Thread for your website-related questions

[GUYTU6J]

Is it possible to make pull requests to Catagolue? It has a login window. Do I need to create an account, or can I use my Conwaylife login? I already found the tutorial, but it only mentions a Google account, which I don't want to create. No details about anonymous contributions (in my case that would be glider guns, my main interest). I pasted in some guns (capped), but they are identified as oscillators. No comment on smaller versions known.
...

To submit a glider gun, go to "Syntheses", scroll to bottom, paste the un-capped glider gun in plain Life in the "Post new synthesis" box and click "Post". And then it should be added to the queue in https://catagolue.hatsya.com/readsynth like other glider syntheses and guns, regardless of any accounts. A gun with period {p} can be found on this page: https://catagolue.hatsya.com/object/gun_{p}/b3s23.

Tutorials/Contributing to Catagolue was writted years ago when Catagolue was solely for soup-search, I believe, so nothing about contributing to the two databases has been mentioned. Maybe this topic is worth covering in that article.

---

While I am on this topic, by the way, I want to repeat the request of having this issue resolved. There are still many slots in the four-digit range to be filled, and rejecting gun periods higher than 8192 (?) but below 10000 contradicts that purpose.

[confocaloid]

Is it possible to make pull requests to Catagolue? It has a login window. Do I need to create an account, or can I use my Conwaylife login? I already found the tutorial, but it only mentions a Google account, which I don't want to create. No details about anonymous contributions (in my case that would be glider guns, my main interest). I pasted in some guns (capped), but they are identified as oscillators. No comment on smaller versions known.

While we're at it, is the bounding box still the going criterion for size (I'd approve if it wasn't, actually). It seems to be easy to find examples for some of the guns that are smaller by BB but larger by population (especially if you count the reaction envelope as population).

As a test, I just submitted this p8190 gun by posting it here. If I done everything correctly, the gun_8190 page should be updated in several hours:

Code: Select all

x = 84, y = 65, rule = B3/S23
62b2o$62b2o$50bo4b2o$49bob2ob3o$49bo7bo$48b2ob2o$48bo2bo3bo10bo$49bo5b
o7bo$49bo3bo2bo6bo2bo$52b2ob2o7bo$47bo7bo$48b3ob2obo7bo$48b2o4bo8b2o$
62b2o$3b2o$4bo75b2o$3bo76bobo$3b2o6b2o69bo$6bo4b2o69b2o$3b4o62bo$2bo2b
o49bobo10bobo$2b2o4bob4o41b2o11bobo$8b6o20b2o20bo10b2ob2o$9b3obo19bo2b
o25b2o8bo$12b2o20b2o22b2o2b2o4b3o2bo$12b2o7b2o35b2o7bo3b2o$9b3obo7b2o
40bo6bo2b3o$8b6o23b2o25bob2o2b3o3bo$2b2o4bob4o23bo28bo3bo3bo2bo$2bo2bo
32b3o25bobob3o3b2o2bo$3b4o33bo23b3ob2o8b3o$6bo4b2o9b2o39bo3bo3bo2b4o$
3b2o6b2o10bo39b2o2bob2ob2o4bo$3bo16b3o45bobob6o$4bo15bo49bobo5b3o$3b2o
65bobobob2o2bo$67b2obobo4bo$68bobo2b4o$67bo2b4o$68b2o4b5o$70b4o2bo2bo$
70bo2bo4b2o$33bo$b2o29bo$2bo15bo13b3o$bo16b3o37b2o$b2o6b2o10bo36bo$3bo
4bo2bo8b2o17b2o19bo$b4o33bobo18b2o$o35b3obobo14bo3b2o$2o4bo3bobo22bo5b
2o14b4o2bo$6b4obo23b2o23bob2o$19b2o29b2o5b2obobo$10b2o7b2o29b2o5b2obob
o$10b2o20b2o26bob2o$31bo2bo25bo$6b4obo20b2o24bobo$2o4bo3bobo45b2o$o$b
4o44b2o$3bo4bo2bo8b2o27bo$b2o6b2o10bo28b3o$bo16b3o31bo$2bo15bo$b2o!

Below is the previous gun_8190:

Code: Select all

#C [[ GRID MAXGRIDSIZE 14 THEME Catagolue ]]
#CSYNTH gun_8190 costs 6536 cells.
#C period 8190 fullperiod 8190 bbox 86 by 76
#CLL state-numbering golly
x = 86, y = 76, rule = LifeHistory
13.3B2AB4.B55.2A$5.2B4.4BABA8B52.B2A2B$4.4B.5BA6B2A3B53.4B$4.10BA
2BA2BA2BAB2A53.4B$3.11BA6B2A.B2A52.4B$3.B3A8BABA3B4.B53.4B$2.7B4.
3B2AB59.5B$2.2BABA2B69.B3AB$2.B5AB30.2A25.A10.B2AB2AB$2.2A3B2A28.
2B2AB23.BAB9.B2AB2AB$2.2A3B2A28.4B24.3B9.B5AB$2.7B27.4B24.2BA2B8.
2A3B2A$3.5B29.4B23.BABAB8.7B$2.2B2A2B29.4B22.7B7.7B$3.2AB2A29.5B
21.2B3A2B8.2B2AB$3.BA2BAB28.B3AB20.9B7.5AB$2.2BA4B27.7B19.9B7.4BA$
2.2B.2BAB27.2BABA2B20.2B3A2B7.B3A2B$.4B2A2B27.B5AB20.7B7.BA5B$.9B
26.2A3B2A21.BABAB8.2B2A.2B$11B25.2A3B2A21.2BA2B8.2B2A4B$2A3B2A.4B
24.7B22.3B8.9B$B5AB2.2BAB24.5B23.BAB7.11B$2B3A2B3.2B2A2.2B19.2B2A
2B23.A2B5.4B.2A3B2A$3BA3B4.2A6B14.B3.2AB2A23.4B4.4B2.ABABABA$7B5.
7B13.5BA2BAB22.4B2AB2ABAB3.B5AB$.5B7.8B10.2A2B.4BA2B20.4BA2B4AB4.
2B3A2B$.5B8.8B8.2B2A.2BA2B.2B19.6B2A2BABAB3.3BA3B$2.4B7.9B7.2BAB3.
2B2A4B17.2B2A7B3AB4.5B$2.4B8.10B4.4B3.9B16.3BABA6B3A2B3.5B$3.4B7.
4BABA3B3.4B3.11B14.5BA6BA3BAB3.4B$2.4B8.5B2A3B2.4B3.4B.2A3B2A13.4B
.8B2AB2AB3.4B$.B2A2B2.2A6.3BA9B3.BA2B2.B5AB12.19B3.4B$2.2A2.2B2AB
5.8BA3B3.2A2B3.2B3A2B11.4B.7B.3B.2B5.4B$6.4B7.7B2AB3.2B2A4.3BA3B
10.4B3.5B3.B9.2B2AB$5.4B9.5BABA2B.4B5.7B9.4B4.6B14.2A$6.4B7.15B7.
5B9.4B5.7B3.A5B$6.4B7.14B8.5B8.4B8.6B4A6B$6.5B7.13B9.4B7.4B9.5BABA
B2A6B$6.5B7.12B10.4B6.4B9.5BA2BAB3A6B$5.7B5.7BABA4B10.4B4.4B10.4B.
BABAB2A7B$5.3BA3B4.2A2B2.2B2AB.4B8.4B4.4B10.B3AB3.4A6B.B2A$5.2B3A
2B3.2B2A3.3BA3.4B6.B2A2B3.4B11.B3AB5.A5B3.BA.A$5.B5AB2.2BAB3.4B5.
4B6.2A4.4B11.BA3BAB16.A$5.2A3B2A.4B3.4B7.4B10.4B12.7B16.2A$5.11B3.
4B9.4B8.4B13.2A3B2A$6.9B3.4B11.4B6.4B14.7B$6.4B2A2B3.BA2B13.4B4.4B
10.2A3.7B$7.2B.2BA2B.2A2B15.4B2.4B9.BABAB2.5B2A4.B2A3B$7.2BA4B.2B
2A17.8B10.3AB4.2BA4BA3B3A4B4.B$8.BA2BA5B15.2B.8B9.B2AB5.7BA5B2ABA
3B.B2A$8.2AB2A3.B15.2A8B12.2A2B5.A6BA4BA2BA5B2A$7.2B2A2B19.2A9B11.
BABA5.ABAB.7B2ABA6B$8.5B20.B.9B10.2BA2B5.2B4.3B3A9B$7.7B21.5B.4B9.
5B13.B2A3B4.B$7.2A3B2A20.12B7.7B$7.2A3B2A19.BA12BA.2A2.2A3B2A$7.B
5AB14.2A.ABABAB2.7B.2A.A2.2A3B2A$7.2BABA2B14.A.2A.2AB4.4B9.7B$7.7B
27.4B8.2B3A2B$8.B3AB29.4B7.2B3A2B$8.5B30.4B7.2BA2B$8.4B32.4B6.5B$
8.4B33.4B5.4B$7.4B35.4B4.4B$8.4B35.4B2.4B3.4BAB$8.2B2AB35.4B2.9B2A
3B4.B$10.2A28.2B6.14B2A4B2A.B2A$38.6B5.12B3A4B2A2B2A$36.2B6A2B2.6B
2.6B2A4B2A3B$34.3BA6BA9B4.5B2A8B$33.3BA8BA6B8.4BAB4.B$34.3BA6BA3B.
4B$36.2B6A2B4.3BA$38.6B7.3BA$40.2B10.3AB!

