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. Note: * 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 " could be added to the "Updated ..." info on the pages themselves. ''Feature junkie! Half your wishes have been granted -[jcw]'' [AK]: Will the cookie be sent for mini.net, or for wiki.tcl.tk ? If only for mini.net, can we extend it to be sent for accesses from wiki.tcl.tk as well ? ''It's set for whichever CGI URL you use above, hence the need to do it twice. The cookie is the same. Setting a cookie for another site than the one visited is probably often blocked (or should be, ads!) -[jcw]'' [AK]: Reading the first list I now see the entry about wiki.tcl.tk vs. mini.net . Gr. Ok, done a second time. [GWL] You may want to change the nobody@wiki.tcl.tk to administrator@wiki.tcl.tk or something -- seems nobody@ gets caught by some of the junk mail filters! ''Thx, done -[jcw]'' [LES] I have the cookie in place, but I just made changes to the wiki and my initials don't show up. Because I am on my ISP's dynamically assigned network and my IP has changed, maybe? Does the feature rely on the IP number or not? ''The original IP number is remembered for traceability, but never compared. I do see "LES," on one of the pages: either your browser does not remember the cookie, or you were editing via another URL - see discussion above w.r.t. mini.net vs. wiki.tcl.tk -[jcw]'' No, wait. I didn't have the cookie anymore. Where did it go??? So I "registered" again and now it's there, in my cookie list. But... it's session-based??? So I would have to re-register every time I visit the wiki for the id snitcher to work? Sounds like a strange idea to me. ''Weird. It's not session based here. -[jcw]'' ---- [Category Wikit]