Thoughts on the future of Mac OS 9 Lives

[ssp3]

TBH, I have no idea in what format the forum database is stored, but, if it is in some sort of text format, BBEdit might be the tool for the job.

[Knezzen]

It's in a SQL database. I'll have a look if I can do a nice SQL query to solve it.

[ssp3]

And, as a side effect, it would be easier for people to find stolen content. As in, it's only a Google search away and you'll see that the image posted on website X or on YouTube video Y has it's origins here. Now you need to be logged in on the forum and search the forum using our built in search in order to find it. Much harder for the general public to see through stolen content.

As if anyone cares about origins of stolen content these days - Pinterest and YouTube are full of it 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMR45cZbvDw


P.S. Testing various image watermarking utilities right now.

[IIO]

Knez, if you see apropiate I cant try to atract Bob Katz.

when you have 5000 facebook friends you have lost control over your life!

(or does this already happen when you register a patent for a delay effect or a shelving filter? i can´t remember. )

that is also why these people need 20 years to find out that those facebook-style sites just do not work as knowlegde databases or as searchable forum. you must already have lost control before you attempt to use antisocial media as platform.

there is nothing better than the classic trio of CMS: blogs, forums, wikis.

[ssp3]

Another suggestion.

When one decides to place attached images inside the post, it would be cool if thumbnails were no longer visible.

[Knezzen]

When one decides to place attached images inside the post, it would be cool if thumbnails were no longer visible.

Not really possible without rewriting the core of the forum software.
Sorry.

[indibil]

Hello, I am not going to comment on all the changes because I am a "recent" registered user, before I only came as a spectator.

Thanks to your OS 9 for Mac Mini, I started collecting them.

Just mentioning that the "like" button was a good incentive. For a few months now I have been performing extreme overclocks on the Mac Mini G4, in your forum I have published the achievements, and without the like, it seems that only a couple of people have seen it, those who have responded. It seems like no one has any interest in these hacks. And I think, maybe it's not worth the effort to show it if no one is interested anymore.

How do I know how many people have benefited from the contribution? only the two that responded? or maybe there are thousands of people?

Apart from this, THANK YOU very much for the effort you make to keep the forum alive. I only collect Mac computers that can run up to OS 9, if a Mac only supports OS X, it is not for me.

[ssp3]

For a few months now I have been performing extreme overclocks on the Mac Mini G4, in your forum I have published the achievements, and without the like, it seems that only a couple of people have seen it, those who have responded. It seems like no one has any interest in these hacks. And I think, maybe it's not worth the effort to show it if no one is interested anymore.

Dont worry indibil, people do read your posts. It's just that not that many here can talk about such specific technical issues or duplicate at their homes what you have done.
And, you're not the only one here who sometimes thinks that he is talking to himself.   

[aBc]

Thanks @indibil! As you may know I am currently attempting to replicate your work with the copper heatsinks for the Mac mini (and eventually) your new approach to overclocking the minis too. And I most certainly appreciate the time and extra effort that you expend to translate your information from your native tongue to English. And while I am certain that many here do read your posts, not all will take the time to comment in a similar fashion as this. Keystrokes and more keystrokes just to say yes, your contribution is great, it’s appreciated or I agree with what you’ve done… keep up the good work!

When a simple “click” can convey all of the above. Certainly, this helps to further illustrate just how useful and important the old “Like” button could actually be?

So, in absence of the that old button I have created the following graphic in your honor, that can be freely copied and pasted by anyone here, elsewhere, should they choose to do so. Rather simply because as your avi states: “I’m crazy, I know.”



Thank you indibil for all of your efforts! Keep up the great work, it is appreciated more than you may know. I am quite glad that you are here. “Think Different” indeed!

[DieHard]

Just mentioning that the "like" button was a good incentive. For a few months now I have been performing extreme overclocks on the Mac Mini G4, in your forum I have published the achievements, and without the like, it seems that only a couple of people have seen it, those who have responded. It seems like no one has any interest in these hacks. And I think, maybe it's not worth the effort to show it if no one is interested anymore.

Well, it is always a "thankless" job at the moment when venturing into new territory and pushing the boundaries, but it does touch more people than you realize; I can personally attest that a lot of discoveries and documentation will entertain and thrill many in the future.  This forum is a great reference tool and your efforts do not go un-noticed.  Judging from the amount of reads and downloads about the mini, it may be our most remembered achievement, and thus the ability to squeeze more CPU out of it will interest many today and in the future.  Just think how YOU used to be a "spectator" and now a contributor; I am sure you appreciated the info. that you read about and never commented on...

Perhaps there are many like me, that read your posts in absolute awe; I have been doing hardware repairs on mac for many years, but mostly troubleshooting and component swapping, with an occasional power jack solder, but definitely not soldering small resistors and changing voltage values, my old eyes/hands have missed that boat.  I am sure that others with that ability, will follow your steps, just be aware that the search for such info may be today, tomorrow, or even a few years from now... the point being, if you do not post your achievements,  they will not be there when they are needed. 

