Book that details how to cook to deal with side affects and loss of taste

angec said:

Uh oh.. blank comments.. LOL

Uh oh.. blank comments.. LOL

Do they have a recipe for writers block?

GSRon said:

Very Interesting...

This is the first time that the Wedge Master is speechless..!! 

There is an explanation guys!  There were messages there, but I was using the reply here to carry out some experiments at the behest of CSN.  I was confirming that in the s/w as it now is/was, a picture I tried to send (an illustration from the book Ange referred us to) and a Smiley elicited error messages.  I've been helping test the current position.

I reported the current performance problems a while ago and Alice and Michael have also done so, since then.  I think any more reports or complaints now will only be counter-productive.

The essence of the problem, as I speculated, is, once again, spam attacks.  The CSN team is having to jump through hoops (also handicapped by illness) to find further ways to beat off the spammers.   (How I long to see some jail sentences for some of those creeps!).  The endeavours to shut out spamming, or at least minimise it, has inevitable knock-on effects, which some of us have experienced.   I've not had as bad an experience as most of you, due to being in a different time-zone, but I gather it's been pretty bad for some of you over there. 

Anyway, don't blame CSN, blame the spammers who are able to exploit an open forum like CSN in ways they can't with more private forums like Smart Patients.

Is that enough speechifying from me, Ron?!

Texas_wedge said:

Not really!

There is an explanation guys!  There were messages there, but I was using the reply here to carry out some experiments at the behest of CSN.  I was confirming that in the s/w as it now is/was, a picture I tried to send (an illustration from the book Ange referred us to) and a Smiley elicited error messages.  I've been helping test the current position.

I reported the current performance problems a while ago and Alice and Michael have also done so, since then.  I think any more reports or complaints now will only be counter-productive.

The essence of the problem, as I speculated, is, once again, spam attacks.  The CSN team is having to jump through hoops (also handicapped by illness) to find further ways to beat off the spammers.   (How I long to see some jail sentences for some of those creeps!).  The endeavours to shut out spamming, or at least minimise it, has inevitable knock-on effects, which some of us have experienced.   I've not had as bad an experience as most of you, due to being in a different time-zone, but I gather it's been pretty bad for some of you over there. 

Anyway, don't blame CSN, blame the spammers who are able to exploit an open forum like CSN in ways they can't with more private forums like Smart Patients.

Is that enough speechifying from me, Ron?!

Considering we have to register (at both sites -- CSN and SmartPatients) and have to login with user name and password to post, what's the difference? Not sure I understand one site having that much more difficulty????

Texas_wedge said:

Spam vulnerability

That's understandable, Alice, because of all that we don't see as mere end-users.  One of the key elements of good software is to be as easy to use as possible for its customers while hiding all the complexity of its workings and anything that might get in the user's way.

If you Google, e.g. Smart Patients, you'll find it, but that doesn't mean you can just go ahead and use it straightaway.  There, as with here, you need to join.  This is where the difference comes in. 

With Smart Patients there are unobtrusive procedures that don't occur with CSN, to vet applicants for membership.  Think of these by whatever metaphor you like - e.g. filter, firewall, safety barrier, or whatever.  This enables the SP team to make every effort to keep undesirables like spammers out.  CSN, per contra, has a policy of being fully open.  This is very commendable but comes at a price of greater vulnerability to all kinds of nasties. 

It's a great shame that it's so inordinately difficult to deal with these ne'er-do-wells (which is why, as Ange remarks with a giggle,  I want to see some of them 'sent up the river'!).  Until the security experts find more effective ways to combat the attacks, CSN and similar open sites, will continue to have to waste valuable resources that they would like to spend on performance improvement and adding further facilities on picking up the pieces all the time and trying to anticipate and block these pieces of ---- who (or their bots) keep wrecking things for us.

 

OK, thank you T.W..!  That was an awesome explanation... I learned something..!!  

Be Well All..!!

Ron

Texas_wedge said:

Spam vulnerability

That's understandable, Alice, because of all that we don't see as mere end-users.  One of the key elements of good software is to be as easy to use as possible for its customers while hiding all the complexity of its workings and anything that might get in the user's way.

If you Google, e.g. Smart Patients, you'll find it, but that doesn't mean you can just go ahead and use it straightaway.  There, as with here, you need to join.  This is where the difference comes in. 

With Smart Patients there are unobtrusive procedures that don't occur with CSN, to vet applicants for membership.  Think of these by whatever metaphor you like - e.g. filter, firewall, safety barrier, or whatever.  This enables the SP team to make every effort to keep undesirables like spammers out.  CSN, per contra, has a policy of being fully open.  This is very commendable but comes at a price of greater vulnerability to all kinds of nasties. 

It's a great shame that it's so inordinately difficult to deal with these ne'er-do-wells (which is why, as Ange remarks with a giggle,  I want to see some of them 'sent up the river'!).  Until the security experts find more effective ways to combat the attacks, CSN and similar open sites, will continue to have to waste valuable resources that they would like to spend on performance improvement and adding further facilities on picking up the pieces all the time and trying to anticipate and block these pieces of ---- who (or their bots) keep wrecking things for us.

 

Thanks TW for the explanation. Makes perfect sense now.  End user be me!