Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
Posts: 3186
Registered: 19-5-2002
Location: The Sunny Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for spring
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New Whimsy and References access methods
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]
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
Posts: 3186
Registered: 19-5-2002
Location: The Sunny Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for spring
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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.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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octogen
Harmless
Posts: 13
Registered: 3-3-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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For new users like me, is it possible to access to reference section? i have some books to upload.
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Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
Posts: 3186
Registered: 19-5-2002
Location: The Sunny Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for spring
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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.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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ProChem
Harmless
Posts: 41
Registered: 9-6-2008
Location: Union Beach, NJ. USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Cynical
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define good posting history please. I am curious why there are restrictions to access please explain.
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sparkgap
International Hazard
Posts: 1234
Registered: 16-1-2005
Location: not where you think
Member Is Offline
Mood: chaotropic
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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 (~_~)
"What's UTFSE? I keep hearing about it, but I can't be arsed to search for the answer..."
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ProChem
Harmless
Posts: 41
Registered: 9-6-2008
Location: Union Beach, NJ. USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Cynical
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sparky,
So if I contribute I can gain access?
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sparkgap
International Hazard
Posts: 1234
Registered: 16-1-2005
Location: not where you think
Member Is Offline
Mood: chaotropic
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Or convince Polverone and/or vulture of your utility, it seems. 
sparky (~_~)
"What's UTFSE? I keep hearing about it, but I can't be arsed to search for the answer..."
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bdgackle
Harmless
Posts: 16
Registered: 25-3-2010
Location: Everett, WA, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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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?
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JohnWW
International Hazard
Posts: 2849
Registered: 27-7-2004
Location: New Zealand
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Mood: No Mood
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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.
[Edited on 26-3-10 by JohnWW]
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bdgackle
Harmless
Posts: 16
Registered: 25-3-2010
Location: Everett, WA, USA
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Mood: No Mood
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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!
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entropy51
Gone, but not forgotten
Posts: 1612
Registered: 30-5-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: Fissile
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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.
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Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
Posts: 3186
Registered: 19-5-2002
Location: The Sunny Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for spring
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| 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.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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thereelstory
Harmless
Posts: 41
Registered: 18-1-2010
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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does that mean you will have to use a "special people only password" to access reference data?
| 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] |
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leu
Hazard to Others
Posts: 368
Registered: 13-10-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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| 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  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  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 
Chemistry is our Covalent Bond
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