Sciencemadness Discussion Board

New Whimsy and References access methods

Polverone - 27-2-2009 at 09:44

In the past, access to Whimsy has been controlled by supplying a password via U2U. This is not a great method because the password can be passed around to unauthorized users and because the forum software regularly prompts users to re-enter the password (and hides active topics in Whimsy until that pw is active again).

I am now moving Whimsy to an explicit user access list. I have tried to grandfather existing users by adding everyone who has posted in a Whimsy topic in the last two years to the access list. If you had the password before and can't get in now, perhaps because you never posted, ask an administrator (me or vulture) and we'll add you to the access list.

If there are intractable problems with the access list we'll go back to the old method. If it is successful we'll move to using the same system for References.

You may have noticed the moderator-only forum The Secret Lab now appearing at the bottom of the forum list. I had to unhide access-controlled forums, including that one, so that Whimsy would show up now that we've gone to the new control method.

[Edited on 2-27-2009 by Polverone]

[Edited on 3-4-2009 by Polverone]

Polverone - 4-3-2009 at 13:14

This new method seems to be successful for Whimsy. As of today I am using the same system in References. This means no more tedious re-login at intervals when your password credentials expire. It also means that the password, which has been passed around outside the forum, is useless. Only users on the list get in.

I have grandfathered in everyone who has posted in References. If you had access before and lost it because you had never posted there, send a message to myself or vulture and we can add you to the list.

octogen - 5-3-2009 at 10:31

For new users like me, is it possible to access to reference section? i have some books to upload.

Polverone - 5-3-2009 at 11:03

To get access to References you will need to have a good posting history here or be able to supply some information of interest that is not already in wide circulation. Send an admin a U2U message listing works you could share. We'll check if they have been shared already. If not, we'll add you to the access list.

ProChem - 6-3-2009 at 05:06

define good posting history please. I am curious why there are restrictions to access please explain.

sparkgap - 6-3-2009 at 06:15

ProChem,

1.) For Whimsy, I remember at least two incidents when a certain troll spread around the Whimsy password so people can gawk at what he thinks are crazy poltical crap there (that was before the moratorium on political discussions).

2.) For References, there are people who exploited it to merely ask for articles without bothering to contribute to the rest of the forums. (I've seen at least one member still being a damned leech.)

sparky (~_~)

ProChem - 6-3-2009 at 06:20

sparky,

So if I contribute I can gain access?

sparkgap - 6-3-2009 at 06:38

Or convince Polverone and/or vulture of your utility, it seems. :)

sparky (~_~)

bdgackle - 25-3-2010 at 01:46

Would be nice to see a sticky on the reference section access policy somewhere. Forum Matters was the first place I looked. Ended up doing a search for it, was close to just posting and asking. I would think explicitly stating the policy would save time for both admins and people looking for access.

I must say, the policy of only opening the section up to contributers seems odd given the stated mission of these forums. I have been a lurker in the forum, not bothering to join because I don't have much to contribute at this point. I came here to learn, and I would think reading without bothering the posters with elementry questions would be one of the more unobtrusive ways to do so. I joined with the intent of gaining acess to the ref forum to further that persuit.

If that makes me a "damned leach", I wonder how beginners are expected to come up to speed -- or have I mistaken this for a forum directed primarly at professional chemists?

JohnWW - 25-3-2010 at 05:14

The reason why the References section is password-protected, and available only to trusted members (who are usually contributors of valuable downloads for members), is because of the obnoxious activities of the alleged Copyright Gestapo, who go around getting download links broken, just like the Nazi book-burnings in Germany in the 1930s.

Also, the Whimsy section, dealing with general topics, is similarly password-protected and available only to trusted members, to keep out spammers.

Illustrations: Nazi book-burnings in Germany, May 1933, almost the first thing that Hitler ordered after gaining absolute power. Note the swastika armbands, jackboots, and Fa$cist salutes.

