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Patrick.net Tips And Tricks


By Patrick   Follow   Tue, 11 Sep 2012, 10:02am PDT   285,223 views   27 comments
Watch (5)   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike (2)  

A few useful features which are not obvious:

  • Every thread author can delete comments made on his threads, unless the comment was made by a Premium user. But Premium thread authors trump all, and can always delete any comment on a thread they started.
  • To submit a newslink, just include it in a new thread or in a comment. If the URL starting with http is the only item in the thread, an excerpt of it should appear automatically.
  • To create a poll, just create a thread as usual, but at the end of your thread content, precede each of your poll response options with the new "r" tag I made up: <r>

    Each of those response options will get a radio button next to it. If there is only one response option, it will get a text box where people can input a number instead. (It doesn't make sense to have a poll with just one response option, so it's convenient to use that case for a poll where people guess a number.)

    Responses are visible as soon as you vote.

    You have to be logged in to vote so I can remember that you voted.

  • When you "like" a comment, the user gets an email saying that you liked it, unless they turned off that email feature in their profile. Dislikes do not get emailed out.
  • Including @username somewhere in a comment will email the user that comment, if the user allows that. For example, @Patrick will cause the comment to get emailed to Patrick. See the bottom of your profile for the switch to turn it off.
  • If there are spaces or punctuation in a username, then you have to quote the username to mail them.
    For example @"Huntington Moneyworth III, Esq"
  • If you want to privately converse with someone, click the "Befriend" link next to any comment they made. If they accept, you'll be able to see their real email address.
  • You can just leave in the HTML tags when you Quote a comment, to keep the same formatting.
  • Any block of text surrounded by
    <blockquote></blockquote>

    will be in greyed out text.

  • You'll automatically get that
    blockquote thing and a link back to the original comment if you just click Quote above a comment without selecting any text. But some comments are too big to quote, and so you must select a smaller portion first. Just experiment. You can't really hurt anything.
  • Don't put greater than (>) or less than (URLs that start with http:// automatically get converted to live clickable links.
  • Image URLs ending in .gif, .png, .jpg, .jpeg, and .bmp automatically get converted to the image the URL refers to.
  • If you want to insert a YouTube video, insert its URL in exactly this format, with "watch?v=(the video ID)":
    h t t p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwXycwCe6_s (with no spaces in the http of course)
  • To submit a comment with minimal effort, when you're done typing the comment, just hit tab twice to get to the submit button, then hit Enter.
  • If you want to watch the thread's replies by email, click the "Watch this discussion" link at the top of it or tick the "Watch comments by email" button before submitting a comment on it.
  • Users that deliberately insult other users will be suspended for a day or more. Please use the dislike link to mark personally insulting comments.
  • In general, you can change or delete anything you entered. The exceptions are that you may not delete a whole thread if there are comments on it, because that would also delete comments made by other people. You can erase the thread topic content though. Also, if you delete a comment, that does not delete any quotes other people may have made of your comment.

Please include other tips below, and let me know if there are some more features I should add.

Comments 1-27 of 27     Last »

Dan8267   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 6:01am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)     Comment 1

Patrick says

Image URLs ending in .gif, .png, .jpg, and .bmp automatically get converted to the image.

I'd add ".jpeg" since some people use that for images. Also, the code doesn't handle URLs whose paths end in these suffixes, but then go on to contain URL parameters such as

h t t p : //domain/myImage.jpg?width=500

Darn, the pre-processor ate my example! Had to fool it with spaces.

So remember to strip those params!

Patrick says

Including @username somewhere in a comment will email the user that comment, if the user allows that feature. For example, @Patrick will cause the comment to get emailed to Patrick.

So, Hey Username no longer works then, right? I like the @ sign better. It's clearer.

Patrick says

If there are spaces or punctuation in a username, then you have to quote the username.
For example @"Huntington Moneyworth III, Esq"

Please note that if any proletarian sends Mr. Moneyworth III, Esq email, he will release the hounds on you.

All letters sent to Mr. Moneyworth should be written on $100 bills in large print.

All letters sent to ApocalyseFuck should be written on unspent 9 mm ammo rounds and unopened canned food.

All letters to Shrekgrinch should be read out loud on Fox News by Glenn Beck.

All letters to live4ever should be sent back in time to the Corinthians or he won't read them.

Patrick   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 6:51am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (2)     Comment 2

Dan8267 says

I'd add ".jpeg" since some people use that for images.

OK, done. Thread updated.

