Topic: We are back - sort of

[als15]

Sorry Pal if I insist, but there isn't a way to create a SW that reads not only the day, but also the exact time of each pciture and looks for a message posted exactly at the same time?

I still consider almost impossible - even if very sad - to manually reconnect every picture, mainly the several ones posted as comment to puzzles or in other topics. 

[pnegyesi]

It is not impossible. I just made a very exciting discovery. We are so lucky (though there is much work to be done)

You are so right with the exact date of the image. Do you see the little clip image next to reply46 (see pic attached)? It shows that there was an image attached to the message. Though the image is no longer visible, we have the exact date when this particular image was posted.

So here's my suggestion. We'll break down the task. There's the master list (hex_list.htm) Instead of all the 56,000 coded images, I will post just the last 500 with the exact dates -it will take a couple hours though. Research will be easier and quicker I believe. Once the 500 is done, we'll move to the next 500 and so on
What do you think?

[als15]

Sounds good and will help (even more if there is a way to have the messages listed chronologically as well).
But I'm looking for an automatic system: I'm sure your brother can create one. 

For instance, we know (example above) that a message has been posted on August 9th 2014 at 04:48:58 with an attached picture. The picture must be in the orphan list. Isn't possible to create an automatic routine that checks the orphan pictures looking for one uploaded at the same time and, when found, matches it with the post?

Maybe is a tough task to write that software, but with big quantities of data a system is always more reliable than human beings.

[Oguerrerob]

I'm so lost with this numbers thing. May I re-uploaded manually?

[Paul Jaray]

Sounds good and will help (even more if there is a way to have the messages listed chronologically as well).
But I'm looking for an automatic system: I'm sure your brother can create one. 

For instance, we know (example above) that a message has been posted on August 9th 2014 at 04:48:58 with an attached picture. The picture must be in the orphan list. Isn't possible to create an automatic routine that checks the orphan pictures looking for one uploaded at the same time and, when found, matches it with the post?

Maybe is a tough task to write that software, but with big quantities of data a system is always more reliable than human beings.

I think it's the right approach, if practicable.
Pal, you wrote you'll be able to post just the last 500 pics with the exact dates, so it is possible to have those info about the pics.
Now, is there a way to look for messages through the forum using the same info?
If we know that a pic was uploaded for example the 1st of August at 12.00, Is there a (fast) way to look into the forum and look for all the topic posted the 1st of August around that time?
If that will be possible, next step would be to have a program doing that.

[oko94]

I second als15's idea. 56 000 orphan pictures to deal with is too big a task to be done manually. If 200 pictures are matched everyday by human volunteers (and I think it's an optimistic estimate), it will take more or less 9 months to solve it all. People will get fed up (or mad) way before that. And I'm not even taking in account the unavoidable human errors.

An automatic matching software would, at most, take a few days to be written and tested. It won't probably be able to solve all possible cases (there will be issues with non-matching dates and times, deleted posts and topics and so on) but I reckon it could probably match 90% of the pictures. Then the rest will have to be manually matched but 5 600 is far more palatable than 56 000.

[Paul Jaray]

I'm so lost with this numbers thing. May I re-uploaded manually?

Yes you can!
The numbers thing is not so complicated once you try it...I know because if I've been able to understand it, there won't be problems for almost everyone.
A good suggestion is to use that system only if/when you are sure about the match or the pic will disappear from the list and will be placed in the wrong place.
Uploading again is fast & safe.

[sixtee5cuda]

Can we award points for solved puzzles yet?

[Ray B.]

Rebuilding the original puzzle pictures may not be the hardest part (still have them all listed from #1 to .. most recent), but all of those not commented footnote pictures, "help" pics, links to image upload websites or cross references will be a real nightmare to recreate. Secondly the puzzles of each member aren't listed in order, so you even have to search for particular puzzles as well.
I guess the easiest way to start is to open one's topic and upload puzzle pics again from PC's folder rather than matching chaotic filenames ...

