Posted by Jason on February 28th, 2006 — in Question Time
Just as a refresher, I love analyzing logs and especially like looking at the phrases used to find Off the Top of My Head. I will be taking a search phrase as a question or request and adding my comments to it. Some of them barely need a comment as they are funny on their own but true to my style, I will add one anyway. So without further ado here are the searched terms so far this month:
fall out boy interviews
Watch Out! Radioactive Man! …wait a second…ahem Watch Out! Radioactive Man! no I need to do it again… Watch Out! Radioactive Man! Maaan, I am never going to get the part…Stupid Milhouse
google ugly people
What, do they not have any ugly people where you live? Do you need to go online to find some
20 people off the top of your head
I’ve heard of conjoined twins but thats ridiculous
yfs-cd
I was going to put out a CD but then backed out…I had even narrowed down the Genre. It was between Classical Artists of the 15th century and Death Metal…Couldn’t make a decision in the end
feed no money down
Any respectable farmer knows its always advisable to pay cash…morons
banned frum television
Maybe it was a show about spelling
off the top of your head meaning
I will try to be helpful with this one - It means your first thoughts, initial reaction to a subject, etc. Its origin, in my opinion, is the view of consciousness being in layers. There’s the subconscious. Then your first thoughts would be from a top layer or off the top of your head.
(I stole that because I had no idea…Its just Origin of Off the Top of My Head gets a ton of searces each week)
why did u enter to my life there must be a reason
You probably typed www.google.com … The reason is that addresses are used rather then IPs because….ahh never mind
chris penn interview
Lol
Interviewer: So whats it like to be eaten by worms
Chris Penn: Not as bad as I thought, at least Im not a big fat train wreck anymore…Lost 30 pounds this week
where to look when using a urinal
I have no idea, just don’t eat the urinal cakes. Despite the name they really don’t taste that good
can i give my rabbit alcohol
Hello, my name is Peter Rabbit and I’m an alchoholic.
why shouldn t people use illegal drugs
Because they can make more money selling them? I don’t know
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Posted by Jason on February 27th, 2006 — in Society
I had planned to have most of the week off from webmaster duties but thought I would write a short post anyway. I was in Belfast at the end 
of last week on vacation (a last minute decision), basically doing lots of tourist things. I returned to my adopted city of Dublin on Saturday morning and heard the usual joke upon crossing the border of “You are now safe, we should be in Dublin soon”. This was a reference to The Troubles and the associated violence over the years between Republicans (Those looking for a united Ireland free from British rule) and Loyalists (Those considering themselves British and wanting British rule to continue). Unfortunately, when I returned to Dublin, a loyalist march in Parnell Square turned ugly and rioting broke out.
Now despite the number of people that think Northern Ireland is just the North of Ireland (Just a reminder they are two different countries), Dublin had always been quite safe, even more so as there has been relative peace over the last few years. Things changed on Saturday afternoon but in a very “of the times” kind of way.
See, despite news reports, the rioters did not have any cause which they were supporting. Like the WTO rioters, they are not trying to prove a point or bring about change but instead just love violence. One of the first people arrested was a young Latvian who was looting a shoe store. He didn’t know who Gerry Adams, the IRA, or Martin McGuinness was nor did he care. He wanted to take as much stuff as he could and cast a black eye on his new home. Other thugs burning cars may have been wearing Celtic jerseys but most were 16-18 and interested in only piggybacking on the violent side of a cause with absolutely no understaning of the basis for that cause.
What seemed to have started it was a young man who just decided out of the blue he would smash a car window. What ensued was confusion and then a few of his friends joined in and then a few oppurtunists brought it up a notch by flipping a BMW. The press has had to push this as violence organized by Sinn Fein which is an absolutely ridiculous concept crafted to sell papers. I would be amazed if any of the reporters passing this on were even there. The objects used were snooker balls, metal pipes (from a construction area right there), bottles (there were lots of Hotels with recycle bins in that area), and other easily found materials. The press has somehow deduced that Sinn Feinn brought bottles in bins from the North to supply the rioters. It even sounds stupid to type it.
All in all, this rioting and burning out of cars and stores was the work of unorganized yobs that would riot at a peace march if they had the chance. They love violence and its a shame and wrong they are branded as Republicans. As an Irish citizen, I want no country, unified or not, where these type of people speak for me. As for the media, once again they need to take a hard long look at who they exist for, readers or advertisers, and come up with a source once and a while. It’s easy to blame and make a big story but it is so unethical it makes me sick.
