Missing posts

[sancho2]

The forum was not accessable yesterday. Today it seems there are some replies missing. For example rotaman's thread Revolutionary Guide to QBaisc. Someone replied and the reply is missing along with rotaman's follow up post thanking him.

[petan]

Two days, today forum accessible at midnight.
More posts missing, amazing dodicat's animation to Brexit e.g. too

[Plasma]

Sorry for the inconvenience. I was unaware that Site5 moved the server as their email went in my spam folder. The DNS was pointing to the old server.

[St_W]

For archival purposes, some interesting content of the missing posts:

From: "Community Discussion • Re: On behalf of my country":

Code:

Code: Select all

Screen 20,32,1,64 'Or 1
Dim  Shared As Integer xres,yres
Screeninfo xres,yres
locate 10,10
print  "Wait five ..."
Type _point
    As Single x,y
    As Uinteger col
End Type
Type rainbow
    As Integer min,max,z
    As Integer ba
    As Integer xp,yp
    Declare Function colours(As String,As Any Pointer) As Uinteger
End Type
Type cloud
    As Integer shadepos1,shadepos2,mangle
    As Integer lowercol,uppercol
    As Integer r,g,b
    Declare Sub Create(As Integer,As Integer,As Integer,As Integer,As Single,Byref As Any Pointer=0)
End Type
Sub cloud.create(x As Integer, y As Integer,length As Integer=100,Alpha As Integer=105, Zoom As Single = 0,Byref im As Any Pointer=0)
    Dim As Integer r=this.r
    Dim As Integer b=this.g
    Dim As Integer g=this.b
    Dim As Double pi=3.14159
    #define Intrange(f,l) Int(Rnd*((l+1)-(f))+(f))
    #define map(a,b,x,c,d) ((d)-(c))*((x)-(a))/((b)-(a))+(c)
    If Length<=1 Or Alpha<=1 Then Exit Sub
    Dim As Single rnded = -pi+Rnd*1*pi/2
    Dim As Single rnded2 = -pi+Rnd*-3*pi
    Var c=0
    If Alpha<25 Then
        For i As Integer = 0 To 255-Alpha Step 100
            Dim As Integer i=IntRange(-this.mangle,this.mangle)
            c=map(this.shadepos1,this.shadepos2,y+i,this.lowercol,this.uppercol)
            Line im,(-(Zoom/2)+x-length/2,y)-((Zoom/2)+x+Length/6+length*Cos(-pi/2+rnded*PI/3),y+Length/6+length*Sin(-pi/2+rnded*PI/3)),Rgba(R-c,G-c,B-c,Alpha)
            Line im,(-(Zoom/2)+x-length/2,y)-((Zoom/2)+x+Length/6+length*Cos(-pi/2+rnded2*PI/3),y+Length/6+length*Sin(pi/2+rnded2*PI/3)),Rgba(R-c,G-c,B-c,Alpha)
        Next
    End If
    create(-(Zoom/2)+x+length*Cos(-pi/2+rnded*PI/3),(Zoom/2)+y+length*Sin(-pi/2+rnded*PI/3),length/1.4,Alpha/1.2,Zoom,im)
    create(-(Zoom/2)+x+length*Cos(-pi/2+rnded2*PI/3),(Zoom/2)+y+length*Sin(pi/2+rnded2*PI/3),length/1.4,Alpha/1.2,Zoom,im)
    create(-(Zoom/2)+x+length*Cos(pi/3+rnded2*PI/3),(Zoom/2)+y+length*Sin(pi+rnded2*PI/3),length/1.4,Alpha/2,Zoom,im)
End Sub
Dim Shared As Any Pointer im
im=Imagecreate(xres,yres)

Dim Shared As _point array(1 To 6561)
Declare Sub EUROjack(x As Integer,y As Integer,s As Single,im As Any Pointer=0)
Declare Function Blur(Byref tim As Uinteger Pointer,rad As Single=2) As Uinteger Pointer
#define distance(cx,cy,px,py) sqr((cx-px)*(cx-px)+(cy-py)*(cy-py))
#define map(a,b,x,c,d) ((d)-(c))*((x)-(a))/((b)-(a))+(c)
#define rr(first,last) Rnd * (last - first) + first
#macro rotate(pivotx,pivoty,px,py,a,scale)
rotx=scale*(Cos(a*.0174533)*(px-pivotx)-Sin(a*.0174533)*(py-pivoty))+pivotx
roty=scale*(Sin(a*.0174533)*(px-pivotx)+Cos(a*.0174533)*(py-pivoty))+pivoty
#endmacro

