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    1. New search capabilities available: phrases, excluding terms, alternatives ("or")

      On Sunday, I took the site down for a short downtime to upgrade the database from PostgreSQL version 10 to 12. One of the main reasons I wanted to do that upgrade was to get access to a new search...

      On Sunday, I took the site down for a short downtime to upgrade the database from PostgreSQL version 10 to 12. One of the main reasons I wanted to do that upgrade was to get access to a new search function, and I've updated to using it now, so we have multiple nice new search capabilities available.

      These should all be pretty familiar since a lot of other search systems and search engines have similar capabilities with the same syntax:

      • As before, by default, searching for multiple words will be treated as "all of these terms". So if you search ~games for steam play, you'll get all topics that have both "steam" and "play" in them.
      • Phrases can now be searched for by putting double quotes around them. Searching ~games for "steam play" in quotes will only find topics that specifically have "steam play".
      • Excluding terms can be done by putting a minus sign in front of it. For example, if you wanted to try to find ~games posts about Blizzard and exclude the recent China controversy, you could search for blizzard -china.
      • Alternatives can be searched for by using "or". This changes to "any of these terms" instead of "all of these terms". For example, searching for overwatch or diablo will find any topic with either of those terms, instead of both.
      • These capabilities can be combined, so you can exclude phrases, use "or" with phrases, and so on. For example: blizzard -"hong kong" or diablo.

      This all works both through the main site topic search (at the top of the sidebar) as well as the new search for your own topics/comments.

      I'm going to write a page for the Docs with info about these capabilities, but I think I want to try to find a full specification of what's supported first to make sure I cover it properly. The PostgreSQL docs are pretty vague about it, so I'll probably need to take a look in the actual code.

      Please let me know if you notice any issues with it, or if anything's confusing that I should make sure to document.

      And as usual, I've given everyone 10 invites, accessible on the invite page.

      52 votes
    2. Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads. Don't forget to format your code using the triple...

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads.

      Don't forget to format your code using the triple backticks or tildes:

      Here is my schema:
      
      ```sql
      CREATE TABLE article_to_warehouse (
        article_id   INTEGER
      , warehouse_id INTEGER
      )
      ;
      ```
      
      How do I add a `UNIQUE` constraint?
      
      9 votes
    3. Unusual conversation with Meetup support regarding profile image uploads

      I had a problem uploading a profile photo to Meetup today and so contacted support: I can't upload a profile photo so am unable to join a number of groups. The photo just fails to upload and have...

      I had a problem uploading a profile photo to Meetup today and so contacted support:

      I can't upload a profile photo so am unable to join a number of groups. The photo just fails to upload and have tried a number of different sizes (from 400x400 to over 2000 x 1000) and formats - jpg and png. Something seems to be failing!

      I got a fairly quick reply:

      What problem do you see when you try to upload a photo? Are you seeing any error messages?

      The first thing to check when uploading a photo is the size and format of the image.

      Images should be .jpg, .gif, or .png format.
      The file size limit is 10MB. (If your file size is already below 10MB, try reducing the size further.)

      If your image meets these specifications, send the photo to me as an attachment and I'll take a look. I'll also need the link to the page where you're having trouble uploading the photo.

      So I sent the image I was trying to photograph (a photo of me with a camera wearing my Refused tshirt) and received this reply:

      Profile photos can't have text in them at all (even words written on clothing). It's one of the most common reasons you might have trouble uploading a profile photo. If your photo has any text or lettering, try uploading a different photo.

      If that still doesn't work, the next things to check when uploading a photo are the size and format of the image.

      Images should be .jpg, .gif, or .png format.

      The file size limit is 10MB. (If your file size is already below 10MB, try reducing the size further.)

      If your image meets those technical specifications and is free of text, send the photo to me as an attachment and I'll take a look. It's also helpful if you can send the link to the page where you're having trouble uploading the photo.

      What? "Profile photos can't have text in them at all (even words written on clothing)"

      I pixelated the word "Refused" from the photo and sure enough after uploading the edited photo, it uploaded.

      Confused, I sent a reply:

      I've pixelated out the text on my tshirt and that seemed to resolve it. It seems to be strange policy? Any reason for this?

      And got this bizarre explanation:

      To keep our design consistent across all devices, rich text formatting, embedded images, and embedded videos are not supported.

      I've replied back to see if the support person can explain what they mean.

      10 votes
    4. Fortnite's new season has brought the game back to its roots

      For at least a year I'd been rather disappointed with Fortnite. It kept appealing to the lowest common denominator and the game that I fell in love with in the end of season 2 (which is almost two...

      For at least a year I'd been rather disappointed with Fortnite. It kept appealing to the lowest common denominator and the game that I fell in love with in the end of season 2 (which is almost two years ago) kept changing for the worse. It became less of a Battle Royale game and more of a playground where you never knew what you were gonna get. It kept getting worse through the seasons and I played it less and less. So during season 9 I was only barely hanging on - and once season 10 launched with even more proverbial bullshit, I finally decided to uninstall the game. That was in the beginning of August and I never looked back for a second - I was done with it!

      With Chapter 2 however (season 11), it's back to basics. The many weapons have been trimmed and there are only very few left - and none of the crazy ones. It's simpler and easier to navigate, and all the vehicles and movement mechanics have also been scrapped almost entirely. There are no more hover boards, ATVs, golf carts, airplanes, jump pads, rifts, etc. There's a harmless boat, and that's it! So when I saw the trailer for this new version of Fortnite, I reinstalled the game immediately. I've played 9 games now and this is the version I fell in love with - if not better! It's so good in its simplicity. The mechanics with building and whatnot have stayed the same, but the gameplay itself is much improved. It went from chaotic and action-packed to feeling more like a survival game. And the aesthetic of the new map is also just beautiful.

      I'm no game reviewer but I thought that this overhaul of a pretty massive game is worth talking about!

      Edit: not to mention the marketing stunt they pulled before launching this new version of the game was insanely clever. It made headlines all over the world, they even talked about it on the evening news here in little ol' Denmark!

      15 votes
    5. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was...

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

      If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

      6 votes
    6. What is something for which you feel unfairly judged?

      We've all felt it: the idea that something about us or something we're into is subject to unnecessary, invasive, or hurtful scrutiny or skepticism from others. Sometimes it's something small ("You...

      We've all felt it: the idea that something about us or something we're into is subject to unnecessary, invasive, or hurtful scrutiny or skepticism from others. Sometimes it's something small ("You like licorice? Really?!"), and sometimes it's something big ("You don't want to have kids? Really?!"), and each of us likely has faced both within our lives. I'm interested to know what other people's experiences are with this.

      • What do you feel unfairly judged for?
      • What, in particular, makes it so unfair?
      • How do you handle it when you encounter it?
      • Do you find yourself changing your behavior or pressured into dishonesty in order to avoid encountering the judgment in the first place?
      • Why do you feel this sentiment exists in others and is widespread/shared?

      Also, it probably goes without saying, but on a post centered primarily on people's feelings and experiences, potentially very difficult ones, it's probably best to do more listening, empathizing, and asking than explaining or rationalizing.

      23 votes
    7. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      22 votes