Polyseasonal Housecleaning

[Kesvirit]

quoth D’Gor in the Signatures thread:  ... you get a lot of people who just sign up and then never post a thing and just take and not give. Then they disappear without contributing anything. So by setting limits, this not only encourages those who just start up to post and intereact but it also weeds out the veQ free loaders as well. Not to mention bandwidth hogs...photos can be very much a bandwidth hog and make it very slow for those with dial up.

Klythe and I were able to meet in meatspace at the same computer and go spelunking in the Forums’ SQL database. We deleted all accounts made before 2010 with no posts, visits, hits, log-ins, or other actions attached to them, figuring that if they have something to contribute they will re-register and do so. We also deleted all banned spam accounts that hadn’t had any trigger hits in (I think) two years or more. This jettisoning of dead weight cut our disk space usage in half and more accurately reflects our membership count. (At least this was in intentional and well aimed surgical removal, instead of the result of a systems crash. }}: /  And yes, I have long since secured the codes allowing me to make full-system back-ups and I use them every few tenday.)

I have also noticed that the Forum pages load more quickly, though I was on the lookout for it and it may be due to personal router and connection factors.

If anyone notices any problems, let me know.

-=- Kesvirit

[qurgh_]

I haven't noticed any speed-ups of the site, but these forums have always been one of the faster loadings sites I use (it's often faster than Facebook too). Some of the other forums I use have quite long load times in comparison.

One thing I have noticed is that some of the smiley images don't show up (not sure if this is a known issue or not):

[Kesvirit]

The Klingon .gif emoticon set has always been that way because it lacks some of the equivalents that came embedded within the Forums software as the standard set. Abbot Nej vIt created them some years ago and generously donated them to the Forums for use. Perhaps the good Abbot thought there were certain emotions or sentiments most Klingon wouldn’t have much use for, or at least find appropriate to express in public. Sealed lips? Indecision? Embarrassment? Rolling one’s eyes?

(Body language is a hodgepodge of species physiology, individual variants within species physiology, cultural factors, personal upbringing ... still, when I see a Klingon roll their eyes, my first thoughts are along the lines of “Stand back! S/he is going to fall!” Anyone who wants to take this sleep-deprivation-induced thought and run with it is encouraged to do so in Klingon Social Studies or Klingon Biology and Physiology, depending on which track your thoughts take.)