Yes as BigT mentioned you could just create a userscript that handles only smileys, totally separate from the avatar script.
I included it as a feature in the avatar script because they are somewhat related topics and I don’t want to mess around with having to support and maintain several different scripts.
So if you use the avatar script you have avatars and the old smileys, and the support and updates, etc. that come with the avatar script. If you go BigT’s route you’re on your own for maintaining your own script, and the links to the smileys you want to see instead of the new ones. (which may change, causing scripts that rely on the links I included in the avatar script to fail if copy/pasted from my script as BigT has done).
Sure, but the instructions depend on your web browser. If you use Firefox,click here and press the big “Add to Firefox” button to install GreaseMonkey. (Confirm any dialog boxes, and restart Firefox if prompted.) If you use Chrome, click here and press the “+ Free” button to install TamperMonkey. (Confirm any dialog boxes.)
Then, whichever browser you use, click here and press the “Install” button to install the “SDMB Old Smileys” script I extracted. Again, confirm any dialog boxes that appear.
(“Confirming a dialog box” means to click the button that will continue the action, such as “Install” or “Add” or “Yes” or “OK.”)
And, yes, Internet Explorer users are out of luck, like pretty much always.
And anyway, I don’t just want to see the old smileys myself. If I give someone a smiley, I want them to see the smiley I intend for them to see. So the Admins should just restore the old smileys, period.
I agree it is at best a workaround. But there are somewhere around 500-1,000 active posters using the avatar script so it does ensure that at least a good number of others see the smiley you intended, whereas with no script at all you get exactly what you have - new smileys all around unless TPTB roll back the updated smileys.
It’s just a guess, since none have commented in this thread, but my guess is that it isn’t real high on the to do list for a variety of reasons.
Actually, I embedded the image files as data URLs from local copies that I already had. Like the description says, it’s as self-contained as possible, specifically to try and avoid breakage. (As you’re right, I probably won’t be maintaining it.)
You could, BTW, put in the same type of option you did for the Smileys, and have the user be able to turn the Avatars off. That’s what I was going to recommend for you to do, as I there will be a lot of users who will not want avatars but will want smileys.
But I figured making my own script would be faster (as I thought you were offline). The only reason I uploaded it was because Siam Sam asked about it. (And I was using this thread as to test it.)
Yeah but there isn’t much point in an avatar script with an option to turn off avatars - that option is called “don’t use the script”
It isn’t intended to be a Swiss army knife script that does a bunch of other stuff. The smileys just seemed like such a simple thing to add for those who want them that I went ahead and added them as an option for those who already want to see avatars anyway.
I didn’t look at the script you made so I was basing my statement about links possibly failing later entirely on your post saying you were ‘pulling them out’ of the avatar script. If they are self-contained all the better.
This is the worst of all possible worlds.[sup]1[/sup] Every time I post a smiley other than the esteemed Mr. Dubious or Smackie, I have calibrate my message for two audiences, rather than one. Words cannot express my consternation, so I will have to make do with an image. http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q288/forgoodmeasureM4M/70px-Onozomg.gif
[sup]1[/sup]Worse that Hilter and Stilan squared.
No prob. Just clearing up a misconception. And if you don’t want to include such an option, that’s obviously your choice. Like I said, I just did this for myself, and posted it because I thought someone else might want to use it.
The real answer is to enable the inline images option in posts. Then you could link to any smiley you want knowing for sure that everyone else would see exactly the same smiley.
The chances of that happening are even slimmer than those of having the old built-in smileys restored, so I’m happy just seeing the old ones via scripting and knowing a good number of others are doing the same thing.
I just thought I’d point out that I added a menu option to toggle between the animated and non-animated rolleyes smiley. It’s off by default. To toggle it, click the arrow beside the GreaseMonkey button and go to User Script Commands > Toggle animated rolleyes (must reload page). And then, well, reload the page.
Chrome users who installed TamperMonkey can see the option directly in the TamperMonkey menu. Click it and reload the page. If you don’t use TamperMonkey, you’ll just have to edit the script and change “var animated_rolleyes = false;” to “var animated_rolleyes = true;”.
Why did I go to that much trouble? Because I’ve been wanting to learn how to add menu options to GreaseMonkey scripts, and this seemed a golden opportunity. And drewtwo99 just seemed so happy to have an animated rolleyes.
Is there a moderator/administrator/TPTB explanatory post buried somewhere in the thread’s 255 posts?
Not the technical explanation per se, but an explanation as to why bringing back the Old Ones or replacing some of the more comic sans smilies isn’t in the cards.
Most are just plain ugly, but the loss of the rolleyes smiley is tantamount to a loss of vocabulary. The one that’s tied to the term simply isn’t a rolleyes; merely looking up and to the side is not an eye roll (others here have posted better explanations).
Yeah, the lack of response puzzles me. This isn’t the most earth shattering of important issues, but to not even respond to an active thread in the forum meant to get answers actually about this message board is a huge puzzle to me.
At this point, as much as I dislike the new smilies, the real issue for me has become why not a single mod has given any reply.
ETA: If there has been a response and I’ve missed it, I’ll be more than happy to be wrong.
There’s nothing to be done about the smileys. What you see is what there is; that’s the current vB default. We didn’t change them willy-nilly; that’s what came along, that’s what vB chose to do.
Jerry’s not willing to go far beyond plain vanilla installs – and this is exactly why: When any upgrade is applied to the system, all that is custom made gets wiped out.
We’re sorry it’s not to your liking but that’s what we got.
