All posts by Ryan Cullen

Better Moderation

Plugins

My latest wordpress plugin is called Better Moderation and was built to be used on LibDemVoice, but is available for all.

One of the biggest problems we have is that people like to leave rude messages, under the current system in WordPress you can add their IP address, email or name to the moderation list and in future their comments no longer automatically appear.
You might even find some keywords they like using and you can add these to the list.
The problem occurs when you login to see what comments are awaiting moderation. You look at the list and there is a new comment, but why has it been moderated? Maybe a swear word, in the past you added them to be blocked, one of the other admins manually moved them to the moderation queue, might just be too many links, or a collection of these rules.
So you approve the message, it appears on-topic, but the reason was that someone else in the team had decided that this person was no longer welcome.
Continue reading Better Moderation →

Deleting error_log on mass

Web Design

I’ve recently moved to new VPS servers and something that you need to be careful with is an incorrect setup in your php.ini file. Just a small typo can result in a line of errors everytime a PHP page is loaded, and on a WordPress blog that can be high.

So once you’ve noticed that you have quite a few error_logs and that you have solved the issue causing the errors, this one line of code via a SSH terminal can delete all the logs for you.

find . -name error_log -exec rm -f {} \;

As a warning this won’t prompt you to delete the files and a typo could result in you losing everything.

PayPal and Joint Bank Accounts

Other

I’ve been with PayPal for years, today I tried to withdraw £50 and realised that I still had my old bank details on it, so I went to add my new account details.
Except PayPal told me that I couldn’t as another PayPal account was already linked to this bank account. That would be my Wife as we have a joint account.
So I searched a bit to see if there was anyway both of us could use our only bank account. The answer NOPE. A bank account can only ever be linked to one PayPal account.
So maybe we could just have a joint PayPal account, NOPE. One user only per account and if you share passwords you could have your account suspended and money frozen.

So for now I’m left with the ability to top-up my PayPal account via the debit card, and to transfer money out I have to first send it to Heather and get her to remove it. All in all a right pain in the arse.

HTC Sensation or the Samsung Galaxy S II

Mobiles

It’s that time of the year where I can now upgrade my mobile, and I’m stuck with the dilemma between picking the HTC Sensation or the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Both appear to be great phones and spec wise not much between them.

Similarities

1.2GHz Dual Core Processor
Screen 4.3″
Gorilla Glass
Gingerbread (with the promise of 18 months worth of firmware upgrades)
8mp Camera with 1080p video capture
TV Out via MHL cable
DLNA
Play the TV shows I’ve “recorded”
Both available for the same price on the same contract
Continue reading HTC Sensation or the Samsung Galaxy S II →

Does AV give BNP voters more say?

Politics

One of the arguments the No side make is that AV will let BNP voters have a greater say.

MYTH – Will AV help to shut the doors on extremists like the BNP?
REALITY – No. Extremists like the BNP, the National Front, and the British Union of Fascists have never had an MP elected under our current system. But while we hope that AV still wouldn’t lead to extremist parties winning seats, it would certainly give them more influence. AV undermines the fundamental principle of One Person, One Vote, and rewards people who vote for fringe candidates by making them the first to get another vote counted. In some seats, BNP supporters could get at least six chances to have their vote counted – while mainstream voters would only get their vote counted once. Because the other parties would need extra votes in later rounds of counting, they’d have an incentive to pander to the extremists to try and win their second preferences.
No2Av.org

Continue reading Does AV give BNP voters more say? →

How LibDemHome was created

Plugins, Web Design

So this morning LibDemVoice announce that it had been bought out by Lord Ashcroft as was renamed LibDemHome.

Of course being announce in the morning of the 1st April it was just an April Fools joke. One first conceived over two years ago, and started three months ago, but to ensure that everything went smoothly (and that I didn’t have to flick a switch whilst asleep) here are the steps used to have a new domain name, different theme and redirects.

Continue reading How LibDemHome was created →

NOtoAV Poster Generator #argh2av

Web Design,

With the no side continuing with the lie that AV will cost £250 million, and having no other argument in their ads, I’ve built two tools over the last week.

The first is like my Labour-o-matic (created during the General Election). ARGHtoAV allows you to generate random campaign slogans for the no team. Like “17th century peasants need a fifth dimension NOT an alternative voting system” and “Hard-working families need to accept the status quo NOT an alternative voting system”.

The second is a step up, and a bit like the MyDavidCameron site, where you can create your own graphic which you can save, share or blog.
Now my favourite is a slight cheat as I allowed myself to have a custom image, but you can create your own here.