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markx2

1,517 karma · joined June 4, 2011

ex-NHS RNMH 1985-2002 ex-Automattic Support Maven 2006-2020
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markx2··on Show HN: ChooseBrowser – route Mac links to a Chrome profile by URL rules
Link directly downloads a .dmg

Open that? Not a chance.

https://choosy.app/ wfm.

markx2··on I’ve made an offer to buy Ryan Phelan and Stewart Brand’s houseboat Mirene
First thought was T-Pain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avaSdC0QOUM

markx2··on Banned Words List
Years ago I worked inside Akismet - https://akismet.com - which is an Automattic product.

Akismet, along with user chosen comment moderated lists in 'Comments > Discussion' would not publish certain comment content.

For example, you put 'bad' in to your moderation list and if someone wrote 'badger' your comment was moderated, and probably deleted.

Various sites had "Copy this Bad Words List"

There was/is a medication called cialis

Lots of spam - email, web, comment, used those 6 letters

There was a HUGE amount of comments caught that used socialist, socialism in the US elections.

markx2··on Bananas sprout in Rayleigh Garden UK after 15 years
Where on earth do you get 'a hint of Sharia Law' from?

Why are you adding something not mentioned to steer the conversation?

markx2··on What Is the "Mffam" Policy?
First happened upon NFS around 2005. I have long admired their terms, their FAQ, the whole shebang. Currently have two sites hosted with them for the sole reason that they are not EIG and I feel confident that were the targets of those two sites (and they are not offensive, just opinionated) to complain to NFS that my sites would not be affected in any way. For years now that has proved true.
markx2··on Blessmydomain.com – bless your domain name (I'm an ordained minister)
I am an ordained Dudeist priest

You don't need the nonsense from the url linked above

Just abide

https://dudeism.com/

markx2··on Markdown Now Has a UTI in Apple's Version 27 OSes
I saw this in my feed reader this morning and my first thought was "How do you get a Urinary Tract Infection in an OS?"
markx2··on Ask HN: How to Delete the HN Account?
Nothing - it's a joke.

For the answer, scroll down here - https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html

markx2··on Exapunks (2018)
Their catalogue is well worth buying.

https://store.steampowered.com/developer/zachtronics

markx2··on GTA 6 Physical Copies Won't Include a Disc, Will Just Be a Code in a Box
I have 9000+ games on Steam and many others on EA, Ubisoft etc. Value is zero.

I recently catalogued and valued my physical game collection across multiple consoles. Value is over £10,000 and that value will only go up as time passes.

markx2··on Something is jamming GPS over Europe
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48409664
markx2··on Use more DuckDuckGo with a convenient escape to Google in Firefox
Why is this better than using the !g DDG bang after the initial search?
markx2··on Bitter Lessons from the ISSpresso
In 2010 I was coming back to the UK from Japan. Walked through security carrying a 500ml bottle of water. Realised after clearing everything that it was in my bag. Turned round, went back to the security and handed them the bottle, saying it's just water but I knew I could not take it on board. The guy there took the bottle, placed it into a recess in the desk/table, pressed a button and lights happened in the recess. Then he gave me the bottle back "Yes, water" and indicated I could board.

The tech has been around for over 15 years.

markx2··on Ask HN: Best way to develop games for beginners
Have you considered Pulp?

https://play.date/dev/

markx2··on What will the next plan for spam be?
This article directs it's attention to email spam which is indeed an issue.

"What happens next? Once human attention becomes a gated resource, the prize is no longer reaching the human directly but tricking the gatekeeper into passing the message through."

That is where blog comment spam sits, and there a lot of blogs.

I wrote this in Nov 2007 and it persists today, across blogs and pretty much anywhere else that allows comments.

https://akismet.com/blog/it-really-is-spam/

Part of the continuing problem is that, for blogs, Akismet is effectively paywalled (One ad? You pay). Alternatives exist - use them.

What we have now though is spammers creating blogs then setting AI to comment on those blogs promoting spam and comments which then promote that spam.

It's a cesspit.

