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Had the site been closed last Friday, this explanation would have sufficed. However, the problem that occurred on Saturday must have had some impact on your decision. That much of a coincidence doesn't seem to have too much of a probability. Had there not been a security leak, I suspect the SB would be open for business right now.
This is your site, and you have done nothing here that I have not done on (to?) a site I webmaster so I cannot presume to suggest that I know what your site should offer its regs and what it shouldn't. I will miss it and I assure you, that rough behavior or not, compared to many forums out there, SB was a pussycat.
Jon
Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface
Algoraphobia: An exaggerated fear of the outside world rooted in the belief that one might spontaneously combust due to global warming.
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If it were a security issue I would pull down ALL forums. They all use the same code. The questions on what was going on forced me to trawl through all the messages and it really highlighted what a mess the place was. It's not an issue of how rough or not the SB is, but rather: Does it help the Software Development community, or does it simply promote disrespect?
In an indirect way the messing with the voting provoked the closure by shining the spotlight on the dark corners.
However, see my post in the lounge. It's a beautiful Sunday morning and I'm feeling less depressed about the Soapbox. Maybe there is a way to coexist.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Chris Maunder wrote: Maybe there is a way to coexist.
I recognize that Soapbox is a privilge. I'll abide by the rules.
Jon
Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface
Algoraphobia: An exaggerated fear of the outside world rooted in the belief that one might spontaneously combust due to global warming.
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This is the same thing that happened to USENET back in the day. It was an awesome source of information for a long time (in the beginning) and then AOL discovered USENET and exposed it to the unwashed masses. Not long after AOL opened it up it became a place for rants, porn, pirated software and all other kinds of seedy information.
One way to get around this is to apply filters (but then you need moderators) to messages that are deemed Political, Religious, Adult, Rant, etc. and then allow people to see those messages if they choose. The default is of course hidden.
I never read the soapbox personally so I wont miss it but I fear those discussions will now end up in the lounge. 
Todd Smith
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Todd Smith wrote: AOL discovered USENET and exposed it to the unwashed masses.
I wasn't thrilled with the ***holes on line, either, but my memories of the alt newsgroups is that they contained more than their fair share of rough and sometimes tough groups before AOL.
Maybe I should've been spending more time looking at other headers. But, for instance, alt.fan.heinlein is an exciting place to hang out - if you don't mind every third poster trying to emulate the grumpiness of Lazarus Long.
Jon
Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface
Algoraphobia: An exaggerated fear of the outside world rooted in the belief that one might spontaneously combust due to global warming.
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Chris Maunder wrote: boys being boys (at least mostly at that time)
Most of the boys were boys at the time. Good to hear. 
Steve
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But in this case - the Back Room.
What exactly is a moderator? Rob said that, briefly, he had edit/delete power for everyone in the forum but it disappeared. If I had it, I never noticed it.
In all honesty I am not sure we need moderation - since elimination of voting from the Back Room, there's been one instance of a troll posting the same message nine or ten times (he was ignored) and the case of someone posting a harmful link - certainly something that could hapen in the public forums as easily as the Back Room and handled without any serious problems by reporting it to you.
However, if there must be such a thing, it is probably better that folks like me who think it is the ultimate of last resorts be vested. Only. . .right now I've got the title and nothing else. i.e. the emperor is feeling a draft.
Jon
Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface
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Chris,
Please remove me from the Back Room Moderators group, and the list of moderators in the forum heading. I am no longer interested in participating in that forum.
Thanks,
Rob Graham
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You've actually got that power yourself - just edit the forum settings (top left link in the Backroom) and remove yourself from the Back Room Moderators group (Go to My Settings, Groups, and remove yourself)
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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1 Memory Manager
Consider a system which is designed to be portable across platforms. Each platform provides a memory manager - i.e. each platform exposes functions equivalent to new and delete. The system under consideration wants to keep a platform-independent memory management scheme. Assume that the system under consideration is coded only using C++. Please describe the following:
1. Approach
2. C++ class declaration for the new memory manager
3. The memory management strategies (strategies you will follow if the system under consideration is a browser)
4. How would you make sure that all the classes in the system use your memory manager? Provide C++ code for the same. Assume that “new” operator is used if an dynamic object of a class has to be created.
can you please help me out with correct answers.
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You are listing it again? Did they promises for really really true this time to stay out of the lounge if you did?
