New Section: Obfu Art Gallery?

[jarich]

Suggestion

Let's create a new area on this site for obfu artwork. Just like for tutorials we should be able to consider nodes for inclusion in our gallery if we think they're suffificently impressive.

Rationale

Currently we can only page back through the last 300 obfu submissions. Many of these are JAPHs and other blocks of code that do interesting things. But some of these are works of art in a similiar league as the camel code. I'd love to preserve a list of these nodes like we do with the tutorials so that new monks can page through these wonderful submissions and feel the same awe and enjoyment as I have done over the years.

Suggested Starting List

Here are some obfus I've either pulled out of our current 300 or saved over the years.

Animals

• camel code
• find-a-func (llama)
• camel japh
• Camel Time
• fishing japh
• Somersaulting camel
• sharky.pl
• The Raven
• It's a Shark.
• Bugs In My Code?

Geography

• Spinning World
• hello world
• spaghetti obfu (Italy)

People

• Stickman Dance Filmstrip
• Dames..
• It Came From the Crypt!
• Bob, Bob, Bobbin' along...
• Just Another Larry
• My first attempt at anything close to obfuscated code.
• It's a perlmonk.

Miscellaneous

• Just another Bach Hacker
• Live is like a boomerang
• 3-D Stereogram, Self replicating source.
• Holiday Slightly Obfu
• spiraling quine
• Dropfu
• The answer
• Space Invaders
• print for (1..9)

Please suggest more inclusions, I know that there are so many other good ones that I didn't bookmark at the time.

Update: Added a few more nodes.

[tye]

But we aren't supposed to consider nodes to be moved to Tutorials. It is just a bad habit (meme, if you prefer) that hasn't been stomped out yet. Nodes not written with the intent of being tutorials usually make for lousy tutorials. And a section called "Tutorials" that has too many impressive nodes that are lousy tutorials, doesn't serve its purpose very well.

In the mean time, if you find a node that particularly impresses you, put a link to it on your home node. You can make what ever sections you like in such a list of links...

If it also would work well as a tutorial, then /msg the author asking them to repost the node as a tutorial (using the form meant for that which can be found via the Tutorials section) and to provide links between the two nodes. This way people can still find the original thread in the section it was approved into, the original node can remain relatively untouched so the following discussion makes sense in historical conext, the author can incorporate the important points from the thread into the updated tutorial, we can some day give ownership of the tutorial to someone else when an update is called for by someone other than the original author, etc.

And if you really want voting, then you want automatic inclusion based on the votes, which isn't how Tutorials works. And I really think the only way this will happen is if someone implements a voting scheme and manages to actually make it work, where nice lists of nodes are produced. When that happens, PerlMonks will link to that (external) system.

Maybe one day we'll have some more-limited special votes for picking 'best of' nodes of specific types (funny, instructive, innovative, ...), but I doubt 'obfu art' will make that cut (and I'm not holding my breath anyway)...

[NovMonk]

NovMonk here, fresh from a trip through the Code Catacombs. Forgive me if my face is a bit dirty...

Anyway, there's a lot of neat stuff down there, some of it along the lines you are suggesting. Perhaps that might be a good location for an Obfu Art section. I have felt similar "awe and enjoyment" exploring down there, and I agree that a permanent repository for such Objects de art would benefit the newer brothers and sisters, who weren't around for their original posting, or who, like me, have yet to attain the wisdom to appreciate such offerings.

My .02, for what it is worth.

Pax,
NovMonk

[artist]

There could be a showcase category, where each monk can put his or her theme and build the links for the same. It will serve as showcase. Such showcases can be approved, moderated and listed under 'showcase' category.

It would be clear that showcase is different idea than personal homepage. It would also serve better results compared to the search.

[ysth]

You can get a list of all obfus by doing a super search without a search string and requesting only obfus and only root nodes.

[jacques]

Why? Why? Must there be opposition to this, something that is so clear, needed, easy to implement? I can even think of several more outstanding pieces of Perl artwork in the monastery. Will this not become one of the more popular sections ...

What is it about us as humans that when the perfect opportunity walks into the room, that 9 times out of 10 we will not take it. We will deny ourselves happiness and then that opportunity is gone. Okay, this isn't a woman we are talking about here... BUT still. We need this section.

[tye]

Yes, why haven't you implemented it? It's so trivial! When you finish it, send me the URL. Thanks. If it doesn't get done, then you have none to blame but yourself.

[jacques]

{grin} I knew you would reply. Maybe it would be best if you explain why this would be hard and time consuming, since people often ask for new sections. Can't you just add an extra link to the top. And then start collecting the art? I am sure there's more to it than that. What would creating a new section entail?