User:Dvgrn/Readme/FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
General
Q: What is Conway's Game of Life?
See the main intro page.
Q: What is the best software for running the Game of Life?
A: By far the best software is Golly, although it is an app and you must download it. It supports many functionalities that no other programs can, such as Python or Lua scripting. If you would like to use a web-based simulator, LifeViewer is probably the best one. Another commonly used simulator is CAViewer, which can run certain rules which Golly or LifeViewer cannot. Other web-based simulators are seldom used by experienced contributors and the community is generally hostile against them.
Q: Does the community have other means of communication other than the forums?
A: The most common alternative to the forums is the Discord server (invite). Beware though, as the server is much more casual than the forums and off-topic discussions on the forums and on the Discord are totally different. There are other communities like the subreddit but they are less active and rarely (or never) used by more experienced contributors.
LifeWiki
Q: How can I contribute to the LifeWiki?
A: It's a good idea to read carefully through the How to contribute article.
However, please be careful about jumping in and making a lot of changes quickly! A lot of time and effort has gone into building the LifeWiki's current content, so it's best if new contributions can be made in a way that follows notability guidelines and fits in with existing material.
Q: Why do I need to be "trusted" to edit the LifeWiki?
A: The wiki was locked down to trusted editors in July 2016 due to destructive spam attacks. While it's certainly an inconvenience to new editors, it has helped to essentially suppress vandalism and spam down to zero. See this thread for more details and to request the trusted flag.
Q: What version of English is LifeWiki written in?
A: LifeWiki is supposed to be written in British (International) English. See the style guide for more details and more formatting guidelines. These rules are mostly unenforced, however.
ConwayLife forums
Q: How do the ConwayLife forums work?
A: As a starting point, please read the forum rules thread.
Q: My post disappeared! Where did it go?
A: There are two potential reasons for this:
- Your post broke the forum rules, and was deleted by the moderators.
- Your post was not in the right thread or it did not deserve a new topic, so it was moved to a different thread.
To find out which, go to your profile (drop down menu in upper right hand corner) and click "Search user's posts". If the post you were looking for appears, then it was moved. If not, it was deleted.
Q: Speaking of which, who are the moderators?
A: There is one administrator of the forums (Nathaniel), and five current moderators of the forums (dvgrn, Sokwe, Andrew, codeholic (inactive), and rowett). Out of these, dvgrn (whose user subpage you are viewing right now!) is the most active, so he should be the first you contact if you need help with the forums.
Conway's Game of Life
Q: How do I get started contributing?
A: It's best to check out the Tutorials to see what you're interested in. There are many paths to take, like glider syntheses, conduits, spaceship finding, soup searching, and more. Or, you can investigate other cellular automata instead (see the next section.)
Other Cellular Automata
Q: What other cellular automation rules are investigated other than Conway's Game of Life?
A: See Tutorials/Rules for the common types of rules explored.
Q: What are these funky letter notations I see for rules (like B2ci3ai4c8/S02ae3eijkq4iz5ar6i7e)?
A: These are examples of Hensel notation, which is used for isotropic non-totalistic rules.
Q: How do I make custom rules?
A: Create a rule table, which are supported by Golly and LifeViewer. See Tutorials/Creating custom rules (incomplete) for more.
Q: Where do I post new rules I found?
A: There are several places on the forums, not least Thread for Your Unrecognized CA, Miscellaneous Discoveries in Other Cellular Automata, and Rules with interesting dynamics, as well as several other threads. However, do not create a new topic for your rule unless it has garnered interest in the community and could benefit from further reasearch. If you post on the Discord server instead, then use #naturalistic, #circuitry, or #misc-ca (follow the channel descriptions to know which).
Discoveries
Q: How do I share a pattern that I found?
A: The best, and only acceptable way is to use Run Length Encoded (RLE) due to its ability to be easily pasted into good simulation programs like Golly and LifeViewer, as well as being easy to generate by said programs. Do not ever post an image of your pattern, as these cannot be duplicated without copying cell by cell.
Q: Why was the methuselah I found not notable?
A: It is likely that your methuselah is not notable because its lifespan is too short. For example, most methuselahs that newcomers find are in the 500-5000 generation range, while rabbits is 9 cells and lasts longer than 17,000 generations.