1933-may-10-berlin-book-burning-Nazi.JPG - 34kB

book-burn-ing-Nazi-Germany-May1933.jpg - 71kB

[Edited on 26-3-10 by JohnWW]

bdgackle - 25-3-2010 at 07:36

Fair enough -- guess you have to do what it takes to keep information as available as possible. Amazing the lengths companies will got to to protect copyrights on out of print material...

In any case, I'll let my other suggestion stand -- a clear statement of the policy would have saved a headache. It's a minor point, though. I guess if people were asking that often, the mods would have attended to it by now.

Thanks for the response!

entropy51 - 25-3-2010 at 18:04

I think the access policy is crystal clear:
Quote: Originally posted by Polverone  
To get access to References you will need to have a good posting history here or be able to supply some information of interest that is not already in wide circulation. Send an admin a U2U message listing works you could share. We'll check if they have been shared already. If not, we'll add you to the access list.
What I find more problematic is that some members post only, or mostly, in the references, leading me to wonder how much they are actually contributing to the forum. Swapping papers is a valuable part of spreading the knowledge, but it is, I think, only part of what we could be doing to advance the cause of amateur science. Equally important is helping others interested in the hobby, and a few members apparently have no interest in that activity.

Polverone - 25-3-2010 at 18:37

Quote: Originally posted by entropy51  
What I find more problematic is that some members post only, or mostly, in the references, leading me to wonder how much they are actually contributing to the forum. Swapping papers is a valuable part of spreading the knowledge, but it is, I think, only part of what we could be doing to advance the cause of amateur science. Equally important is helping others interested in the hobby, and a few members apparently have no interest in that activity.


There are many questions asked here that can be answered from published literature. I appreciate the effort of members who act as human search engines when other members are unwilling or unable to tease the answers from Google (I too have been unable, much less often unwilling), but the flip side is that I think members who share published literature are also answering many questions. Sometimes reading published literature answers questions the researcher didn't even know he should have asked.

There may appear a certain paradox: those who have the least knowledge are the least likely to qualify for access to References. But this is not actually true! A good posting history is not exclusively one of sharing impressive experiments or answering others' questions, but asking intelligent questions and showing a willingness to use received knowledge as a starter for personal effort. Someone who asks basic questions about introductory topics, and then applies that knowledge, is better positioned to get References access than someone who asks a difficult question only to regard the first responder as his personal librarian/research assistant.

does that mean you will have to use a "special people only password" to access reference data?

thereelstory - 26-3-2010 at 10:14

Quote: Originally posted by Polverone  
In the past, access to Whimsy has been controlled by supplying a password via U2U. This is not a great method because the password can be passed around to unauthorized users and because the forum software regularly prompts users to re-enter the password (and hides active topics in Whimsy until that pw is active again).

I am now moving Whimsy to an explicit user access list. I have tried to grandfather existing users by adding everyone who has posted in a Whimsy topic in the last two years to the access list. If you had the password before and can't get in now, perhaps because you never posted, ask an administrator (me or vulture) and we'll add you to the access list.

If there are intractable problems with the access list we'll go back to the old method. If it is successful we'll move to using the same system for References.

You may have noticed the moderator-only forum The Secret Lab now appearing at the bottom of the forum list. I had to unhide access-controlled forums, including that one, so that Whimsy would show up now that we've gone to the new control method.

[Edited on 2-27-2009 by Polverone]

[Edited on 3-4-2009 by Polverone]

leu - 29-3-2010 at 15:28

Quote:
does that mean you will have to use a "special people only password" to access reference data?


No, it means that the Reference forum is going to be protected from people that want to prevent the sharing of information on the internet even if it means it makes it more difficult to do that :P Efforts are being made to slow down the sharing of information on many levels since it's contrary to the interest of certain powers that be :mad: These powers that be want their subjects to have very limited knowledge, they must be opposed at all costs for the sake of humanity's future :cool: