I just finished re-coding the portion of the forum system I mentioned the past couple days.

So far, so good.

It basically amounted to changing one section of code, and everything fell into place on its own. Technically, it should be able to accommodate 9,999,999 posts per second. Not that that is likely to happen or that the server could even handle it, but I wanted to have plenty of leeway. Perhaps I tended toward overkill, but I’d rather have overkill than cut things too short, you know?

By comparison, Twitter’s maximum tweets per second so far was just short of 3,300 tweets per second. Twitter has probably over 20 million members or thereabouts. So, it’s likely very much overkill to be able to accommodate 9,999,999 posts per second. If 20 million members only results in a high of 3,300 tweets per second, I’d possibly need to have over 60 billion members. The population of the Earth is under 7 billion.

So, yeah, maybe it’s a bit of overkill, but hopefully that will help future-proof it.

And now it occurs to me that I may be able to make a small change to it to make it a bit easier too. Hmmm… I think I’ll go test that…

I’ve just about completed the coding for the one change I was making, which I mentioned the other day. Fortunately, it was just a short bit of code. I won’t be completely sure until I finish it up and test it, but so far it is just four lines of code that need to be replaced. They’ll be replaced with more than four lines of code, but at least it is only that section of the code that I need to contend with.

I haven’t completed the coding yet because I encountered a small stumbling block. It’s something I’m sure can be overcome, but I’m waiting to hear back on an inquiry I sent. Once I get that sorted out, I can finish the coding and be done with that part.

The other thing I need to do will be a more complex change. That’s the bit that I mentioned would require a fair amount of re-coding.

And then last night, or perhaps it was in the wee early hours this morning, I discovered another bug I need to fix. Basically, it limits logins to one user per computer. For a lot of people that probably isn’t even an issue. But, if anyone has a spouse or someone they share a computer with, and they both want an account, it becomes a problem.

Once I’ve sorted that stuff out, I will then start adding the starter stuff (stuff like “What’s this for?” and “Why is this here?”). And then there will probably be a few more things to do that I’m forgetting right now. After that, I can start bringing in the pioneers. So, if you’ve left a comment asking to be one, I’ll be contacting you then. So, don’t think I have forgotten about you if I don’t reply. It’s just that I haven’t sent out the stagecoach passes yet.

And, if you’re wondering what this project is, well, go here to refresh your memory.

It’s a Monday afternoon free for all!

Actually, I would have a photo to show you but–oops!–can’t post photos here!

So, no pict for you!

It’s okay though because I probably have to redo it anyway, though I am going to try to keep it the same when I redo it. Just have to order some parts and supplies so that I can redo it.

But, that’s not a priority right now. It was just something I’ve been putting off but I worked on it last night while my Internet connection was down for a half hour. Couldn’t work on the forums at that time, so I figured I’d take care of this other project.

Turned out pretty well so far, except for the issue for which I need more parts.

Don’t you love it when I’m vague? Annoying, you say? Well, I think of it as encouraging your imagination.

That helps you be more creative.

And that can lead to improved problem-solving skills.

So, really, my being vague is doing wonders for your home and work life.

You should be grateful I’m vague.

I think I used this title recently…

Oh, yes, I did. Five days ago…

At any rate, it fits.

So, you know I just end up creating more work for myself.

I have one part of the forum system that I’m working on, whereby if I want to do what I want to do, I cannot change it later. And, yes, I am intentionally vague sometimes, and sometimes I’ll read my posts later and have no idea what I was talking about. At any rate, it would put a real hamper on my plans, because if I wanted to do everything I wanted to do, I’d have to do it now, so everything would be essentially on hold until I got that part finished.

The problem is that it’s not necessarily important in the scheme of things. It’s one of those things that would be nice to do but not every part of it is essential. So, I could just do the most important parts and move forward, but then I’d have to completely abandon the other stuff, which would be nice to have in there at some point in the future, as time permits.