Sub lineto(x1 As Integer,y1 As Integer,x2 As Integer,y2 As Integer,l As Integer,col As Uinteger)
    Dim As Integer diffx=x2-x1,diffy=y2-y1,ln=Sqr(diffx*diffx+diffy*diffy)
    Dim As Single nx=diffx/ln,ny=diffy/ln 'normalize
    If ln>l Then
        Line(x1,y1)-(x1+l*nx,y1+l*ny),col
    Else
        Line(x1,y1)-(x2,y2),col
    End If
End Sub
Sub trees
    Dim As Integer rotx,roty
    #macro turnline(piv,p1,p2,ang,col,d)
    Scope
        rotate(piv.x,piv.y,p1.x,p1.y,ang,d)
        Var rot1=Type<_point>(rotx,roty)
        rotate(piv.x,piv.y,p2.x,p2.y,ang,d)
        Var rot2=Type<_point>(rotx,roty)
        Line im,(rot1.x,rot1.y)-(rot2.x,rot2.y),col
    End Scope
    #endmacro
    Dim As _point v1,v2,piv
    Dim As Uinteger treecol
    Dim As Double pivx,pivy,pivz,l,k,d
    Dim As Integer rd,g,b
    For m As Double=0 To 50 Step 5
        Randomize m
        For n As Double=200-(m+rr(2,20)) To 990+m Step rr(3,9)
            Randomize n^2
            l=rr(2,11)
            k=rr(1,5)
            piv=Type(n,.8*yres+20*(1-Sin(.01*(n-m*5-k+40-200))))
            Line im,(piv.x,piv.y)-(piv.x+rr(-2,5),piv.y+8),Rgb((100),(35),37)
            Var cc=rr(1,40)
            For a As Double=90 To 450 Step 7
                Randomize a
                Var shader=rr(1,6)
                rd=20+shader+cc
                g=150+shader:If g>40 Then g=g-40
                b=20+shader:If b>20 Then b=b-20
                treecol=Rgb(rd/2,g/2,b/2)
                For a2 As Double=0 To l Step .3
                    If a>270 Then shader=-shader
                    treecol=Rgb(rd/2,(g-a2*shader)/2,b/2)
                    v1=Type(piv.x-a2,piv.y)
                    v2=Type(piv.x-l,piv.y)
                    turnline(piv,v1,v2,a,treecol,1)
                Next a2
            Next a
        Next n
        Screenlock
        Cls
        d=(5-80)*(m/50)+80
        eurojack((.35*xres+xres)*(d-80)/(5-80)-xres,(.2*yres+.75*yres)*(d-80)/(5-80)-.75*yres,d)
        Screenunlock
        If m=0 Then Sleep 800
        Sleep 5
    Next m
End Sub

Sub inspectimage
    Dim As Integer mx=550,my=552
    Dim As Integer count
    Dim As Uinteger tempcol
    For x As Integer=mx-80 To mx
        For y As Integer=my-80 To my
            count=count+1
            tempcol=Point(x,y,im)
            array(count)=Type(x,y,tempcol)
        Next y
    Next x
End Sub

Sub EUROjack(x As Integer,y As Integer,s As Single,im As Any Pointer=0)
    #macro pentagon(starx,stary,size,col)
    Scope
        Var count=0,rad=0.0,_px=0.0,_py=0.0
        For z As Single=0+.28 To 2*pi+.1+.28 Step 2*pi/10
            count=count+1
            If count Mod 2=0 Then rad=size Else rad=.4*size
            _px=starx+rad*Cos(z)
            _py=stary+rad*Sin(z)
            If count=1 Then Pset im,(_px,_py)Else Line im,-(_px,_py),col
        Next z
        Paint im,(starx,stary),col,col
    End Scope
    #endmacro
    Dim As Double pi=4*Atn(1)
    Dim As Integer lx=60*s,ly=1*lx
    Line im,(x,y)-(x+lx,y+ly),Rgb(2,3,192),bf
    Dim As Integer cntx=(x+x+lx)/2,cnty=(y+Y+ly)/2
    For z As Double=0 To 2*pi Step 2*pi/12
        Var px=cntx+.7*(lx/2)*Cos(z)
        Var py=cnty+.7*(lx/2)*Sin(z)
        pentagon(px,py,3*s,Rgb(243,236,24))
    Next z
End Sub