Dan8267 says

the code doesn't handle URLs whose paths end in these suffixes, but then go on to contain URL parameters such as

h t t p : //domain/myImage.jpg?width=500

Oops, good point. OK, will do.

Dan8267 says

So, Hey Username no longer works then, right? I like the @ sign better. It's clearer.

That's right. @ is the only way to mail someone from a comment now. But users can disable that in their profile.

Also working on summarizing all "like" and "flag" counts for all users. Should be working tomorrow. The "ignored by" counts are working. See:

http://patrick.net/users.php

You can't tell who is ignoring anyone, only the count of people who are ignoring them.

Dan8267   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 6:58am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (2)     Comment 3

Patrick says

You can't tell who is ignoring anyone, only the count of people who are ignoring them.

I didn't realize we had the ability to do that. Sounds like a nice feature. Any reason you took it down?

Also, it's interesting that Shrekgrinch is ignoring more people than he's friends with. I think that says something. I don't know exactly what, but it seems to mean something.

Dan8267   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 7:00am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (2)     Comment 4

Ooooo, I just had a brain fart. How about this for a feature. Put the number of users ignoring user X as a column on the users page. Now that would be interesting to know. Sort of like an annoyance meter.

Similarly, you could put the number of liked and disliked votes for the user's comments. It might encourage voting.

Dan8267   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 7:03am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (2)     Comment 5

Oh, duh. Just looked at the page. You already have what I suggested. I thought that column was a measurement of the number of people the user was ignoring rather than the number ignoring him.

Dan8267   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 7:04am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike (2)     Comment 6

It would be interesting to see the graph of what users are ignoring whom. I suspect it's largely on political lines.

Patrick   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 10:07am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike (2)     Comment 7

I bet party politics has a lot to do with it, but maybe it's going too far to say who exactly is ignoring whom. I just want people who are being ignored to know that they have managed to offend a lot of people.

I was surprised to see Apocalypsefuck up there in the ignore rankings (click the header again to sort the other way). But then, he has more friends than ignores too. He's a polarizing guy, but I think he's hilarious.

Dan8267   Thu, 2 Feb 2012, 1:13pm PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (3)   Dislike (3)     Comment 8

Patrick says

I bet party politics has a lot to do with it

Which is exactly why I consider it a badge of honor if certain people ignore me, you know, the irrational, emotionally immature types.

Anyone who would ignore Apocalypsefuck is crazy. Most of his posts are facetious, but the serious ones are quite reasonable.

Patrick   Fri, 3 Feb 2012, 4:26am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike (2)     Comment 9

OK, total number of "likes" and "flags" by user is now also available:

http://patrick.net/users.php

I had a little trouble designing the up and down sort arrows. I just used the logical AND and OR symbols. Anyone got better HTML for that?

Dan8267   Fri, 3 Feb 2012, 6:09am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (2)     Comment 10

Hey I'm #1 in likes! That's surprising. I'd thought I'd be #1 in dislikes given how much I seem to piss off people.

I'll try not to let it go to my head.

Patrick   Fri, 3 Feb 2012, 6:12am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike (1)     Comment 11

Dan8267   Fri, 3 Feb 2012, 6:39am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike (1)     Comment 12

Touché

I got to give props to any StarWars reference.

Tim Aurora   Wed, 7 Mar 2012, 7:18am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 13

My renter who has bad credit ( forclosed ) but lots of cash is willing to pay a good downpayment ( 40%) but wants me to find a loan for him. I do not have much equity.

Does anybody know how to get a loan for this gentleman

JG1   Mon, 9 Jul 2012, 12:52pm PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 14

When you subscribe to future comments on a thread, and then receive an email notification of a new reply, is there some place to click in that email to view the thread. I see "Reply" or when someone is quoted, "XXX says" which are clickable, but no way to just "View on site".

Possible new feature suggestion? I always prefer to just read the comment on the site, and possibly see other earlier and later comments, as well, rather than read the new reply on its lonesome in a text-only email.

Patrick   Mon, 9 Jul 2012, 2:39pm PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 15

"Reply" really is also "View on site". It shows you that comment on the site, with the reply box under it.

I guess that's not obvious, but I was trying to minimize the number of words. I could add a "View on site" link too, but it would be the same link...

bg   Wed, 17 Oct 2012, 4:11pm PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 16

Patrick says

OK, total number of "likes" and "flags" by user is now also available:

http://patrick.net/users.php

@patrick: I found this thread while I was looking for information on users. I had just discovered that earlier this week. I wanted to see how bad rooemoore's troll score is. He seems kind of terrible. He and raw are getting stupid on a thread tonight. When I clicked on the link you had posted it isn't working. Not sure if that is my error.

