Version 21 of Wikit user names

Updated 2004-05-17 09:24:02 by LES

May 17, 2004 - There's a new experimental feature to help identify users who make changes to a page.

It's based on cookies.

  • Go to http://mini.net/wru.cgi and enter your initials (up to 8 letters/digits) and email address.
  • You'll receive an email with a confirmation URL in it.
  • Visiting that URL will lead you to a page which sets a cookie in your browser.
  • From them on, page changes will be tagged with your initials on the Recent Changes page.
  • If you use wiki.tcl.tk as URL, you'll have to set things up through http://wiki.tcl.tk/wru.cgi instead.
  • If you use both, you'll need to go through this exercise twice (sorry, that's a cookie limitation).
  • FYI, the cookie contains initials, email address, IP address of request, and a special checksum.
  • It's used for precisely one purpose: to maintain a minimal identity / traceability, in page edits.
  • There is no database (just a log), this stores data in your browser, not on this site.

Please let me know if things don't work as expected -jcw

WJR - Great idea. One small problem, at least for me: The confirmation page was output in plain text in my browser (Firefox on Solaris). Fixed, thx! -jcw

RS Although I like this feature, the presence of the IP number in the cookie worries me - logging in from home, AOL gives me a different IP# every time (172.x.y.z), so my cookie might get stale too soon... But I'll try it from work.

Richard, the IP is not enforced, it only tracks the original IP when the name was registered. This should work just fine with dynamic IP's. Note also that you can use the same initials from different browsers/machines, just re-register or click on the URL you got by email from different browsers -jcw

rmax - I suggest to make the initials/nickname a link in the recent changes list if a wiki page with the same name exists. And now that we have the information, "by <nickname>" could be added to the "Updated ..." info on the pages themselves.

Feature junkie! <wink> -jcw

Message for LES: in a private email, you say you don't get email after registering. Well... I tried to reply to you, as well as send it to TWO other email addresses. All my replies bounce due to your setup of SpamCop. I'm not in the cat and mouse business, I give up -jcw

LES I am really sorry about that, JC. But the filter keeps copies of everything that is rejected and it shows that I get about a hundred junk messages per week. I can't afford not to have the filter anymore. I could have added you to my whitelist, but I was not sure of your address. You have been added now. Anyway, I saw your two messages in the filter's junk box, but nothing sent from *@mini.net like you claim. So something did fail on your (the wiki's) side. Can we delete this exchange? I find it a little embarrassing...