Sub backdrop 'hills/trees/cloud
    #macro paintsketch(_function,minx,maxx,miny,maxy,r,g,b,alp)
    For x As Double=minx To maxx Step (maxx-minx)/10000
        Var x1=(xres)*(x-minx)/(maxx-minx)
        Var y1=(yres)*(_function-maxy)/(miny-maxy)
        gr=(lasty-y1)*1000
        lasty=y1
        If gr>g Then gr=g
        Line im,(x1,yres)-(x1,y1),Rgba(r,g-gr,b,alp)
    Next x
    #endmacro
    Imagedestroy(im)
    im=Imagecreate(xres,yres)
    Dim As Integer r,g,b,dr,dg,db
    'sky
    For y As Integer = 0 To yres
        For x As Integer=0 To xres
            dr=map(0,xres,x,0,59)
            dg=map(0,xres,x,0,55)
            db=map(0,xres,x,0,30)
            r=map(0,yres,y,2+dr,186+dr)
            g=map(0,yres,y,75+dg,189+dg)
            b=map(0,yres,y,204+db,219+db)
            Pset im,(x,y),Rgb(r,g,b)
        Next x
    Next y
    Dim As cloud nine
    nine.shadepos1=0
    nine.shadepos2=550
    nine.mangle=29
    nine.lowercol=0
    nine.uppercol=255
    nine.r=255
    nine.g=255
    nine.b=255
   
    nine.create(300,140-20,80,250,1,im)
    nine.create(500,140-20,80,250,1,im)
    nine.create(700,140-20,80,250,1,im)
   
    im=blur(im,3)
    Dim As Double lasty,gr
    paintsketch(.65*yres+90*(1-Sin(.15*x)/(.15*x)),100,-100,yres,0,50,100,0,10)
    paintsketch(.82*yres+20*Sin(.01*(x-200)),xres,0,yres,0,50,100,0,255)
    trees
    paintsketch(.85*yres+60*Sin(.001*x)-15*Cos(.015*x),xres,0,yres,0,0,100,0,255)
   
    Dim As rainbow arc
    Dim As Single dist,cx,cy
    cx=xres/2-100:cy=1.5*yres
    For y As Integer=0 To yres
        For x As Integer=0 To xres
            dist=distance(cx,cy,x,y)
            arc.xp=x:arc.yp=y
            arc.z=dist
            arc.min=.7*xres
            arc.max=.7*xres+.05*xres
            arc.ba=80'105
            Pset im,(x,y),arc.colours("inner",im)
        Next x
    Next y
End Sub

Sub flag(mag As Single=3,inc As Single=.001)
    Static As Single x,counter
    counter=counter+.6981:If counter>= 6.283 Then counter=0
    x=x+.01:If x>= 6.283 Then x=0
    Dim As Integer mx=Any,my=Any,tx=Any,ty=Any,bx=Any,by=Any
    Dim As Integer rotx,roty
    mx=500+5*Sin(x):my=600+5*Sin(x)
    Dim As Integer count
    For x As Integer=mx-80 To mx
        For y As Integer=my-80 To my
            count=count+1
            mag=mag+rr(-3*inc,+3*inc)+inc/10
            rotate((mx+2),(my+2),array(count).x,array(count).y,10000*inc,mag)
            If count=1  Then tx=rotx:ty=roty
            If count=80 Then bx=rotx:by=roty
            Circle (rotx,roty),mag,array(count).col,,,,f
        Next y
    Next x
    Var cc=40
    Dim As Single lasty,_mx,_my
    For k As Integer=10 To 150 Step 2
        For x As Integer=-200 To xres+50 Step 2
            _mx=600+100*Sin(500*inc):_my=200+300*Sin(500*inc)
            Var firsty=.85*yres+60*(1-Sin(.001*x))-15*(1-Cos(.015*x))+k+rr(-2,2)
            Var grad=(firsty-lasty)*15
            lineto(x-25+100,firsty,_mx+1000+100*Sin(.5*counter),_my-200+40*Sin(counter),40+.05*k,Rgb(cc+grad/10,100+grad,0))
            lasty=firsty
        Next x
    Next k
    Line(tx,ty)-(260,50) 'halyard
    Line(bx,by)-(250,yres+200)
    For z As Integer=1 To 10
        Line(250+z,50)-(250+z,yres),Rgb(z*20,z*20,z*20)'post
    Next z
End Sub

