Welcome to the new version of European Tribune. It's just a new layout, so everything should work as before - please report bugs here.

First Open Thread

by Jerome a Paris Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:02:49 AM EST

After a hard day at work (!), it is time to go back home and spend some time with the children and away from all computers... I am amazed and humbled to tell you that we have, as of the time I write, 285 users (occupying, strangely enough, close to 400 uids - some remain empty for no obvious reason) - that's a lot of people that I hope I won't disappoint! But remember, this is your site just as much as mine. Write the diaries, start topics, invite all your friends, and have fun!


Display:
Reserving low, desirable UIDs for your cronies and lackies!

How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds Makes ill deeds done. Shakespeare; King John
by ogre (p-mclaughlin@REMOVETHIScox.net) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:13:16 AM EST
IS there an official language here or are people encouraged to post in which ever language they prefer?
by Kevin de Bruxelles on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:13:49 AM EST
I don't know about official language, but this is what Jerome said in the Welcome on the front page:
The site is currently in English, but we hope that we will soon have a large enough and sufficiently diverse crowd to start having diaries and stories written in other languages, and lively discussions taking place within and between citizens of different language areas.
by ask on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:19:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
that seems clear enough to me.  
by Kevin de Bruxelles on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:33:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
How 'bout it? Ĉu estas aliaj esperantistoj ĉi tie? Ŝajnas al mi, ke ĉi tie estus tre bona ejo por trovi esperantistoj. (Mi bedaŭras se mi mistajpas; mi ne uzis Esperanto en ĉ. 10 jaroj kaj mia E-o estas tiel iom "rusta".)

This message was funded in part by a grant from the National Snark Foundation.
by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 04:45:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It will be interesting to see on this site if trolls are multilingual or multicultural.

Sono il Re di Tutto. But you can call me Ray.
by Ray D Tutto on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:41:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]
consists almost entirely of examining latin roots and trying to discern the meaning...I wouldn't know if someone was trolling in French.  
by BooMan on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:54:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Just think of the recipe potential on this site!
by Jenn on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 12:08:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I have recipes ready...but maybe that's my American-ness showing...

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia
by whataboutbob on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 07:24:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]


The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. -- Calvin and Hobbes
by SteveK on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 06:23:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
For most trolls English, being both their first and second language, is troublesome and they appear to have the same handicap when it comes to culture.

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. -- Calvin and Hobbes
by SteveK on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:20:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Please, no making fun of us monolingual liberals. Perhaps I will finally get around to taking that French class I've been promising myself...
by jam on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 03:15:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I've taken Spanish, in middle school, and German, in high school and college, along with Latin and some Greek. This is truly use it or lose it stuff. I can sometimes limp through elementary German. I deal with Romance languages as badly written Latin nowadays.
by freelunch on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 05:52:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
In my opinion it should read "English is neither their first nor second language." Some years ago I invented the term "trollskrit" for whatever it is they use.

This message was funded in part by a grant from the National Snark Foundation.
by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 04:46:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I sit corrected. Neither / Nor is a much better explanation.

BTW Omir, thanks for the GREAT stories! I like 'em so much that I've been reading them to the grandkids and they think you're Aesop.

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. -- Calvin and Hobbes

by SteveK on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 06:29:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm glad you and the kids like them!

This message was funded in part by a grant from the National Snark Foundation.
by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 09:08:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks so much for setting this up. It will be fun, I hope, to try to get some perspective on American versus European views on all this.

One thing I would strongly suggest is that some "guidance" be provided on the rating system. Somehow I suspect that some of these discussions could potentially get somewhat hot, and it would be nice if we could all resolve to play nice.

My personal rule is to rate highly diaries and comments that I find interesting, whether I agree with them or not. And if I find someone making a poor argument, or someone who looks like a troll, or someone who is clearly off in the tinfoil hat zone, I simply try to ignore them. Troll rating comments so quickly turns into a rating war that it should be, in my opinion, generally avoided.

by asdf on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:16:25 AM EST
Thank you for this rich new place, Jerome.

