C9 Team Updates | The Coffeehouse

TommyCarlier
I want my scalps!

For all the people who only visit the Coffeehouse: the C9 team started posting about what they're working on, what we can expect and what they have recently added.

The most recent post shows some editor enhancements they're working on (insert code, spell checking), more share-options (Twitter, DotNetShoutout, MSDN bookmarking service) and the C9 URL-shortener.

jeffsand
Inch by Inch

Thanks! We're definitely trying to improve the level of communication and the performance and reliability of the site. As mentioned before we're planning the next major update for Channel 9 and hope to share more about that soon.

littleguru
<3 Seattle

In reply to jeffsand

#Jun 5th @ 11:37 AM

I just love how fast the website has become Smiley

Sven Groot
My name has 9 letters. Coincidence? I think not...

In reply to littleguru

#Jun 6th @ 3:42 AM

It still has inexplicable periods of extreme slowness, though much shorter and less frequent than before.

ManipUni
Proving QQ for 5 years!

You could replace either 0 or O in the base 36 encoding with a special character, like # for example. That way it is easier to reproduce by hand (which I assume is the purpose?).

if(s[n] == 'O' || s[n] == '0') { s[n] = '0'; }
if(s[n] == '#') { s[n] = 'O'; }

TommyCarlier
I want my scalps!

In reply to ManipUni

#Jun 6th @ 4:19 AM

Except you can't use # in a URL: it would never reach the server.

ManipUni
Proving QQ for 5 years!

In reply to TommyCarlier

#Jun 6th @ 4:59 AM

Good point. Well replace # with any other special character.

TommyCarlier
I want my scalps!

In reply to ManipUni

#Jun 6th @ 4:19 AM

I think the purpose of the URL-shortener is just for sharing via Twitter. Twitter is also about the only site where I tolerate artificially shortened URLs. I think they suck, big time. I actually think they might even be damaging the web. First of all, they don't mean anything. From looking at one, you can't see what it's pointing at. Might even be dangerous. Another thing: what if one of the URL shortening services shuts down, or loses its data? Do we really want to make our hyperlinks dependent on anything more than DNS?

ManipUni
Proving QQ for 5 years!

In reply to TommyCarlier

#Jun 6th @ 7:27 AM

I hate URL shortening services just as much as you. I just assumed that the only reason someone might take the time to create one was to give to someone who isn't online, since it is easier to type in / remember. O Vs. 0 is just a common pain in the neck when typing stuff into the internet anyway and very easy to fix in a lot of cases.

They could have the URL return a HTTP 301 code as it redirects to the main Channel 9 website. That way allowing things like Google to continue to work even after the shortened URL service goes offline.

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

In reply to ManipUni

#Jun 6th @ 8:01 AM

They were once invented for extremely long URLs or those with weird characters in them to not break when posted in forums, or to save plaintext space in forum signatures, if I recall correctly. Twitter came after that.

Duncanma
Just Coding for Fun...

In reply to ManipUni

#Jun 6th @ 8:01 AM

I don't really expect anyone to type these in by hand, for the few URLs that fit that need (those that are run for a specific campaign for example) we use a slightly different syntax that there is at least some hope of remembering: http://ch9.ms/glimmer for example.

As to the other points, yes URL Shortening is bad and evil, but no so bad or evil if you control your own. That removes the 'what if it goes away' issue (it is under our control, so the risk is the same as for any of our C9 URLs) and makes it slightly more clear where you are going (at least you know you are going to one of our sites).

TommyCarlier
I want my scalps!

In reply to Duncanma

#Jun 8th @ 9:49 AM

You are correct. The URL-shortening service provided by content sites themselves (Channel 9, OSNews, …) don't have the same issues that general URL-shorteners have. If I see a URL like ch9.ms/glimmer or osne.ws/gow, I know there won't be any NSFW-content behind it.