User:Aaron Schulz/Fun stuff

Notes on Parser.php

 * [21:15] Tim Starling did a major rewrite creating the skeleton of what we now call the "parser" a few years ago.
 * [21:16] Naturally, time and user demands called for this to have new things added, and I don't suppose it really occurred to anyone to write a formal spec.
 * [21:17] Now we're popular, and everyone wants to be able to use our content, and when they ask how to do it reliably, we're caught trousers down with our regexes hanging out.

Notes on extensions
Many core developers write extensions and have them peer reviewed. However, there are also many third party extension, some that are not hosted on the WikiMedia SVN site, some even with unprotected code on wiki pages. Be careful when installing such. Potential breakage (like DeleteUser and logs), security vulnerabilities like inefficient easy-to-DOS queries, poor default user permission settings, failure to escape inputted data by users when outputting as HTML (can cause JS injection), SQL injection and other such stuff is more likely to be present.

Also, instructions can be a bit unclear and confusing:


 * [22:38]		How do i install Infobox? i tried the one on http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Infobox_Data_Capture, but the SQL has error when i try input into database
 * [22:39]		MySQL said: Documentation
 * [22:39]		#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '.`_infoboxdata` (
 * [22:39]		`ib_from` int(8) unsigned NOT NULL def' at line 1
 * [22:39]		VoiceOfAll, LOL.

MediaWiki skins
link to a site with a sweet skin
 * [21:53]		Why must MediaWiki's skinning system be so hard?

Sysadmins and Wikimedia servers

 * [23:28]		watches brion love the servers
 * [23:29]	 	AaronSchulz: hey that's a private moment between a man and his machine
 * [23:30]		that's going on my userpage ;)


 * [05:09]	 	brion can't kill me
 * [05:09]	 	brion is too small

DB slaves

 * [07:07]		anyway, the general concept is that we don't show the user up-to-date information
 * [07:08]		because that's expensive
 * [07:08]	 	we don't show exact information either, sometimes
 * [07:08]	 	and people get frustrated.
 * [07:08]	 	actually, it can be just interface message changes
 * [07:08]	 	"wait, calm down, get a coffee"
 * [07:08]	 	this reminds me, I need to get a coffee
 * [07:08]	 	this reminds me, I need to get a coffee

Code documentation
[07:20]		I think brion has perfected the art of using jokes as a replacement for documentation:

Philosophy
[19:21]	 	why humans so crazy [?]

Good bug report example
[23:00]	 	hi... I cant get media wiki to work

Dorm life

 * [22:27]		ok, my dorm fire alarm sounding again
 * [22:27]	AaronSchulz	sighs
 * [22:28]		we had an evacuation a couple of weeks ago because some pot-smoker saw the RA and panicked and threw his joint in the trash can
 * [22:28]		the RA didn't see it, but the trash caught on fire
 * [22:29]		obviously, the guy was high, so the logical thing to do is throw the flaming trash can in the hallway