30 Oct 2004
I couldn’t find any easy answer to this question myself when I setup custom tags for commenting on this site a while back, and Indranil is trying to figure it out as well, so I figured I’d share a brief “how to” on the subject.
The default WordPress commenting tags allowed are a, abbr, acronym, b, blockquote code, em, i, strike and strong. For myself, and Indranil (and probably many other WordPress users), there is a desire to allow users more freedom in their commenting formatting: specifically, to allow the use of lists and list items.
Whilst this used to be possible with the (deprecated) my-hacks.php file, this is advised against as the “hacks” system has changed, and chances are that file will be gone in a few releases time. The easiest way to add permitted tags is to edit the file which does the processing, kses.php. Kses is described in the file header as being a “HTML/XHTML filter that only allows some elements and attributes” — and that’s what it does.
If you open this file, located in the wp-includes directory within your WordPress installation (full path to file should be /wp-includes/kses.php), and scroll down a little way, you should see a variable $allowedtags, with an array. (For me, it begins on line 17 of the file: yours may vary.)
By following the format tags are already listed there in, you can probably figure out how it works: for many, it’s just a matter of uncommenting the appropriate tags. I can’t recall if there are options for list tags in there already, I’m sorry: if you see lines which begin with
//'li' => array(), or
//'ol' => array(), or
//'ul' => array(),
then simply delete the preceding slashes (//). Save the file, and commenting with these tags is now permitted.
If the file didn’t include those commented out lines, then simply add
'li' => array(),<br />
'ol' => array(),<br />
'ul' => array(),
to the array, and save.
There you have it! Of course, it’s possible to permit attributes and the like — take a look at the anchor (a) part of the array for an example of that — but for lists, that’s mostly uneccessary (so far as I’ve seen, anyway).
29 Oct 2004
It’s been said previously that Ibsen’s set directives at the beginning of A Doll’s House simply don’t work. Just to prove them wrong (or possibly right!), I decided to block up a set from his directives, which, in the translation used by Project Gutenberg, reads as follows:
A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but not extravagantly. At the back, a door to the right leads to the entrance-hall, another to the left leads to Helmer’s study. Between the doors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is a door, and beyond it a window. Near the window are a round table, arm-chairs and a small sofa. In the right-hand wall, at the farther end, another door; and on the same side, nearer the footlights, a stove, two easy chairs and a rocking-chair; between the stove and the door, a small table. Engravings on the walls; a cabinet with china and other small objects; a small book-case with well-bound books. The floors are carpeted, and a fire burns in the stove.
From this, my sketch (which would probably work in most performance spaces, assuming they’re not too unusual — in which case, you should be used to having to butcher directives in order to get a working set!):
Of course, I’m completely unfamiliar with the design conventions of the period (speaking generally, not of stage and set construction), so chances are furniture details are incorrect, as (most likely) is the style of the stove (stage left) and various other elements in the room. Notably, this block and sketch have been worked from a translation of the original text, so some elements may be different or incorrect due to misunderstanding after translation: The McLeish translation (arguably far less eloquent and watered down!) dictates a number of things different — the most significant being the description of “a small table” (as above) instead as “a side-table”.
I’d chosen to ignore the directive to place that furniture behind the stove, simply because it was simpler not to, and I’d forgotten about the bookcase (besides, there aren’t any compelling reasons to follow this directive, if I were to follow the Gutenberg or Archer version only — “a small table” may be placed anywhere, however the McLeish translation states “a side-table”, which requires a wall…).
For the record, I’m perfectly well aware I can’t sketch, so don’t bother reminding me! Having said that, there seems to be a distinct lack of set designs around that adhere to Ibsen’s directives, so perhaps this may be useful to someone. Oh, and this is just about proving a point, anyway. ;)
29 Oct 2004
In a cruel twist of fate (or at least Orange’s network rollout and upgrade roadmap policy), reception in what used to be blackspots around my house has improved dramatically in the last 48 hours.
I’d been waiting to see whether this could last before posting, and now, as it seems that it has, I do so. Those who follow my life as published in this space will be aware of the plans to vacate the current place of residence to move elsewhere: naturally, as this has been confirmed, mobile coverage here improves!
There isn’t really all that much more to say, other than that my bedroom used to be a no-go area for making phone calls on my mobile, but now works fine… I hope the coverage wherever we move to is as good!
29 Oct 2004
“A word to the wise”
*stares distastefully at the state of United States “anti-terrorism” policy*
28 Oct 2004
This morning, when someone was unable to stop laughing:
Think about dead puppies!
– Lucy
This, of course, only further pushed people into hysterics.
Later today, when someone else was unable to stop laughing:
Think about dead puppies! … Works every time!
– Lucy
The first instance included a few more words, which made the second far more amusing than perhaps it should have been. Guess you had to be there?