Okay I haven't slept in almost 24 hours so I'm not exactly thinking straight but I was wondering:

What is that one thing in your life that makes everything better? It can be philosophical or it can be something others might consider "small", but I am geniunely curious on what makes you happy.

Now that a community is starting to build here, I'm curious if anyone else is interested in languages.

Personally, I realized that I enjoy learning languages when I took a Spanish class in high school. The only languages I've studied seriously are Spanish and Russian, and unfortunately these days my Spanish is pretty rusty, but I still enjoy the process of learning about different languages, how they relate to each other, and learning how to communicate at least a little.

Anyone here share my interest? What language(s) are you learning/have you studied, and what do you like or dislike about it? What has struck you as the most interesting or weirdest thing about it?

#Edit: OK, I am terribly unaware of the "Mark as Read" option. Thank you to @Spel for pointing this out. I feel so dumb right now, so please accept my apology for being unaware. I just thought that reading the messages would mark them as read, so please forgive me. :( However, the other thing definitely doesn't work for me.

As the title suggests, no matter whether I come back to the site from desktop or mobile, every single time I have to login in again.. even if I had just been on the site five minutes prior. It's not too much of an inconvenience, but it's not working for me.

I don't know how to post my Chrome details, but I am on Win 10 with the latest Chrome build. As for mobile, I am accessing it from Android 7.0 through the latest Chrome on there.. I've already cleared my cache to see if maybe that would fix it, but sadly it did not.

I hope it doesn't come off as me complaining, but I just wanted to let your team know of the issue I've been having.

Now that the ABC TV show Deception has aired its season (and series) finale, I wonder if anyone caught this show and what they think of it. Do you think it had any potential?

For me, someone else suggested I seen it, so I watched it with very low expectations and it was good enough for me that I caught every one of the 13 episodes.

My wife just found a candle that was gifted to her by a coworker that contained this phrase and it caused somewhat of a debate about its destiny, which made me wonder... are we discussing religion and/or the lack thereof here? /r/atheism became a circlejerky hive of scum and villainy, can we do better? Or is a topic so inherently divisive inherently beyond reproach? Can emotion and anecdotal experiences ever compete on even footing with logic and reason?

Disclaimer: I'm a novice and this is a half baked idea

Recap

The Caesar cipher is fairly straight forward as it just shifts letters along by a set amount. This means that it's quite easy to brute force. There's only 25 offsets, after all. Try to decode this to see what i mean:

Plqfh 3 foryhv ri jduolf, dqg frpelqh lq d vpdoo erzo zlwk pdbrqqdlvh, dqfkrylhv, 2 wdeohvsrrqv ri wkh Sduphvdq fkhhvh, Zrufhvwhuvkluh vdxfh, pxvwdug dqg ohprq mxlfh. Vhdvrq wr wdvwh zlwk vdow dqg eodfn shsshu. Uhiuljhudwh xqwlo uhdgb wr xvh. Khdw rlo lq d odujh iublqj sdq ryhu phglxp khdw. Fxw wkh uhpdlqlqj 3 foryhv ri jduolf lqwr txduwhuv, dqg dgg wr krw rlo. Frrn dqg vwlu xqwlo eurzq, dqg wkhq uhpryh jduolf iurp sdq. Dgg euhdg fxehv wr wkh krw rlo. Frrn, wxuqlqj iuhtxhqwob, xqwlo oljkwob eurzqhg. Uhpryh euhdg fxehv iurp rlo, dqg vhdvrq zlwk vdow dqg shsshu. Sodfh ohwwxfh lq d odujh erzo. Wrvv zlwk guhvvlqj, uhpdlqlqj Sduphvdq fkhhvh, dqg vhdvrqhg euhdg fxehv.
bonus points for a program that takes the above text and outputs the shift I used without any human input

My dumb idea (didn't work, my bad. They're in normal Caeser cipher now)

I like the simplicity of the shifting characters but having it always be in one direction, and always being the same offset makes it easy to notice the pattern and decode.

If we have the shift value determined by the length of the current word, and the direction of it dependent on if it's a vowel or a consonant.
a pirate is nothing without his ship becomes
b jolgnk kq gvmapgz ppmavbm elp odml so we still have a visibly Caesar-y cipher, but we'll know it's not a true Caesar cipher.
The offset changes for every word and then is applied based on each letter in the word. If it's a vowel, then the encoded value is shifted upwards but if not, it slides down.

For the purposes of the below tomfoolery; prime numbers are consonants and the rest are vowels.