And I hope that your children will "guest blog" for us!  I'd love to hear from them.  And your wife too!

by susanhu (susanhuatearthlinkdotnet) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:31:36 AM EST
A "new window" link to Babelfish or some other translating site with different options would be good for people like me who are linguistically challenged (some French and that's about it). That way people could post in whatever language they wish. It would be difficult to carry on nuanced discussions, but would be better than nothing.
Oh, and thanks for starting this forum. It is badly needed.
by northsylvania on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:37:19 AM EST
Another window opened to the world. Thank you.

A fresh wind is beginning to blow here in the USA(well, a breeze so far) and open windows can only help to air out the place.

I will be a daily visitor and hope I can add something to the discussion.

Hello everyone!

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner -- James Bovard

by bablhous on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:50:59 AM EST
Another window opened to the world - this is my thought as well. One of best things about the internet!

Congratulations on your Grand Opening everyone, and bravo for all your hard work.

by olivia on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 01:54:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks for setting this site up... I've been wanting something like this to read, and from your excellent diaries on kos, I'm excited to see what this site is going to offer (plus what I can contribute).

Small suggestion: if you can make the text of your front page entries a bit smaller you're going to have a better "look" for the site.  Much like dailykos, bringing your font down to 10 pt is gonna give it just a touch of visual "class."  I've designed a few websites in my day, but take it or leave it.

Either way, I look forward to what's coming on this blog!!!

;)
kyle


uh huh me.

by kyle (kyle[at]followingpj[dotcom]) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:03:49 AM EST
Congratulations to all who have worked on this - what a fine achievement! (I knew I should have stayed up for the grand opening last night - geez, I registered 12 hours after the site started up and I have UID #380)

Is there a resource to explain the specific affiliation with BT? I was interested to see that all the BT ads transferred over to this site.

Wishing you much success!

by Anomalous on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:21:57 AM EST
Mmm...smell that new Open Thread smell.

First day in, and the site hasn't crashed yet.  That's reason enough for me to stay.  Oh, and there's the whole thing with the brilliant writers and whatnot.  I'll stay for them, too.

by DH from MD on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:24:26 AM EST
Almost prophetic!
by ask on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 09:39:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Jeez, that was kinda creepy.  I say it didn't crash, and it crashes.  Hmm...let's try something.

Into his second term, and George Bush hasn't been impeached yet.

(Let's wait and see what happens...)

by DH from MD on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 10:35:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yeah, more prophesies like that!
by ask on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 12:14:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
when I could actually read the open thread.  You kossacks probably know what I mean.

Anyway, just would like to ask you guys what you think of Angela Merkel.  May start a diary on Germany later, but I would just like to hear whether Germans and those in the surrounding area think that the CDU's victory and Schroeder's loss is as inevitable as it looks from here, and whether she will be a catastrophe or actually what Germany needs.

by Rick in TX on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:56:17 AM EST

From the rose garden of my local library, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

To thine ownself be true. W.S. CANADA
by sybil on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:56:38 AM EST
I would concur in those Félicitations if I just figured out how to get a nice picture up there. The User's Guide says their should be a Your Files option to use. I simply can't find it!

Sybil! You stole my Your Files? Give it back to me! :)

(Err... Pleeaase help me find it. Tell me the secret. Pleeaase.)

by high5 on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 05:16:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I believe "your files" is in reference to a hosting service such as Imageshack.
You will need to upload your digital images to such a site (it's free to open an account) and then proceed to follow the other instructions - basically, all you need to code is
[img src="URL"] - just replace < for [ and > for ] and copy the URL of the image where I wrote URL.
by ask on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 09:46:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I know how to reference an outside picture. Haven't tried  uploading to Imageshack though. According to the Users Guide that shouldn't be necessary:


You can insert pictures in your diaries or your comments. To do this, you need to have a direct link to the picture on the net or to upload the relevant file onto the European Tribune server and post a link to it.

To upload a file, click on the "Your files" link in your user menu on the right hand side...

I'd like to try that fine feature out! Must be a french thing, is it?

by high5 on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 11:54:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Aha, I had missed that bit earlier.
In that case, we're both robbed - I can seem to find the link either :(
by ask on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 02:50:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
No the User Guide is right, but the "files" link has been taken from the right side box for some mysterious reason. You should still find it in the popdown menu at the top of the page - the [your handle]'s Page. Click on that and the rest should apply.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 03:12:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Sorry. I can't find it there either.
by high5 on Wed Jun 15th, 2005 at 05:19:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
If you are taking an image that is already online,
just right click 'copy image location.' That's easy.