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Oakman wrote: Did they promises for really really true this time to stay out of the lounge if you did
No, but now that it's listed it means
a) I can move messages there
b) people will (hopefully) be less likely to post material in the SoapBox that should be in the BackRoom
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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I guess we cant take it anywhere then I used to hear this a lot in the lounge "step out to the soapbox!"
On the bright side however, it was a box full of dirt!
So I'd say good move Chris!
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 | Passwords: Hash vs Encryption 
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 9:07 AM
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There's always debate[^], complaints[^] and personal preferences as to whether passwords should be encrypted in a database and sent back to a user when it's requested, or whether it should be one-way hashed and 'reset link' (or similar) provided to those users who forget their password.
Over the years we've asked members what they wanted and the preference has changed from "Please send me my original password" to "Please don't send me my password". I, personally, prefer that I get my original password when I ask for it because
a) I hate having to write down or remember Yet Another Password.
b) I don't use the same password for CodeProject as I do for, say, my bank
c) I control my email box
d) Often sites that allow you to reset your password allow anyone to reset your password (meaning you get lots of links that don't work if someone hates you and abuses the system), or they ask you a 'security' question before sending the link. Frankly, everyone knows my Mother's Maiden name ("Mum" AND the name of my first pet ("Cuddles the Rabbit") so these questions, to me, are not very secure. And to be honest I just couldn't be bothered with the extra hassle.
This reasoning doesn't apply for all, and above and beyond these personal reasons of mine there is the simple fact that if you are going to look after personal information of your members you should do it properly.
So, as of today we no longer encrypt passwords, but instead we store them as a one-way hash. This means we can no longer send you your password when you ask for it.
However, I figured we needed to
a) Allow people to maintain their current password if at all possible, and
b) Protect the system from abuse
So when you request a new password, we send you a temporary password and still allow you to sign in with your old password. If you sign in with the temp password then your password becomes the temporary password, permanently. If you suddenly remember your old password and sign in with it, then the temporary password is removed.
Hopefully the best of both worlds with the added security that no one, not us, not you, not your nosy coworkers, will ever know your password.
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| catalog.codeproject.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 8:41 AM
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Many of us are software developers which is why we mercilessly pillage the articles on CodeProject.com for code and components. However, as a developer I know that there are the rare occasions when I simply want to spend the money to buy a component in order to have the luxury of ringing up the vendor and hassling them for immediate support. The problem is: how do you know if a component is good and where is the good, up-to-date list of components?
In the spirit of "Let's just write one ourselves" we built catalog.codeproject.com[^]. For our members it's a chance to wander through a list of the best components from the top vendors, commenting and rating as they go. If you sell a component yourself then you can post your product into the catalog for free.
Anyone can post their product for free and if you want a little more exposure (fancy colour, image in the listing page) then there are paid upgrades available for those who wish. The main point, though, is that it's open to all CodeProject members regardless of whether you have a freeware product or you work for Microsoft.
It's a service for you guys. We hope you like it, hope you find it useful, and are always looking for suggestions and ideas for improvement.
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| Article Moderation
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 10:54 AM
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A small change has been made to make the article moderation system less painful. Now, when an article receives a certain number of votes and has a certain score (currently 5 votes, 2.0 rating - but this will change) it will disappear from the moderation list entirely. Only admins and editors will be able to save it from a fate worse than being ignored.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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tortoiseSVN support would be nice.
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 | CodeProject.com Unified
Sunday, January 25, 2009 12:25 AM
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We have combined the CodeProject subsites - java.codeproject, sql.codeproject and lamp.codeproject - back into a single CodeProject.com site. No more divisions between developers. One site, one massive resource, one fantastic community whom we hope will behave themselves now that they have to share the same bathroom.
We created an incredibly powerful CMS that was able to split content, expose shared content, and seamlessly move to offsite content when necessary, and in the end we looked at this beautiful, shiny, purring piece of machinery and thought: yeah, but it's not how developers work.
With the way languages are evolving and merging and branching and cross pollinating it became clear that the old buckets we used to organise content with had to be thrown out.
I can use C# on Linux, and Java on Windows. Most of my time is spent fighting HTML, CSS and Javascript in ASP.NET yet the techniques I use are absolutely of value to a PHP developer on a Mac. On top of this I want to start writing Blackberry apps in Java, Windows clients in WPF and then iPhone apps in iC and I soon realised that I, personally, don't want multiple sites. I want one site, and I want to be able to filter the content to my language of the hour, while still having the chance to see the cool stuff that's coming through in other branches of development.