[rattlesnake]

How do I find the talk page for an article such as 74P85?

[GUYTU6J]

How do I find the talk page for an article such as 74P85?

Click "Discussion" on top of the page. In this case it appears as a red link because nobody has created one before.

This particular LCM oscillator was mentioned in LifeWiki:Tiki_bar#Do_LCMs_need_their_own_pages?, where Sokwe suggested a term "cheater 2" - that raises another bunch of questions:
Where did the name come from?
Where can I find about its initial discovery report/original design reference?
How is it related to "periodic eater 2"?
Is it a still life motif that can potentially be adapted to rotors with arbitrary periods, or a specific set of oscillators with certain periods that share a common motif?

[confocaloid]

Is there some limit/threshold on the period of gun like 8192? If yes, please elevate because I have submitted them again.

While I am on this topic, by the way, I want to repeat the request of having this issue resolved. There are still many slots in the four-digit range to be filled, and rejecting gun periods higher than 8192 (?) but below 10000 contradicts that purpose.

I'm (obviously) not someone who could give definitive answers as to how/why Catagolue works the way it works.

However, as a user, I think there is very little difference between being restricted to periods below 8192 versus being restricted to periods below 10000 (versus being restricted to periods below any other limit of roughly the same order of magnitude). Either way, it is an arbitrary limit which just happens to be a perfect power.

If someone asked me, maybe I would suggest 19683 - but that would be just another arbitrary limit, and there would be people unhappy with not having guntrue_19684 or guntrue_19999.

Some limit is necessary - it is not possible to optimize and store guns all the way to infinity, and lower periods are more likely to be reused (so it seems to make sense to focus on optimizing them) while higher periods are likely to be used rarely and in circumstances where it may make more sense to redo the whole thing to better fit the specific context where it is going to be used.

[qqd]

What does the fire logo mean in forum topics, and the document one?

[confocaloid]

What does the fire logo mean in forum topics, and the document one?

External link:
https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?p=15756286#p15756286 Re: 3.3.1 - Topic Icons...What do they mean...?

[get_Snacked]

when it says @Nathaniel is a "Site Admin" and not an "Owner," does it mean @Nathaniel isn't actually the "Owner" and there are other "Site Admins" out there?

[pzq_alex]

does it mean @Nathaniel isn't actually the "Owner"

No.

and there are other "Site Admins" out there?

No -- but there are other "Moderators" out there.

[wirehead]

The lifeviewer used at conwaylife.com/book is build 519. Is there some reason why it is 272 builds out of date? Current version is build 791.

[dvgrn]

The lifeviewer used at conwaylife.com/book is build 519. Is there some reason why it is 272 builds out of date? Current version is build 791.

There's probably not any particularly good reason.

On the other hand, build 519 was tested fairly thoroughly and shown to be able to display labels and so forth correctly, for all the patterns out there on the book website. If we automatically update to the newest version, it's always possible that some new bug will get introduced and that will break the pattern displays on the book website.

Since we don't need all the latest features to display an unchanging set of patterns, we tend to be a little bit conservative about updates. Also, speaking for myself, I had forgotten that the book website doesn't automatically use the latest LifeViewer version from the forums and LifeWiki.

