Coming soon: Wiki mark-up in comments instead of HTML

Question

Advanced WikiTreers,

 

Here's something that will concern those of you who post more than plain text in profile comments, photo comments, and memories.

 

If you include links in comments, like Greeters often do, this will be relevant.

 

We're going to disable all HTML in comments. Instead you'll be able to use wiki mark-up tags for links and special formatting.

 

So, for example, if you want to post a link in a comment, you'll do it with [brackets] like you do on a profile, rather than with <href>, etc. It will explained on the Adding Links help page when it's done.

 

The primary motivation for this change is security -- allowing HTML carries risks -- but it should also simplify things because the use of wiki mark-up will be more universal.

 

I realize all this sounds technical and will only concern a few of you. But, I wanted to give some warning for those of you who are including HTML in profile and photo comments.

 

I'm not sure what day the transition will happen. I'll post here again when it's done.

 

Chris

Comments

Update: The change is now live.

We haven't converted existing comments yet. We'll have that done this weekend or early next week.

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Thanks for the heads up on this.

Answer 1

This is really a pleasing development. The more consistency and simplicity across WikiTree, the better.

This only concerns comments, right? That's all you're referring to, but I’ve used HTML on several free-space pages, including the greeter schedule, so want to make sure the change will have no effect on the structure of those pages.

Comments

Hi Debby,

That's right. This change only concerns comments and memories on profiles, and comments on photos. (Technically, it also affects scratch pads on Nav Home Pages, but those don't render any formatting anyway.)

This will not affect the body of profiles or free-space profiles, G2G, etc.

Chris

Answer 2

Could we be informed in the weekly mail, previous to the change? An exaple of how to convert will be appreciated!

Comments

Actually, I'm probably just adding confusion here.

When we make the change, we'll also have a system in place that automatically converts basic HTML into wiki mark-up when you save the comment. And we'll try to automatically convert all existing comments.

So, the entire change should be invisible to most people.

Answer 3

I really hate to ask as i hate to spoil my long weekend but what happens to the hundreds, perhaps a thousand HTML links that I've already created?  Are they going to stop working and if so is there a way to convert existing HTML links enmass?

Comments

Hi Eugene. Yes, we plan to automatically convert all existing comments. We just need to be careful with this.

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Eugene,

I just spent spent yesterday making tons of HTML links. I wish I would have know this before yesterday.

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Yeah, me too!

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The change is now live.

Eugene and Michelle, don't worry about your links. We'll convert them. We just havent't done that part yet.

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Roger!

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Michelle, glad it did not change your " boo hoo " emoticon up there (-:

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I'm feeling stupid Chris - just went to check on things after hearing changes went live. I usually copy and paste my sources from MS Onenote and edit as required and I just realized that I discontinued most html links a while ago.  

Now I use the following format which doesn't use HTML tags

== Sources ==

Macdonald, Rev. A. and Macdonald Rev. A. (1904). The Clan Donald: Volume 3. Inverness, Scotland. Northern Counties Publishing Company Ltd. http://archive.org/stream/clandonald03macduoft#page/472/mode/2up

 

Sorry Michelle

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Thanks Eugene!

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Hi Eugene,

I'm confused. Where is this source snippet? If it's in the main text of a profile, this conversation about changing from HTML to wiki mark-up isn't relevant. It's just a change in profile comments, memories, and photo comments.

If you want, point me to a URL that you want me to consider.

Chris

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As I said Chris - me just being stupid - it is irrelevant.

Answer 4

Chris , the winning photo tonight  has the Mark Up showing  up so what I do is erase the HTML and redo it with brackets , correct ?

Comments

Maggie- check out Eugene's example above my comment!

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Hi Maggie,

I should have mentioned that including photos with comments is now very different.

There's less flexibility, but it's simpler. You just include the image URL.

For your comment on http://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Curtis-3079-1 you'd just put this:

http://www.wikitree.com/images/badge/photo_of_week.gif

This is the winner of the [http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Photo_of_the_Week Family History Photo of the Week] for the second week of October 2013.

I've already made this change, so the result is what you see on the photo page.

Answer 5

What are the security risks in using HTML?  This is the first time I have heard anything about this?

Thanks,

Comments

It just opens up more possibilities for hackers. We can be careful and try not to allow Javascript includes, but it's a level of risk that's better to avoid.

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I understand.  Thank you.