So, it is a personal choice, go thru the effort and post, or just experiment for your own amusement and let the knowledge die out.  I cannot advise you on this journey, nor would I demand you to spend your valuable time with such posts... but I can tell you, you are very likely appreciated much more than you can measure by responses to your posts

[indibil]

For a few months now I have been performing extreme overclocks on the Mac Mini G4, in your forum I have published the achievements, and without the like, it seems that only a couple of people have seen it, those who have responded. It seems like no one has any interest in these hacks. And I think, maybe it's not worth the effort to show it if no one is interested anymore.

Dont worry indibil, people do read your posts. It's just that not that many here can talk about such specific technical issues or duplicate at their homes what you have done.
And, you're not the only one here who sometimes thinks that he is talking to himself.   

"Like"

Thanks @indibil! As you may know I am currently attempting to replicate your work with the copper heatsinks for the Mac mini (and eventually) your new approach to overclocking the minis too. And I most certainly appreciate the time and extra effort that you expend to translate your information from your native tongue to English. And while I am certain that many here do read your posts, not all will take the time to comment in a similar fashion as this. Keystrokes and more keystrokes just to say yes, your contribution is great, it’s appreciated or I agree with what you’ve done… keep up the good work!

When a simple “click” can convey all of the above. Certainly, this helps to further illustrate just how useful and important the old “Like” button could actually be?

So, in absence of the that old button I have created the following graphic in your honor, that can be freely copied and pasted by anyone here, elsewhere, should they choose to do so. Rather simply because as your avi states: “I’m crazy, I know.”



Thank you indibil for all of your efforts! Keep up the great work, it is appreciated more than you may know. I am quite glad that you are here. “Think Different” indeed!

"Like"

Just mentioning that the "like" button was a good incentive. For a few months now I have been performing extreme overclocks on the Mac Mini G4, in your forum I have published the achievements, and without the like, it seems that only a couple of people have seen it, those who have responded. It seems like no one has any interest in these hacks. And I think, maybe it's not worth the effort to show it if no one is interested anymore.

Well, it is always a "thankless" job at the moment when venturing into new territory and pushing the boundaries, but it does touch more people than you realize; I can personally attest that a lot of discoveries and documentation will entertain and thrill many in the future.  This forum is a great reference tool and your efforts do not go un-noticed.  Judging from the amount of reads and downloads about the mini, it may be our most remembered achievement, and thus the ability to squeeze more CPU out of it will interest many today and in the future.  Just think how YOU used to be a "spectator" and now a contributor; I am sure you appreciated the info. that you read about and never commented on...

Perhaps there are many like me, that read your posts in absolute awe; I have been doing hardware repairs on mac for many years, but mostly troubleshooting and component swapping, with an occasional power jack solder, but definitely not soldering small resistors and changing voltage values, my old eyes/hands have missed that boat.  I am sure that others with that ability, will follow your steps, just be aware that the search for such info may be today, tomorrow, or even a few years from now... the point being, if you do not post your achievements,  they will not be there when they are needed. 

So, it is a personal choice, go thru the effort and post, or just experiment for your own amusement and let the knowledge die out.  I cannot advise you on this journey, nor would I demand you to spend your valuable time with such posts... but I can tell you, you are very likely appreciated much more than you can measure by responses to your posts

"Like"

  

[Knezzen]

I hear ya about the "like" button, but I haven't even gotten around to see if the plugin/code is compatible with the new version of PHP we're running now after the move. I'm just one guy, you know, and I'm rushing slowly

On a personal note on the topic of like buttons; it's proven many times that like and dislike buttons "dumb down" user interaction and communication, and holds back actual discussion. Instead of simply writing a sentence like "I appreciate what you're doing, keep it up", people simply slam the like button and away goes any ability to give your mind a chance to form an opinion on whatever topic you "liked". No discussion. Just single posts with information with "likes".

We do seem to have a fairly large user base in favour of a like button though, so I will do a poll on the matter and see where we land.

[Protools5LEGuy]

I like that downloads are accesible again thru an Mac OS 9 machine. I could still download them from Windows or Mac OS X before, but for a purist user with only a Mac OS 9 machine (are you really that offuscated?) was a plus.

I understand that youtube links "break" compatibility with OS 9 browsers, but the forum was clearly richer and more visual when we had youtube links in screen. And the videos were clickable/watchable within the forum.

More than 10 "rich" post from me have been ruined (or screwed) with this "you have a Mac OS 9 browsable"post policy. There should be a place where youtube links and mini player are allowed.

I browse the forum 60 percent on my smartphone, 30 percent on a windows machine and 9 percent on Mac OS X. Only browse it on 9  to download attachments from post that I am afraid of it loose its fork.

Ditching youtube videos has made the forum some steps backward IMHO.

