User: kaberett Date: 2013-04-21 19:14 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

What's actually involved in maintaining Dreamhacks? Like, I know it's a service you run, but I've got absolutely no idea how much attention it takes from you, or how you got into it!

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-21 20:11 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

I'll answer your last bit first - about how I got into Dreamhacks, and answer the other questions in other comments. Watch out, this got long.

I got into Dreamhacks because there used to be a fairly similar (and unofficial) service for LiveJournal developers called "Goathack" run by somebody else. (It wasn't nearly as welcoming to new devs, mind you. If you want, you can see what the old Goathack site used to look like in 2005, not long before it died. It was previously up for quite a few years.)

Some time after the service died, I became a volunteer in LiveJournal Support. I won't talk about that in this comment (if you want to know more, feel free to ask in another comment), except to mention that at some point during my tenure I decided to do another version of Goathack - this one just for Support volunteers. It was never anywhere near as polished as the Dreamhack service is today, and it was never publicised outside of LJ Support (and not very well publicised even within it).

I didn't have a dedicated server for it - only my virtual server which I was already using for a bunch of stuff - so couldn't take many people on board. Still, some people took me up on it. I wrote up some documentation I could follow on how to set up LJ so it could run without needing to be an administrator of the machine and initially I set them up manually using those instructions. Eventually I wrote an automatic installer that I could use to set up Goathack accounts and email the person requesting one without needing to go through everything step by step.

(You can actually still see the instructions I wrote for LiveJournal if you want. They're out-of-date now, but at the time it was very helpful to have it there.)

When DW was announced, one of the things I was discussing with people at the time was the idea of Dreamwidth development environments similar to Goathacks. I didn't have the server capacity to run them, but afuna was interested and had the capacity, so I gave her my Goathack scripts to modify and play with. She did so, and was then able to open up the first Dreamhacks via a message on the dw-discuss mailing list.

Lots of people took the offer up, and eventually, even though Fu had more capacity than I had, she was having server capacity issues too. I offered the use of my server again, and mark got in contact with me. Eventually, we decided it was probably best to have a completely separate virtual server just for Dreamhacks, which was named hack.dreamwidth.net. I asked Fu for her modified scripts, modified them even more, made a main website for it, and it was open!

I added even more features over time to make it the service it is today, but that's how it (and my involvement with it) all began. :D

I'll answer your other questions in separate comments.

[Sorry for the edit spam!]

Edited 2013-04-21 08:42 pm (UTC)

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-21 20:34 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

So, as for what's actually involved in maintaining Dreamhacks - I think that one of the most important bits isn't actually server maintenance itself, but being one of the first points of contact for new developers, and that has several aspects to it, too:

1. Firstly, it's important to be welcoming to new devs, and while that takes place in far more than the Dreamhacks themselves, I'm still one of the first people they come into contact with. (Though I'm in no way taking all the credit for DW's success in this department. In fact, I've been failing somewhat recently by not responding to applications and emails as promptly as I should be. :/)


2. Secondly, the easier it is to be able to dive into the code, the better. Ideally I'd like people to be able to request a Dreamhack without having to do anything else beforehand, so that there are no barriers. Back when we weren't using Git, this was possible, but now having a Dreamhack requires you to have signed up for GitHub and forked the two repositories beforehand. It's one of the reasons I don't like our GitHub-centric development process now, actually, but that's a topic for another post/comment.

Of course, there's the technical side of actually maintaining the server, too. As of late, this has been... made rather difficult for me, unfortunately, but I'm not going to talk about that. However, I have updated the install scripts to handle the new Git/GitHub process, and while not all of the scripts are updated, enough is done that new Dreamhacks can be set up again. (For a while, I had to stop making new Dreamhacks because of the switchover, and the scripts weren't ready.)

Edited 2013-04-21 08:34 pm (UTC)

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User: princessofgeeks Date: 2013-04-21 20:20 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Hi! How are you! Where are you living now? I have lost track.

Good to see you.

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-21 20:38 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Hi! :D

I'm living in Scotland right now, and will probably be doing so for the forseeable future. cxcvi and I plan to live together in Scotland for a few reasons - one being simply that it's a lot less expensive up here. I do, of course, still have reasons for not wanting to live in Scotland, but for now this is probably the safest course of action, unfortunately.

Overall, I'm doing fairly well-ish. Things could be better, but then they could be worse, too.

