Geeklog Forums

With the coming of v1.4.1, I figured it was time I'd take matters in my own hands and give a whole makeover to those outdated plugins which also happen to be the most important plugins of Geeklog (Media Gallery aside as it's as active as ever).

I welcome you all to visit my brand new forums, to beta test the plugins and discuss them and even submit feature requests.

Once I get some good feedback, I'd release the final versions officially in this site.

A quick summary of highlights (Visit my forums for the full lists):

Common highlights:

• register_globals free.
  
• register_long_arrays free.
  
• Plug and play - the CSS and everything else is now fully automated!
  
• No longer hardcoded English phrases.
  
• All of them actually don't destroy the site and life as we know it in Unicode and/or in RTL mode.
  
• New features! Mostly about dates and stuff, but to Chatterblock specifically I've actually added brand new major features and anti-spam support (read below)!
  
• So many bug fixes that even the official lists say "endless bug fixes".
  

The forum plugin:

• The forum is now the first ever co-lingual forum system (that I know of) by giving a choice of LTR/RTL display to each category, forum and topic (relax, the default is LTR).
  
• 0 now stands for infinite edits to topics!
  
• So much more!
  

Filemgmt:

• Fixed the "file" autotag and added parameters to it.
  
• Matching phrases in search results are highlighted.
  
• A choice of LTR/RTL display. Each file could be presented in either modes no matter what the user uses.
  
• In the index page, the current front page is linked if no default homepage was defined.
  
• So much more!
  

Chatterblock:

• Brand new admin settings!
  
• Scroll mode now actually scrolls!
  
• A choice of LTR/RTL display. Each message could be presented in either modes no matter what the user uses.
  
• Came up with my own wicked text alternative for CAPTCHA, that personally lowered our spam from hundreds to - read it and weep - zero - yes, a big round zero without even using any images.
  
• Related to the above, a whole box is dedicated to the user you wish to privately write to.
  
• Spam-X support.
  
• Speedlimit support.
  
• Protection againt unclosed HTML tags.
  
• Messages' details are provided also for private messages.
  
• So much more!
  

MultiFAQ:

• Well, this plugin was only semi-finished, so I finished the job. I think it can now compete even with the almighty (yet English only...) FAQMan (even though I admit I didn't add template support as I don't really care about that - that's the only advantage of FAQMan that I can think of).
  
• The main advantage is the user only sees the FAQ in their language (or the default, of course).
  

Hi

This is a little confusing now ... have you taken over these projects or do you just have a bad naming convention?

I would be expecting these to come from portalparts based upon name and especially the continuing version number (following on from the existing plugins with the existing name). Shouldn't these be called LWC-Forum, LWC-Chatterblock, etc ?

I thought about it, but it's not like I created original plugins. I just made new versions out of existing ones. I don't want to take credit for the basis. Besides, confusing would be if we have 2 versions of each plugin.

My goal is for my versions to be recognized as the new official versions, and if Blaine ever adds new features, I wish he would just continue my versions.

I also plan to actively maintain those plugins from now on.

dude, that's extremely rude.

What is rude? My wish to maintain credit for Blaine?

1) your filemanager does not work. it points to the forum.

2) There will be a release of the MultiFAQ-plugin for 1.4.1 soon. How do you think users will differentiate between your version and my version? Dont you think it would be appropriate in the interest of the users to indicate that there are two different branches now? You should change the name of your release if you ask me to help the users understand that it is not the same software.

3) why are you not talking about this to the original plugin-authors? It would make look things a lot less agressive and confusing if you coordinated your efforts with the original authors,especially if you expect them to work on your codebase in the future.

4) There is such a think as CVS, you know, where several authors can work at the same project. I would have welcomed a joint effort on the plugin, but you do not seem to want that. Multifaq is on sf.net for example.

5) if you multifaq is "finished" as opposed to the current version (when is software finished?), I wonder why you dont use it on your own site? I would like to see how it works with 1.4.1.

6) You say "Visit my forums for the full lists". All your topics are locked however and the links to the singe topics point to the filemanagemnt (?)

-- added 1hr later --
7) the files are not downloadable. Do not announce new plugins and then be unable to provide even a working link to the files. That does not really help the user's confidence that the author is capable of producing proper work

Aditionally, you are breaking the plugins. If I give out a version 4 of my plugin tomorrow, how will updates work? Or are you telling me that I have to rename my plugin now because you dont want to?

If people do not know there are two different versions, they will try to apply my update to your version or the other way round which will really mess up their system beyond repair.

So you made a few changes and now they are your plugins? Thanks for confusing everyone and not working with the orginal authors. This is darn close to piracy and not ethical.

I doubt you will be able to upload these changes to this site.