We could put a flag (Youtube Content) or something similar for the user that is running Mac OS 9 to not click in. Or make a zone where YT links are full and allowed.

[Knezzen]

I like that downloads are accesible again thru an Mac OS 9 machine. I could still download them from Windows or Mac OS X before, but for a purist user with only a Mac OS 9 machine (are you really that offuscated?) was a plus.

I understand that youtube links "break" compatibility with OS 9 browsers, but the forum was clearly richer and more visual when we had youtube links in screen. And the videos were clickable/watchable within the forum.

More than 10 "rich" post from me have been ruined (or screwed) with this "you have a Mac OS 9 browsable"post policy. There should be a place where youtube links and mini player are allowed.

I browse the forum 60 percent on my smartphone, 30 percent on a windows machine and 9 percent on Mac OS X. Only browse it on 9  to download attachments from post that I am afraid of it loose its fork.

Ditching youtube videos has made the forum some steps backward IMHO.

We could put a flag (Youtube Content) or something similar for the user that is running Mac OS 9 to not click in. Or make a zone where YT links are full and allowed.

I have no idea which policy you're referring to, but ALL plugins where disabled when the forum moved since it wouldn't run on newer server software with plugins enabled. Since then I have enabled the bookmarks plugin since it looks like it's compatible with the version of PHP we're now running for security reasons. I'm not disabling features to mess with anyone and I haven't specifically removed YouTube mini player support to cater for "purists".

So let's get things straight here.

• I'm trying to get the site up and running on modern and secure server software to keep everyones passwords and login credentials safe.
• I'm trying to get the site running on modern and secure server software to keep bots at bay.
• I'm trying to clean up the forum structure to make it easier for newcomers to grasp what we're all about and get them to join in on the discussions here.

And still I get the feeling that some think that everything I do and all the changes are done with malicious intent. That all I want to do is disable features just because.

Try to see the larger picture here. Please.

And about your posts that got "ruined", Protools5LEGuy; post a link to one of them so I can see what shortcode is used for the mini player so I can narrow it down to which plugin that generates them and I'll have a look.

[Greystash]

Knezzen I think we're all very happy and appreciative of your amazing work, and that there's just a few of the old features missing that we've become accustomed to.
Good things take time and I'm sure we'll see most of them make a comeback. You've taken on a big workload with this forum, and things like these do take a lot of time to implement. This thread has been a good space to vent any frustrations and I'm sure there's no malicious intent directed at you. It's a good space to note features that made things easier for us 

Here's one post I found today which seems to have broken styles, it may be related to ProToolsLEGuy's findings:
http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1965.0

Keep up the good work, what you're doing is appreciated!!

[Jubadub]

Hang in there, @Knez!

[DieHard]

Yes, Knez is doing a great job and it will take some time... the forum desperately needed php and other versions updates that I specifically dragged my feet on because I knew it would break many of the custom Mods I purchased and added years ago.

The main page had a dynamic frame based Mod that would display News, messages, stats, and other member info. and anchor this info in sub-pages; it was implemented way back in 2015 and whenever I tested forum updates, this was one mod that freaked out and stopped to work, as did other SMF Mods.

So literally 99% of the new issues could not be avoided when the forum got a code face-lift.  We had far too many security issues with the older SFM versions so trust me, we needed to update.  Chris helped me back in the day, manually modify code so we had some cool features like default alphabetical sorting of topics on certain download boards; but unfortunately, updates just replace the procedures with never versions, and thus wipes out any user modified code in the core areas.

That being said, I am sure we can add some new modern mods that will be compatible as time goes on; I am in the process of looking thru my invoices of what I purchased and to see if there are new versions of the mods.  At this point it is unfair to have Knez shell out cash for all these mods, so I suggest as I find each one, we can make a poll, and if it is wanted, then we can all pitch in.

[Knezzen]

Thank you all for your kind words

DieHard: If you find something, please let me know. It would mean a lot.

[aBc]

That being said, I am sure we can add some new modern mods that will be compatible as time goes on; I am in the process of looking thru my invoices of what I purchased and to see if there are new versions of the mods.  At this point it is unfair to have Knez shell out cash for all these mods, so I suggest as I find each one, we can make a poll, and if it is wanted, then we can all pitch in.

Yes, those that have made monetary donations in the past are certainly quite likely still willing to do so now, in order to help perpetuate this Forum’s on-going existence and continued growth.

In fact, for many of the various parts and disks that I have sent out free of charge over the years I requested only that a small donation be made to the Forum (“to keep the lights on”). And this was never mandatory. Completely and utterly voluntary.

So Knez, please do not hesitate to provide appropriate PayPal (etc.) info for this.

[Knezzen]

So Knez, please do not hesitate to provide appropriate PayPal (etc.) info for this.

A humble THANK YOU from me! I'm thinking of setting up a Patreon for donations or a monthly "buy me a beer" type of thing to help out. Of course totally voluntary.

Thanks again for the kind thoughts and words