Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

The page exists, but it's empty. The same goes for another new submission.
We're still working on getting some things to work on the new host. Since
the submission scripts are something David wrote and which I have rarely
ever used, it may take some more time to get them fixed.

Thanks for the info, Fergus. I'll try to get around to re-submitting the
variant for this website at some point after the problem is known to be
solved.

Meanwhile, for anyone who is curious and/or impatient, I can give the CFC
website link I wrote of regarding my blog entry there for this variant (the
blog entry looks different slightly than what I had tried to submit to The
Chess Variant Pages, as for one thing I only gave a primitive diagram for
the setup position of the game):

http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/entry.php?100-Super4*Chess-(four-dimensional-chess)

Furthermore, here's a link to my CFC blog entry for the second 4D variant
of mine that I wrote of that was finished being invented in the year 2016
as well (the variant is yet to be submitted as an entry to The Chess
Variant Pages in some form, likely with a nicer diagram included too). FYI
it is a 5x5x5x5 4D variant:

http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/entry.php?101-5*4DChess-(four-dimensional-chess)

One thing I want to work on, perhaps while fixing the scripts for making
submissions, is to switch from mysql_* functions to PDO* functions. The
mysql_* functions have been deprecated in PHP, and they will be removed
from a future version of PHP. So I looked into the alternatives, these
being Improved MySQL (mysqli_*) and PHP Data Objects (PDO*). Both have the
advantage over mysql_* of allowing prepared statements. PDO has two main
advantages over mysqli. The one I think will help most is that it allows
named parameters in prepared statements. The other is that it supports more
database formats than just mysql. This is not so important right now, since
I will continue to use the mysql format, but if the mysql format were ever
deprecated, or something much better came along, it would be easier to make
the change if the code were already using the PDO* functions.

I have started the transition to PDO. First, I wrote a test file to make
sure I knew what I was doing. Then, I rewrote the connect_to_database()
function to connect through both mysql and PDO. This did not break anything
using mysql. I then rewrote the itemid() function to use PDO, and it is
working. So we can transition to PDO without doing it all at once. We can
do it one function or file at a time. With that in mind, I can make some
fixes while also changing the database code to use PDO.

Both msdisplay.php and the footer included code for displaying comments. It
hadn't previously been in the footer, because David had used a Perl footer
that just gave a link to the comments. Since I replaced his footer with a
PHP footer that includes comments, I removed the code for including
comments from msdisplay.php.

The problem with submissions was that the POST data would not go through
the first time. I could see this from the empty strings in the SQL it
showed me. When I simply reloaded membersubmission3.php, I would see the
POST data in the SQL, and it would get recorded in the database. So it
appeared that the problem was not with membersubmission3.php but with the
process of getting the POST data to it. Since it previously helped in
another case, I changed the ACTION URL in the FORM that goes to
membersubmission3.php to the full URL. Making that change to
membersubmission2.php seems to have fixed the problem with submitting
games.

I just re-submitted my "Super4*Chess (four dimensional chess)" variant to The Chess Variant Pages. At first a somewhat garbled version of the text
appeared, but then when I clicked on "View Submission" the entry appeared
to be as I had hoped, i.e. text showing properly (with 1 Diagram Designer generated diagram
included), game title included.

I still am indicated to be not signed in when I try to view any unreviewed
submissions of mine (on the webpage "Your Unreviewed Submissions), and I am unable sign
in on that webpage, perhaps because my browser is not adequate. In the past sometimes I
could sign in on certain webpages if using my (currently broken) desktop
computer instead of my laptop (which I am using presently). For me, on some webpages of The Chess Variant Pages, the menu of options at the top shows as a vertical (rather than horizontal) list, sometimes when using either computer, in a way which also keeps me from using any of the options (such as to be able to sign in). However, it is
possible that the problem of being indicated as not being signed in on this
particular webpage is one of the glitches that may need be dealt with by
Fergus. Meanwhile, I have no way of editing my now apparently tentatively
accepted submission, at least until after it has been reviewed (& if accepted)
by editor(s). In the meantime, could an editor please verify that indeed my
submission has been tentatively accepted (i.e. by this website).

That page lacked a DOCTYPE declaration at the beginning. Adding one fixed
it. It was not that you weren't logged in but that the page failed to
recognize that you were logged in.