I would suggest you work with the authors. I'm sure they are willing to take help.

LWC, I find your efforts, and invitation to your forum, highly offensive. You are showing no regard for the hard work done by long term developers on this site and you show zero consideration for them as well as for the users of this site by forking the plugins and refusing to change the plugin names, versioning, or ownership.

You are going to confuse and frustrate everyone on this site and ultimately create a support war between you, the users, and the developers that you are disrespecting.

If you had any decentcy you would submit the changes you made directly to the authors of the plugins. But I suspect that you are incapable of this, your actions reveal your need for attention and adoration. A true machismo personality if I ever saw one.

If you have any decentcy in you you'll do one of two things:

1) Take complete reponsibility and change the versions to 1.0 and CHANGE ALL the plugin names and never post them on this site. If you want to fork these plugins, take it elsewere. We don't need to hear about it, AND we HAVE fully functioning forums and faq plugins thanks very much.
2) The honorable choice would be to ask Dirk to delete this topic and have you hand the changes to the developers that deserve better than to have someone like you tell the world they suck while you rock simply because you made it possible to read right to left.

But again, I don't think you are capable of this. People like you COMMAND attention (machismo), so I eagerly await your flame so we can all see you for who you really are.

I can see a lot of emotions in the postings here.
However I would like to ask who actually saw, downloaded, installed, any of the mentioned above plugins.

All I can see now it's words, words,...

Words can be dangerous

---

Geeklog Polish Support Team

As mentioned above, the downloads do not work on his site.
Secondly I rather discuss this with LWC before they start working and the damage is done. I am very much concerned about the users that try to upgrade his version with my soon to be released version of MultiFAQ (or the other way round, depending what version number I will give it).

If there is any way to stop it, I think the strong reactions on this topic are in place to du so.
Next to the question if this whole thing is an intelligent thing to do (does he want to take over support for my previous releases?) it is very much a question of ethics, where pure reason (as much as I try to stick to) is not possible. Therefore the emotions are in good order and necessary to point out the ethical questions of this topic.

You've got a point here

What I just wanted to say was that maybe this is some kind of a joke, as there are a lot of words (see the first post) and no evidence like files to download, etc.

---

Geeklog Polish Support Team

No it is not a joke. As I just found out, the downloads do work as long as you know how to wok around his bugged url-rewriting. The files are there, and the changes are there (though minimal)

Wow, just lynch me and get it over with...

The "download problem" was just me putting the forum's index.php in filemgmt's folder. What one second can do...

Ok, first of all you're mixing Tokyoahead and Blaine. The irony is Tokyoahead is the lesser problem, believe it or not. So I'lll have to start with Blaine even though he didn't even attack me. Well, Blaine doesn't answer my e-mail messages. Blaine has never once replied to me in his own forums. I've submitted him detailed solutions and not just whiny "please fix this...somehow!" bug reports. I gave the exact solution and nothing. Nada. As for Chatterblock, he basically dropped this plugin years ago. As for Filemgmt, he updates it like once in a year, then adds more updates, than leaves it for another year. Relatively to that, his Forum plugin is active, but in reality not really. And what CVS?!

As for Mr. Nice Guy Tokyoahead, at least he answers e-mail. But sorry buddy, you've got some nerve. I've asked you time and time again to fix the problems and you didn't do anything. So I fixed them and now your solution is to basically ignore my fixes and just continue on your own.

Fine, if you want it so bad, I'll sit through each of these plugins and make them work in other folders than their originals so I could rename them in essence and not just in principle.

But if you ask me, it's insane that after I, say, made Chatterblock use Spam-X, Blaine (again, I'm sorry as you haven't even said it so far) would release a new version that wouldn't use Spam-X to spite me or after I made MultiFAQ stop hardcoding English phrases and let the admin decide what is the top X, Tokyoahead will keep hardcoding English phrases and force us to show the top 10 always just to prove I'm "Machismo" (hey, yo).

Using the same logic, I'll have to run after each new version you release and make it stop hardcode English phrases and make Filemgmt register_globals free, etc. after each new version that comes out just because some egos were hurt.

P.S.
Who says I must use MultiFAQ on my own site? Personally I rather have all of the questions in one page (maybe I'll make a choice that will enable MultiFAQ to do this...), so I reserve it for other sites.

1) You are missing the point here: There is a completely different issue between
a) fixing bugs, implementing small new features and
b) distributing the code using the same name for the plugin and continuing the version count.
I even TOLD you that the next version will be out with 1.4.1 since the latest changes I did are connected to changes in GL and you cannot use them until you get 1.4.1!

2) "I've asked you time and time again to fix the problems and you didn't do anything." ? I did not only answer your emails but cut SEVEN special releases together for you and worked together with you to get your features done! That is your thanks? Trying to take over my plugin and make all its users blame me if your code does not work or my updates dont work on your version?

