Is there a way to customize the java UniUploader? Apparently the above link is for Microsoft/.NET users...and I'm on a Mac. How can I offer a preset to my guild members?

Not sure what your question is. Are you sure this is the appropriate topic?

When you say "customize", what do you mean?

When you say, "preset", what do you mean?

Are you asking how to configure UniAdmin to control how Java UniUploader behaves? I'm not sure if this is the right thread to be asking that question.

I believe he's asking if the java Uniuploader can be preconfigured to upload to his site, like with the .net uploader you can just preconfigure the .ini file for your guild site so people just need to downloading and run without any configuration.

And the answer... I don't know. I haven't even glanced at the Java uploader.

Can you post a patch for that file with your updated instructions? Thanks!

I can think of at least four reasons people don't use a mod, use the guild web site or a number of other things that the guild leadership might ask them to do, and more specifially, why they don't keep their character information updated in the roster.

1. They don't understand the need for it. Why should a member bother uploading his information? If the guild leadership cannot articulate that to their membership, they have no personal motivation to so. Sure you can dictate to them that they have to do it, but it's easier if you give them a reason to want to. You can create external reasons like rewards or punishments based on whether they do what the leadership has asked, but it's harder if you can't show them the need for what you are asking. I would like to see what other people see as a benefit to members if the members keep their information updated. Chances are that most members are not going to explore what is available in the roster on their own because they are too busy playing the game to be bothered with it.

2. It's too hard. Ok, it might not be too hard for a lot of the people here, but loading any mod at all is new to some of the members or they might not have enough computer skills to do it. Although a user might be extremely skilled at playing their character that does not mean that they even know enough to install the game themselves. Instructions have to be at the most elementary level and software has to be preconfigured as much as possible. The instructions have to include all the details from where to go to download the mod to how to install it to how to use it.

3. Leadership isn't committed to keeping the information updated. If the leadership isn't committed to keeping the information updated, the membership won't be either. Part of leadership is leading by example and the leaders need to keep their own characters up to date. They also need to actively promote it.

4. People don't know that they are supposed to keep their character info up to date. This is similar to item 3, but not quite the same. The leadership might be completely committed to keeping the information up to date, but still fail to communicate that to the members. This is not the sort of thing you can just tell somebody once and expect the person to remember. It is something that has to be publicized repeatedly in many different ways. It can be repeated in the guild message of the day, forum signatures, on web pages and any place else where guild members communicate.

The list isn't in any particular order.

To address item 1, I would like help developing a sales pitch to help motivate members to want to update their information. I'm planning on working on item 2 when I get more of a commitment from the rest of the officers to use WoW Roster. Item 3 is an internal guild issue that I am working out with the other officers. They want it, but they aren't very commited to it yet. Until they are committed to keeping the data up to date, then it is doomed. Item 4 has been discussed previously in this forum and there are a number of good ideas on how to get the word out.

Very nice post, Aitana!

This link is rated R due to adult language, but some of my members asked me very very late at night why it was, when they first installing Uni and then ran WoW, Roster still wouldn't update. Punchy tired GLs who know flash produce strange explanations.

http://www.thedirtyhordes.com/downloads ... loader.htm

(Admins, if a R rated link for language is in appropriate, definitely zap this post!)

seleleth wrote:I believe he's asking if the java Uniuploader can be preconfigured to upload to his site, like with the .net uploader you can just preconfigure the .ini file for your guild site so people just need to downloading and run without any configuration.

And the answer... I don't know. I haven't even glanced at the Java uploader.

I included the updated ini file in my installer app that I built. Like I said before I just created an installer that installs the cp, gp, and pvp log to there addons' dir, installs uniuploader with the modified ini file so when it sets up uniuploader on their machines it's setup for them ready to upload. I just used a program called Setup Factory to build this. It's a pretty easy program to use to make something like this. I also edited the upload instructions on our roster page so they can download our installer instead of the default uniuploader. And clarified the actaul update instructions if they choose to do it manually.

