Delete a random account??

Rodrigo · 2010-06-23, 02:19

Hello,

Having registered on the forum today, I went to log off and there appeared a box with a very strange choice:

"Are you sure you want to delete a random account and then log out?"

Huh? No, I don't want to delete anybody's account, even at random. All I want to do is to log out, thank you. How do I do that?

Is that box a joke, or have I just checked into the "Hotel California"?

Rodrigo

mdettweiler · 2010-06-23, 02:28

Yes, it's a joke.

Though at least one person (there may be more that I don't know of) have been given a "Deleted" subtitle under their username.

You'll notice a lot of such things around here. For instance, look at the "What's Going On?" section at the bottom of the main page--you'll see a number of examples. And a good number of the more active members here (myself included) have been "assigned" avatars per the whims of Xyzzy, our forum administrator. Less prevalent, though still notable, are the subtitles below some users' names--if you ask for one, you can be sure you'll get something, though it's probably not quite what you were looking for.

(I'm still not entirely sure what mine is supposed to mean.)

retina · 2010-06-23, 02:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodrigo

Hello,

Having registered on the forum today, I went to log off and there appeared a box with a very strange choice:

"Are you sure you want to delete a random account and then log out?"

Huh? No, I don't want to delete anybody's account, even at random. All I want to do is to log out, thank you. How do I do that?

Is that box a joke, or have I just checked into the "Hotel California"?

Rodrigo

Be careful when logging out because the random you delete might be your own.

I'm going to write a script to continually log in and then log out, after a few thousand iterations there should be no accounts left in the database

. I wonder if the admin account is protected in some way or whether I can delete that account also?

BTW: did you try searching for "delete random account", it has been discussed before.

mdettweiler · 2010-06-23, 02:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by retina

BTW: did you try searching for "delete random account", it has been discussed before.

Or just try "Related Threads" at the bottom of this page--the first one should be a bingo.

retina · 2010-06-23, 02:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdettweiler

Or just try "Related Threads" at the bottom of this page--the first one should be a bingo.

That wouldn't have worked if this thread had not yet been created.

So if one wants to be lazy before posting, then simply create the thread and see what comes up as related?

only_human · 2010-06-23, 02:44

Occasionally an arrogant or otherwise noteworthy thread title will be rephrased in a harmlessly kidding way.

To get a feel for the intended lightheartedness of these minor forms of banter, if you subscribe to email notification of a thread change, you get a message like this:

Quote:

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL!

WELL, YOU CAN REPLY TO IT, BUT NOTHING WILL HAPPEN!

You will probably never see this email because it will end up in your spam folder.

However, just in case it doesn't, or, if you happen to read the messages in your spam folder:

Dear your_forum_name,

Our system indicates that something may have replied to a thread you accidentally subscribed to entitled - Delete a random account?? - in the Information & Answers forum.

This thread might be located at:

http://mersenneforum.org/forumdisplay.php?f=38

There may also be other replies, but we are too busy playing with our Nintendo to bother to check.

Once you visit the forum, your subscription counter might reset and then we will grudgingly pause our game and send you a new spam email.

Thank you for your time!

The Gerbils

The Gerbils are described here: Resident forum assistants, past and present

I once received a message from Snake1. He quoted a line from the movie The Princess Bride.

Uncwilly · 2010-06-23, 03:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdettweiler

(I'm still not entirely sure what mine is supposed to mean.)

For a while you were "anonymous", then you got your name changed. "A sunny moo" is an anagram of "anonymous". Anagrams are par for the course.

BTW, there are other things afoot too.

mdettweiler · 2010-06-23, 04:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by retina

That wouldn't have worked if this thread had not yet been created.

So if one wants to be lazy before posting, then simply create the thread and see what comes up as related?

Ooh, right, I see what you mean. I misread your post to think that you had intended that the OP do the search now, *after* the thread had been created.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

For a while you were "anonymous", then you got your name changed. "A sunny moo" is an anagram of "anonymous". Anagrams are par for the course.

BTW, there are other things afoot too.

Yeah, I do seem to recall someone having mentioned the anagram connection before when it first showed up...I'd forgotten about that. However, I could have sworn that I saw "A Sunny Moo" somewhere else as well, completely unrelated to mersenneforum. (Is that what you meant by other thigns being afoot?)

cheesehead · 2010-06-23, 04:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by retina

So if one wants to be lazy before posting, then simply create the thread and see what comes up as related?

Be sure to use maximally descriptive words in the title of the created thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdettweiler

However, I could have sworn that I saw "A Sunny Moo" somewhere else as well, completely unrelated to mersenneforum. (Is that what you meant by other thigns being afoot?)

No, seeing "A Sunny Moo" outside mersenneforum.org simply means that someone other than GIMPSters thought of that acronym, too.

What Uncwilly was referring to, I'm sure, was other things "afoot" within Mersenne Forum and GIMPS.

retina · 2010-06-23, 06:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheesehead

Be sure to use maximally descriptive words in the title of the created thread.

Good advice regardless of whether one wants to use the "similar threads" trick or not. I wish more people would follow it.

joblack · 2010-06-23, 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodrigo

Hello,
Having registered on the forum today, I went to log off and there appeared a box with a very strange choice:

Do you really log out? I didn't know this is possible (today I first recognized the 'Log Out' button). ;)

2010-06-23, 02:19	#1
Rodrigo Jun 2010 Pennsylvania 2×467 Posts	Delete a random account?? Hello, Having registered on the forum today, I went to log off and there appeared a box with a very strange choice: "Are you sure you want to delete a random account and then log out?" Huh? No, I don't want to delete anybody's account, even at random. All I want to do is to log out, thank you. How do I do that? Is that box a joke, or have I just checked into the "Hotel California"? Rodrigo

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2010-06-23, 02:28	#2
mdettweiler A Sunny Moo Aug 2007 USA (GMT-5) 3·2,083 Posts	Yes, it's a joke. Though at least one person (there may be more that I don't know of) have been given a "Deleted" subtitle under their username. You'll notice a lot of such things around here. For instance, look at the "What's Going On?" section at the bottom of the main page--you'll see a number of examples. And a good number of the more active members here (myself included) have been "assigned" avatars per the whims of Xyzzy, our forum administrator. Less prevalent, though still notable, are the subtitles below some users' names--if you ask for one, you can be sure you'll get something, though it's probably not quite what you were looking for. (I'm still not entirely sure what mine is supposed to mean.)