Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2021 June 2

= June 2 =

Search Box
Hi,

When I hover my cursor over the search box it shows suggestions not only before I type anything but searches from other sites that have nothing to do with Wiki (some sensitive). Is there a way of deleting searches specific to Wiki? Google searches are deleted automatically when I close down my computer but not from Wiki.

Bob


 * Do you mean Wikipedia? Those settings are stored in your browser. You haven't told us which browser you are using, but you will need to access your browser history or settings to delete or change them.--Shantavira|feed me 11:42, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

C++ strings
What's wrong with my attempted solution? The compiler error makes it look as if strings didn't have a replace function or something. The IDE is web-based and should be up to date. Imagine Reason (talk) 00:55, 2 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Ok, so "workString.replace(idx, 1, 1, subChar);" works. So inelegant though. Imagine Reason (talk) 01:05, 2 June 2021 (UTC)
 * You could also say:
 * CodeTalker (talk) 19:24, 2 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I think you figured it out, but for knowledge's sake, "no matching function for call..." means there is no function declaration anywhere with a matching type signature to your function call. If you want to call a library function you have to provide the proper arguments. In the future, consult a reference if you don't know what arguments a library function takes. It might also be worthwhile to get a good book on C++ programming, which will teach you how to use the language systematically, rather than the learning method of trial-and-Google. --47.155.96.47 (talk) 21:27, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I think you figured it out, but for knowledge's sake, "no matching function for call..." means there is no function declaration anywhere with a matching type signature to your function call. If you want to call a library function you have to provide the proper arguments. In the future, consult a reference if you don't know what arguments a library function takes. It might also be worthwhile to get a good book on C++ programming, which will teach you how to use the language systematically, rather than the learning method of trial-and-Google. --47.155.96.47 (talk) 21:27, 4 June 2021 (UTC)

SELFSOURCE and social media services that force you to log in before viewing posts
I recently found myself in a strange situation. Ivy Latimer, a somewhat notable actor recently came out as transgender via an Instagram post. Unfortunately Instagram requires one to log in before viewing a post. Instagram sources are also terrible because of how volatile they are - there's no knowing when they might be deleted. For some social media services, such as Twitter, it's a trivial matter to get an archive.org link, but I can't seem to find a solution for Instagram. I personally feel that this is a disservice to readers - if they want to follow up on a SELFSOURCE claim, they will have to jump through a number of hoops to get to the original material - that is assuming it hasn't been nuked by the whims of Instagram - not to mention the privacy problems of giving Facebook companies personal information?

Is there a service or a method to reliably archive Instagram sources such that a reader does not have to actually visit Instagram?

BrxBrx(talk)(please reply with BrxBrx ) 23:41, 2 June 2021 (UTC)
 * , I am not sure this is the correct place to be asking, but I would say that I have doubts about whether a mere Instagram post passes muster for WP:DUE coverage of this. I would oppose its inclusion until covered by a reliable secondary source, such as an interview. Elizium23 (talk) 07:49, 3 June 2021 (UTC)
 * If it's considered authentic then it's obviously something readers would consider relevant, so the SPS is fine. But I'd consider it a bit suspicious, especially without seeing it.  2601:648:8200:970:0:0:0:752 (talk) 13:36, 5 June 2021 (UTC)

Website contact form
I am looking for a secure form so humans can email me without me being buried in spam.

I just write vanilla HTML 4.01 pages and have never used PHP, but my hosting provider supports it. I don't even use JavaScript!

I have searched the web and read dozens of recommendations, and I am considering this one:


 * Mike Cherim's GBCF-v3 Secure and Accessible PHP Contact Form
 * Test page where you can try the form out

The source code of that test page looks like it will be really easy to replicate on my website. Does this look like a reasonable choice for a total noob? Is there something SIMPLE which would be better? Dalek Supreme X (talk) 23:53, 2 June 2021 (UTC)


 * You will get spammed through your contact form too, though maybe not as badly as email. 2601:648:8202:350:0:0:0:BA42 (talk) 01:00, 3 June 2021 (UTC)


 * A lot of the people who are reviewing the program above say they get very little spam. The GBCF-v3 asks a question like "is ice hot or cold?" or "what is 2+3?" before allowing the email to be sent. Dalek Supreme X (talk) 02:55, 3 June 2021 (UTC)


 * You can create a form to email yourself using HTML and PHP. That isn't hard. Most people fuss with trying to get SMTP set up on the web server. Assuming that works, the PHP mail command is easy to use. The problem is that your form can be used to send spam, not to you, but to everyone else in the world. What they do is cram "end of email" characters into the message. Then, they start a new spam email to a few hundred email addresses. They pound your web form over and over to more and more email addresses. It is up to you to secure your form so they can't do that. You can't simply use the PHP mail command. You have to examine and clean the incoming messages before using the mail command. 97.82.165.112 (talk) 11:22, 3 June 2021 (UTC)
 * If you're willing to sign up for it, Google Forms and Typeform are also great ways to make forms. Alternatively, if you just want readers to send you secure emails, get a secure email (if you don't have one already) and then publish the corresponding address (and your spam filter can probably handle all the spam). Duckmather (talk) 17:19, 3 June 2021 (UTC)