Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: John Chapman on 08/05/2010 00:07:53
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That's strange. I just tried to post a reply on a different thread and used within it the offending word (which I am unable to repeat here). The whole post was rejected. It took me about an hour of messing about to narrow it down to the use of this word. Eventually I changed the spelling to "monica" and the post was accepted.
Go on, try it. You'll see what I mean.
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You are right. Why is this? Anyone care to answer this?
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m o n i k e r
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Ha. It works with spaces between the letters.
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Weird. I checked the "banned words" list and it's not on there. (Even if it was, it would just get censored, not blocked.) Maybe it's a bug with the forum software?
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I'm so glad that this effected everyone else. I thought it might just be a glitch with my computer. I half expected the second post to simply be the the word "m o n i k e r". ha ha.
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I checked the "banned words" list and it's not on there.
That would be interesting. Can anybody check the censored list? Where can I find it?
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If it's a bug it would be a miracle for it to be that specific.
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I checked the "banned words" list and it's not on there.
That would be interesting. Can anybody check the censored list? Where can I find it?
I think it's something only the moderators/administrators can get to, since the censored words page also has the ability to edit those words. The list just consists of the expected swear words, though. If you try to use them, they'll end up being replaced by something else like ****.
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If it's a bug it would be a miracle for it to be that specific.
Yeah, would be. I guess a way to check it would be to find another board running SMF 1.1 and see if you can post the m------ word there. I can't find anything about the issue by googling for it, so I'm stumped.
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We also use wikipedia's blacklist as well as our own, so maybe someone has put it there? Very odd. Our own blacklist is mainly used to block spam.
I can whitelist it though...
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Ben, it is not that it seems blocked but it returns as an error.
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Very very odd. Even whitelisted it doesn't like it - that is the standard blacklist error though...
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ΜONIΚER
What are you people on about?
Looks like a case of mass hypnosis if you ask me.
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ΜONIΚER
What are you people on about?
Bastard. Showing me up like that! [>:(]
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Just hang on there one goddam cotton picking minute. I still can't write the 'm' word. Even though I've just quoted Geezer's 'm' word back to him. This is a conspiracy to make me doubt my own sanity. Or have I just gone mad?
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Which version of IE are you using?
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IE.8
Windows 7
What d'ya think?
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ΜONIΚER
If I cut and paste from Geezer's post it works but not if I type it. I guess Geezer is using a hidden character at one end of the word to prevent the word being recognised.
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mmmmm...
[ Invalid Attachment ]
????
using:
XP SP2
Firefox
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Same result with Chrome.
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No hidden characters.
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I just tried. I'm not using anything special or different and I got the error, so perhaps we have to turn to the Geezer Master to find out how he snuck it through. I asked our Monica but all she said was paaaapaaa. Oh woops it wasn't our Monica it was a Harmonica.
Maybe this word is a code word used by the designer of the software and so causes glitches when used in a normal context. I'll ask Murray. He'll find the answer to this puzzler.
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Geezer are you using cryllic alphabet for your O
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Or a nought?
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Geezer are you using cryllic alphabet for your O
Try it and see if it works.
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Or a nought?
It would look like a 0
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The "M" and "K" from Geezer's version of "ΜONIΚER" are non-standard ...
[ Invalid Attachment ]
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noughty boy
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The "M" and "K" from Geezer's version of "ΜONIΚER" are non-standard ...
[ Invalid Attachment ]
B*gger!
You didn't have to resort to a hex dump though. Paste it into Word then Format, Change Case... to lower case.
BTW - anyone can do this. No special tools required. Sorry about the web browser question John. It was a bum steer, although you are probably more familiar with the bum sheep [;D]
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OK, so we have established that Geezer needs to get out more.
Now can someone tell me why the word Mon_iker is blocked?
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Now can someone tell me why the word Mon_iker is blocked?
It's all Γρεεκ to me.
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I would have thought that Monica was a ruder word than M o n i k e r as the former did rude things with a cigar and a president!
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My son had trouble posting a link to a south east water address because of the word eas"t wat"er in the middle of it. How do you get around that one.
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Ah. The Scunthorpe problem.