A Valley Without Wind 1 and 2 Steam Key:
B qjsbuf jt opuijoh xjuipvu ijt tijq
FWR0H-GQM7B-5344H

Aces Wild: Manic Brawling Action:
C rktcvg ku pqvjkpi ykvjqwv jku ujkr
K5R0H-29NPM-A3OTE

Age of Empires Legacy Bundle:
D sludwh lv qrwklqj zlwkrxw klv vkls
69PQW-UY3H7-7SQWT

AI War + 4 DLC packs & Tidalis Steam Key:
E tmvexi mw rsxlmrk amxlsyx lmw wlmt
KO99D-73JZ2-XNIK3

AI War: Vengeance Steam Key:
F unwfyj nx stymnsl bnymtzy mnx xmnu
7M2I8-I99N9-6E9F2

Alan Wake Collector's Edition Steam Key:
G voxgzk oy tuznotm coznuaz noy ynov
6ZNJ5-BIVFN-6ZSDZ

Alan Wake's American Nightmare Steam Key:
H wpyhal pz uvaopun dpaovba opz zopw
7RERD-4ACYN-TCDQ2

Amnesia: Dark Descent Steam Key:
I xqzibm qa vwbpqvo eqbpwcb pqa apqx
VGEO8-OU48X-MU7BL

Anachronox:
J yrajcn rb wxcqrwp frcqxdc qrb bqry
3589L-YGF9V-NKGW0

Anodyne:
K zsbkdo sc xydrsxq gsdryed rsc crsz
9HW7H-7Z73Z-6302D

Anomaly Defenders:
L atclep td yzestyr hteszfe std dsta
ICPIB-M63TI-9Y96V

Anomaly Korea:
M budmfq ue zaftuzs iuftagf tue etub
QMPZ2-JUK8B-JRK3V

Anomaly Korea:
N cvengr vf abguvat jvgubhg uvf fuvc
30R9T-C02AA-7DQLG

Anomaly Warzone Earth:
O dwfohs wg bchvwbu kwhvcih vwg gvwd
38UM9-Z26PH-Q4VAU

Anomaly Warzone Earth Mobile Campaign:
P exgpit xh cdiwxcv lxiwdji wxh hwxe
54TYN-AU26Q-5AGGY

Aquaria Steam key:
Q fyhqju yi dejxydw myjxekj xyi ixyf
3853A-YSB4J-6243A

Awesomenauts:
R gzirkv zj efkyzex nzkyflk yzj jyzg
DH9T5-BWOQC-KB6TB

Awesomenauts:
S hajslw ak fglzafy oalzgml zak kzah
RNRJ0-CPT4O-S9UHE

Awesomenauts Cluck Costume:
T ibktmx bl ghmabgz pbmahnm abl labi
VOWWW-QTR3Q-EAS9J

These are encoded using a Caeser shift. The line under the title is a fixed phrase (a pirate is nothing without his ship) for aid in the bonus points

I can post my code if it turns out to be unsolvable (like a bug https://trinket.io/python/dabf2b61f9), but if not; I can also keep going from letters A to Y (sans U) over the weeks with my humble bundle reserves (plaintext or not). I've had these keys for far too long and I'm never going to actually use them, but I also noticed a surge of keys being donated here so figured I might as well change it up.

Have fun

I was just thinking about something that I've noticed being an issue in a few cases on reddit. If you accidentally post something that's wrong or misleading, you might decide to edit the comment/post to be more accurate, once something was pointed out to you.

But lets say that you posted some tidbit like "David Firth is demonetized from youtube.. god i hate youtubes recent trend", which was along the lines of the things I'm talking about. But then weren't fully up to date on the story anymore as Firth had been re-instated.

With the post getting 90% of its upvotes before the "e: he's reinstated now", it's rife for accidental victimless misinformation. And once you make the correction (let's not make it 100%), you cant really go pm'ing everyone because that's annoying, and not everyone that saw it commented on it.

I'm not actually sure how much of an issue anyone else thinks this is so I'd be glad to hear if you've got a perspective on it.

The best thing I can think of is to give a little notification to people who have interacted with the post (or viewed it in the last certain amount of time?) so that you can evaluate the comment again. This isn't ideal because you'll be clued into everyone's spelling corrections.

A friend suggested a edit "pull request" thing where anyone could propose an edit, and then empowered users could approve the changes. Perhaps, if this is actually an issue and not just an over-caution, this could be rolled into that. If an empowered user thinks that it's worth pinging everyone that interacted with that post directly (vote/tag/comment) once the edit is pushed.

Would there be any way to tag users so people you've interected with would pop out a bit more in a thread as their name would have a teg beside them or you could tag your friends so even if you forget their name it could pop up somewhere and you'd know it.

The default "activity" sorting means that topics which lead to a lot of conversation tend to get bumped to the top. It seems like, in the long run, controversial topics will end up drowning out topics where the link itself is interesting but doesn't provoke people to react with a comment. I find that a lot of the most interesting links for me on other sites are the ones with the fewest comments.

I think it could be worthwhile to experiment with different default sorting, or even different mechanics. For example, Everything2 has a feature where, at a certain rank, users are able to add pages to a "Cool User Picks!" sidebar.

The current solution, custom sort ordering, doesn't seem like it will scale very well. People will tend to vote on the posts they see; if most people sort by activity, most of the votes will go to the most active posts anyway.

Anyway, just food for thought. I don't think this is super urgent, but it seems like something that would be good to think hard about and get right in the long term.

