[Theforum] Let's clear a couple of things up, bot-wise
John Handelaar
john at userfrenzy.com
Sat Dec 29 07:29:28 CST 2001
[Man, is this ever a stupid thread. Ah well...]
Some facts that readers (and, distressingly, posters who ought
to know better than to weigh in without them) may be unaware
of...
1) Jeff's right, thebot has been on #evolt since (iirc) the
day after #evolt was opened.
2) I put it there because IRC sucks arse without them. It's
*useful* to be able to find out when X was here last and
what her parting line was. If it was 'Time for Bed' then
I won't hang around waiting for X to show up. Google
searches are nice to have to call on during conversation.
3) I can't put my hand in the air right this minute and tell
you for certain whether thebot's logging or not. I'm not
all that bothered either way. It's been so long since I
looked at the docs that I'm not sure whether I can turn it
on or off. But I can tell you that
a) If I posted any logs which do exist on thebot's server
I'd be breaking the law and I'd have my DPA license
revoked and
b) that would put me out of business.
4) Thebot is in 'optional addressing mode' which means that
people can ask it things without prefixing the question with
its name. That also means it picks up everything containing
'is' and 'are' as new factoids. I strongly suspect that
both Amanda's and Martin's negative experiences arise from
that, though I can't prove it. Even if I had the logs (which
I might) I couldn't prove it here because of 3(a) above.
5) I think we can state with some degree of certainty that
all 3 bots we've seen 'work'. Logging for that purpose is
no longer necessary and can stop.
6) Nobody's 'statements of fact' on the channel have a higher
priority than anyone else's. If something's wrong you can
order thebot to correct or forget any factoid you wish.
7) A proliferation of channels will do nothing, save to destroy
the practical usefulness of all of them as a social forum (which
I believe it to be). I've never seen more than 10 people in;
what better way to prevent any conversations happening than
divide that group into 4 channels?
Right, now go away and make some pointless decisions. When / if
you all want me to fuck off and take thebot down for (so far) no
obvious reason, get back to me.
This may be the most stupid thread I have ever encountered in 3
years of being part of evolt. And that's quite an achievement.
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John Handelaar
T +44 20 7209 4117 M +44 7930 681789
F +44 870 169 7657 E john at userfrenzy.com
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