Heads Up and Member Feedback - Your opinions on the future of the site :)

How did a wise man say?
If it isn't broken don't fix it. :)
And Eadd is fixed, a bit daft maybe, but fixed nevertheless! :D
 
IRC suggestions

Coolio said:
Most important change I'd like to see at Bluelight: an official IRC server, with SSL-only connections.

No stupid nickserv/chanserv bullshit either, just have the ircd authenticate the nickname/password provided by the IRC client against the forum's user database. Tie IRC-operator status to Moderator status. It's very easy, I've done it many times before, there're tons of ircds that support SQL or LDAP auth.

The mods here are for the most part so well-loved and do such a great job that I can't imagine too many complaints about abusive IRC ops would filter through to the admins.

Pretty please.
Click to expand...

I have a lot of experience with IRC both as an operator and an administrator, and I have to say it is a very good idea to have a IRC chat. Nickserv/Chanserv are essential IRC bots to have though, but Í have experience with programming bots in both mIRC scripting as well as eggdrop bots.

Having a NickServ is useful for registering usernames and can be scripted through mIRC scripting which is pretty powerful if you have access to a Win32 IRC server.

Now a ChanServ can be replaced by another (eggdrop) bot which I have programmed a few years ago in my IRC time (I was part of the Unreal Tournament official IRC staff once). I don't have access to any of those scripts anymore and am a bit rusty in my programming skills but I might be of some help here. :)

Even though some versions of IRCd are freeware or GPL, it would be best to build an IRCd from the ground up so those features you mentioned can be inplemented.

I don't think Secure Socket Layers (OpenSSL) should be needed, it's easier to let the IRCd request a password when someone connects to the server, but wouldn't that scare the newbies away? IMHO BL IRC should be accessible for anyone just like this website is. OpenSSL BTW only works if everyone has installed it IIRC, and there are few servers with SSL capabilities and it is a seperate download instead of being included in mIRC which I assume most people use.

If you want to share some ideas or opinions please PM me, I have extensive knowledge about (m)IRC programming and have worked together with other people to build our own private IRCd. Although this was years ago I still remember a lot about exploits / banning systems / user management. Also I might have a server available with a capacity for a few hundred users, at least we can always try. ;)

Please let me know if you are interested. :)

Peace o/
 
Rexeh, it makes no sense to duplicate the functionality of an authentication system between areas of a website like Bluelight. Any official BL IRC server should require any IRC clients who connect to authenticate against the same SQL table that the vBulletin forum software uses to do its authentication.

Example: http://www.inspircd.org/wiki/Modules/sqlauth

The NICK command should be disabled on the IRC server. This would help diminish abuse and trolling on IRC because the IRC nickname is tied down to your Bluelight username, and you could receive a warning on the forum if a Moderator is paying attention.

Nobody in their right mind would run a Win32 IRC server. mIRC is no better than a Win32 IRC server, but that's just my opinion.

As far as SSL is concerned, you have to be kidding me when you say it's not important? With the War on Terror and War on Drugs and telco immunity and whatnot going on, it's retarded to transmit unencrypted realtime communications through the Internet. Whether it's a VoIP phone call, a personal e-mail, AIM, or IRC... the technology to encrypt the contents of these conversations is mature, stable, and unobtrusive. Even if you're just talking to your family about what kind of dog food to get for the pet dog, you never know who is listening in or how it might be used against you in the future. Even without the government trying to record your private matters, there are always hackers and corporate spies out there sniffing traffic all across the world.

It's bad enough the Bluelight forums don't use SSL for logging in and sending private messages.

Anyways, every IRC client supports SSL now out of the box and has for a while. It's also simple to setup an instance of the Perl web application CGI:IRC on a subdomain like https://chat.bluelight.ru that automatically grabs the nickname and password or authentication token from the bluelight.ru cookie in your browser and begins to login to IRC, skipping the usual login screen that CGI:IRC starts with.
 
Coolio said:
Most important change I'd like to see at Bluelight: an official IRC server, with SSL-only connections.

No stupid nickserv/chanserv bullshit either, just have the ircd authenticate the nickname/password provided by the IRC client against the forum's user database. Tie IRC-operator status to Moderator status. It's very easy, I've done it many times before, there're tons of ircds that support SQL or LDAP auth.

The mods here are for the most part so well-loved and do such a great job that I can't imagine too many complaints about abusive IRC ops would filter through to the admins.

Pretty please.
Click to expand...