However, I think I’ve come up with a solution that solves it. It would allow me to to the important stuff now and then return later at any point to finish off the rest. A win-win, as it wouldn’t cause a delay or cause me to lose things that I’d really like to have in at some point.

Of course, it requires some re-coding for what I’ve already done. Not sure how much yet (I’m thinking just a few lines of code), because it’s a tangled web that I won’t be able to unravel until I dig in, which I hope to start on later this evening, unless we have stormy weather, which is a possibility.

At the same time, I’m pondering another change that will require re-coding a larger bit of what I’ve already done. I thought I had done well by designing the forum structure the way that I had, but I’m now discovering some limitations. So, I’ve been thinking of a way to overcome those limitations and add more flexibility to the forums, but that’s going to require a fair amount of re-coding. On top of that, I’ll be forced to figure out why I put some things in there that I am no longer sure of what they do or were meant to do. Fun times.

So, anyway, that’s what’s been going on.

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I will soon need some pioneers to help tame (test) the wild, wild west (beta) of my new forum system.

So far, Teeni is the only one that has asked for her stagecoach ticket. (Teeni, may I eMail you the details?)

Here is where I am with it…

I still have coding to do. There are bugs that I know about that need to be taken care of. I want to have all the known problems taken care of before I let people loose in the forums. I have a “lite” version of this forum system working on another site. So, the issues are primarily in the more advanced features and things that work in the “lite” version aren’t quite working in the full version. So things I thought were ready to go, aren’t. That’s been something that’s delayed me more than expected, because I didn’t expect it!

There are also some advanced features that were planned for but not implemented in the lite version. So, I need to get those working for the full version.

At the same time, I’ve decided on some new features I want to add.

On top of that, I am recovering content from previous incarnations of the forum system so that I can integrate them into the current version.

So, there’s been a lot more working going into this than I had initially planned on.

But, still, I anticipate needing pioneers soon, so now’s the time to ask for your stagecoach pass so you can be a pioneer! Just leave a comment on this message, convince me your not a dirty rotten spammer, and I’ll consider your request.

And, since I failed to mention this on the last go-around, I will do so now: By asking for your stagecoach pass, you are giving me permission to eMail you the details using the eMail address you enter into the comment form.

Thanks!

“Fascinating but this site disagrees with you.”

Presumably, they meant their own site because they didn’t list any other URL in their comment.

And that was a spam comment intended for this post: “Round and Round We Go.”

Yeah. That sure was an interesting post. I’m not sure how anyone could agree or disagree with what was said in the post, though, primarily because there wasn’t a point of view being expressed. It was just a bunch of lines that more or less rhymed.

Silly spammer bots.

And yesterday’s “This is One Reason Why Spam Sucks” attracted–guess what!?–spammers!

One spammer considered it a “great resource” and was so pleased I was putting it out there for people to read for free.

Gotta love the irony.

Remember my “Drunken Virals Redux” from the week before last?

Well, one spammer appreciated how much “research” I put into studying, um, let’s call them “happy pills”, and that it was good information for people that need, um, “happy pills.” Yeah. Of course, they include a link to their “happy pills” site.

And, apparently this little bit of nonsense proved to be quite helpful for someone’s college assignment. Not sure what kind of assignment that post would be helpful for, but, if he passes the course, he should prepare himself for a lifetime of low paying jobs.

Idiots.

I bought a piece of software about 3 months ago.

At first, I tried the demo. It was fully functional except that it could not save files.

So, I tested it out and made sure it could do the things I needed to do with it.

After confirming it did, I bought it.

Well, it seems that there are issues with the way it saves files and how the resulting files work with other applications I will be using those files in.

That was the one thing I was unable to test before purchasing, because the demo version could not save files.

Okay, so I went back and forth with tech support on the issue.

The last message I sent them was about 2 months ago.

I never heard back from them again.

At first, I thought maybe they were busy or searching for a solution. And then I got busy with other things and didn’t think about it for a while.

So, I was sitting here today and thinking about it. And, I’m thinking how it’s been over two months now, and I’ve not heard a thing from them. So, you can imagine I’m a bit upset, because I have a piece of software that I paid for and cannot use because it doesn’t seem to save files in a way that plays nice with another application I use.