I agree with that. It's very sad.
By checking "show own posts" on my profile page I can maybe separate my own puzzles from all my other posts. I tried this and uploaded again a picture for my puzzle N°4. I don't know how many pictures I still have on my HD, and it maybe time consuming, but I will add more when I have time. But, alas, the group puzzles will be impossible to revive.

The other thing that's really, really sad, is the "Featured imagery" section. Puzzling may be fun, but some guys (and mostly Otto), had started to build there an invaluable library of  XXth century automotive imagery. I only had uploaded maybe 5% of it.
To me this is the main loss.

[Paul Jaray]

...but nothing seems to be lost...there's only to match an incredible amound of pics.
The ones we all remember wil be easily found and fixed...if there will be pics nobody will be able to locate, probably they won't be that important.
It's a sad thing what happened, but fortunately we are not done with AP and we can restore almost everything...

[nicanary]

I've just tried my first one - by chance I saw one of my own images, which I had posted on someone else's puzzle, and I've used the system to attempt to get it back on its "solved" file.

Let's see if it's there in 2 days' time.

What larks!

[Oguerrerob]

If there's some of them that can't be located we can search in the list that be reduced everyday and this unlocated pictures would be left for last. Theorically

[pnegyesi]

Can we award points for solved puzzles yet?

yes

As for matching images, please wait 'til I talk to my brother.

[Tom_I]

I've re-posted the missing pictures in my own puzzles, but it's a small drop in a very large ocean. I'm happy to do what I can with other images, but it will be a long journey.

I can see that a lot of the missing pictures belong in the "Featured Imagery" section, as Ray B has already mentioned a few posts back. Some people have posted hundreds of photos there, mostly with no comments or identification. Getting them back into the right posts would probably be impossible, but just putting them back into the correct threads would be good enough. I'm not at all sure what the best approach to this would be. I can probably sort out my own posts, but again it's a tiny proportion of the whole. Maybe we should concentrate on the puzzle threads to start with.

[nicanary]

There has been a post on the Experts from a relative newcomer asking where the images have gone, which has been  well answered by another member. The puzzle is one of "carnut"s - he has been noticeably absent, and I reckon he's on holiday, and couldn't let us know because of the site crashing.I hope so anyway - I really hope it's nothing more serious.

Like Tom_I , I have completed reposting images for my own puzzles, and in due course I hope to trace the images for my solved puzzles. The task of tracing the images for other sections would appear to be Herculean in size - maybe it will be necessary to forget it for the time being. I think we're getting somewhere at the moment, much faster than I personally anticipated.

[pnegyesi]

In the last few hours 47,000 images have been matched. The method worked.
So please stop matching for now

Next stop: making the pictures visible and eliminating duplicates

[oko94]

Great news ! The Negyesi brothers rule 

[faksta]

A possible difficulty with automatic mathing that I can assume would be the situation when two different forum members post their puzzles at exactly the same time. I doubt we never had that. How would the automatic matching act then? Could there be the situation when the artificial intelligence would put the pictures to the wrong messages dated the same moment?

P.S. I have reuploaded the pictures for all the puzzles I've found on my hard drive so far. The rest are to be found in my files yet, sadly, but I suppose I know where the majority of the left ones resides. I hope.

[pnegyesi]

Please don't re-upload any more pictures. A script is now in operation matching pictures and topics. Close to 47,000 pictures will reapper in a couple hours' time

[als15]

 

Well done! I was sure you were able to invent that system!

Fixing the few wrong ones will be much easier than reconnectin all the pictures.

[pnegyesi]

Those who were worried that image galleries will disappear, please check this thread (one of the first ones to be restored):
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=15651.0

[Ray B.]

I was willing to do my part, one at a time maybe, but this matching business was way over my skills and understanding.
I'm amazed !

[pnegyesi]

Now, we have a lot of duplicities. Please don't do anything just yet.

Otherwise, you can check the results of the script

[faksta]

Looks like everything (?) is back now? 

[Otto Puzzell]

Now, we have a lot of duplicities. Please don't do anything just yet.

Otherwise, you can check the results of the script

*whew*