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Date	Original Topic
22nd April 2005	Caution By Graham Mason Sad to relate but for whatever reason(s ) there is still an element that seeks mischief in this compact Zulu War fraternity of ours . I can`t understand why elements are trying to enter a person`s website by the use i believe it is called " cookies ? " . Every day NEW facts emerge and hopefully shared but if these " cookies " are meant to cause mischief those that do it must cease right now ! . New callers come into this site daily and i stil have a million questions to pose, after all we did rally round when the Hastings article appeared so we can work as one unit it seems . It is a sad fact of life there will always be an element out to cause disruption and grief . I am sure evenn Dr Adrian Greaves and Ian Knight don`t have all the facts concerning the Zulu war so why is thewre a small but sad percentage of people who seek to cause upset by attempting entry of someones e-mails and queries , various devices exist so be warned those that attempt this sort of activity WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE ! . Sadly , Graham
Date	Replies
25th April 2005	Alan Critchley Graham, I'm not sure what the problem is that you're talking about. I tried to email you but it was returned first time. Could you let me know what the problem is? Alan
25th April 2005	Dave Nolan Graham, This site uses these "cookies" you mention - it is how that really neat thing appears on the home page to tell you how many times you have visited the site. As far as I know it is a file which your computer downloads when you visit a website, like this one, the website you visit can then access the file on your computer to gain the information from you, like how many times you have visited. Regards, Dave
26th April 2005	Peter Critchley Hi, As Dave rightly says, cookies are typically benign in nature, as they are normally used to store useful information on your computer that relates to a website, for example, if you use hotmail, it will use a cookie to store your username and password so you don't have to remember it everytime you log on, or as is the case with this site, cookies can be used for more fun things like the "you have visited this website X times", with X being increased with each visit.. I'm not sure I really follow what you mean Graham, but certainly, with the will, a good amount of technical knowledge and a great deal of luck, it is certainly POSSIBLE to access people's PCs, but do you mean pretending to be someone else on this forum?? I plan to discuss this next subject seperately, but we have been doing some testing with a new forum, which is far more detailed in it's functions, which is based around a members system (still free, but requires people to log in). This is going to take a little bit of time to finally get online, but it should go some way to getting the debates going even more than they are at present, whilst at the same time reducing the risk of trolls (undesireables) and other disruptive types.. Peter
27th April 2005	Tony Jones Dear All, cookies are a bit like the 'points card' which you get in the megastores;the company can analyse what you buy,but can't see exactly how you use a product.Cookies are a modern aspect of the computing phenomenom with advertizing agencies regularly looking at what websites you use in order to try to target a particular product that you might buy.Similarly,they can be used to see who you are fraternizing with,for example,who you send e-mails to.Cookies cannot view text.If any individual wishes to block cookies then i suggest they open an account with hotmail and download their 'toolbar' which furnishes you with an option to block cookies and also lets you see who's trying to put them in.Alternatively visit Microsoft's security site where a number of free,software packages can be down loaded.The one to worry about is spyware,this is where your details 'can' be seen.Examples of this are frequent 'pop-ups',slugish disc speeds and ultimetly,unaccountable purchases on your credit card statements.My advice with computers is:i)Keep up-to-date with the latest developments ii)Install a firewall. iii)Don't do any transactions on dodgy sites .Happy computing. Tony.
28th April 2005	GRAHAM MASON Dear Tony , Thank you for that " get out of jail card " , i think that explanation is what i was fumbling for . I am but a veritable novice in computer elements but was worried that an odd handful ( as in all walks of life ) seek to act in an underhand way ( for whatever reasons ) in our " subject " . The HASTINGS article was something that made us as one but with the ever increasing advances people are trying to break in as it were into e-mails for wrong reasons , i thank Tony for explaining the situation as i was trying too , Graham
28th April 2005	Tony Jones Dear Graham, so selective is the AZW and Rorke's Drift community that it's a case of 'united we stand,divided we fall'.If God saw our ancestors through that decisive day in our pre-history on 22nd/23rd Jan 1879 he will see us through anything(as long as we behave ourselves).I wouldn't worry about 'cookie monsters'.All the best. Tony.