The installer dose make it pretty simple for them. I just added a link to .net right by the installer download link in case they don't have .net. I could of included it in the installer but didn't want to make the package that large.

This has improved my regular updaters by over 300%

http://wowroster.net/Forums/viewtopic/t=3277.html

It is an open source http command line utility that has been around since at least 1999.

It was Curl. I edited all my info out because of Those Who I Must Bow Down and Honor Their Leetness poo-poo'd it and deemed it inferior.

we just say..no roster update no access to the raidmanager..and if people only for not wanting to use the roster for wth they are in your guild??

since we turned in this rule 3 weeks ago..none of our members left for it and the use has been increased with 50%.

Those who werent on the roster we temp removed from the raidmanager..they will come to you and we point them to the need of the roster.

simple,

some authority is needed and we feel to be right to enforce our members for the best of our guild ;-)

Since this is a 'Twink' only guild, I get some original, yet amusing responses to my asking them to upload.

1) I run BG's all day and it will slow my computer down.

Ugh...it doesn't take much in the line of computer resources...but try explaining that to some people.

2) It takes up too much space on my computer.

Oh really? If you're THAT hard up for computer hard drive space...GOD help you the next time Blizzard throws a patch!

3) I don't want hackers to be able to get into my computer, and I've heard that addons allow that.

Yes, some addons do...they are called 'Keyloggers'. This is NOT a keylogger. The guild website is secure, the computer I uploaded them from is secure...and if some hacker wants to spend THAT much time trying to break past your routers basic firewall...just so he can see that you have Tier 2...more power to him!

Wonderbugg wrote:1) I run BG's all day and it will slow my computer down.

Ugh...it doesn't take much in the line of computer resources...but try explaining that to some people.

A properly-written addon is event-driven, and only consumes CPU when the associated event occurs. CharacterProfiler triggers when events associated with a change in profile take place: opening one's character window, opening bags, bank, professions. Hopefully the twink isn't doing that in a BG!

2) It takes up too much space on my computer.

Oh really? If you're THAT hard up for computer hard drive space...GOD help you the next time Blizzard throws a patch!

LOL, yep! The addon might use a small amount of memory at runtime, but that, too, is minimal compared to that consumed by the next patch.

I'd suggest buying more memory (which is also cheap) but unfortunately there are design issues in Windows that prevent use of more than about 3 GB of memory. This is one of those cases where maybe you should have bought a Mac!

3) I don't want hackers to be able to get into my computer, and I've heard that addons allow that.

Yes, some addons do...they are called 'Keyloggers'. This is NOT a keylogger. The guild website is secure, the computer I uploaded them from is secure...and if some hacker wants to spend THAT much time trying to break past your routers basic firewall...just so he can see that you have Tier 2...more power to him!

This one I wouldn't dismiss so lightly. I don't care about the twink's computer, but I do care about the effect of a zombie on the rest of the Internet ecology. A compromised computer will likely become part of a botnet and start spewing spam and phish.

This really comes down to trust, and whether your guild IT person can be relied on to provide secure addons. Not every GM is trustworthy, and not every GM has the technical savvy to judge whether a download is safe.

A WoW addon distributed as just Lua and XML files is safe because it's not executable and runs entirely within the WoW "sandbox". But an addon with an executable installer is much more questionable, because the installer may have a keylogger.

Historically, keyloggers came not from addons but from website graphics, and only unpatched Windows clients were vulnerable. Does your twink keep up to date with the latest Windows patches? If not, he hardly has ground to stand on here. Visiting random websites might infect him.