I fire off an eMail.

I get a response about a half hour later. They claimed to have sent me a response and were waiting to hear from me.

So, I checked my mail. Nothing.

Then I checked my junk folder. Sure enough, I had received a response the very same day I had sent out my last message to them.

It’s odd that every other message of theirs got through to me except that one.

And, this is why spam sucks. It interrupts the flow of legitimate messages.

On some days, I get about 200 messages. Most of those are spam. And those are just the ones that get past my server’s spam filters. On my eMail client, I don’t have spam messages automatically go into the junk folder. They just get marked as spam. And then I go through them manually.

I can only guess that what happened was that this particularly eMail got marked as spam and then was mixed in a batch of other spam messages so that I never noticed it. If I would have seen it, I would have unmarked it as spam. But, I obviously did not see it, so it got tossed in the junk folder.

And that’s what the spammers have done to us. We have filters to block spam, and you know that those occasionally mark legitimate messages as spam. And, if you manually go through them, you might still miss legitimate messages simply because they’ve gotten mixed in a slew of other messages that are spam.

So, either way, legitimate messages get lost in a sea of spam. I mentioned that I get about 200 messages per day. Of those, the majority are spam. On some days, it’s over 90% spam. Finding legitimate messages can sometimes be akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

When I don’t see messages I do want to receive because I’m being overwhelmed by messages I never asked to receive, that’s when you have a severe problem. Spam is really diminishing the effectiveness of eMail communications. Remember back in the day when eMail was this great new thing? You could send a message to someone across the country or even around the world. Getting an eMail was like being a kid again, when getting something in the mail was exciting.

For a while, it continued to be exciting. Then, you’d get a spam message. It was disappointing, but you just hit delete and forgot about it. Then, you’d start getting four or five spam messages a day, then you’d start to track them down and report them to their ISPs. Then, you’d be getting dozens a day, and you’d stop reporting them because it was too time-consuming. Then, you’d get more and more spam messages, so then you’d start using filters and stuff to get rid of them before they reached you. And then you got to the point where you were getting so many that you’d have to change your eMail address.

Then, you’d have clear sailing, until the spammers found your new address.

At any rate, spam clogs up the system every where. And it makes things harder for the rest of us. And it doesn’t benefit us at all. It’s just junk.

And, when it leads to legitimate messages getting missed or marked as spam, then it really, really needs to stop.

Blah.

More of the blahs.

Blah ba ba ba blah.

Bleh.

What I’m typing is utter nonsense at this point, but I’m still counting it as a post.

Yes, it’s drivel.

Yes, it’s a waste of time.

Yes, this is absolutely worthless.

Well, mostly.

Some people find some entertainment value in it, so as long as the traffic levels keep a steady pace, I guess this is worth something to someone.

Right?

At any rate, it’s not like I’m forcing you to read any of this.

Surprisingly, there are more of you reading this than when I used to post good stuff.

Some of the least commented posts are the highest quality ones.

Go figure.

And where we land, no one will know.

And so it is so.

And so on goes with the flow.

There is so much to sew.

And there is the grass to mow.

And some weeds to hoe.

Would you please say “Hi” to Joe?

Or, say it ain’t so?

Ho ho ho!

Try not to stub your toe.

Or drop a bowl of dough.

Now, go watch your favorite show.

There is no stillness of busyness, but I am still busy.

Seems to be a disconnect, no?

I am still busy, but that means I’m not still. It doesn’t mean that I’m busy being still.

Could you be busy being still? I suppose. Is that the origin of being still busy?

Who knows?

Who cares?

Who reads this stuff?

I don’t. I just post it and move on.

You should too.

Just be sure you stay tuned for the announcement of new and exciting stuff soon.

The new and exciting stuff won’t be here.

But it will be announced here.

Which means you’ll need to be coming here in order to find out about it.

Unless you’re a friend or follower on Facebook or Twitter. Maybe.