Yuku cutover issues (Latest: Splitting/merging topics; cuss filter)

[1992casey]

That editor is what's supposed to load for Safari users, but not for other browsers. I have no clue what might have happened. Things have been fine for me in Firefox.

 

You could try clearing your browser's cache and seeing if the WYSIWYG editor comes back for you. If the problem persists for any length of time, you might want to file a Yuku support ticket. If you do that, make sure you identify which browser and operating system you're using.

[jlau20]

Thanks...I reformatted my computer awhile ago and didn't reinstall Firefox because I was too lazy and was using IE, and it was working fine so I went with it.

 

I just downloaded Firefox and everything is back. Thanks.

[1992casey]

A couple things to note here...

 

Splitting and merging topics

 

A couple of nights ago, Yuku gave moderators the ability to split and merge topics.

 

Merging can potentially be a really cool tool to avoid having to lock duplicate threads. The only drawback that I see is that the forum software doesn't offer the ability to leave some kind of indication of the old threads that were merged. When we use this feature, we'll probably have include a message explaining what we did, indicate something in an edited thread title, or both. We don't want members to think their topic was deleted when it was actually merged.

 

The splitting feature is pretty rudimentary in its current state. We can split a thread in the middle, with all posts above the split going into one thread and all posts below going into another. This might be handy under some circumstances, but I think it'd be more useful if or when Yuku can give us a few more options.

 

The cuss filter

 

Last night, I kicked in an experimental cuss filter that was way too buggy to continue to use without further modification. We're now back to the pre-experimental state.

 

There are two ways we can filter cusses:

• We can use Yuku's default list and supplement it.
• We can skip using Yuku's default and create a completely custom filter.

The problem with Yuku's default is that it filters too many words that have legitimate usage. An example is that Yuku's cuss list filters 'Dick'. Besides all the baseball people with that name, it's also Jim's dad's first name. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

In a case like this, members clearly ought to be able to use common sense as to when to use the word. Although it violates forum rules to circumvent the filter, until we get this fixed, feel free to circumvent to refer to gentlemen who have this name.

 

The issue with creating the filter from scratch is that it doesn't act the same way Yuku's default does. I pasted Yuku's list into it, taking out the words like 'Dick'. Suddenly, common everyday words were being filtered. Most of the problematic terms fall into the common sense category, anyway, and shouldn't have to be filtered. The only reason I left them in at all was that they had zero legitimate usage.

 

The bottom line is that the cuss filter is supposed to be a useful tool rather than a big brother censorship thing. Obviously, it's going to handle the main cusses; that's expected. Where it's supposed to be helpful is that it should gracefully handle the less obvious stuff. Example: because Brewerfan allows 'damn', it isn't painfully obvious that we don't want members saying 'god damn' in their posts. The filter should be considered a friend rather than an enemy. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

Anyway, it's back to the drawing board. Basically, every word or part of a word in the filter has to be tested before a custom filter is reimplemented. If there's a relevant update on this issue, one of us will keep you posted.