Well...I'm the IT guy for the website, but I'm not the GM. This is a guild comprised of all level 19 alliance Twinks. Some are lower level and are headed to 'twinkdom'. I've scanned these files before uploading them with 3 different scanners...AVP, McAffee and Norton. All showed nothing out of the ordinary. the web host boasts a major security feature, plus I have 2 hardware and 1 software firewall running on my internal home network. I've also made them downloadable to 'Registered Users' only...and to resister, you need to undergo the 'Security Code' + email verification + Admin (Me) approval. I've made it so that no one but me can upload to the site. there are no 'Guest' FTP aliases allowed...no anonymous users allowed. I've done all I can to make sure these addons are virus free and in a secured environment to thwart any hacking efforts.

But this user simply refuses to download the addons...even the preconfigured UniUploader I've created for them. Ugh....

ScratchMonkey wrote:

Wonderbugg wrote:1) I run BG's all day and it will slow my computer down.

Ugh...it doesn't take much in the line of computer resources...but try explaining that to some people.

A properly-written addon is event-driven, and only consumes CPU when the associated event occurs. CharacterProfiler triggers when events associated with a change in profile take place: opening one's character window, opening bags, bank, professions. Hopefully the twink isn't doing that in a BG!

Besides that, CP disables itself when you are in a raid

2) It takes up too much space on my computer.

Oh really? If you're THAT hard up for computer hard drive space...GOD help you the next time Blizzard throws a patch!

LOL, yep! The addon might use a small amount of memory at runtime, but that, too, is minimal compared to that consumed by the next patch.

I'd suggest buying more memory (which is also cheap) but unfortunately there are design issues in Windows that prevent use of more than about 3 GB of memory. This is one of those cases where maybe you should have bought a Mac! ;)

Or, in my case, Linux FTW!

3) I don't want hackers to be able to get into my computer, and I've heard that addons allow that.

Yes, some addons do...they are called 'Keyloggers'. This is NOT a keylogger. The guild website is secure, the computer I uploaded them from is secure...and if some hacker wants to spend THAT much time trying to break past your routers basic firewall...just so he can see that you have Tier 2...more power to him!

This one I wouldn't dismiss so lightly. I don't care about the twink's computer, but I do care about the effect of a zombie on the rest of the Internet ecology. A compromised computer will likely become part of a botnet and start spewing spam and phish.

This really comes down to trust, and whether your guild IT person can be relied on to provide secure addons. Not every GM is trustworthy, and not every GM has the technical savvy to judge whether a download is safe.

A WoW addon distributed as just Lua and XML files is safe because it's not executable and runs entirely within the WoW "sandbox". But an addon with an executable installer is much more questionable, because the installer may have a keylogger.

Historically, keyloggers came not from addons but from website graphics, and only unpatched Windows clients were vulnerable. Does your twink keep up to date with the latest Windows patches? If not, he hardly has ground to stand on here. Visiting random websites might infect him.

Wow addons normally only contain plain text files, which are only executable by wow's lua interpreter. In wow, they don't get active till after you've selected a character and clicked 'enter world'

Wonderbugg does mention UniUploader, which has the potential for picking up an infection on the way to the end user (an extremely remote possibility, given bugg's diligence), but it's pretty obvious that this particular luser is just grasping for reasons to be a stick in the mud. He's the kind of person who won't drive a car because his buggy whip might get dusty.

You may find this video of medieval tech support amusing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

I don't know as it stands now if your not buying authenticators that blizzard is selling for what $6.50 and your seriously paranoid that your account could be hacked by a "addon" then you one shouldn't be playing games. I had my account hacked a few times in the past and now I regularly change my password and bought a Blizzard Authenticator for both of my accounts. But even if one does get their account hacked usually the GM can restore all their items if they can see from their end it was truly hacked by a hacker. Like I said had my account hacked twice already and items I mean all items even trash items where restored.

But back on topic. I agree with the op that requiring initiates to upload their data is the way to go. When I had Roster installed a few years back I did some major hype in guild chat on checking it out and usually once they did check out all the features they where hooked and they updated on a regular basis. Having the extra addons installed in WoWroster helped too. Especially for members that say for example mostly did crafting..then you would be hard pressed to get them to look at it on a regular basis if you didn't have any addons in your roster that didn't involve crafting.