ALT+255: Dispelling the Mystery

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Loredoctor
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Post by Loredoctor »

Hey! stop hiding, Cov Jr!
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Post by MsMary »

Hey, I knew that you could add different characters by using Alt + a number - Foamy posted a whole list of accent mark codes on our monitor so she could type other languages (especially, I suspect, Quenya ;)) correctly.

But I didn't know the particular one for a musical note, and a friend of mine uses that all the time - so thanks for revealing the secret.

As for Alt+255, I didn't care enough to wonder what it was. Sorry for spoiling your mystery, guys. :lol:

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Post by Baradakas »

Thats ok mary, I'm sure it means nothing to Ur-Vile......
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Post by Prebe »

The reason I didn't get this was that any programer worth his salt knows that the space (nothing) that is normally used is CHR(32). Tecnically CHR(255) is just a space with a higher ascii number.

So actually being ALT+255 is kind of special, and I get the feeling that is not what the expression is suposed to convey ;)
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Post by MsMary »

Hmmm...

All I know is this thread was posted as a reaction to another ALT+255 thread, which I can't find. Someone was being very mysterious about it, and someone else saw fit to explain the mystery.

It was all a very long time ago. :P
"The Cheat is GROUNDED! We had that lightswitch installed for you so you could turn the lights on and off, not so you could throw lightswitch raves!"
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- I'm always all right.
- Is all right special Time Lord code for really not all right at all?

- You're all irresponsible fools!
- The Doctor: But we're very experienced irresponsible fools.



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Post by iQuestor »

CovenantJr wrote:I had no idea you could insert characters like that until I asked Hierachy about ALT+255. We computer illiterate people need to be guided, you know :P
you haven't seen ALT+255 yet, Cov.
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Post by Prebe »

LOL DOAR!!!
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Post by matrixman »

As that saying goes: the joke isn't as funny if you have to explain it. :wink:

I remember this little bit of "controversy" from the Watch's past. At the time, I didn't know what ALT+255 meant either, which made it even more amusing to me. :lol:

(Though if I recall, in the end the Admins got annoyed enough by the ALT+255 shenanigans to issue a cease-and-desist order.) :wink:
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Post by MsMary »

Matrixman wrote: (Though if I recall, in the end the Admins got annoyed enough by the ALT+255 shenanigans to issue a cease-and-desist order.) :wink:
Yup. I remember that, too.
"The Cheat is GROUNDED! We had that lightswitch installed for you so you could turn the lights on and off, not so you could throw lightswitch raves!"
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- Is all right special Time Lord code for really not all right at all?

- You're all irresponsible fools!
- The Doctor: But we're very experienced irresponsible fools.



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Post by hierachy »

hahahahahahaha... ah ALT+255 was a classic. The cease and desist came for a different reason though.

It was because, you may remember under the old WGD system, one could buy a change of username. Well, I found that you were unable to name yourself simply "ALT+255", but it would accept it if you named yourself "ALT+255ALT+255".

Then, the board would automatically get rid of the extra space. In some cases it would get rid of both... it was, for a time, impossible to send me PMs, for instance. Hence "becoming" ALT+255.

However, shenanigans did not stop there. I realised that if it automatically got rid of the extra space, then another person could probably type in two ALT+255's and change their name to the same thing, and it wouldn't conflict with mine until after the automatic redundant space removal.

So I suggested Murrin give it a go. It worked. We were both "ALT+255". The problem arose when we tried to change our names back. You see, the modification obviously worked by finding the user with the username "[current username]" and changing it to the new name "[new username]". So it found the user with the name " ", and changed it to, say "Murrin". But there were two of us. Both of our names got changed. From that point on (until Vain fixed it), if one of us did something, it would take effect on us both. Name, avatar, sig, etc. Vain fixed it and then ordered the cessation of all experiments into ALT+255, lest the arch itself collapse.

After this... the power of ALT+255 became a fabled and secret legend.

Long live The Brotherhood of the Illuimed Majesty!
Last edited by hierachy on Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Creator »

I never knew that Murrin was such a rogue!! Way to go Murrin!! :biggrin: ;)
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Post by I'm Murrin »

Good times. :biggrin:
That was some pretty sloppy programming on the modders' part, using the username instead of the number, and not bypassing the normal language filters.
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Post by Loredoctor »

James wrote:After this... the power of ALT+255 became a fabled and secret legend.

Long live The Brotherhood of the Illuimed Majesty!
Brother, you are indeed great.
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Post by balon! »

HAHAH. Man. I should've stopped lurking much earlier.
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Post by Holsety »

I didn't know about alt+255 but the alt key sure was fun to surprise people with (What!? Your keyboard has music notes on it? Wow I didn't know you composed music!).
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