I think typically the only way to get round that sort of thing is to contact the controllers of the white list for the board or site you're trying to post to and ask them to add the word or phrase that's giving you trouble...
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Ah. The Scunthorpe problem.
I think typically the only way to get round that sort of thing is to contact the controllers of the white list for the board or site you're trying to post to and ask them to add the word or phrase that's giving you trouble...
Yes, but what the hecks wrong with MONIΚER? (for those have not twigged, the "K" is actually a Kappa)
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Yes, but what the hecks wrong with MONIΚER?
Looks like a domain-names scam by a company called “ΜONIΚER.com” may be the reason ΜONIΚER is blocked ...
[ Invalid Attachment ]
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Oh, the real hustle! No wonder it is a naughty word. Damn you, you scammers!
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I hate to appear stupid but what is a Kappa? What's a hex dump? And what the flippin' heck is this ...
[ Invalid Attachment ]
... all about?
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I hate to appear stupid but what is a Kappa? What's a hex dump? And what the flippin' heck is this ...
[ Invalid Attachment ]
... all about?
Kappa is the name given to the Greek symbol, er, Kappa. When you type a post at TNS, you can insert any of the symbols you see below the smileys. The one that looks like a K is actually an upper case Kappa.
The funky table that RD posted is a hexadecimal (hex) representation of a file or a piece of computer memory. The first line shows the hexadecimal values for the characters in the phoney MONIΚER including two Greek charcters which it didn't recognize, so it mapped them to question marks (3F) and the second line shows the values for the normal typed MONIΚER with no Greek characters. (Hex is just a way of representing 8 bit bytes with two 4 bit symbols.) RD then superimposed the offending word on the graphic so that the letters line up with their hex coded representations above.
If you put my phoney version into Word and format it into lower case, you'll see that the M and K now appear as lower case Greek characters.
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If you put my phoney version into Word and format it into lower case,
you'll see that the M and K now appear as lower case Greek characters.
Cheapskates and Non-Windows users can do this conversion using the wordprocessor in the free OpenOffice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org) suite,
(rather than Micro$oft "Word") ...
[ Invalid Attachment ]
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Good idea (re OpenOffice)!
BTW, if you only change the K to Greek it works. I can't remember if it works with the M only or not.
I'm still not sure why the system takes extreme umbrage at this word. I saw RD's explanation, but surely there are lots of other dodgy URLs that are just a word with dotCom stuck on the end?
Dave may know the real answer, but if he does, he's keeping schtum.
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Not that I'm encouraging anything along these lines you understand, as it could violate the forum policy, but I suppose nefarious individuals might compose messages using lower case Greek characters that would look quite different when converted into upper case Greek characters. The alphabet is a bit limited though, so it would require some effort.
As long as the "translated" words are not offensive, it might be OK.
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If you are really that bored you can learn to write in Wingdings.
It won't make sense to anybody else- just like messages half in Greek.
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What are wingdings for, anyway?
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βεατζ με
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(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F&hash=3cd4f4119996b42d10f5ed9eb0e8d712)
[ Invalid Attachment ]
These symbols are from OpenOffice, any resemblance to Microsoft wingdings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingdings) is purely deliberate coincidental.
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... John... ...you are probably more familiar with the bum sheep [;D]
Oh my God, I've only just noticed this comment above. I've never been quick on the uptake.
And I would never resort to such blatant racial stereotyping, you haggis-eating bagpipe player. (Quite funny, though)
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Here's the reason I believe (the 1 should be an I, of course): moN1KEr - we are always being assailed by people flogging trainers - I presume this is the root of the problem.
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Does this mean we cannot discuss that visionary erich von daniΚen? Gonna press post and find out although I probably shouldnt. tried to press post and it wouldnt. chris has solved it I think
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Hm. I should point out, better late than never, that the rather flip post about the Scunthorpe problem was mine and not Dave's (he's not very good at logging out of the computer at home), and that whilst it may appear he'd posted in this thread and not actually taken an interest he probably hasn't actually seen it.
As a more general point... if you have a question or problem you think is going to require Dave's webmonkey skills to solve, it's better to post it in the Guest Book (which he follows as a matter of course, that being where site problem reports notionally belong), rather than the time-sink that is Just Chat (which he doesn't).