+1.. I think IRC would be a great addition to BL, and I think quite a few users would use it- including me ;)
 
Great post IMHO

Coolio said:
Rexeh, it makes no sense to duplicate the functionality of an authentication system between areas of a website like Bluelight. Any official BL IRC server should require any IRC clients who connect to authenticate against the same SQL table that the vBulletin forum software uses to do its authentication.

Example: http://www.inspircd.org/wiki/Modules/sqlauth

The NICK command should be disabled on the IRC server. This would help diminish abuse and trolling on IRC because the IRC nickname is tied down to your Bluelight username, and you could receive a warning on the forum if a Moderator is paying attention.
Click to expand...
I think that you have much more knowledge than me regarding IRC :D , using that sqlauth module when compiling the IRCd seems a lot easier than creating a new system. I can see the advantages of using a nick + password only server and forgot that people can simply register on BL and log in.

The killreason variable could have a message saying they have to register on BL first and provide a link to the registration system :)
<disabled commands="NICK"> is the part needed in the config file am I right?

I get it now, it has been a long time since I was involved in IRC administration but I remember the exploits and bots that were used on our server.
Nobody in their right mind would run a Win32 IRC server. mIRC is no better than a Win32 IRC server, but that's just my opinion.
Click to expand...
We all had to start somewhere. :) Ofcourse using Win32 servers is stupid, but I have learned a lot about possible exploits this way and only mentioned it because more people have used mIRC and Windows than X-Chat or Redhat 6.2. Now with Ubuntu it's easier to set up a proper IRC server probably.
Also mIRC scripting can be used to create a BL script which people can use, I have my own version of an IRC script complete with internet browser, download manager and a powerful CLI (Command Line Interface). You can create some pretty nice scripts with mIRC. :)
As far as SSL is concerned, you have to be kidding me when you say it's not important? With the War on Terror and War on Drugs and telco immunity and whatnot going on, it's retarded to transmit unencrypted realtime communications through the Internet. Whether it's a VoIP phone call, a personal e-mail, AIM, or IRC... the technology to encrypt the contents of these conversations is mature, stable, and unobtrusive. Even if you're just talking to your family about what kind of dog food to get for the pet dog, you never know who is listening in or how it might be used against you in the future. Even without the government trying to record your private matters, there are always hackers and corporate spies out there sniffing traffic all across the world.
Click to expand...
Considering the fact that Bluelight can be used as a tool in the war on drugs in the future you are right, I didn't think about that since I am not used to using SSL connections and was forgotten that IRC can be exploited / hacked quite easily.
It's bad enough the Bluelight forums don't use SSL for logging in and sending private messages.

Anyways, every IRC client supports SSL now out of the box and has for a while. It's also simple to setup an instance of the Perl web application CGI:IRC on a subdomain like https://chat.bluelight.ru that automatically grabs the nickname and password or authentication token from the bluelight.ru cookie in your browser and begins to login to IRC, skipping the usual login screen that CGI:IRC starts with.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the schooling... ;) Nah I am interested in creating a BL IRC server and didn't think about security which was stupid. It's been a while since I have been involved in IRC. :\ BTW how did you get involved into IRC servers? You seem to have a good knowledge about IRC and security. :)

Peace o/
 
hey love bandit... i'm a fellow snoopy freak, been collecting peanuts stuff for over 30 years. (just thought i'd throw that in there)

anyhooo, i'm relatively new to posting in the forums, even though i've been a member for almost 2 years. my suggestion would be to add more smileys/emoticons, whatever ya wanna call them. i'm all about using them... yahoo messenger has a bunch of cool ones... i would like to see maybe a laughing one (yahoo has the roflmao one, where the smiley is actually laying down laughing... although if ya tend to have perv thoughts like me, it kinda looks like he's jerking off, lol) a crying one, a pukey one, red-eyed buzzed one... the possibilities are endless~! i just think they can enhance the posts, and add to some of the emotions felt at the time to them.

well that's my 2 cents... other than that, i think bluelight is damn near perfect~! %)
 
I think the MODS and the REGS need to treat the newbies a little bit better, everytime i turn around someone here is pouncing on someone who ask a question they deem to be stupid or the SEARCH ENGINE POLICE pop out and jump their ass for asking a legitimate question, now i know if some morons come in and say stupid moronic shit (which they do) but for decent cool people to be attacked for asking a decent question IS NOT COOL, this is in my opinion is THE BEST FORUM ON THE NET, and i would like for us to act that way
 
you can help us by reporting specific examples of people targeting newcomers aggressively.

if you see a post you feel is unacceptable, click the report button:
report.gif
in the post to bring it to the attention of the forum staff.

thanks

alasdair
 
1st off; a bit of hate. :X
kill possibility of dick-pics showing up on gallery 1st page. (my kid sister is a potential secret BL:er and im just not fond of the idea of a 15 year old having to unintentionally watch all the bullshit whitout making the decision herself. call it what you want it but you obviously hav'nt got a problem with censorship. and i understand that. but please then; use it wisely.

