Check out Symmetric Chess, our featured variant for March, 2024.


[ Help | Earliest Comments | Latest Comments ]
[ List All Subjects of Discussion | Create New Subject of Discussion ]
[ List Latest Comments Only For Pages | Games | Rated Pages | Rated Games | Subjects of Discussion ]

Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

Later Reverse Order EarlierEarliest
Who is Behind the Chess Variant Pages?. The editors, past editors, contributors, and inventors behind this site.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Feb 16 10:09 PM UTC:

I have made these changes to the Contributors page, which is linked to from this page but has not itself been indexed.

  1. The SQL query is now sorted in the order of LastName, FirstName, PersonID.
  2. Each option is written in the form of "LastName, FirstName – PersonID" to align with the sorting order.
  3. The registered users list now includes all registered users, not just the ones who are not contributors.
  4. I added a new list for unregistered contributors.
  5. I moved up the registered and unregistered contributors lists to come right after the complete contributors list.

🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Mon, Jan 15 05:35 PM UTC:

I have removed Zied Haddad and Ola Sasserson as editors, because neither has signed in since 2021, and neither was ever active very much as an editor. Although Greg Strong has been inactive for several months, he is still listed, as he has previously been active as an editor, and he has been inactive for less time.


Ben Reiniger wrote on Tue, Oct 10, 2023 04:16 PM UTC in reply to [email protected] from Sun Oct 8 05:38 PM:

I believe that's the current behavior for an incorrect password, but could be any other error in logging in...the actual login page doesn't seem to produce a useful message either. @Fergus?


[email protected] wrote on Sun, Oct 8, 2023 05:38 PM UTC:

Hello! Cannot log in to my account - the site shows no warnings, just keeps showing the login in the menu.

(If this message appears, apparently the login works through the message form)


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Oct 6, 2023 05:51 PM UTC in reply to Gerd Degens from 02:52 PM:

Our server email is not working, and I don't know how to fix it. If you want your email verified, send us or me an email from the email address associated with your account, asking for it to be marked as verified.


Gerd Degens wrote on Fri, Oct 6, 2023 02:52 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from Sun Oct 1 12:39 AM:

@Fergus: I would like to verify a new email address. A message appears that a link has been sent to my new email address, which I should click on. I can repeat this as often as I want, an email does not arrive.
What can happen, what do I have to do?


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sun, Oct 1, 2023 12:39 AM UTC in reply to Ben Reiniger from Sat Sep 30 11:40 PM:

I imagine that the database and scripts using a deleted flag--rather than actually deleting the information--was a purposeful decision. I think it's a reasonably good idea to keep data around in case an author (or someone posting as the author, not that I expect us to be a large target for hackers) mistakenly or brashly deletes or vandalizes their pages.

David may have had something else in mind, as he added this feature before I programmed the 404 page, but I think the main use for marking a page as deleted is so that the 404 page can inform someone who goes to a deleted page that it used to exist. This makes sense for published pages, particularly those that have been around for a while. For unpublished pages, it seems like it would be fine to just completely delete the Item row.

Also, I'll note that David added this feature back when all pages were .html pages, and one field of the Item table was for the URL. So, keeping the row in the database would tell us that we once had a page at a certain location, and it would not deter anyone from putting a new page there. The issue now is that keeping this row for a deleted member-submitted page can prevent other members from creating a new page with the same name, ID and address.

I don't think it entirely too onerous to require asking an editor to purge the last remnants of a page

But if it is appropriate for an editor to delete an Item row, it could also be appropriate for a script to do it automatically under the right conditions.

I don't think GDPR applies except to the connection between author and content. But also I am not a lawyer.

I wasn't even thinking of this as a legal issue.


Ben Reiniger wrote on Sat, Sep 30, 2023 11:40 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 09:20 PM:

I imagine that the database and scripts using a deleted flag--rather than actually deleting the information--was a purposeful decision. I think it's a reasonably good idea to keep data around in case an author (or someone posting as the author, not that I expect us to be a large target for hackers) mistakenly or brashly deletes or vandalizes their pages. We've in the past varied on how serious we are about our rights to maintain content posted here. That probably needs agreement first.

I don't think it entirely too onerous to require asking an editor to purge the last remnants of a page, but I think we don't surface clearly enough what "delete" means here (mostly fine, except for confusion in cases like these).

I don't think GDPR applies except to the connection between author and content. But also I am not a lawyer.


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sat, Sep 30, 2023 09:20 PM UTC in reply to Chris Urquhart from Thu Sep 28 08:27 PM:

A variant I named but submitted no information for is claiming that the game name is submitted.