Don't read the comments.

markx2··on Matt Mullenweg Overrules Core Committers; Puts Akismet on WP 7's Connector List
Look at WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/honeypot/

/r/wordpress will probably have others.

markx2··on Matt Mullenweg Overrules Core Committers; Puts Akismet on WP 7's Connector List
Akismet makes money for Automattic / Matt.

Comment spam is terrible and will continue to get worse.

Decent alternatives exist.

Increasing the visibility of Akismet should help increase revenue.

This is 100% a financial move.

markx2··on Sam Vimes 'Boots' Theory of Socio-Economic Unfairness (2022)
This has stuck with me for years.

“Yes, yes,” said Bethan, sitting down glumly. “I know you don’t. Rincewind, all the shops have been smashed open, there was a whole bunch of people across the street helping themselves to musical instruments, can you believe that?”

“Yeah,” said Rincewind, picking up a knife and testing its blade thoughtfully. “Luters, I expect.”

Excerpt From The Light Fantastic

Great author.

markx2··on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
Official statements have been released that clearly state the King was not informed prior to the arrest.
markx2··on 87% Online consumers won't buy from English-only websites
The title does not give it away though the url might.

This appears to apply to iOS / Android apps, not 'online consumers'

markx2··on A macOS cache cleaner for browser and dev and AI caches (Clean / DeepClean)
I have Onyx installed and have used it for years. I don't use it regularly but it does the job.

Why would I switch to Clutterfall?

https://titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html

markx2··on WinDirStat: Disk usage statistics viewer for Microsoft Windows clients, servers
For Mac

https://grandperspective.macupdate.com/ (free)

https://daisydiskapp.com/ (paid)

markx2··on All Delisted Steam Games
If you want to follow and get notice : https://steamcommunity.com/groups/RemGC

"This is a place for those who have a moderately large collection of removed games (games no longer available for purchase on steam) to gather. For most, this group will just be about the name, showing off that you own what others no longer can. For others, it can be a resource to find what you once believed could no longer be found."

markx2··on My first experiences trying to participate on Reddit
Comment.

Share your knowledge, experience, humour.

Do not post 'posts' / links.

You don't need to concentrate your attention anywhere in particular or to explore anything in depth. I stay away from news / politics / gaming subs even though they are my main interest until I have enough of a history / karma.

Some subs do have subreddit specific karma limits but they are many and varied.

It can be a long game, but gaming reddit with comments is easy enough so you'll pass their 'checks'.

markx2··on Thalassophobia
I was maybe 15/16, family holiday on the island of Menorca. There was a long cove where I would snorkel. Saw hundreds of sea urchins, some fish, an octopus here and there. Water was warm and clear

I surfaced and kept heading out. All of a sudden the water went from warm to cold. Goggles still on I looked down into the water. Darkness. Nothing.

I don't think I have ever swam faster back into the cove and got out.

Phobic? Probably not but it was very scary.

markx2··on Ask HN: What's the minimal WordPress security hardening you'd trust?
I do not doubt there will be help here, but I would suggest posting this to the WP subreddit at https://old.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/

A ton of experience and knowledge is there.

markx2··on By December 31, 02026, autonomous vehicles will be banned from public roadways (2021)
> “In five years' time, by December 31, 02026"

That leading 0 is odd.

markx2··on Fire-making materials at 400K year-old site are oldest evidence of human fire
Better article IMO: https://observer.co.uk/news/science-technology/article/the-f...
markx2··on Automattic files counterclaims against WP Engine in WordPress lawsuit
"WordPress maker Automattic" arguable.

"without properly giving back to the open source community." The GPL does not require this

"and claimed to its customers that it had committed 5% of its resources to support the WordPress ecosystem. Automattic says it never kept those promises." So what?

"Automattic also claims that WP Engine degraded the consumer experience and product quality in an attempt to cut costs during this time by removing essential features." So what?

markx2··on Willow quantum chip demonstrates verifiable quantum advantage on hardware
> In physics, a quantum (pl.: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction.

Not a big leap then.

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