As a bonus to my selfish needs we think that the Java, LAMP and pure SQL stuff out there will now get a lot more exposure and, in turn, generate even more content in those flavours.
As a double bonus it also means we can provide pre-filtered Content Categories as times change. Instead of launching an iPhone site and then, 2 years later, having to abandon it because Palm OS has absolutely cornered the mobile market, we can simply add and remove categories as the times require, all the time keeping everything in one place and always accessible.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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| Content Collaboration upgrades
Sunday, January 18, 2009 11:51 PM
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Creating an article is fairly easy, but maintaining it is far, far harder - especially if you've moved on or lost interest. Likewise, collaborating on an article with others can be difficult because authors come and go, and some are more, well, trustworthy than others. And then there's that whole thing with overwriting each others changes or someone deleting content that was actually kind of important.
Three updates we've released today address these issues:- Group Members. Member Accounts can be an individual member account (the standard) or a shared, Group account. A group account is like any other account except that it allows you to have other members perform actions on behalf of that group. The FAQ[^] explains it all.
- Article versioning. Each article now provides a link that allows you to view and compare previous versions of the article. Very handy for those collaborating on articles, as well as those looking to get more information than the usual 'History' comments.
- Article Edit locks. With Groups, we now have more of an issue with multiple authors. To fix this we've added article locks which provide you with exclusive edit access to your article for 20 mins, or until you submit your edits.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Outstanding! 
You must be careful in the forest
Broken glass and rusty nails
If you're to bring back something for us
I have bullets for sale...
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So what next? What do you want in version 1.1 SP1 CTP?
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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- The ability to quickly move forum posts.
- The ability to edit other people's forum posts.
---- You're right.
These facts that you've laid out totally contradict the wild ramblings that I pulled off the back of cornflakes packets .
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1. Yes, for Gold members definitely
2. Under what circumstances? Same as the article 'throw to the community' idea? As in: if someone posts a poor question or a bad answer then we allow the community to edit and correct it?
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Chris Maunder wrote: 2. Under what circumstances? Same as the article 'throw to the community' idea? As in: if someone posts a poor question or a bad answer then we allow the community to edit and correct it?
Well... No, i don't think that would work, at least not as the forums currently operate. Chances are, by the time any post worth saving has been thoroughly down-voted, it'll be out of sight - an edited question would merely be ignored, and anyone looking to edit an answer would have simply posted their own, corrected answer.
I'm tempted to say "any post can be edited by any (sufficiently privileged) user at any time"... this appeals to my desire to correct typos and remove grocer's apostrophe's, as well as my bright-eyed-optimist's notion that the vast majority of CPians would use it for good (or... just possibly... a rascally desire to abuse it in The Soapbox). I can think of a couple of compromises though:
- Yet Another Voting Option: vote-to-edit. After a sufficient number of "edit" votes, a post would enter "Mob Mode" - sig and username would disappear, anyone can edit for any reason at any time. I don't really care for this option much, as to be useful it would require Roving Bands of Good Samaritans trudging through the forums voting on, then cleaning up, poorly-phrased questions (and again, the barrier to entry is higher for editing an existing answer than just posting a new one, so why not just post a new one). A history + rollback feature would be pretty much essential to avoiding drive-by vandalism here.
- Assist-mode: any (sufficiently-privileged) user can edit any post at any time... After which, their name is listed next to the original authors (ex:
Re: Content Collaboration upgrades :bob:Chris Maunder (assisted by Shog9)
). A short history + rollback feature would be nice here just to get an idea of what editors were actually up to, but not absolutely necessary.
Semi-OT question for you: is there a way of keeping track of posts that move? So if i'm replying to a post in Web Dev and it gets moved to ASP.NET, my reply would follow it once i get around to actually submitting the forum? And... permalinks to a post in one forum would actually still be permanent in that they'd automatically take me to the post's new home?
---- You're right.
These facts that you've laid out totally contradict the wild ramblings that I pulled off the back of cornflakes packets .
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Shog9 wrote: is there a way of keeping track of posts that move? So if i'm replying to a post in Web Dev and it gets moved to ASP.NET, my reply would follow it once i get around to actually submitting the forum? And... permalinks to a post in one forum would actually still be permanent in that they'd automatically take me to the post's new home?
I think the short answer is "yes". I will check though
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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