When you named the game, you submitted its name.

It doesn't stand to reason that I can't delete it because it is unnecessarily saying that the name is someone else's submission.

When I tried to create a page for a game called Eternal Chess, I got this message:

Error: You may not edit Eternal Chess, because this is a preexisting submission that you are not the author of.

Is that the message you got?

Using a different account, I created a page for a different game, and when I went back to create the same page again, I did not get this message. Instead, I got a form for filling out information about the game. However, there was no button here for deleting the page.

I then selected the "Your Unpublished Submissions" menu item in the menu with my name, and I got a page with the link to the game.

This brought me to the page, which lacked any description of the game, because I hadn't added any. On this page was a link to Delete this submission. Also, the Edit menu had a menu item called Delete submission. These each link to the same script with the same value for itemid in the query string. Following the menu item, it gave me this information:

## Delete Submission
There was no member submission to delete.

IsDeleted :: 1 ::: 0

UPDATE `Item` SET `IsDeleted` = :isdeleted WHERE `ItemID` = :keyvalue
Array
(
    [:isdeleted] => 1
    [:keyvalue] => MSbugglechess
)
The item MSbugglechess has now been marked as deleted.

Although it had been marked as deleted, the entry in the Item table had not been deleted.

When I tried to recreate the page again, it recognized that it was still in the database and gave me the form for editing it again.

When I followed the "Your Unpublished Submissions" menu item, I did not see the game listed this time.

Using my main account, I tried to create a game under the name I had used, and it would not let me, giving me the same error message I had reported earlier.

There are a few ways to fix the problem:

  1. Delete the Item entry instead of marking it as deleted.

  2. Conditionally delete the Item entry, perhaps if the author deletes it, or there are no comments.

  3. Allow ItemIDs that are marked as deleted to be reused by new authors.

I will allow people to weigh in on this before I change the code to do one of these.


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sat, Sep 30, 2023 01:20 AM UTC in reply to Chris Urquhart from 01:11 AM:

Not everything that goes wrong is a conspiracy against you. If you want technical support with the problem you described earlier, answer the question I asked you in my previous comment.


Chris Urquhart wrote on Sat, Sep 30, 2023 01:11 AM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from Thu Sep 28 09:52 PM:

I the Lord know that Fergus Duniho is preparing himself to steal variants from people. And he doesn't know that if he had not done this that Chris Urquhart would have given this variant for free to the public. If he hadn't done this, Chris Urquhart would have done wonderful things for the public. All he wanted was to sign to an anonymous account so that he couldn't receive credit. Now Fergus Duniho will realize that I the Lord am watching him.


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Thu, Sep 28, 2023 09:52 PM UTC in reply to Chris Urquhart from 08:27 PM:

What's the name of the game?


Chris Urquhart wrote on Thu, Sep 28, 2023 08:27 PM UTC:

Excuse me. I'm having a problem. A variant I named but submitted no information for is claiming that the game name is submitted. This means that since I've changed my mind I cannot find how to retract and delete the submission. It doesn't stand to reason that I can't delete it because it is unnecessarily saying that the name is someone else's submission. I expected that my data was just stored in my browser so that I could just erase the form. In my mind, if I haven't published something then I haven't submitted it. The server disagrees. Is there a way to remove the game name from submission? I discovered this when I made a new account because I lost my password and user I.D. The point is that I want to submit That game name under the new account and delete this account. Any help would be appreciated.


H. G. Muller wrote on Fri, Apr 14, 2023 01:05 PM UTC in reply to Mushegh from 10:43 AM:
Please, add interactive board for Gala chess. There is not :(

It appears Gala Chess has too much location dependence of the piece moves to be handled by the current standard version of the Interactive Diagram. (The moves cannot be expressed in Betza notation.) It woud require a specially written move generator to handle that variant. And I have neither the time nor the inclination to program that. I could probably create some 20 Interactive Diagrams for more normal chess variants in the time required to do it, and Gala Chess doesn't seem more important to me than any of those.


Mushegh wrote on Fri, Apr 14, 2023 10:43 AM UTC:
Please, add interactive board for Gala chess. There is not :(

Rewan Demontay wrote on Wed, Mar 8, 2023 11:49 PM UTC in reply to H. G. Muller from Tue Mar 7 10:32 AM:

Linking to Die Schwalbe would help, thanks. It might be possible to copy the basic information and the problems, if neither offsite linking nor reuploading is comfortable for you.


