Sunday - December 12, 2004

SURPRISE !

Avatars For Everyone!

It’s Sunday morning and I had absolutely nothing else to do (except laundry, vacuuming, dishwashing, etc.) so I decided to hack the PHP code on the site. I just added a little something for our Benevolent Dictator that he has been hassling me about for months: all links cited in articles now open in a new browser window. El Supremo wanted people to be able to click on a link, read the article and then just close the external link’s window to continue reading his philosophical diatribes (translation: rants).

While I was at it, I decided to do a little something for all our members. Several people have questioned me about the avatars on the posts and in the comment pages, as to whether they could have avatars for themselves. I think it would be great. Unfortunately, there are over half a million lines of PHP code in this beast and it took me a little while to finger out a way to do it. All is now ready for all our members to personalize their posts and comments with the avatar of their choosing.

Here is how it works ....

First, find the avatar (image) that you wish to use. It can be any size as long as it is square. I will re-size it to 64 x 64 for display on the blog whenever you post or comment. Sorry, but all avatars must be the same size. If you can find one that is exactly 64 x 64 already that would be real great (hint). Now where can you find avatars? Well, you can make your own from a picture of yourself (like I did with the avatars of myself and Vilmar) or you can find avatars at these sites: Avatarity, AvatarSearch or just do a Google search for “avatar”.

Second, once you find the avatar you want, just e-mail it to me.

Third, I will then check to make sure there are no obscene body parts or text that is in REALLY bad taste (yeah, right - as if this is a child-safe blog), re-size it to 64 x 64 if necessary. I will e-mail you back when the avatar has been uploaded. If the rest of this process is too complicated, just let me know and I will attach the avatar to your account for you. You may then skip the next step.

Fourth, after you receive a confirmation e-mail that the avatar has been uploaded, from the main web page select “My Account” in the top right sidebar. From the Member page select “Edit My Profile”. The bottom field on the right has a link named “Choose Avatar”. Click this and select your avatar from the window that opens up displaying the library of avatars on our server. When you have selected your avatar, click “Update” and you’re done.

Whenever you comment or post, your beautiful work of art will display next to your name. If you encounter any problems with the avatar process, e-mail me immediately. I will do my best to fix it as fast as possible.

Sorry we have to do it this way manually for now. I have entered a “feature request” with pMachine to incorporate user uploads of avatars into the next release.

OK! Everyone go hunt up some really cool avatars!

Update: For those who don’t know, an avatar is just a picture, image, cartoon, or whatever visual aid you think expresses you, your personality, or any deviant habits you may posess.

Warning: I have been amusing myself by producing avatars for certain selected members of the BMEWS Imperial Senate. Don’t tell Dottie or Annoying Little Twerp but they have just been “avatar’ed”. If you don’t send me an avatar, I’ll find a suitable one for you. Bwah-hah-ha-ha-ha ....

Important Message:

We seem to have gotten our wires crossed between some members wanting the same icons. We can’t have that so I have decided it will be on a first come, first served basis. I have uploaded several new avatars to the member’s avatar directory for you to choose from. There is only one simple rule ....

You cannot choose an avatar that is a “named member” avatar. These avatars all start with the letter “m” and have a number plus the extension. These avatars have already been claimed by a member and cannot be used by anyone else.

If you have a special avatar you want to use, just e-mail it to me and I will upload it and assign it as a “named member avatar” to your account. Otherwise, if you pick one of the “unclaimed” avatars and wish to lock it to your account, just e-mail me with the name of the avatar and I will make a it a"named member” avatar and assign it to you. Otherwise, if you don’t e-mail me a special avatar for your account or you don’t claim one of the ones we already have, you may end up fighting over it with some one else. That will not do.

There! Are we all happy now?

I will be checking the database regularly to make sure no one is cheating.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/12/2004 at 01:16 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
• Comments (14) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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