And it's good to see you too! :D

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User: marahmarie Date: 2013-04-21 22:37 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Are we ever, ever, EVER going to do Skype? Maybe years ago already we talked about it. I don't even have it installed right now, but it's nothing to get that done if someday you want to.

Also, forgive me if I've asked before, but I don't think I did...how exactly did you learn JavaScript? Anyone can be a script kiddie, but I want to know how to actually code. Like, so I can look at a block of JS and read it the same way I read a newspaper and have the same level of understanding. I can do that with CSS right through level 3 and with most HTML right through level 5. So why does it seem there is something missing from JS that makes me not get it down? What is the missing thing? (Is it the syntax? I'm just not getting it; I've read books, looked at online courses, but it's just not sinking in.)

Oh, and as I've mentioned before when talking about JS, I can understand a lot of it, just to read it, as far as looking at simpler snippets of it and going, oh yeah, that snippet does that. But to write it on my own, even in its simplest forms, just absolutely floors me, my mind goes blank, and I have no idea where to start or how to get it done, because though I can recognize what some simpler snippets are doing on some level, I don't really understand how they are doing it.

Edited (typos, more info after "Oh[..]") 2013-04-21 10:41 pm (UTC)

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-22 00:09 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

I'd love to Skype! After I do this reply I'll PM you my Skype name. :)

If you like, I can teach you JavaScript! The biggest difference between HTML/CSS and JavaScript is that with HTML/CSS you're telling the computer what to *display*, but with JavaScript you're telling it more specifically what you want it to *do*, which may or may not involve displaying something.

Do you have any ideas of what you want to do in JS? If so, we can work towards that.

As for your question specifically as to how I learned JS - I actually don't recall specifically. I've been programming in various languages for a while, and the concept of programming is such that most languages are quite similar. But I can't remember when or how I learned the JavaScript-specific bits, sorry :/

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User: marahmarie Date: 2013-04-22 05:59 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Do you have any ideas of what you want to do in JS? If so, we can work towards that.

Just defeat Google, no biggie. OK, kidding. Wait, no I'm not...seriously, I want to do some normal display work with it, both on and off of sites like Google. I want to learn how to use it to supplement search engine code so I can finally understand all the ways Google uses it and why, when there are other languages to choose from for what they do with it, and I want to do some display work with it that is still practically torturous to do via HTML5/CSS3 (because the amount of crap you have to code into a page with the two languages to do the same things you can - and could always - do in like five tiny lines of JS or less...I mean, ease-in/ease-out alone in CSS3, it drives me nuts. Too much code to do one simple thing).

I tend to want to do a lot of editing to make a lot of things happen on a web page, which gives me style sheets like my current one on EE, which is at, no kidding, 46 kilobytes, and would be only slightly less if I stripped out my admittedly generous commenting and less generous white space. I know I can't add JS to DW but my point is, I want to learn how to add it to pages similar in function, period, so if I go to do a website someday I don't have all my instructions delivered through monstrously big style sheets and needlessly large HTML files.

I also want to use it to defeat Google. No wait, I'm kidding. Well. Maybe sort of. :/

Edited 2013-04-22 06:02 am (UTC)

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-22 12:18 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Well, I'll be happy to teach you, certainly! One thing though is that CSS and JS are designed for different purposes. Typically, the things you'd use JS for are things which you simply *can't* do in HTML/CSS. (For example, you can't pop up a message box in CSS). That said, there are some grey areas so it sounds like a workable goal.

We can talk more about that when we Skype together if you want. :)

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User: pinesandmaples Date: 2013-04-22 05:42 (UTC) Userpic: gender: soup Subject: (no subject)

I have a name related question, if I may. (No, no, not that one.)

When you chose Sophie, did you keep the same initials? Bonus follow-up: how did you settle on Sophie?

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-22 12:01 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

I didn't have any fear that you'd ask that question, don't worry!

No, I didn't keep my initials. Actually, I didn't really think about my initials at all - but had I done so, I would almost certainly have elected to change them.

I initially came across the name 'Sophie' while looking at a list of baby names for inspiration. And it really was inspiration - I was looking at the names beginning with S when the name 'Sophie' came into my head. I wasn't even on the page where the name would have been listed, so I knew it wasn't coming up consciously (or subconsciously) from reading. I really felt that the name could very easily be me - it just *fit*. (I don't take much stock of name meanings and wasn't using the meaning as a factor.)

