I don't know if you guys remember the site I put up back in the good (bad?) old days of the other BABB when Piper was bugging us to death:

http://www.geocities.com/piperanonymous/

My question to the BABB regulars is, should I keep the site up now or take it down?

Pros: It was a historic event in the life of the BABB (or at least I flatter myself that it was). I've got all these cool quotes from you guys in the guestbook, and a lot of cool links on the site that I do go and visit, myself, every once in a while. And it got over 1000 hits, and made it to Crank.net as an anti-crank site. I'm proud of my lil' baby! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Cons: Piper/Seethruart has been banned here, right? So Piper Anonymous may have run its useful course as a compulsive-Piper-reply remedy, and if you weren't a poster here or at the Straight Dope during the Piper/Seethruart days, the site won't make much sense to you. Hardly anyone goes by there nowadays, and I've heard lots of people complain lately about not liking going to sites that haven't been updated in years. And I haven't updated it in a while, and I kind of doubt I will unless I get some kind of brilliant ideas AND the interest/energy to put them up.

So, what do you all say?

Only FOUR posts to the new BABB??? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

It's all the Straight Dope's fault, I tell ya!

Good grief, I will have to come by here more!! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_redface.gif[/img]

I think you just need some new material and a broader goal. Realize that, even though Piper may be gone, there are a host of other frustrating posters, and we all need a break from them from time to time. PA provides a valuable service.

Here are some suggestions from me for things you might add:

My favorite science site:
http://www.oz.net/~travis/sms/sms.htm

Ask Dr. Science:
http://www.drscience.com/

Pi as spoken in several languages.
http://www.cecm.sfu.ca/pi/yapPing.html
(I have it memorized to 20 decimal places myself [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img])

Yet another version of the periodic table:
http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/index.html

The Black Hole of the Web:
http://www.ravenna.com/blackhole.html

Monty Python
http://www.montypython.net/

Online Crossword Puzzles:
http://www.clearlight.com/~vivi/xw/index.html
(It includes the world's first crossword puzzle. Look under "shaped puzzles".)

The AutoDave Dave Berry column generator:
http://www.peacefire.org/staff/bennett/autodave/

I'm sure that people here can give you a ton of stuff. PA can continue to be a happening place if you keep at it. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

(And don't be such a stranger. Come and join us occasionally.)

_________________
David Hall
"Dave... my mind is going... I can feel it... I can feel it."

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: David Hall on 2002-06-23 05:21 ]</font>

Maybe the site name needs a tweak... like AstroCranks Anonymous, or something [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I'm glad Piper Anonymous is still around, although I haven't visited it in ages (or anywhere else for that matter).

Maybe have some sort of moron of the month award or something, lol. (Since Phil is way too nice to let us do that here... lol)

And Nenya, don't feel bad, you're ahead of me in posts, lol.

__________________
"Ignorance has caused more calamity than malignity" H.G. Wells

"Getting lost is part of exploring." Uniqua in "Backyardigans-Heart of the Jungle"

Oh, btw, what the heck happened to Crank Dot Net??? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img]

Perhaps it could use a new name that reflects the way those of us stumping against psuedo scientific nonsense and for rationality on the web sometime feel. I humbly suggest "The Windmill Tilter's Society Page". [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for all the kind comments, guys! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] I think I will keep P.A. going for now, especially since I found a link to it on an Moon-hoax debunking site, under "If you've been a victim of Piper or his ilk, these folks want to help," and I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone in desperate need of help, who clicked on the link only to get a 404! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] But don't count on it being updated every week or anything. I will definitely take suggestions from patrons, though. Thanks, David Hall, I will probably put some of those up.

Moron of the month sounds like fun (kind of like the Cosmic Debris award someone was talking about a while back...), but of course that would mean me coming back over to BA every so often and getting involved again. Which is not such a bad proposition, after all.

For the moment I think I'll keep it as Piper Anonymous, since I think it has a cool ring to it, but perhaps will change it in the future if I find another name I really, really like. The suggestions so far aren't bad, actually.

D'you think I should have some kind of categorization for the links I've got? Would make it easier to find one's favourite link in the whole general mish-mash. Speaking of which, does anyone know of a good Douglas Adams tribute site?

And yeah, what DID happen to Crank.net?? All I got yesterday when I went there was a page with a lot of people's faces on it. No explanation or anything. Seems to be working now, though. Weird.

Sigh. I have missed you guys!! And Rift, you've got me beat by at least one post at the moment. I'd better get cracking! (Oh, and HA! Espritch is a newbie! Evil grin!)

