I just updated MemeStreams. There are so many changes, its challenging to come up with a list. There are several major ones, and hundreds of little ones. This is the largest update to the site we have made in a very long time. The bulk of the update has to do with internal workings of the site, but there are a number of things that effect users.

* New Session Handling

All the sections of the site's code that handle cookies and user logins have been changed. This means that everyone will have to login again. There are numerous reasons for this change.

We are not doing much right now to track how you use the site that we have not already been doing, but the current changes are going to allow us to start doing much more. As we continue to improve the site, we will start collecting log information for user pages and make it available for viewing. Examples of this would be how many people read your weblog, view your profile, etc.

We take privacy concerns very seriously, and privacy rights factors heavily into what type of information we log and how we log it. We are not trying to be big brother. We take your right to privacy as seriously as we take our own. The purpose of our cookie tracking is to identify unique users of the site. That information is statistically valuable, and in our implementation it is kept as anonymous as tracking it at all allows. Whatever information we collect is somehow used to empower the users of MemeStreams, not take advantage of you.

User sessions with MemeStreams are now more secure. We have not had a problem with user accounts being hijacked, but its significantly harder to do now. In the future, secure logins will be available, ensuring that you can safely use your account from public and/or "untrusted" networks. (Donations to pay for a SSL certificate are welcome.)

* HTML/CSS Improvements

The use of HTML and CSS in MemeStreams has been on the verge of criminally insane. I can't think of much else to say about it then that. It was really, really bad.

If you evaluated our current HTML/CSS usage, there are still problems even after this update. However, the improvement is massive. Whatever browser you are using, you will see an improvement. IE in particular..

Neither Decius or I use Internet Explorer. We don't catch the subtle problems ourselves. We QA for IE, but not as much as we'd like to. Most of the site's frequent users don't use Internet Explorer either. Well... At least no one who ever complains about problems with the site uses IE. You IE people are damn silent. I personally theorize that users who use Windows are used to getting screwed on a constant basis and just accept a broken website, since they already have a broken computer. We never hear anything out of you. Its possible this has been because the site has barely worked in IE, although I prefer my theory. That aside, if you have problems with the site in Internet Expl... [ Read More (0.4k in body) ]

... has been fixed!

The site is going to undergo a massive update tonight. I will be spending the rest of the evening until then QA'ing and making sure we didn't miss anything major. The trigger should get pulled sometime late in the night so it does not effect the site during heavy usage times. I expect we will be down for somewhere between 30 to 60 minutes. There is a fair amount of database conversion that will take place.

When you visit the site after its complete, you will have to login again. The session/user handling layer has been completely replaced.

The site's HTML has been revamped, and it will display better in every browser. Full Unicode support will be in place, so all languages should work properly as well, including posting/editing and selecting text using the bookmarklet.

I'll post more information after the update..

1. There will be a site update in 24 to 72 hours that will change the way MemeStreams handles cookies. The end result of this will be that everyone will be logged out of the site and will have to log back in. Your old cookie will be bunk. We apologize for the inconvenience but we think its a minor hassle versus the amout of trouble associated with having to handle the old cookies in the code.

2. There will be a second site update some number of days after the first in which the little recommend bookmarklet will be disabled. We have decided that the little bookmarklet is inefficient and does not have enough room to display the user interface elements we want to display properly. Furthermore, it is much easier to edit a significant amount of text in a bigger window. We suggest that if you are using the little bookmarklet, you ough to upgrade to the big bookmarklet. You'll find it much nicer.

Thank you for your kind attention. We will now return to your regularly scheduled memes....

Important notes about upcoming MemeStreams updates

ATLANTA, Georgia (June 17th, 2005) - The Board of Directors of the Industrial Memetics Institute strongly condemns allegations made earlier this month by Amnesty International that its software development operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are "the gulag of our times."

Industrial Memetics President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Cross, said "The comparison is completely unreasonable. Russian Gulags were places in which thousands were worked to death in the oppressive Siberian winter. Our people in Cuba are well fed, gainfully employed, and air conditioned! A job at Industrial Memetics is a fine and valuable life endeavor. If circumstances where different these people might have wasted away in shanty towns in Rio de Janeiro or been forced to sell themselves in the AIDS infested sex markets of South Africa." He added that "people who think critically about Industrial Memetics hate America."

