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tcaudilllg
Dragonmaster


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 1731
Location: Cedar Bluff, VA

PostPosted: Sun Aug 28, 2005 8:48 pm    Post subject: New Community Coming [quote]

DeveloperX and I intend to begin a community based around the concept of "icon-based" information.

The concept is simple: link all text documents produced with a corresponding image. An icon, like on a Windows Desktop, or on an X-Window desktop. The difference is, make the icon something that is not used by the operating system, or even by the system. Make it an integral part of how the user uses the system and interacts with it.

DeveloperX and I believe that by concretely binding text to imagery, we are creating a new form of communication that is accessible to everyone. The abstract, detatched nature of even the most complex topics can be concretely grounded with the appropriate representative image. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

With icons, pictures will have a thousand words, and a thousand words will have a picture.
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Mark_Y
Tenshi's Bitch (Peach says "Suck it!")


Joined: 18 Aug 2005
Posts: 62

PostPosted: Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:08 pm    Post subject: [quote]

Somehow, someone beat you to the idea and yet strangely worked out a better system a few thousand years ago. But then, this is probably a much better use of your time than Iconsole or essay-writing.

Plus, once you've reduced written language to pre-K pictures and spoken language to hoots and hollers, you might be able to keep up with the rest of us. Might being the operative word.

To help get things started, here's one icon to get you started!

Always happy to help! Hoot hoot!
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Nephilim
Mage


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414

PostPosted: Sun Aug 28, 2005 10:34 pm    Post subject: Re: New Community Coming [quote]

Give an example. What would the icon for, say, the "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..." text that layout designers, typographers, and web designers use look like?
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janus
Mage


Joined: 29 Jun 2002
Posts: 464
Location: Issaquah, WA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 9:50 am    Post subject: [quote]

Hmm. Another faux-intellectual circle-jerk. Who would've guessed?
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tcaudilllg
Dragonmaster


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 1731
Location: Cedar Bluff, VA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 9:50 pm    Post subject: Re: New Community Coming [quote]

Nephilim wrote:
Give an example. What would the icon for, say, the "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..." text that layout designers, typographers, and web designers use look like?


'Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit...' [There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain.] - Before and After Magazine (Vol.4 Nr.2)

That is difficult.
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XMark
Guitar playin' black mage


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 870
Location: New Westminster, BC, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:36 am    Post subject: [quote]

so, essentially, when you make a text document, you will make a picture that represents what's in the document. That is so revolutionary I can barely contain my excitement.
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Mark Hall
Abstract Productions
I PLAYS THE MUSIC THAT MAKES THE PEOPLES FALL DOWN!
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RuneLancer
Mage


Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 441

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:47 am    Post subject: [quote]

Aren't icons- no, nevermind.

I enjoy LG's posts too much to ruin this one. They provide amusement (and a bit of a mini-mystery: you can't help but wonder how many of these are serious.)
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An OpenGL RPG in the making. Now with new hosting!

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Nephilim
Mage


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 414

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:16 am    Post subject: [quote]

(Just noticed that this isn't in the "off-topic" forum. Since this isn't RPG-related, perhaps this thread should be moved there.)
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LeoDraco
Demon Hunter


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 584
Location: Riverside, South Cali

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:29 am    Post subject: [quote]

Nephilim wrote:
(Just noticed that this isn't in the "off-topic" forum. Since this isn't RPG-related, perhaps this thread should be moved there.)


When has Galbalan ever started a thread that was RPG related? To play the devil's advocate, as much as it pains me, I think this whole icon nonsense is supposed to tie into that Iconsole/WorldDyne nonsense, which, if any of Galbalan's hype can be understood correctly, is meant to be some weird RPG maker.

Further, beyond the fact that these fora are orientied towards RPGs, there is nothing explicit in this forum's description that would limit it to the exact domain of RPGs.
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Gooseman
Wandering Minstrel


Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 92
Location: England

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 7:15 am    Post subject: [quote]

*snigger*

Well done Lord Galbalan... "Revolutionary" I'm sure...
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Mandrake
elementry school minded asshole


Joined: 28 May 2002
Posts: 1341
Location: GNARR!

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:05 pm    Post subject: [quote]

Hmm. I didn't know communities could cum. I guess I should get a hanky.
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Xmark

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tcaudilllg
Dragonmaster


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 1731
Location: Cedar Bluff, VA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:01 pm    Post subject: [quote]

I need your opinions on the icons formats for Iconsole/Worldyne.

The default format is called "Icon Definition Format" and is as follows:

[icon name];
[icon image filename];
[icon text];

For example, for an icon presenting the latin phrase above, [icon name] would be "'Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."; [icon image filename] would be something like "noloveforpain.gif"; and [icon text] would be "There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain."

There exists an alternative format: "Icon Reference Format". This format is mostly identical to the first format, except [icon text] is stored in an external file. The name of the file is put in place of [icon text].

Example:
Code:

'Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit...;
noloveforpain.gif;
noloveforpain.txt;


Two more formats exist: palette lists of the earlier two. These "Icon Palette Definition" and "Icon Palette Reference" formats contain sequential listings of icon data, in the form [palette name], [icon name 1], [icon image filename 1], [icon text 1], [icon name 2], [icon image filename 2], etc.

Basically, palettes are databases of icon data.

The difficulty is, how to delimit icon text from icon data? The idea behind "icon text" is to have it connotate ASCII binary characters to external images and labels, and create a three part information system that unites form with substance. Then, people will have the option of referring to the system either through its substantial existence, or its formal existence. This is the mission of icon-based information.

The most obvious solution to the delimmiting issue is to prefix the icon text with the length of the text itself.

[icon name];
[icon image filename];
[icon text length];
[icon text];

Although from an automatic generation standpoint this is easy, for individuals who don't want to generation their icon palettes automatically it is cumbersome. I want to make my systems as easy to use as possible. The least they trouble people, the more they will be used and their usefulness acknowledged.

Any suggestions? I don't think it is possible to design an arbitrary length data stream without some sort of numerical marker in this case. (because string data is of course completely out of the question)


Also: does anyone know about the new broswer for Sony PSP? I'm thinking that it could be one of the most effective outlets for icon-oriented thought.
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RuneLancer
Mage


Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 441

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:06 am    Post subject: [quote]

Or, you know, you could just create an "icon" class instead of coming up with some convoluted means of packing everything together..
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An OpenGL RPG in the making. Now with new hosting!

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tcaudilllg
Dragonmaster


Joined: 20 Jun 2002
Posts: 1731
Location: Cedar Bluff, VA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:10 am    Post subject: [quote]

RuneLancer wrote:
Or, you know, you could just create an "icon" class instead of coming up with some convoluted means of packing everything together..


Stop acting like I'm an idiot. Why not tell yourself that I'm *gasp* every bit as intelligent as you and probably thought things through? Then you'd note that I'm talking about a file format, not a programming construct.

Icons are data. Pure data. Simple. They can be used to contain programming code in a copy/paste way, but they can also be used for other things. I am mindful of those other things.
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LeoDraco
Demon Hunter


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 584
Location: Riverside, South Cali

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:13 am    Post subject: [quote]

This is where storing data in a database would be (moderately) useful. Then you need not worry about field boundaries at all! The DB does it for you! Hurray databases!

Alternately, as you seem to want these to be flat-files that anyone can edit, XML would probably be the better route:

Code:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<icon>
    <name>Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit...</name>
    <image>noloveforpain.gif</image>
    <text>noloveforpain.txt</text>
</icon>


There! Perfectly capable of being externalized! Hurray externalizability!
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