If it is your own photo or image you need to get it online. I am using a webpage of my own just for that purpose. My account allows for extra websites. Therefore I don't know about the image shack hosting. I could temporarily host your image. Email it to me. (it might lose some quality in emailing). So then you would go to my image site and right click on your own photo, etc. etc.

To thine ownself be true. W.S. CANADA

by sybil on Wed Jun 15th, 2005 at 08:12:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It's been amazing to watch the BoomanTrib explode in the last few weeks and I'm thrilled to see the momentum carrying over to the European Tribune.

Thanks to all of you who worked so hard to make this site a reality.
by Hoya90 (hoya90jmk-at-yahoo-dot-com) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 12:05:56 PM EST
10:02:49 AM PDT (Pacific Day Time)
Is there any obvious reason why you don't use something like Central Europe (Summer) Time ?
by Hansvon on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 12:08:46 PM EST
You can set any timezone you want -- but the site default is PDT.  This is an artifact of Scoop being originally used to power kuro5hin.org and dailykos.com.  

Click on 'User Pages' in the right-hand column, and explore the various sub-pages.  You'll find the preferences page where you can set your preferred timezone, and all times will be displayed in relation to that timezone.

-AG

by AlphaGeek (SiliconValleyAlphaGeek(a)gmail.com) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 12:18:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Software restrictions apparently. But you can set your own timezone in your preferences.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 12:18:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]
checkin out my user ID...lol
by MiCHAEL104 on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 12:35:53 PM EST
How will I ever learn to juggle between orange, green, and blue?  Congratulations on a terrific start!  I like what I see!

First request:  modify your css to adhere to web standards to show recently visited pages with a different text color, and remove the red [!] from the recommended and recent diaries list.  This will save you server cycles, because you won't have to keep track of which diaries users have visited, as well as simplify the front page, making it more meaningful to more visitors (hardly anyone knows what [!} signifies, whereas almost everyone knows that a color difference shows an already visited link).

Currently your "visited" color is indistinguishable (to my eye anyway) from the unvisited color.  This can be fixed by using the hover color for visited color as well.  The bit of your css/main file that needs fixing is this.

a:visited {
 color: #3c4fa5;
}

If you adopt my suggestion, it should instead read

a:visited {
 color: #2b7df0;
}

by on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 01:49:06 PM EST
for getting this rolling.

"...psychopaths have little difficulty infiltrating the domains of...politics, law enforcement, (and) government." Dr. Robert Hare
by RubDMC (rubdmc at yahoodotcom) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 02:16:14 PM EST
Thanks for adding this--- it should become an important annex to the  Kosuniverse
by Aruac on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 03:09:25 PM EST
...to have this perspective. As aspiring expats (06-07 school year, we hope), we signed up immediately. Now all we need to do is find jobs so we can get over there.

ˇNo Pasarán!
by pilgrim99 on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 05:15:43 PM EST
I am on forums where I get some European viewpoints, and have always been interested in the "outside looking in" approach to the United States.  I'm looking forward to some interesting reading.  So Jerome and all, thanks for your work!

Andy

by on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 06:46:13 PM EST
I'll post here.

Every time I click on a link at Booman Tribune it logs me out.  When I login, it takes me back to the main page and I have start to whole process over again.

by sgilman on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:14:31 PM EST
Comments are gone, all screwed up, does anyone know any more....Susan said they were working on it..Hope all content is not lost,  
by Diane101 on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:27:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
.
Best comments gone - most still available in word processor. Is odd to see site all screwed up. Perhaps another backup to be found with the latest data?

Did BooMan lose the dreary diary on Michael Jackson?

All the cheers and mojo also gone. Fortunes of computers and automation - slowly getting back to work - only if we suspect the worst is behind us.

USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan Tribune and add some cheers!

by Oui on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:41:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
What do you mean dreary Michael Jackson diary...you are not referring to my comments are you.
by Diane101 on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:52:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I can still see my comments and it show the mojo.