*runs merrily off to Geocities to see if they'll let her mess with the page*

David, thank you!!! for the Science Made Stupid link! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] I'd lost the link, but LOVED it when I'd been there before. It's perfect for the site! It even has Moon stuff, if I remeber right. The correct URL seems to be http://www.oz.net/~travis/sms/sms.htm.primary, though, instead of http://www.oz.net/~travis/sms/sms.htm. Also, it seems your periodic table link won't work for me.

Thanks again. And as of tonight there's all new links up, some of which are David's but not all. Check 'em out! [/shameless plug]

You're welcome. Strange about the links. The SMS link as is works just fine for me.

(Aha, I think I see the problem. There's a period at the end of your URL. That throws off everything.)

In any case, since you've got it working that's great. BTW, there are several mirror sites for it out there, so if it ever disappears, just do a search for it and you should be able to find one.

Also the periodic table one was working when I posted it. Must just be down at this time. So try again later.

_________________
David Hall
"Dave... my mind is going... I can feel it... I can feel it."

<font size="-1">(Threw in the Aha)</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: David Hall on 2002-06-24 03:43 ]</font>

Hmm, I wonder if it wasn't hijacked. Sometimes crackers can get in and change the contents of people's pages. Either that or there were some crossed up wires on their server. But it's up again now.

__________________
...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere

Aw, man. The kitten generator is the best. I'm still grinning over it.

I've a couple of suggestions for your site, if I may. Could you change it so that external links open in a new window instead of the same one?

And the page that comes up after you've signed the guestbook doesn't allow you to get back to the main page. When I click on the link that says so, it just sends me back to the guestbook form.

Thanks. Keep up the good work. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

_________________
David Hall
"Dave... my mind is going... I can feel it... I can feel it."

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: David Hall on 2002-06-24 04:02 ]</font>

Glad you liked the kitten generator! It is terribly sweet. Someone at the Straight Dope linked to it (or another like it) last week, for someone who was having a bad day, and I bookmarked it. Definitely a useful thing to have after a round of debating, eh?

You're right about the Science Made Stupid link. Why didn't I think of taking the period off? ::smack:: The link you gave works now, & I'll remember to check for mirrors if it ever goes down.

Periodic table seems to be down, though. Don't know why. Might there perhaps be a typo in what you gave me? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img]

I think I've fixed the link back to the main page from the guestbook, but I don't know how to make pages pop up in a different window. Is there a html code that does that? Seems like I've heard that there is but my html is quite basic so I'd have to look it up. It'd be a great thing to have, especially since the site consists of mostly links. I know I really appreciate it when other web sites do that when they've got a whole stack of links.

Like the Dave Barry column generator, except that I don't know who he is. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Kept expecting a HB to come in this thread and bash me for having the site up, but that hasn't happened yet. Heh.

Nope, I first opened up the page then copied the URL, that way I would be sure to get a working link. I've tried it again from my bookmark and it's definitely the site that's down. It's not really that important anyway, although comic book lovers might get a kick out of it.

Sure, simply add a target="_blank" or target="_new" in after the href="url" command.
&lt;a href="someurl" target="_blank">Sitename&lt;/a>

Dave Barry is the premier humor columnist in the U.S. His column shows up in most newspapers and he has a ton of books out too. This generator pretty much gets his style of writing down. Here's the real thing: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...ts/dave_barry/

__________________
...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere

Thanks, I'll add the open-new-window command as soon as possible...but right now I'm going to sleep. It's 4 am! Silly Nenya! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

David, you are my new bestest friend, for having posted that Comic Book Periodic Table link!!! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] I love it!!

The (Metamorpho was one of my early favourites) Curtmudgeon

YES! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] *does happy dance* I got the links to open in new windows! Thanks for the tips, David. (Yes, very easily amused, I know. Also far less fluent in html than I wish to be.)

Oh, and the comic book periodic table link is working now. Looks pretty cool.

--Nenya

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Nenya on 2002-06-25 03:53 ]</font>

What? No comics featuring ytterbium? How unfair. Rare earths get no respect!

How about a periodic table of science fiction>? All are very good stories. My personal favorite is the one for Hydrogen.

_________________
"You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe." [Carl Sagan]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: James on 2002-06-27 00:37 ]</font>

I have an MP3 file of Tom Leher's periodical table song, somewhere... If you had enough room to save it, i'd hunt it up for you... great stuff, lol.

__________________
"Ignorance has caused more calamity than malignity" H.G. Wells

"Getting lost is part of exploring." Uniqua in "Backyardigans-Heart of the Jungle"

Yes, I think I saw the song and lyrics...pretty cool and probably quite useful for memorizing the elements.

[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]