H. G. Muller wrote on Tue, Mar 7, 2023 10:32 AM UTC in reply to Rewan Demontay from Sun Mar 5 07:19 PM:

Well, that helps me to understand the Dutch. But what am I supposed to do with this? Should I add it as an off-site link in a link section on the CVP page. And also a ling to Die Schwalbe? Or should the Dutch text be uploaded to the CVP site, to avoid off-site linking? Would this violate any copyrights? (I suppose not, as the text at the bottom says 'Please reprint'.)


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sun, Mar 5, 2023 07:39 PM UTC in reply to Rewan Demontay from 07:19 PM:

Let me pass this on to H.G., since he is from the Netherlands and knows Dutch.


Rewan Demontay wrote on Sun, Mar 5, 2023 07:19 PM UTC:

How do I request/add myself information to be added to https://www.chessvariants.com/problems.dir/bosmasol.html ?

I've uploaded the relevant Probleemblad issues, of Bosma's announcement and the tourney, to Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/bosma-chess

I believe it would be informational to input that link.

The numerous Bosma Problems, as well as general triple check problems, can also be found here: https://pdb.dieschwalbe.de/search.jsp?expression=k%3D%27bosma%27


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Wed, Nov 23, 2022 03:53 PM UTC in reply to H. G. Muller from 08:43 AM:

Is there a place where editors report their acivities, so that the other current and future editors knows what is being done?

I usually report my activities on relevant pages. There is no centralized place for this. If you want to, you could post what you're doing to your profile, since posting comments to profiles is now doable.


H. G. Muller wrote on Wed, Nov 23, 2022 08:43 AM UTC:

Is there a place where editors report their acivities, so that the other current and future editors knows what is being done?

I have strated moving Interactive Diagrams from comments into the article's page as main diagram. The first six of the list of playable Diagrams are already done. In this process I sometimes need to upload dedicated graphics for the page (for the static image in <noscript> tags). Not all pages seem to have a directory for that, probably because some did not have any graphics at all. In this case I create a directory for those in the /membergraphics/ directory, with a name starting with MS or ML (the latter for link files), plus the name of the variant (spaces squaeezed out).

I also made a few new alfaerie SVG pieces (thief, general, airplane, quickpawn), and added those to the alfaerieSVG page. I rendered those as 50x50 and 35x35 to put them on the respective alfaeriePNG pages, where I also added knightgeneral and camelrook renderings (which already existed as SVG, but not as PNG).


H. G. Muller wrote on Tue, Nov 22, 2022 05:03 PM UTC in reply to Gerd Degens from 04:28 PM:

I see little reason for users to discuss privately with a specific editor. If there is an issue it would be better if all editors are aware of it, and can give their opinion. I read here just as often as I read my e-mail.


Gerd Degens wrote on Tue, Nov 22, 2022 04:28 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from Sat Nov 19 10:26 PM:

I added H. G. Muller as an editor and made a note about our inactive editors.

Dear H.G. Muller, can you be congratulated for joining the editorial circle? You have my congratulations.

May I ask if you want to continue to be rated as 'private' in an email contact? You are the only editor who has listed his email address as 'private' ( This member's email address is private).

It is certainly important for some users to be able to contact you directly. What do you mean?


🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sat, Nov 19, 2022 10:26 PM UTC:

I added H. G. Muller as an editor and made a note about our inactive editors.


Ben Reiniger wrote on Mon, Feb 22, 2021 05:40 PM UTC in reply to Long Term Future from 05:08 PM:

Is this website no longer being updated?

Yes it is! The best places to see what's going on (IMO, and omitting Game Courier) are the What's New page and the listing of all comments

You can also see the listing of submitted-but-unpublished pages here; viewing the pages listed there requires being logged in.

I see that Andrew Kuess' variant page linked in the previous comment is still "currently hidden pending approval by the Chess Variant Pages editorial staff."

Hm, yes, we should've at least commented on that one. I saw it and passed on review at the time, and promptly forgot all about it. I'll go and make some comments now. On that note,

If there's still an admin actively approving new variants, let me know and I'll add the best variants I've invented to this site.

We have three editors currently active in approving submissions (two recent ones were brought on, see a few posts earlier in this thread, but I haven't seen much of them), but it's all volunteered time, so sometimes we get bogged down. Please do submit your game(s)! I'd suggest starting with just one, so that if we have generic feedback on it that would apply to your other submissions, you can incorporate it while writing.


25 comments displayed

Later Reverse Order EarlierEarliest

Permalink to the exact comments currently displayed.