Anyway, myself and my family are all safe. I just wish my country and city was in better shape right now. Its a beautiful city that deserves none of this.
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Posted by Jason on February 24th, 2006 — in Interviews
The next interview in our series is with Joe Hayes (Better known as mdvaldosta 
on the Digital Point and other forums), an avid phpBB user and supporter. He has developed a few dozen phpBB forums, and currently owns four, one of which can be seen at Offtopicz. He has been using phpBB software since shortly after version 2 was released.
First of all, why phpBB?
phpBB has become very popular, mainly because it’s free and easy to use. Webmasters also have a very large and friendly support forum from which to receive help with installation and modifications, making phpBB an excellent choice for beginners.
What are the advantages over something like vBulletin?
Cost mostly, vBulletin is an extremely high quality software with excellent support and is written for serious webmasters. phpBB seems to be directed more towards those wanting something simple and functional for their friends or as a support forum on a product site. This isn’t to say that phpBB should be counted out for serious forums, only that it takes some modifications and coding to bring it up to par with the likes of vBulletin.
There is often a lot of buzz about security issues, how do you protect yourself?
Protection is simple, stay up to date. As with any open source script, the code is right there for all to see – including potential hackers. The vast majority of forums getting hacked are running old versions with exploits just a Google search away.
What are your favorite modifications for phpBB?
Wow, there are so many. The ability for users to attach photos and files is a big one, so the attachment mod is important. Webmasters wishing to receive search engine traffic should remove session ID’s for guests and consider some other seo mods as well. Customization is important, you can find hundreds of templates available for download directly from the official phpBB website. I also highly recommend the eXtreme Styles Mod, as it really speeds up phpBB forums by caching the templates.
If you could suggest just one modification to be added to the full version and supported, which would it be?
Most definitely the attachment mod as mentioned above. It’s considerably more difficult to install than phpBB itself as it requires file edits. Considering it’s the most widely requested modification, it doesn’t make much sense for phpBB to come without it.
What are the negative points?
The software comes pretty much stripped down. Much of the functionality that admins and webmasters desire has to be installed as mods. Considering phpBB has a lot of novice webmasters, the task of editing files becomes quite daunting. Then, by installing those mods it becomes even harder for those webmasters to keep the software up to date. Since phpBB isn’t updated with plugins, and the default installation has been modified, you can no longer simply replace the existing files with the new versions. This requires yet even more file edits and is one of the reasons so many installations fall out of date.
Just in general, what’s the most important ingredient in growing a forum in the beginning?
Having an active forum from the start is the key getting really big. The forum owner needs to spend a lot of time creating content and conversation to kick things off. Traffic on an existing domain or referrals from another website is a good way to do that. Simply setting up a forum with the attitude ‘If you build it, they will come’ just will not work. Nearly all forums die before they ever come alive.
Is the strategy any different when it comes to maintaining that membership?
I think so. Moderation is key here, as the atmosphere in the forum needs to match the member demographics. By providing a positive atmosphere and preventing member bullying you can ensure your users are happy. This is a fine line to walk though, because over moderation is also a member concern.
How do you deal with spammers, automated ones in particular?
Ah, you ask an excellent question. Right now auotomated spam is of the biggest problems and it’s getting out of control. I’ll share this solution, which I’ve been using successfully for quite some time. The vast majority of spamming software doesn’t actually go through the process of filling out a form and clicking links, by putting another variable in the form (use a random one), you will prevent these. Also, removing the website link from the registration form will prevent those that do get by from getting a memberlist link.
What is your preffered style of moderation?
Light. I don’t care to moderate posts unless it’s spam. I’ve try sticking to the motto that ‘moderation is the key to moderating’. Your members don’t want their posts edited, and affording them that freedom when at all possible is a courtesy and show of respect in a way.
What is the best source of income for a succesful forum?
Well, if your creating a forum for income – your making a poor choice. Forums never make much money, and even throwing annoying ads everywhere you can you still won’t generate much income. Forum members most certainly will develop ‘ad blindness’ because their there everyday. Trying to cover hosting costs on a descent sized forum shouldn’t be a problem, but having the illusion that you’ll make a bunch of money will only leave you open for disappointment.
Back to phpBB, where do you see it going in the future?
phpBB3, aka Olympus, has been in development for some time now. It includes many feature upgrades and integrated mods from phpBB2, like the attachment mod and more. Upon the release of this latest version (it’s still in testing), phpBB won’t be very far from the functionality you get from something like vBulletin.
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