2nd; some love. <3
as alasdairm mentioned: some sort of encouragement for people to report aggressive/non constructive posting. this is a tough one i know, and i have no good solution. all i know is the mindless/drunken posting has become more obvious the last 2-3 years. (I changed alias after 2 years).
this is mainly what has made me lose interest in what once was not only a supersweet, educational site but also extremely therapeutic, for me at least.

3rd.
...resurrect "change signature" feature.

peace. good luck. yall do an exceptionally admirable work. (mods etc.)
 
Atlien3 said:
I think the MODS and the REGS need to treat the newbies a little bit better, everytime i turn around someone here is pouncing on someone who ask a question they deem to be stupid or the SEARCH ENGINE POLICE pop out and jump their ass for asking a legitimate question, now i know if some morons come in and say stupid moronic shit (which they do) but for decent cool people to be attacked for asking a decent question IS NOT COOL, this is in my opinion is THE BEST FORUM ON THE NET, and i would like for us to act that way
Click to expand...

i'd have to agree with this. i'm not a noob per say, i've been a member of bl for almost 2 years, but i'm a noob to posting in the forums. i've only actually only started one new thread, and that was shortly after i joined, and it took awhile to get a decent responce, so i never posted again. i always searched and read other threads and posts. now i respond to them, but still haven't really had the desire to post a new thread because of how i see other people's threads treated if they're new. i'm not saying all the regs and mods (although i have seen mods pounce on noobs as well) act this way, but there's usually one or two posts that are negative, cocky, or as atlien called it "search engine police". i personally haven't had much luck using the search engines for certain topics, it just took alot of searching older threads to find my information. sometimes i never find it. not all people have that sort of patience, or maybe don't completely understand the site process, and felt it ok to ask their question. they shouldn't be ridiculed for it.
 
how come there's no link to the drug studies forum on the main page? Its really hard to find unless you go into another drug discussion forum, go up a level to drug discussion, and pick it from there
 
I'm not really sure how this would be handled since I dont think it would be particularly easy to do from any one location, but I'll make the suggestion anyway.

I was reading through a thread about a bluelight bookclub and someone mentioned that they'd enjoy taking part, but cant really afford to buy new books right now, so it gave me the idea. To help out more with donations to the site, maybe people could sell some of their old stuff that they dont use anymore, such as books, and have the funds go to the site. I know my boyfriend gets rid of a lot of his books once he's done reading them. He usually just gives them away, so it wouldnt be any loss to him if he donated any profits from it to the site, and I'm sure a lot of people do similar things.

Again I'm not sure how something like that would be set up, but its definetly something to think about to help more with the donations. Maybe even keep it specifically to books and movies or something, we could even get a trade going around the site. Theres some particular books that I have seen talked about by many people over and over, so we could get a copy of that and then "sell" it to the next reader for like $5 (which would go to the site) then they could do the same thing with the next person once they've finished it.
 
I am a regular poster on other forums and one of them has a nice feature: the ability to give the OP's posts in a thread as well as your own posts different background colors for easier identifying. Works great on any forum IMHO :)

Also paid member accounts seem to work on a large forum I frequently visit, there are five different accounts: free, basic, plus, full and pimp. Each membership version gives you options like disabling banners or giving you more storage space for usericons or photos etc.

The fees are like this: free / basic €1.70 / plus €2.50 / full €3.20 / pimp €4 each month. I believe they already have more than 250 accounts after like 2 weeks. The forum I'm talking about has around 600 members as well as ~1500 guests online at the time I am writing this post, so ofcourse there are way more potential paying members, but it's an idea to gather more funds. :)

Peace o/
 
Haven't read through the whole thread, so not sure it was brought up yet, but it's simple and surely could be implemented even now. For searches make the default "Search Titles Only" instead of "Search Entire Posts"

It would really cut down on the UTFSE NOOB's
 
I do not believe that is an option that we can set (not that I can see it now....I'll check the next version of the s/w to see if that's changed or if I'm just retarded).
 
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