I asked various people for opinions, and one of the more popular opinions was that 'Sophie' itself might not be a good idea as people knew it as a nickname for 'Sophia'. Trouble is, I didn't really feel like a 'Sophia', and it disturbed me a bit, so I was looking for more information on the two names.

Another friend then told me that, as it turned out, 'Sophie' is a proper name in its own right - it's the French version of 'Sophia', which is Greek. That being the case, I felt justified using it. :) (Though I might well have taken it regardless. I don't know.)

So there you have it. :)

(And if you're curious, the name 'Sophia' - and 'Sophie', by way of it being a French version - means 'wisdom'. As I said, I don't take much stock in name meanings, but I found it interesting in any case.)

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User: pinesandmaples Date: 2013-04-22 16:15 (UTC) Userpic: theme: half shell Subject: (no subject)

Awww, I love stories of people falling in love with their names. Sophie does suit you!

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User: asfreeasleaves Date: 2013-04-22 05:47 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Two questions:

What's your favorite type of biscuit?

Aaand How is it you're so awesome?

And maybe I kind of wanted to throw in a hug.

-Eric

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-22 12:08 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Biscuit-wise, I'll assume you mean the British English definition of the word, because I don't think I've had biscuits of the American variety. :D That said, my favourite might be Kit Kat. I'm not entirely sure.

I like to think that the qualities which make me awesome mostly boil down to being open-minded and accepting. Everything else mostly spins off of that (with exceptions, of course).

Also, yay, hug! :D *huggles*

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User: asfreeasleaves Date: 2013-04-23 08:09 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Mmmm Kit-Cat! <3 those only we consider them candy over here.

Also, now for something a bit different and a bit more substantial. What was the first IRC bot you ever wrote and which was the hardest?

And yaay hugs!
-Eric

PS: I have a question. How did you smoosh all the parts of Fig together? :P

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User: cxcvi Date: 2013-04-22 06:31 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

I should probably ask something more substantial than this, but as this is AMA and not AMAA...

Are my suitcases still where I left them?

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User: not_a_sniglet Date: 2013-04-22 07:22 (UTC) Userpic: Axel blinkie Subject: (no subject)

I ate your suitcases, dear. <3

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User: sophie Date: 2013-04-22 12:11 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

I just checked for you. I think they've been moved to the side of the room, but other than that, they're still in the same place!

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User: asfreeasleaves Date: 2013-04-23 08:12 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Well... They'd have been tough. :P

-Axel

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User: cataclysmfangs Date: 2013-04-23 08:22 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Since my crazy headmates (<3 Axel) have been making your post interesting, I decided I should come and say hi and ask a question too. Or maybe two.

What is your favorite song? I know your favorite genres of music, but I don't think I know your favorite song.

Also, how is amateur radio going? Have you had any really interesting conversations?

Do you have a favorite animal?

And while I am thinking of a lot of possibly pointless but still very interesting questions, do you have a favorite movie?

I am not going to buck the trend. *Hugs*

-T. S.

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User: sophie Date: 2013-05-11 22:15 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Sorry for the delay in responding!

I'm not sure I have a favourite song overall. I have some which come pretty close, though - "Baba Yetu", the theme for Civilization IV, is one of my top favourites (and not long enough). :)

Amateur radio is going OK! I'm not doing as much of it as I thought I might, and I've only had one real unscheduled QSO (conversation) so far. It was pretty awesome to have that, though. :)

I don't have a favourite animal, no - for one thing, I don't really have experience with most of them. ;p

Favourite movie... that's a tough one. I tend to enjoy most movies I watch. I'll have a think on that one and get back to you. :)

And big *hugs* to you too. :D

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User: sophie Date: 2013-05-11 21:42 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Here's a test reply!

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User: sophie Date: 2013-05-11 21:56 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

One more test for good measure! (Sorry.)

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User: batrachian Date: 2013-06-27 16:17 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Trying to duplicate comment weirdness

familiar sounds
unpack based on history
changing perspectives

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User: sophie Date: 2013-06-27 17:15 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Test reply. Could you reply to this message by email with the same haiku? We'll see if the same issue happens.

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User: batrachian Date: 2013-06-27 17:16 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

familiar sounds unpack based on history changing perspectives

Edited (more debug) 2013-06-27 05:55 pm (UTC)

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