I was also going to look at my troll score. I can't imagine I would be too high, but thought I would check. That reddit guy has me thinking about trolls today.

I was trying not to pester you with an e-mail.

Patrick   Thu, 18 Oct 2012, 2:16am PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 17

That was my error.

User list link fixed now: http://patrick.net/users.php

TinHenzo   Tue, 28 Jan 2014, 3:44am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 18

Hi, does anybody have any tips about the best method to get their baby to sleep all night?

I have read many websites with suggestions but I am still struggling.

Best wishes

CaptainShuddup   Tue, 28 Jan 2014, 4:27am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike (1)     Comment 19

TinHenzo says

Hi, does anybody have any tips about the best method to get their baby to sleep all night?

Get them out of the house, fuck those angry family hating assholes.
Take your wife and kids with you, anywhere you would go. Drag the baby along, those pissed off hipster dofuses will give you shitty looks, and trash you on Facebook, but I didn't care. I slept like a fucking ROCK, because the babies were all tuckered out, and allowed me to.

Babies brains are like little sponges they need alternating environments though out the day for them to absorb. The more they absorb the more energy they burn doing so. Remember they can't get up and run around yet.

Automan Empire   Tue, 28 Jan 2014, 4:38am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike     Comment 20

Holy off-topic thread revival, Batman!

mfs.admin   Tue, 28 Jan 2014, 4:49am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike     Comment 21

Thanks Patrick for this reminder, new members can benefit from these tips greatly. You have a great site and it shows!!!

bgamall4   Tue, 28 Jan 2014, 6:17am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)     Comment 22

I was given a lot of ignores due to whatshisname putting a link to auto ignore me when people clicked on it.

Thanks for the update, and who would vote this thread down. Sheesh.

New Renter   Tue, 28 Jan 2014, 6:55am PST   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 23

TinHenzo says

Hi, does anybody have any tips about the best method to get their baby to sleep all night?

I have read many websites with suggestions but I am still struggling.

Best wishes

I went through this myself for the better part of three years :(

Ask your pediatrician about Benadryl. No, really!

If you want to try a less dramatic approach get and let a friendly cat (or dog) sleep in the crib with your kid. Its like a teddy bear that breathes and purrs. Very soothing. My wife and I had a cat that loved to sleep with our kid from 3 months on. She NEVER hurt our kid even when strongly provoked.

Having a pet around a young child is also a very effective method to help prevent asthma later in life.

I also found carrying baby throughout the house feet propped on my chest and facing outward was great for stopping the crying. Unfortunately it did not help make my kid sleepy.

Good luck.

jazz music   Fri, 18 Apr 2014, 2:31am PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)     Comment 24

What's up with user B u b b a b e a r ? ?

He can delete posts no matter where they appear.

He/she deletes my posts censuring the slightest sign of criticism from me.

Is he/she a hacker or do you grant him/her super power?

jazz music   Fri, 18 Apr 2014, 2:47am PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)     Comment 25

What's up with user B u b b a b e a r ? ?

He/she have used sweeping powers to delete about 6 of my posts over the last 2 days. This censorship was merely to avoid some minor criticism on my part. (original comment quoted below

He/she have exercised censorship over 6 of my posts no matter whose thread they appear by making these deletions.

I expect B u b b a b e a r to ban my IP address from patnet next if he/she possesses full power to censor patrick.net.

Is B u b b a b e a r a hacker or did you grant him/her full power to censor pat.net?

====================
ORIGINAL COMMENT
====================

B u b b a b e a r deleted this comment of yours:
B u b b a b e a r posts and pitches a survival kit to prepare you for the end of days. If you present a dissenting opinion in one of his threads he will delete it.

B u b b a b e a r deleted this comment: "This is not just your garden variety paranoia pitch for buying gold.

This takes the concept to a new extreme, an all purpose apocalypse survival kit.

Get yours today!

Or not.

NOTE
Premium users are protected from comment deletions by non-premium users like B u b b a b e a r

jazz music   Fri, 18 Apr 2014, 2:48am PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 26

jazz music   Fri, 18 Apr 2014, 2:49am PDT   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike     Comment 27

Patrick is moderator of this thread.

Email

Username

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