Function rainbow.colours(part As String="inner",im As Any Pointer=0) As Uinteger
    Dim As Uinteger col
    Dim As Integer diff=this.z-this.min
    Dim As Integer gap=(this.max-this.min)/6
        If this.z>=this.min-2*gap And this.z<this.min Then
            col=Point(this.xp,this.yp,im)
            Return Rgba((238-(col Shr 16 And 255))*(diff+2*gap)/(2*gap)+(col Shr 16 And 255),_
            (130-(col Shr  8 And 255))*(diff+2*gap)/(2*gap)+(col Shr  8 And 255),_
            (238-(col  And 255 ))*(diff+2*gap)/(2*gap)+(col  And 255 ),this.ba)
        End If
        If this.z>=this.min And this.z<this.min+gap Then _
        Return Rgba((75-238)*(diff)/gap+238,-130*(diff)/(gap)+130,(130-238)*(diff)/gap+238,this.ba)
       
        If this.z>=this.min+gap And this.z<this.min+2*gap Then _
        Return Rgba((0-75)*(diff-gap)/gap+75,0,(255-130)*(diff-gap)/gap+130,this.ba)
       
        If this.z>=this.min+2*gap And this.z<this.min+3*gap Then _
        Return Rgba(0,128*(diff-2*gap)/gap,-255*(diff-2*gap)/gap+255,this.ba)
       
        If this.z>=this.min+3*gap And this.z<this.min+4*gap Then _
        Return Rgba(255*(diff-3*gap)/gap,(255-128)*(diff-3*gap)/gap +128,0,this.ba)
       
        If this.z>=this.min+4*gap And this.z<this.min+5*gap Then _
        Return Rgba(255,(165-255)*(diff-4*gap)/gap+255,0,this.ba)
       
        If this.z>=this.min+5*gap And this.z<this.min+6*gap Then _
        Return Rgba(255,-165* (diff-5*gap)/gap +165,0,this.ba)
       
        If this.z>=this.min+6*gap And this.z<this.min+8*gap Then
            col=Point(this.xp,this.yp,im)
            Return Rgba((-255+(col Shr 16 And 255))*(diff-6*gap)/(2*gap)+255,_
            (col Shr  8 And 255)*(diff-6*gap)/(2*gap),_
            (col  And 255 )*(diff-6*gap)/(2*gap),this.ba)
        End If
End Function