3) I DID the Top-x (instead of only top10) feature and other things in the versions I sent you. Its not only in CVS, but I SENT THEM to you by EMAIL. Where is your problem??

4) You are confusing who is calling you Machismo and who is not. I am calling you "one big, fat liar", not Machismo.

But I liked the machismo more...

Well, what can I say? It just wasn't fully working and/or hardcoded English phrases. Speaking of the latter, for me actually being able to use MultiFAQ in none English sites is more than "small fixes", but oh well, that's just me.

With that said, my changes in MultiFAQ are really just extra. I've added brand new features to Chatterblock and re-innovated the Forum. The Filemgmt is somewhere in between.

Besides, I've already said I'd rename the plugins and once that's done, I'll participate in a never ending chase to re-apply Spam-X to each new Chatterblock version, make each new Forum version register_globals free or whatever. As long as you'll be happy. Now let's wait to see if Blaine comes yelling too so I'll know for sure that any chance of co-working in these plugins is doomed.

Well what you will have to understand is that people will only let you work with them if they trust you on the following:

1) that your ideas are things that can benefit more people than just yourself
2) that your code is actually usable, and that you will provide updates and fixes over time
3) that you will work in an acceptable speed with an acceptable quality by yourself, in close coordination with the plugins/codes main author
4) you have to work on the CVS version, not the latest release. Otherwise people have to trace back how hteir code worked before and implement the changes all over again. so go and download their CVS or ask them for a copy in case they dont have a public accessible CVS

best thing is to write your own plugin to show people the quality of your work. otherwise all is just empty promises.

And do NOT do the following:
1) You cannot just come and say "do this, here is some fix" and expect everybody to jump up and implement your code, or even fix things without providing a patch on the CVS code.
2) do not expect someone to work with you at all. Most of the people do not write the plugins as their main profession and program during some days a lot and stop for weeks in between. often this makes it impossible to work together with other people.
3) dont start such a ignorant and pirate-like action as you just did. Chances are that people will simply ignore you forthe rest of your life.

I would not be surprised if Blaine does so. I surely wont implement any feature just because you ask me to again, simply because of your lie about the top10 code, even if I ignore whole thing above. You blew it, in short terms.

Ok, I'm tired of this. It's obvious you think in more close source terms than Microsoft. I don't know why you even like Geeklog. You should find yourself a close source project and release close source plugins for it where no one in the world could even touch your code. As for support ,you don't even have a forum for your plugin and your last official version is from 2004, but you're teaching me about support and speed, great.

Ok, maybe I just imagined the "Top X" was hardcoded in English. Maybe I imagined the "Last X" was too. Maybe I imagined the links in the stats failed because you didn't implement url_rewrite but linked using just that. But overall it's funny because for the 10th time (and now you'll probably count and say I lied about the count), your plugin was just extra and now it took over this topic. Blaine is the main reason for all of this and he has no CVS.

Listen, for all it matters I apologize - to you, to the devoted anonymous users that come to these forums to develop Geeklog, and to the world. In the spirit of MultiFAQ that means (good thing this site went Unicode) slicha, traurig, désolé and apesadumbrado. After I'll fix the fact you didn't provide an easy way to rename the folder of the plugin, I'll rename it and we'll have 2 plugins that do that same things (except mine gives credit to you and yours probably won't give credit to me), and maybe some day you'll add my fixes and maybe some other day I'll add your future version's fixes. As long as you're happy.

well just for the record, I dont want to breed misunderstandings here.

I mentioned the first points as a general fact not as something specific that you did wrong.

and btw I do not have a fourm on my site because there is one on sourceforge in case people prefer that and because I do most of my support by email.

Thanks for lowering the tone. But if we're sincere let's mention in Sourceforge that forum has 2 automated welcome messages from 2004 and your mailing list has one member (you probably). Oh, and there's one bug report...from yourself.

Now don't get me wrong, I do thank you for your help over the e-mail. You helped out and it was great but you did a fraction of what should have been done and then you stopped writing altogether. Things like making it stop hardcoding English, fixing the dead stat links, making it register_globals free, letting Geeklog detect the version, stop ruining the site when anon users check the stats, to name a few things - if you download it, there are about 2 pages of fixes of I did. Now that it's all fixed I find it a little sad you'd ignore it all because it wasn't you personally (in open source scripts!) that fixed it.

I didn't "take over". For all I care use what I did. But to think you'll keep your plugin, say, register_globals trapped just to prove you're a man is...sad. Sad for the users of Geeklog and sad for the open source movement which you insist to be a part of even though you conveniently turn against it the minute it doesn't work in your favor (even though I never took away your credit).