user watcher <h1>Enhanced Extra-sensory Custom Thread Activity Monitorer</h1> <table width="100%" border=15 cellpadding=40><tr><td align=center> <center> <h2><i>NB: the watcher service has been deactivated indefinitely</i></h2> <p><i>unfortunately, the host on which the bot was developed has bit the big one. <br/>watcher will have to be built from scratch. <br/>there are currently no plans to do this. <br/>[jdporter|I] apologize for the inconvenience and confusion. <br/>now [href://?op=randomnode;types=monkdiscuss,perlquestion,perlmeditation,cufp|go do something else].</i></p> </center> </td></tr></table> <p> Hi! I watch threads for you. Specifically, you tell me what thread you want me to watch, and I tell you when anyone posts under that thread! Isn't that <i>keen?</i> </p> <p> Here's how it works: <ol> <li> Tell me to watch a thread by sending [watcher|me] a [/msg|private message] like so: <blockquote> <tt>/msg watcher watch <i>987654</i></tt> </blockquote> (use the number of the node you're interested in, of course) </li><p></p> <li> Sit by your [Message Inbox], waiting for me to notify you when someone has posted under that node! </li> </ol> </p> <h2>Commands</h2> <h3>watch</h3> <blockquote> <tt>/msg watcher watch <i>987654</i></tt> </blockquote> <p> Note that the node you choose to watch does <i>not</i> need to be a root node! It can be any node! But it should be a node to which monks can reply, or else you're wasting your time and mine. </p> <h3>unwatch</h3> <p> When you get tired of all the notifications you're getting from a very popular thread, you can tell me to stop sending them to you with the <tt>unwatch</tt> command: <blockquote> <tt>/msg watcher unwatch <i>987654</i></tt> </blockquote> This completely removes it from the watchlist (for you); it's as if you had never asked me to watch it in the first place. (That is what you wanted, isn't it?) </p> <h3>watches</h3> <p> If you ever want to know what watches are currently active for you, send me the command <tt>watches</tt> - <blockquote> <tt>/msg watcher watches</tt> </blockquote> </p> <h2>Remember...</h2> <p> I act only periodically. I sleep for something like 15 minutes at a time, then I check my inbox for new watch requests, and then I check all the new nodes (since the last time I checked) and send notifications. Then I go back to sleep. So when you send me a <tt>watch</tt> command, don't expect instantaneous feedback. </p> <h2>Product Still Under Pressur^WDevelopment</h2> <p> This service is quite unstable. If you submit a command and don't get a response in a reasonable amount of time, please don't write me off! Thank you for beta testing me. :-) </p><p> During downtimes when the code is under development, I may send you a status message, lest you think that I'm simply broken and stuck in limbo. </p><p> Also, the service is hosted on perlmonk.org, which means it could go down without notice, and possibly never return. Them's the breaks. </p> <h3>Enhancements partially implemented:</h3> <ul> <li> expiration: a node watch is automatically removed from the watchlist after a certain period of time, say, 6 months. </li> </ul> <h3>Future Enhancements:</h3> <ul> <li> Don't notify people about their own posts. </li> <li> As an option, don't notify people about direct replies to their own posts. </li> <li> Customizable expiration periods - in case the default (say, 6 months) is not to your liking. </li> <li> Customizable feedback levels - More verbosity for you lonely types. </li> <li> Watching more than single discrete nodes: nodes selected by regex on title, or by metadata (such as author, date, etc.), and so on. </li> </ul> <h2>Warning</h2> <p> Please do not send me any other kind of message! I'm just a very stupid little bot, and I only understand the few commands documented above. Any other message you send to me will be most quizzically bounced. If you have questions about how [watcher|I] work, please direct them to my creator, [jdporter]. </p> <h2>History</h2> <p> I was summoned into existence by the combined incessant supplications (I might say <i>whingings</i>) of the Monks of St. Hubris the Petulant. For example, see the following threads: <ul> <li> [id://2799] </li> <li> [id://57417] </li> <li> [id://69625] </li> <li> [id://132218] </li> <li> [id://167486] </li> <li> [id://242984] </li> <li> [id://272905] </li> <li> [id://293194] </li> <li> [id://293688] </li> <li> [id://422995] </li> <li> [id://453922] </li> <li> [id://467090] </li> <li> [id://553377] </li> </ul> and lastly, the announcement of my birth: <ul> <li> [id://625902] </li> </ul> </p> 2011-08-31 13:00:28 0 0 625947 %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %Z perlmonk.org</td></tr><tr><td>Image:</td><td><a href="http://www.fotosearch.com/BDX234/bxp40503/">Source</a> (used without permission)