12th May 2005	Michael Boyle Graham, You can turn off cookies by going to 'Edit','Preferences',' Privacy and Security', 'Cookies' and click on 'disable' in Netscape and a slightly more convoluted way in Internet Explorer. They are generally not necessary while browsing but if they are needed a screen will appear telling you to turn them back on. Cookies are generally innocuous and used primarily as a marker to aid advertising revenue (not an issue on this site) and as Peter says to identify and assist you on specific sites. I can't recall any references to cookies being used to maliciously attack one's computer. Which is not to say,as Tony pointed out, that you shouldn't subscribe to a good anti-virus and fire wall service.(Viruses are a totally different beast.) Peter, I have always been a firm believer in the adage "If it ain't broke don't fix it". Granted I have not always seen the extent of spurious postings that have occasionally appeared here before deletion, but I have always appreciated the fact that this is one of the last "open" forums in cyber space. I have visited many "members only" sites where anyone can read but only registered users can post and given the broad,sometimes emotional, topics encompassed I can understand why they resorted to this. From what I've seen thus far Rorke's Drift and the AZW have not been the target of that many trolls.(One would think that this relatively obscure topic wouldn't attract any one without at least some interest in the subject.) The fact that most serious contributors here use their real names and e-mail addresses (some times to our spamic chagrin),I feel, lend a certain nobility to our endeavour. The few who find us here by accident and feel somehow compelled to try and muck it up have,to my knowledge, never succeeded to do more than raise a few hackles.(Hackle-raising can,of course, sometimes prove invigourating.) The fact that we eschew 'handles' and are not afraid to declare ourselves seems to go some way in validating the worth of our shared interest. I realize that this subject has been proposed in the past but I for one would implore you not to second it too readily as it would be a shame, to me at least, to succomb to the "Nanny State" mentality so prevalent in this modern age as opposed to the self reliance of the Victorian Age which we all seem to hold so dear. I believe we can in fact hold our own against the occasional troll. This from someone who joined the MSN 1879 Group (US) and has yet to successfully log in. (Though I am probably on Billy Gates' "no-fly" list for constantly pointing out that we are stuck in a cludged 16-bit computer operating system while our children are happily zapping away on fully functioning 128-bit video gaming consoles!) Best Michael
13th May 2005	Alan Critchley Michael, I agree with you that if it aint broken... However, Peter and I have to occasionally put a protective hand around it to stop it being broken by some who are careless and sometimes malicious. I disagree with Peter (a little) about registration of contributors. I would prefer an open forum, coping with the occasional twit. There are sometimes when even the established and respected visitors sail close to the wind. Comments can be personal, bordering on libel. I also often have to bite my tongue when I see that the site and the forum being used for financial or personal reasons. I would like people to learn of material and sources of information which will widen understanding of the subject. Sometimes, plugging of books, videos etc. personally or through 'mates', breaches our rules on advertising. We are not a business so I won't have our efforts being used for others' commercial ventures, unless by prior agreement, even subtly. If we all stick to the rules of engagement, there should be no need for altering the way the forum works. It would be a pity to be forced into an exclusive system because of the occasional abuse. My point is, I am reluctant to introduce a registration system but would like some self regulation. Alan Critchley
13th May 2005	Michael Boyle Alan, I failed to take into consideration the differences in libel laws, I guess that could present a problem. For those who do occaisonally "sail close to wind" you seem to have done a commendable job at getting them to bear off by encouraging them through warnings and deletions to be more cicumspect in their reactions. I for one find it most opportune to save my posts to notepad,go about my buisness for a while ,come back later to re-read, spell check (the old fashioned way,which explains some mistakes getting through!) and deciding then whether to paste it back in and send. Even at that with occaisonal misgivings! More acute self regulation would certainly seem the more civilized approach as well as being more in keeping with the tone of the age our discussions encompass. As far as the plugging of commercial endeavours I must plead guilty to encouraging it myself though only in as much that as a reader I very much do look forward to new interpretations of our shared interest to balance the old. I think we all appreciate your forbearance on this. (Perhaps when you consider this behaviour over the line you could institute a system of virtual penalty cards resulting in a voluntary contribution to the site as recompence!) Best Michael