If you login and click on Diane101's comments you should be able to see yours.  The recommends appear to be gone.

by sgilman on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:50:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
on my screen for anyone,,,,
by Diane101 on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:54:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I was worried that it was just me.

This message was funded in part by a grant from the National Snark Foundation.
by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 04:28:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
weird server problems.
by BooMan on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:27:06 PM EST
Is content gone, boo,
by Diane101 on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:32:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
We've got some really strange problems.  I'm on the phone with Andy now and we're trying to figure it out.

Database got screwed up.  We have the data though, but we may need some time to fix this.

BooTrib is more screwed up than this site.

by BooMan on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:37:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
.
USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan Tribune and add some cheers!
by Oui on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:44:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Clear your cookies - then login.  

It worked for me.

by sgilman on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:54:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Don't know what happened.
Just back from NYC-Kos meet-up with lots of NYC-kossacks and Armando.
Tried to get on BT - nothing.
Same with ET.
But then I tried to log on via search engine - and could.  Not that I believe that is significant - maybe you got it running in the meantime.
by ask on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:45:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
If you clear your cookies, you can login normally.

The server side cookies from before the crash must be unavailable.

by sgilman on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:53:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
we have some seriously corrupted tables, including the currently recommended diaries, the table for who is logged on, and the table for what you've already visited.

We also may lose a few hours of data when we do the restore.  I apologize for this,  truly.  But we will get things back in working order soon.

by BooMan on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 09:54:06 PM EST
Previous comments showed with with a blank where the user name should be.  Strange.

I hope this is not related to my recommendation to remove references to the [!] in the recommended diaries.  That was done at DK with no problems.

by jotter (jotter551 a netscape point net) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:51:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
test
by BooMan on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 10:58:01 PM EST
did you pass or fail?

What happened to my tail?
by Eyore on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 05:27:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well I guess recent comments were lost too.  What things are going on, first the 'influx' and now this.  we will be patient dear Boo, but I just have to have someone to talk to, can't just go to bed, can I...
by Diane101 on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:02:17 PM EST
a band of wild revelers was spotted in the East Village:

Rumor had it that the mysterious Armando was among them, but no one would vouch for it.

La vie n'est de soi ni bien ni mal, elle est la place du bien et du mal selon que vous faites.

by Time Waits for no Woman (time.waits_at_gmail.com) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:02:52 PM EST
Hi Time Waits,
It was great to meet you again - and everyone else, we must have been close to 30.  Great pic here + I saw the ones you posted in Armando's (now scrolled away) diary at dKos.  Big fun - see you next meet-up!
by ask on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:24:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It was good to see you too.  That reminds me.  I forgot to post a picture of the international man of mystery who was also there (more befits this site).



La vie n'est de soi ni bien ni mal, elle est la place du bien et du mal selon que vous faites.

by Time Waits for no Woman (time.waits_at_gmail.com) on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 08:49:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Cool.  The other guys are 'dstein' and 'gnat' (for those who may recognize kos-handles).
Have you seen Sirocco's expose of my home country on the front page?  Very entertaining.
by ask on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 08:54:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Seriously, nice work, Jerome.
by KPlayer (kplayer at gmail dot com) on Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:29:12 PM EST
Jerome, you were right about the cookies issue. I use
Firefox, but I had to change the security setting in
IE also. thanks for the assist.


What happened to my tail?
by Eyore on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 12:02:05 AM EST
I posted this on the resources diary...but thought you would find this of interest (even though more a US issue), since you often write about the various "bubbles"...this article was posted (surprise, surprise) late Friday article Reuters, on the housing bubble crisis that you might find of note:
"Greenspan, regulators raise volume of housing alarm"

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=8760403

Maybe you saw it already...but wanted to make sure...seems ominous, though Greenspan is sugar coating words again...

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 12:56:28 AM EST
You guys/girls have done a great job.  It will be nice
to get the real European view on things.  And perhaps,
recover my very rusty French/German skills.
abientot   Robert

What happened to my tail?
by Eyore on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 05:32:33 AM EST
Even the Swiss Radio, DR3, keeps playing news about Michael Jackson...alright already...though rumor has it he may move to Lichtenstein..

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia
by whataboutbob on Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 07:34:32 AM EST


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