HACK RATING SYSTEM

[gali]

I am very glad to see the groups.

But I am too lazy - I would like to see the "red-group hacks" in one group, not to search IF they belong there. Thus we shall have "group colors".

[Taz]

Awesome idea! This would help me out quite a bit. Thanks Most Awesome One!  

[J. M. Pescado]

Don't green and blue need to be swapped to correspond with the color spectrum, or am I just crazy?

You're not crazy, at least in this sense. That immediately struck me when I first saw it, also. Nonetheless, that's how the actual Terror Scale is.

[Oddysey]

Yeah . . . it's taken Americans five years to understand the Terror Scale, and even then it's iffy. Doesn't really matter, since they're never actually going to use blue or green. This isn't quite as bad, because none of them are named "elevated."

EDIT: And it's so quintessentially Pescado to devise a rating system that makes me go "Aagh! My eyes!" every time I see it. Yeeowch. Go easy on the technicolor, wouldja?

[J. M. Pescado]

I wouldn't really say one can "understand" the terror scale: There's no point to it. Vague warnings with no useful response that people can take serve no purpose except to cause more terror. If anything, the constant reminders of terrorists are more effective than anything the terrorists themselves can do, seeing as terrorists remain less deadly than swimming pools or even toilets. But there are no apparent warnings of swimming-pool-related terror.

[Oddysey]

Causing more terror *is* the point of it. More terror = more votes for the incumbent.

We need a color coded scale for the risk of toilet related terror.

[witch]

JM I first noticed this on one of your mod download threads - brilliant! Thanks yet again.

Maybe they stuck blue in between yellow and green as they are somewhat similar colours, easy to be confused in a panic?

[MissDoh]

Very useful idea, it will help us know how important (or not) a hack is to install in our game.

Great and original system.

[J. M. Pescado]

Great and original system.

Actually, it's a ripoff and mockery of the Terror Alert Scale. Which is a very typical MATY behavior, ripping off and making fun of things.

[tunaisafish]

This is a good idea, but this hack is not working for me.
I think it may be conflicting with other images in my browser cache.

Perhaps if you use WMF instead of GIF it will work better.
I only recently discovered the MS feature to run code in WMFs, but I think we have to wait for their next innovation to get the same behaviour in GIF's.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/bulletins/200601.mspx

[J. M. Pescado]

...? Not working? There's nothing special about those, they're just regular, non-animated GIFs. Common images. Did you expect them to do something? There's no associated index, if that's what you mean...

[MsMaria]

Posted by: tunaisafish 
This is a good idea, but this hack is not working for me.
I think it may be conflicting with other images in my browser cache

 . Sorry, that was funny.

Great idea JM. You rock my world.

[Assmitten]

This is awesome. The lack of organization before was freaking out the librarian part of me, but it didn't occur to me to complain because these hacks have actually made my game fun. I'm just sorry it took me a year to discover them.

[tunaisafish]

. Sorry, that was funny.

It was meant to be funny
I suppose I should have put some smilies in there for the Americans

Seriously though, I am absolutely gobsmacked today having found out that the MS bug in WMF files can give you a virus from just opening an image, such as when browsing.  You've got to laugh, or else you'll cry.
So those out there (like me) who don't have the automatic update feature turned on should follow the MS link I posted to get this fixed.

Of Course, Pescado's GIF images above are fine, and a brilliant idea for the site.

[J. M. Pescado]

I don't trust "automatic updates" because they'll install godknowswhat with no oversight. And the manual updates are increasingly incooperative.

[RainbowTigress]

I thought you were being serious, tunaisafish.  It was hard for me to believe someone could be that ignorant, but I've heard plenty of stories.  I am relieved to hear that you were just joking.  I was just waiting for JM or someone to burninate you.

[MissDoh]

Great and original system.

Actually, it's a ripoff and mockery of the Terror Alert Scale. Which is a very typical MATY behavior, ripping off and making fun of things.

Whatever it is, it surely have its place here... I always found the terror alert scale a bit crazy (since sneezing would put america on a red alert) so you making fun it is awesome!

[tunaisafish]

I don't trust "automatic updates" because they'll install godknowswhat with no oversight. And the manual updates are increasingly incooperative.

Exactly why I don't have it enabled too.  The thought of 'MY' machine wanting to call the mothership to install patches that are likely fix one thing and break others at the same times gives me the shivers.  Incoorperative you say?  I spent the hour between my first two posts in this thread being told my browser was no good, then it needs to update IE to read this 'special' webpage, then I need to reboot because I farted, then my registration fails as I've upgraded my machine too much.   Bah, I'm gonna remove the wmf stuff from the handlers.

Rainbow:
There a Techie saying; "Never attribute to malice what could be explained by ignorance."
So along the same lines; "Never attribute to ignorance what could be explained by an Englishman trying to be witty"

I'm getting out of here now before I make any more a fool of myself.

[J. M. Pescado]

Exactly why I don't have it enabled too.  The thought of 'MY' machine wanting to call the mothership to install patches that are likely fix one thing and break others at the same times gives me the shivers.  Incoorperative you say?  I spent the hour between my first two posts in this thread being told my browser was no good, then it needs to update IE to read this 'special' webpage, then I need to reboot because I farted, then my registration fails as I've upgraded my machine too much.   Bah, I'm gonna remove the wmf stuff from the handlers.

My solution is to defect to Firefox. And use that Russian guy's patch later.

[Alie]

But there are no apparent warnings of swimming-pool-related terror.

Now I have this image of a popup on the right-hand side of my vision every time I get in a pool saying "An omniscient being has removed the ladder.  You will now float here until you die."

[Kristalrose]

Great idea, JMP!!!  Thank you so much!!  Finally a good use for the Alert Scale!!

BTW:  I heard a speaker on the news this morning talking about the terrorist warnings, and calling the government "terrorists" themselves, because they are using these warnings to keep us all afraid to move forward their own desires (such as stay in power).  I thought it was a deep thought and had some truth to it.  Just thought I'd share. 

[Hairfish]

If you've seen "Bowling For Columbine," you know that Fear is the US government's most useful weapon...against US citizens.

Anyway, my husband (a truck driver) just informed me that he's been to only one place that actually displays the Terror Alert Scale, and they manufacture fertilizer. Go figger.

[tunaisafish]

It does actually make sense that a fertilizer company should display it.  You can create some interesting things if you know what to mix.
A schoolfriend used to make smoke effects with them.  Note: I deliberately didn't use the B-word, as I don't want Pescado' bunker being raided by the EnEssEye 

I don't think we have any kind of public alert system here in the UK.

I used to be in the military, and never did understand the securty alert status.  Yeah, I understood the range of colours 'black, black alpha, amber....', but I just didn't get why it was called the "BIKINI STATE".
I don't remember being issued an amber bikini
Of course, we all had black ones for personal use.

[SciBirg]

I used to be in the military, and never did understand the securty alert status.  Yeah, I understood the range of colours 'black, black alpha, amber....', but I just didn't get why it was called the "BIKINI STATE".
I don't remember being issued an amber bikini
Of course, we all had black ones for personal use.

LOL!! Keep'em coming! I love British humour. <----note spelling.

Anyway, love the rating system.

[Hairfish]

...but I just didn't get why it was called the "BIKINI STATE".

Possibly something to do with nuclear testing on the Bikini Atoll? Around here, the official Bikini State is Hawaii.