tech problem with signature

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Kat
Posts: 390
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:17 pm
Location: back from Mars

tech problem with signature

Post by Kat » Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:18 am

So, I was playing around with updating my signature, which reads:


If I could get any animal it would be a dolphin. I want one bad. Me and mom went swimming with dolphins. I was like, "How do we get one of those?" and she was like, "You can't get a dolphin. What are you gonna do, put it in your pool?" Miley Cyrus


I discovered that there is a character limit of 255 characters including spaces. The above signature is exactly 247 characters including spaces, but when I attempt to re-enter it, the buffoon says that the character limit is exceeded and that the above is made up of 267 characters, a blatant lie. How can this be, that we are unable to trust the most basic computations of our silicon chips in this day and age?
If I could get any animal it would be a dolphin. I want one bad. Me and my mom went swimming with dolphins. I was like, 'How do we get one of those?' and she was like, 'You can't get a dolphin. What are you gonna do, put it in your pool?' Miley Cyrus

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Pigeon
Posts: 18055
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:00 pm

Re: tech problem with signature

Post by Pigeon » Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:29 pm

I will take a bit a tech talk, but here goes. (This is in the code of the forum, not my work).

-using 255 because that is the max for a variable size column in a database, without using another more complex one.

I haven't looked through the code but what my quick experiment seems to show (yeah, I know it's a hack)

-my bet is that it is using a certain function to convert special chars into a safer form, call HTML entities. This is done to prevent specially crafted data from affecting other users.

-the double quote becomes " (6 chars), the < becomes < and the are a couple more. (the other angle and ampersand)

Since that converted string is stored, the one char actually is six. The single quote isn't treated this way but handled in a different manner.

This is part of the security based on how HTML displays data. Angle brackets are used to create HTML markup commands but can also just be text being displayed. Allowing free interchange between the two mode can let bad things happen.

Workaround: use single quotes

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Kat
Posts: 390
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:17 pm
Location: back from Mars

Re: tech problem with signature

Post by Kat » Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:39 pm

Brilliant synopsis and solution, thanks.
If I could get any animal it would be a dolphin. I want one bad. Me and my mom went swimming with dolphins. I was like, 'How do we get one of those?' and she was like, 'You can't get a dolphin. What are you gonna do, put it in your pool?' Miley Cyrus

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Pigeon
Posts: 18055
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:00 pm

Re: tech problem with signature

Post by Pigeon » Sun Apr 06, 2014 5:19 pm

You haz our welcome.

I wonder if it is time from the word 'Miley' to do strange things here...

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Royal
Posts: 10562
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:55 pm

Re: tech problem with signature

Post by Royal » Mon Apr 07, 2014 2:08 am

Hello Pigeon,


Please update my signature as follows:




Ailurophile
Inure
Assemblage
Labyrinthine
Becoming
Lagniappe
Beleaguer
Lagoon
Brood
Languor
Bucolic
Lassitude
Bungalow
Leisure
Chatoyant
Lilt
Comely
Lissome
Conflate
Lithe
Cynosure
Love
Dalliance
Mellifluous
Demesne
Moiety
Demure
Mondegreen
Denouement
Murmurous
Desuetude
Nemesis
Desultory
Offing
Diaphanous
Onomatopoeia
Dissemble
Opulent
Dulcet
Palimpsest
Ebullience
Panacea
Effervescent
Panoply
Efflorescence
Pastiche
Elision
Penumbra
Elixir
Petrichor
Eloquence
Plethora
Embrocation
Propinquity
Emollient
Pyrrhic
Ephemeral
Quintessential
Epiphany
Ratatouille
Erstwhile
Ravel
Ethereal
Redolent
Evanescent
Riparian
Evocative
Ripple
Fetching
Scintilla
Felicity
Sempiternal
Forbearance
Seraglio
Fugacious
Serendipity
Furtive
Summery
Gambol
Sumptuous
Glamour
Surreptitious
Gossamer
Susquehanna
Halcyon
Sussurous
Harbinger
Talisman
Imbrication
Tintinnabulation
Imbroglio
Umbrella
Imbue
Untoward
Incipient
Vestigial
Ineffable
Wafture
Ingénue
Wherewithal
Inglenook
Woebegone
Insouciance



Thanks,

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Pigeon
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Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:00 pm

Re: tech problem with signature

Post by Pigeon » Mon Apr 07, 2014 2:34 am

Word on the street is to avoid flights out of Imbue Lagoon until late April.

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