Industrial Memetics Chief Technology Officer, Nick Levay, said "The recent claims that one of our managers flushed a Koran down the toilet are completely unsubstantiated. Why would there be a Koran in an Industrial Memetics office?! We don't allow any religious artifacts to enter the building. Acknowledgment of religion is completely forbidden at the Industrial Memetics Institute."

Industrial Memetics Secretary of Defense Billy Hoffman said, "Our competitors are trained to make outrageous claims about our workplace practices. These claims should be ignored. They are obviously part of their overall strategy to slow the pace of innovation and flood the market with inferior products."

The Industrial Memetics Institute is committed to its goal of producing the finest technology and services money can buy. Industrial Memetics stands by its work place environment as being "a hell of a lot better then a Russian Gulag." (TM)

ABOUT THE INDUSTRIAL MEMETICS INSTITUTE

The Industrial Memetics Institute is a leading distributor of adult entertainment via electronic platforms. The Company delivers the most extensive lineup of quality programming over the broadest range of electronic means, including cable, satellite, Broadband and video-on-demand.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections made by management. The Company intends for the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", or variations of such words are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Mr. Cross's ability to create even more value for our shareholders, and the outcome of any contingencies. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this news release whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements.

For more information please visit our website at www.industrialmemetics.com.

Industrial Memetics offices are not 'the gulag of our times.'

The MemeStreams site code has been updated to fix a number of issues with RSS.

1) All feeds are now RSS 2.0.
2) Links in meme descriptions have been slightly reformatted for clarity.
3) The main page's RSS feed now includes the author of the post.
4) Browsers such as Safari will now detect RSS feeds.

RSS feeds are not just for news readers. It is possible to power an external website using your RSS feed. My website is an example of this. There are numerous libraries available that allow you include content from your RSS feed in other webpages. I'm currently using a PHP library called OnyxRSS, which no longer appears to be available. Magpie may currently be the best option available to others looking to do something similar.

The system of bracket quotations has been killed. Decius has cut the site over to using blockquote tags, and the italics that were popular early in the history of the site.

Text enclosed in "blockquote" tags, or "bq" for short, look like this!

We have not, and won't convert all of the old posts in the system. Such a process is fraught with peril. Going forward, things will look nicer. In a few weeks you won't even recall the old quoting system.

As always, let us know if there are any problems.

MemeStreams Update: Death to bracket quotes!

Several annoyances with the threads have been repaired:

1. Previously the URL was displayed at the top of a thread. This made the thread hard to read in browsers that will not wrap long lines of unbroken text. The URL has been replaced with its title.

2. The redundant post cleaner is now smarter, and it lists the names of the people whose posts were cleaned at the bottom of the thread.

3. A small UI change was made to make the thread look more like a thread. This change was applied to the memebox as well. In particular, the sender's name was moved to the top. In a discussion you want to see the person's name first.

Another MemeStreams Update

Decius just posted a code update, which clears up some minor annoyances with the recommend function.

1. Escapped unicode characters in html selected by the bookmarklet should now be handled properly.

2. When you click recommend in the site there is no longer a pop-up.

3. You can now include HREF links in your posts. Standard html format.

Let me know if there are any problems.

MemeStreams Update

We pushed an update out to the site today. This update includes changes to the MemeBox, an update logo graphic, and numerous behind the scenes type things.

Thanks to Joe Gawlik (terratogen) for the new MemeStreams logo!

Let Decius or I know if you spot any problems...

These are histograms of the timestamps for all entries posted to three MemeStreams:

Jeremy, from the first post on October 8, 2001 through the post previous to this one on March 12, 2005;

Decius, from the first post on September 5, 2001 through the latest post on March 11, 2005; and

Rattle, from the first post on September 8, 2001 through the latest post on March 8, 2005.

You'll notice significant differences among the three graphs.

The X axis shows time of day (in Pacific time). Each day of the week is shown in a different row and color along the Y axis. The height of each bar in the Z axis represents the cumulative number of posts bearing a timestamp of the corresponding day and time.

Meme Maps for 'Jeremy', 'Decius', and 'Rattle', September 2001 - March 2005