNodes.item( vCount ).parentNode ); } //-- clone ignore toggle into user info box, and tie it the switch function var vIgnoreToggle = vToggleBox.cloneNode( true ); //-- ?no ancestor support outside of xpath? vIgnoreToggle.setAttribute( 'username', vName ); vUserLink.parentNode.insertBefore( vIgnoreToggle, vUserLink.nextSibling ); //--contributed by Blind Wanderer vIgnoreToggle.addEventListener( 'click', uToggleIgnore, false ); } } } //-- insert Toggle in OP uInsertToggles( document.getElementsByClassName( 'jive-thread-post-body' ) ); //-- insert Toggle in replies uInsertToggles( document.getElementsByClassName( 'jive-thread-reply-body' ) ); //-- not happy with the separate inserts for OP and reply, but it wasn't worth a custom function to grab both } //-- ?is there really any savings to caching instead of a direct call to GM_getValue? var vIgnoreCache = {}; //-- contributed by BlindWanderer //-- jive version checking if (document.getElementsByClassName( 'jiveVersion' ).item( 0 ).textContent.indexOf( '80211' ) != -1){ uTweakPage(); }

Ah... ignorance IS bliss =)

Ahhh good times

Ok, so I'm back on the downgraded comp (about to call the comuter store with a WTF message), and I logged in last night, basically to hang out, since getting anything done, or doing any exploring on this comp is about like building an igloo in the sahara...

So to start off, the night wasn't great, I had a semi-break-up with a very dear girlfriend, basically because she needs more from me, and I can't provide it (and she deserves more than I can offer right now). That was hard, I cried, but it's the best chance for her to be happy, and that's what I want most. So She'll be looking elsewhere (single woman alert), though we'll still be quasi-together till she does

The evening did brighten up though, as I attended a little informal get-together of forum people, slightly themed as a heckling session. Ok technically it was more like a field trip of experienced forum regulars, to a class aimed at newbies, Hostessed by Lindal Kidd (who was a good sport about it all, above and beyond the call of duty)... Mostly it was just goofy fun, plenty of innuendo, and playful conversation. I have to say, I had a blast, and literally fell out of my chair laughing more than once. Met alot of people I didn't know, or only knew through a few forum posts, enjoyed myself immensely with new friends. I'll have to do this again soon... this is what I missed about SL the most during my hiatus... the people. now if only LL would realize that it's the peole the make the place, and treat them right, maybe we'd have less issues.

See it's a post that's actually about SL, aren't you so proud of me? =P

Return of the ...

Well I'm back from my rather long getaway.... and upgraded too....

That's right folks, my return brings with it a few changes, and one of them is the computer I'll be using for SL. It's Big, Shiny, Black, and Pretty... and it's all mine...

dual Gigagbit LAN nForce750i northbridge, 1333 FSB, 2x16 PCIe2.0
Intel q6600 (quad core) running @ 2.4Ghz (not overclocked...yet)
EVGA nVidia GTX 280 (was a 9800GX2, got a better deal)
3Gb DDR2 Ram, RAID 0+1, 660GB HD total after RAID
7.1 Surround Sound, DVD-RW-DL + lightscribe
WinXPPro ('cause I HATE Vista)
22in Flat panel.

Let the jealousy begin =)


yes I know I could've opted for more RAM, by tweaking the registry XP will support 4Gb... but I've heard of issues with this so I skipped it... for now. However when (not if) I bite the bullet and migrate to Vista I'll be adding more ram, in matched sets

the q6600 is a good overclocker, and should be able to do 3.2Ghz safely with few changes in cooling

I'd have stuck with the 9800GX2 but they're back ordered indefinitely, and I'm impatient. The GTX 260 (next line up) doesn't really perform as well IMHO based on what I've seen... however the GTX 280 is pretty much par, especially at higher resulotions, and won't require a higher priced Motherboard to run in SLI with a second card (nevermind that scuttlebutt is, nVidia is scaling down support for GX2)

RAID is a HUGE bonus for this system, seeing as I just lost ~150Gb to HD failure, most of it irreplaceable personal items, and programming work... and here I was worried about SL screwing up my inventory eh?


So, I'll bet you're wondering how well it runs, in terms that mean something to you as an SL user? Well after having to tweak my settings to a great degree on my old comp just to be able to move and see, it's so refreshing.... I've got every setting on the 1.2 viewer maxed... even draw distance, running windowed at 1600x900 ... and it slides though SL like silk... zero client related hiccups, very few server related ones (group messaging is still hit and miss) and rez time is... scary fast.

the odd thing is with all these new pretty features, I can now see some of the things that suck about my Av... and the world around me... you'd be amazed at what differce bump textures make, or shiny effects, or even local lighting... and also how wrong they can go when people that can't see them try to use them...

Well anyways, that's my brag-n-bitch seesion, I'd also welcome any suggestions on games to play with this fun new monster, preferably RPG styles, online or off, SP or MMORPG (although subscription fees irk me)

A Little About Me

Ok so to balance things out, a bit about RL me.

Hmm things you might care about.... I Drink (at clubs/parties to stay relaxed), smoke (occasionally, because it helps with ADD), do drugs (the ones prescribed to me anyways), swear enough to make a sailor blush (no really, military brat here), & wear clothes you'd find at Hot Topic (yes, at my age).

I Love music (especially offbeat stuff), logic puzzles (duh, I'm a programmer), learning new things (information junkie), & food (plus I can cook!). I read mostly SF/Fantasy (I like the escapism and reinterpretation of ideas), & watch much of the same (plus romantic comedies), with a healthy dose of pure science thrwon in (esp physics, chemistry, and a bit of psych). I'm a lesbian (how passe'), polyamorous (ooo how revolutionary), & I've experimented in RL Domme/sub relationships (and learned something). I have a weak spot for redheads and waifs.

I am literally crazy & have a sneaking suspicion that reality is just a trap to confuse me, and prevent me from doing something (yes, really & no, I'm not sure what). I suffer from depression (near constant since childhood), social phobia (can't stand crowds, or people I don't know), have ADD (ooo shiny... damnit), & a little bit of OCD (how else could I concentrate w/ ADD?). We won't even get into medical issues.

I am deeply religious (or vaguely depending on your perspective) and at one point was recognized (by the government) clergy. I am fiercely loyal to my friends, and can be gleefully vicious to my enemies (though I've mellowed.... some). I will go to extremes other people would not, if it gets me what I want, yet have a strong set of ethics.

I love to help people, and have been a counselor, a volunteer (in several areas), & donated both time & resources to various causes (and still do). I seem to have a knack for tutoring, especially translating concepts into other peoples frameworks, and relating to other's viewpoints and/or experiences.

I've worked in IT(network management), Programming(mostly debugging, some development), Social Work(counseling, case management), Retail(everything from sales to inventory, & more), Contruction(carpentry, electrical, & masonry. I'ts my mothers fault), service(various), automotive(driver, and specialty mechanic), & childcare (professional).

I've raised one son (my ex's), have 1 half brother, 1 step brother, 1 step sister, 1 adopted sister, and 1 sister (by way of adoption) I've never met. in addition to my birth parents, I have 1 step mother, 2 step fathers, and a set of adoptive parents to boot. I've never been married, but have been asked twice, and regret not saying yes to the second. I'd love to have a daughter, but fear I never will.

yeah I think that covers most of it.