[rowett]

I did a quick web search and the oldest LifeViewer version I can find alive in the wild is build 160 here.

And for those that enjoy history the release notes for build 160 are here.

[rattlesnake]

When will POTY 2022 start?

[dvgrn]

When will POTY 2022 start?

January 1, 2023 ... or a few days earlier, if someone gets impatient.

Anyone can volunteer to run POTY 2022. It would be good if volunteers are very detail-oriented and willing to read through the last few years of POTY threads, noticing all the little things that went wrong and doing what they can to avoid the same pitfalls this year.

[Nathaniel]

Also, speaking for myself, I had forgotten that the book website doesn't automatically use the latest LifeViewer version from the forums and LifeWiki.

Yeah, my thinking with using a static version of LV on the book website was that, just like the book, the book's website should be static/unchanging once the book is complete. It'd be straightforward to make it use the current version that the rest of conwaylife.com uses, but I'd rather avoid that without good reason.

[Citation needed]

Do "password bans" occur?

[dvgrn]

Do "password bans" occur?

What is a "password ban"?

... I guess that means, "probably not".

[Citation needed]

Do "password bans" occur?

What is a "password ban"?

... I guess that means, "probably not".

IP bans apply to IP addresses, while password bans apply to users sharing passwords.

[dvgrn]

IP bans apply to IP addresses, while password bans apply to users sharing passwords.

I assume you're talking about multiple users using the same password to access the same account?

The same password for multiple accounts ... seems like a rather silly and pointless thing to do, but it's not something that moderators would have a lot of insight into necessarily.

Multiple users on the same account ... also seems pretty much pointless, and we'll probably want to discourage people from doing that if we can. But again there wouldn't be much way to know that it's happening, unless the shared "user" starts behaving erratically and causing trouble.

At that point, we would ban that user account, and probably also ban any IP addresses associated with it -- so that the trouble stops happening. But from our point of view, that would be a standard user ban, not a "password ban".

[Nathaniel]

The same password for multiple accounts ... seems like a rather silly and pointless thing to do, but it's not something that moderators would have a lot of insight into necessarily.

Or even administrators, for that matter. Password are hashed + salted in the phpBB database, so even I can't tell if two different users have the same password (or anything else about their passwords, really).

[Citation needed]

The same password for multiple accounts ... seems like a rather silly and pointless thing to do, but it's not something that moderators would have a lot of insight into necessarily.

Or even administrators, for that matter. Password are hashed + salted in the phpBB database, so even I can't tell if two different users have the same password (or anything else about their passwords, really).

Does that mean that identical passwords would be encoded differently in the database?

EDIT: I guess that this is just the case for phpBB websites, and what about the wiki?

[dvgrn]

Does that mean that identical passwords would be encoded differently in the database?

Yes. And it means that the passwords themselves can't be inspected by moderators or administrators.

EDIT: I guess that this is just the case for phpBB websites, and what about the wiki?

What about the wiki? Why does any of this matter? The only relevant points seem to be that passwords are the responsibility of users, and users who insist on behaving irresponsibly (in ways that are visible to moderators) will tend to get banned.

EDIT: Again, the big question (though it's not big enough to warrant another post) is, why does any of this matter? Given that the purpose of these forums is to discuss topics relating to cellular automata, why is it even vaguely interesting to pay attention to the occasional antics of people who aren't really doing much along those lines, but on the other hand aren't doing any particular damage at the moment either? Maybe they'll make contributions eventually, or maybe they'll end up getting banned, but until then it seems like a good idea to ignore them.

[Citation needed]

Does that mean that identical passwords would be encoded differently in the database?

Yes. And it means that the passwords themselves can't be inspected by moderators or administrators.

EDIT: I guess that this is just the case for phpBB websites, and what about the wiki?

What about the wiki? Why does any of this matter? The only relevant points seem to be that passwords are the responsibility of users, and users who insist on behaving irresponsibly (in ways that are visible to moderators) will tend to get banned.

I came to know about the "default password" used by the "Trump group". I'm not sure about the details.
I'm not sure about the reason why the user named "Guy Fawkes" seem to have got banned so quickly.

[Book]

Is https://conwaylife.com/scripts/ mainitained?

[Z­­]

Who made LifeViewer, the "official" web player I'm guessing, and is the source available?