On Reddit, the reply notifications come with a "context" button, which will bring you to the topic and show a limited set of replies, to establish the context in which the new comment was made. From what I can see, there's no such feature on Tildes (yet). I'd like it if we could get a feature like that so I can easily read back what someone replied to, so I can understand the context behind it, and possibly reply again.

I managed to stumble upon https://tildes.net/invite today, but it doesn't seem like it works. The page itself says that I can generate invite codes, but it doesn't seem like there is anything on the page that I can interact with to invite other users. Is this intentional?

Tildes seems to promote older threads much more than Reddit (which I like). With that said, will there be a feature similar to Reddit where after X length of time, the post is archived and can no longer be commented/voted on?

One big thing that has made maintenance of my older code easier has been considering the concept of cyclomatic complexity. In particular, limiting conditional checks to exceptional cases as much as is reasonable has made it easier to focus on the "happy" path of code execution and easily track down the errors, and the limited nesting depth has made things easier to read as well. Overall, my code remains relatively flat and I'm not branching through layers of logic trying to track down a simple bug.

What are some simple things you do to keep your code from being a massive headache long-term?

One of the stress points that seems increasingly correlated with modernity is a rise of obesity in many developed nations (most notably the United States, but also the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Mexico, and elsewhere). Japan instituted a fat tax that requires periodic weight measurements as a way to combat obesity. Denmark and India have taxed certain foods. New York City, while Michael Bloomberg was mayor, famously taxed soda as part of a policy package to address weight gains.

Meanwhile, groups have organized to attempt to reduce the amount of stigma associated with being fat, arguing that stigmatizing obesity and arguing for aggressive dietary change often creates runoff mental health issues among fat people, or worse that doctors' obsession with weight blinds them to other more serious health issues whose symptoms are being reported by fat patients.

This question is for everyone hailing from a nation dealing with some form of rise in obesity: What is the right balance to strike with public policy when it comes to dealing with the rise of obesity?

This is a very hard puzzle. There is a solution that guarantees 100% chance of escape.

You and your friend are incarcerated. Your jailer offers a challenge. If you complete the challenge you are both free to go. Otherwise you are condemned to die. Here are the rules:

-The jailer will take you into a private cell. In the cell will be a chessboard and a jar containing 64 coins.

-The jailer will take the coins, one-by-one, and place a coin on each square on the board. He will place the coins randomly on the board. Some coins will be heads, and some tails (or maybe they will be all heads, or all tails; you have no idea. It's all at the jailer's whim. He may elect to look and choose to make a pattern himself, he may toss them placing them the way they land, he might look at them as he places them, he might not …). If you attempt to interfere with the placing of the coins, it is instant death for you. If you attempt to coerce, suggest, or persuade the jailer in any way, instant death. All you can do it watch.

-Once all the coins have been laid out, the jailer will point to one of the squares on the board and say: “This one!” He is indicating the magic square. This square is the key to your freedom.

-The jailer will then allow you to turn over one coin on the board. Just one. A single coin, but it can be any coin, you have full choice. If the coin you select is a head, it will flip to a tail. If it is a tail it will flip to a head. This is the only change you are allowed to make to the jailers initial layout.

-You will then be lead out of the room. If you attempt to leave other messages behind, or clues for your friend … yes, you guessed it, instant death!

-The jailer will then bring your friend into the room.

-Your friend will look at the board (no touching allowed), then examine the board of coins and decide which location he thinks is the magic square.

-He gets one chance only (no feedback). Based on the configuration of the coins he will point to one square and say: “This one!”

-If he guesses correctly, you are both pardoned, and instantly set free. If he guesses incorrectly, you are both executed.

-The jailer explains all these rules, to both you and your friend, beforehand and then gives you time to confer with each other to devise a strategy for which coin to flip.

What is your strategy? How do you escape?

Original source and answer: http://datagenetics.com/blog/december12014/index.html

Hi guys!

I've always being curious about tabletop games, RPG, DnD and so on. The fantasy, creativity and engagement always interested me, but I've never met anyone who played it and never being involved with it (I'm in São Paulo, Brazil, btw).

So, to be direct, does anyone has any tips on how to start? I know there are "internet based" tabletop sites/communities, but I don't know how it works.

I'd appreciate any direction! Thanks!

What are your go to workout songs? For me it's usually a toss up between the Doom 2016 soundtrack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm932Sqwf5E) and The Lifa album from Heilung (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BsKIP4uYM). Both get me super pumped and make me want to get active.

Having notifications only go away when clicking Mark As Read is a really cool feature. However, once you start to get a large amount of these notifications, this can become a pain.

Could a 'Mark All As Read' button be added that solves this feature?

For smaller threads, this isn't much of an issue, but once a thread reaches ~30 or so comments you have to scroll to the bottom before posting a comment. As tildes begins to grow this problem will only get worse and worse.

Is there any way this could be moved to the top of a thread? This would fix this problem.