Function Blur(Byref tim As Uinteger Pointer,rad As Single=2) As Uinteger Pointer
    Type p2
        As Integer x,y
        As Uinteger col
    End Type
    #macro ppoint(_x,_y,colour)
    pixel=row+pitch*(_y)+4*(_x)
    (colour)=*pixel
    #endmacro
    #macro ppset(_x,_y,colour)
    pixel=row+pitch*(_y)+4*(_x)
    *pixel=(colour)
    #endmacro
    #macro average()
    ar=0:ag=0:ab=0:inc=0
    xmin=x:If xmin>rad Then xmin=rad
    xmax=rad:If x>=(_x-1-rad) Then xmax=_x-1-x
    ymin=y:If ymin>rad Then ymin=rad
    ymax=rad:If y>=(_y-1-rad) Then ymax=_y-1-y
    For y1 As Integer=-ymin To ymax
        For x1 As Integer=-xmin To xmax
            inc=inc+1
            ar=ar+(NewPoints(x+x1,y+y1).col Shr 16 And 255)
            ag=ag+(NewPoints(x+x1,y+y1).col Shr 8 And 255)
            ab=ab+(NewPoints(x+x1,y+y1).col And 255)
        Next x1
    Next y1
    averagecolour=Rgb(ar/(inc),ag/(inc),ab/(inc))
    #endmacro
    Dim As Integer _x,_y
    Imageinfo tim,_x,_y
    Dim  As Uinteger Pointer im=Imagecreate(_x,_y)
    Dim As Integer pitch
    Dim  As Any Pointer row
    Dim As Uinteger Pointer pixel
    Dim As Uinteger col
    Imageinfo tim,,,,pitch,row
    Dim As p2 NewPoints(_x,_y)
    For y As Integer=0 To (_y)-1
        For x As Integer=0 To (_x)-1
            ppoint(x,y,col)
            NewPoints(x,y)=Type<p2>(x,y,col)
        Next x
    Next y
    Dim As Uinteger averagecolour
    Dim As Integer ar,ag,ab
    Dim As Integer xmin,xmax,ymin,ymax,inc
    For y As Integer=0 To _y-1
        For x As Integer=0 To _x-1 
            average()
            NewPoints(x,y).col=averagecolour
        Next x
    Next y
    Imageinfo im,,,,pitch,row
    For y As Integer=0 To _y
        For x As Integer=0 To _x
            ppset((NewPoints(x,y).x),(NewPoints(x,y).y),NewPoints(x,y).col)
        Next x
    Next y
    Function= im
End Function
Function Regulate(Byval MyFps As Integer,Byref fps As Integer) As Integer
    Static As Double timervalue,lastsleeptime,t3,frames
    Var t=Timer
    frames+=1
    If (t-t3)>=1 Then t3=t:fps=frames:frames=0
    Var sleeptime=lastsleeptime+((1/myfps)-T+timervalue)*1000
    If sleeptime<1 Then sleeptime=1
    lastsleeptime=sleeptime
    timervalue=T
    Return sleeptime
End Function
'____________________________________________
Dim As Single count,mag
Dim As Single inc
EUROjack(.455*xres,.61*yres,1.5,im)
inspectimage
backdrop
Dim As Integer fps

Do
    count=count+.01
    mag=3+Cos(count)/2
    inc=.003*Sin(count)*Cos(count)+rr(-.0001,.0001)
    If inc<.0001 And inc >-.0001 Then inc=rr(-.0001,.0001)
    Screenlock
    Cls
    Put(0,0),im
    flag mag,inc
    Draw String(10,10),"Goodbyeeee "
    Screenunlock
    Sleep regulate(15,fps)
Loop Until Len(Inkey)
Sleep

Imagedestroy im


Another gimmick: A composer named Thomas Seher created a piece of organ music form the graphs of the exchange rate of the british pound, the DAX and some other charts: http://welt.de/brexitmusik

The answer to "Revolutionary Guide to QBasic - Code Wanted" was the following file:
http://www.phatcode.net/stuff/revqb.zip

[petan]

It would be good to know some contact (email, phone, ..) to admins for their quick info about FB page problem longer then 6 hours e.g.
Two days of forum blackout is quite long time, IMO.

[MrSwiss]

It would be good to know some contact (email, phone, ..) to admins for their quick info about FB page problem ...

Yes, I agree fully, but in this case: contacting dkl (with help from St_W) was a failure,
since apparently only Plasma can fix such issues. (I've got his details now, but he's the
one to publish them, if he wants to.)

BTW: pathcode.net was also down (Plasma's eMail ... this is an additional problem.)

[St_W]

In general "freebasic.net" has quite many and long downtimes. Has switching the hosting provider already been a consideration?

Additionally the backup strategy seems to be quite bad as posts were lost on the forums not for the first time.

[petan]

What about two-level warning mechanism ?
1/ forum members -> site admins (via email, multi chat client to special account only for warning - then clearing is easy)
2/ site admins -> Plasma (via email, phone,...).

Then their privacy is keeping secured, no problem.

[fxm]

Indeed, after this 2 day blackout, some recent posts have disappeared.

[greenink]

It's called looking a gift horse in the mouth. You can't win giving people something for free. They act like they paid good money for whatever it is.

[St_W]

It's called looking a gift horse in the mouth. You can't win giving people something for free. They act like they paid good money for whatever it is.

So you think we shouldn't talk about problems and possible improvements of the current situation just because it's free? That's no valid reason IMHO.
If critique + improvement suggestions wouldn't be allowed then open source software wouldn't work. The open source spirit is actually exactly about that: contribute an improvement to some existing problem / shortcoming - even if it's only a bug report on Github or a Forum post (like in this case) - it's a (more or less) valuable contribution (also for free btw).