Please let me know if you can edit your submission. I'm not familiar with
whether this can be done, but I think it should be allowed.

Fergus wrote: "Please let me know if you can edit your submission. I'm not
familiar with whether this can be done, but I think it should be allowed."

I added a couple of letters to the text of it successfully, so the answer
appears to be that I can indeed edit it.

In case you missed it, I slightly edited my previous comment, to elaborate
on troubles for me that may or may not be caused by having an inadequate
browser, as far as viewing and using this website goes. So far it seems I
can get by (I prefer not to try to change browsers for now), although just
now I looked at some games to see if I could unfavourite them, and in many
cases the top menu of such a game's webpage appeared vertical in presenting
the options. Not only that, but in some such cases I previously favourited
these games by listing all its comments, i.e. getting to a webpage where
the menu options happened to be presented horizontally. Now, even when that
happens still, I don't see any way available by way of a heart option to
favourite or unfavorite a particular game. Luckily this is not a priority
to fix, but I thought I'd mention it in case you were unaware.

Are you using a mobile device, by any chance? The mobile menu appears
vertically. It is normally hidden unless you touch the ≡ sign. If you're
seeing a vertical menu on a desktop or laptop, then please give me an URL
to look at.

Hi Fergus

I'm using a laptop (it's the only computer available to me at home
currently, nor do I use a mobile device). Here's a sample URL (if I
understand that phrase right) from The Chess Variant Pages which produces a
vertical menu of options on my laptop:

http://www.chessvariants.com/dpieces.dir/berlin.html

Just now I submitted "5*4DChess (four dimensional chess)" to The Chess
Variants Pages, and after I hit "Submit" a new webpage with that game's
title showed up, but the page appeared to be empty otherwise (same story
when I checked it under the webpage "Your Unreviewed Submissions"). :(

If the webpage is indeed empty, could an editor please delete it, and after the new problem with making submissions is solved, I'll hope to resubmit it under the same title eventually.

The menu on http://www.chessvariants.com/dpieces.dir/berlin.html is
appearing horizontally to me. So it's not an instance of the wrong header
being used. Can you provide a screen shot of what you're seeing to help me
better gauge what's going on?

All the presets have a bug that when you click "Invite" then switch to the
chess  preset.

Fergus wrote:

"The menu on http://www.chessvariants.com/dpieces.dir/berlin.html is
appearing horizontally to me. So it's not an instance of the wrong header
being used. Can you provide a screen shot of what you're seeing to help me
better gauge what's going on?"

Like I've alluded to before, I'm rather out of my depth these days when it
comes to computers. However, with some luck I did manage to create a
screenshot icon (shortcut) on my desktop of the Berolina Pawns variant
webpage, and then I emailed it to your address as webmaster of this
website. Hope that suffices.

If you can get around to it, in the event you missed it, I replied to your
comment re: my Super4*Chess submission needing to be edited, and I asked if
you could advise me (such as perhaps only clarifying that I in fact may
have taken a step in the right direction). It's not a priority though, as I
am going to be playing over-the-board chess all weekend, including tonight
at my club, as well as Friday night, so I'll soon begin a long break from
using a computer to visit here, or to visit other websites I go to, until
the weekend is over, if only for the reason to concentrate better on
playing chess.

Take care, Kevin

Carlos, that bug is now fixed. I was trying to fix something else last
night and removed a line of HTML I thought might be the problem. Although
the problem was something else, I left it out because it seemed redundant.
But it wasn't. So I added a new line that does the same thing more
accurately.

Kevin,

Since I didn't get your email, I whitelisted your address in SpamAssassin.
Please try again.

I've just emailed you again. Neither email has bounced back at my end of
things so far, at least.

OK. Thanks!

Earlier I posted (directed to Fergus):

"...If you can get around to it, in the event you missed it, I replied to
your comment re: my Super4*Chess submission needing to be edited, and I
asked if you could advise me..."

I may have solved my problem in question on my own. Under comments to my
submission in question, I've just posted:

"Out of a sudden inspiration, I tried using the Diagram Designer to make
just a 1x1 (square) board for displaying each single piece type used in my
variant (Super4*Chess); I then cut & pasted the diagrams (as I generated
each of them) into the piece descriptions. Hope this is adequate, as far as
editing my submission goes."