But let's return to talking about problems and how to eliminate / mitigate them.

[Plasma]

Sure, you can talk about possible improvements if you're willing to pay $70/month out of your own pocket for VPS hosting.

I have hosted the freebasic.net domain and website for 11 years entirely on my dime. Only vic and a couple others have ever thanked me. The rest of the time it's the peanut gallery whining about the forum going down for a couple hours every once in a while.

Yes, two days is a long downtime but this length is not a regular occurance. And it's unfortunate that some posts are lost (actually they are probably still on the old server if someone wants to go through the headache of merging databases). But nobody's life depends on the fb forums.

vic and a couple other mods already have my email (gmail and phatcode). Nobody emailed me about the downtime this time. I have a lot of other things going on, some of which include operations in countries where internet access is not my top priority. So I'm not monitoring the fb forums 24/7.

If someone wants to take over the full costs and responsibility of upgraded hosting, talk to vic and we will work out transferring the domain name and website.

[sancho2]

Most of us have thanked you (or have tried to). All of us are grateful. That is a lot of money.
One of the problems is many of us (me for sure) had no clue who was running the show forum wise. How do you thank someone who remains anonymous?
When someone posts forum issues it is from the perspective of believing that those in charge want to know about issues. If that is seen as whining then I apologize for anything that I might have said.
It is very clear to all of us that we are owed nothing.

[fxm]

@Plasma

I also thank you for all you are doing for the FreeBasic site.
I have your email phatcode (already used in 2012 for a personal connection problem through Firefox), but I wanted to wait still a few days to alert you, thinking that our administrators were already on the problem.

[St_W]

Sure, you can talk about possible improvements if you're willing to pay $70/month out of your own pocket for VPS hosting.
I have hosted the freebasic.net domain and website for 11 years entirely on my dime. Only vic and a couple others have ever thanked me. The rest of the time it's the peanut gallery whining about the forum going down for a couple hours every once in a while.

IMHO there's room for both: critique and thanks. Just because some improvement suggestions are shown doesn't mean that one isn't thankful for everything that works great (and the site works great most of the time). I'll come back to my bug-report example: just because someone files a bug report it doesn't mean that those person is not thankful for the software.
In practice, I think you don't hear much thanks because most people simply neither know who nor how much work you're doing to keep the site running and only see when the site is not working.
Regarding money: I'm sure people would compensate for your expenses if you'd ask for donations, like many open source projects do.

I don't think such an expensive hosting package would the required or even benefitial. IMHO a simple web-hosting package which requires nearly no configuration and service would be most suitable. I've asked whether changing the hosting provider has been considered because I do think that other hosting providers don't let you cope with server migrations as an end-user. Neither these connection drops and "internal server errors" (like they occured about half a year ago randomly) would occur randomly with usual hosting providers.

Yes, two days is a long downtime but this length is not a regular occurance. And it's unfortunate that some posts are lost (actually they are probably still on the old server if someone wants to go through the headache of merging databases). But nobody's life depends on the fb forums.
vic and a couple other mods already have my email (gmail and phatcode). Nobody emailed me about the downtime this time. I have a lot of other things going on, some of which include operations in countries where internet access is not my top priority. So I'm not monitoring the fb forums 24/7.

I totally understand that the site is not that important and you can't monitor it 24/7. The problem here is probably the single point-of-failure, on that everything depends. I don't see why a merge would have been needed since the new server wasn't accessible anyway (so the DB could be simply transferred), but of course I don't know about the internals. Additionally setting up a regular database backup on some external server should be rather easy and there are even free services available for that.
It's totally sufficient if the mods have your contact details (like gmail) - the problem here is a different one: many mods are not active on a regular basis anymore. I have suggested promoting users like fxm to mods (if they want) already in the past; maybe that's an option?
Personally I wouldn't (and haven't) written an email because I thought that somebody's already working on the problem.

If someone wants to take over the full costs and responsibility of upgraded hosting, talk to vic and we will work out transferring the domain name and website.

I don't think that's necessary or wanted. I'm very thankful for the service you're providing, and all the others are most probably too. Still I'd like being able to discuss possible improvements for the future, instead of being considered part of a "whining peanut gallery" with no room for discussions.