Remove disabled, better hours.txt logs

cmd/mothd/state.go

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ type State struct {
 	// Enabled tracks whether the current State system is processing updates
 	Enabled bool
 
+	enabledWhy      string
 	refreshNow      chan bool
 	eventStream     chan []string
 	eventWriter     *csv.Writer
@@ -71,11 +72,10 @@ func NewState(fs afero.Fs) *State {
 // updateEnabled checks a few things to see if this state directory is "enabled".
 func (s *State) updateEnabled() {
 	nextEnabled := true
-	why := "`state/enabled` present, `state/hours.txt` missing"
+	why := "state/hours.txt has no timestamps before now"
 
 	if untilFile, err := s.Open("hours.txt"); err == nil {
 		defer untilFile.Close()
-		why = "`state/hours.txt` present"
 
 		scanner := bufio.NewScanner(untilFile)
 		for scanner.Scan() {
@@ -95,35 +95,36 @@ func (s *State) updateEnabled() {
 			case '#':
 				continue
 			default:
-				log.Println("Misformatted line in hours.txt file")
+				log.Println("state/hours.txt has bad line:", line)
 			}
+			line, _, _ = strings.Cut(line, "#") // Remove inline comments
 			line = strings.TrimSpace(line)
-			until, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, line)
+			until := time.Time{}
-			if err != nil {
+			if len(line) == 0 {
-				until, err = time.Parse(RFC3339Space, line)
+				// Let it stay as zero time, so it's always before now
-			}
+			} else if until, err = time.Parse(time.RFC3339, line); err == nil {
-			if err != nil {
+				// Great, it was RFC 3339
-				log.Println("Suspended: Unparseable until date:", line)
+			} else if until, err = time.Parse(RFC3339Space, line); err == nil {
+				// Great, it was RFC 3339 with a space instead of a 'T'
+			} else {
+				log.Println("state/hours.txt has bad timestamp:", line)
 				continue
 			}
 			if until.Before(time.Now()) {
 				nextEnabled = thisEnabled
+				why = fmt.Sprint("state/hours.txt most recent timestamp:", line)
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	if _, err := s.Stat("enabled"); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+	if (nextEnabled != s.Enabled) || (why != s.enabledWhy) {
-		nextEnabled = false
-		why = "`state/enabled` missing"
-	}
-
-	if nextEnabled != s.Enabled {
 		s.Enabled = nextEnabled
-		log.Printf("Setting enabled=%v: %s", s.Enabled, why)
+		s.enabledWhy = why
+		log.Printf("Setting enabled=%v: %s", s.Enabled, s.enabledWhy)
 		if s.Enabled {
-			s.LogEvent("enabled", "", "", "", 0, why)
+			s.LogEvent("enabled", "", "", "", 0, s.enabledWhy)
 		} else {
-			s.LogEvent("disabled", "", "", "", 0, why)
+			s.LogEvent("disabled", "", "", "", 0, s.enabledWhy)
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -350,21 +351,19 @@ func (s *State) maybeInitialize() {
 		f.Close()
 	}
 
-	if f, err := s.Create("enabled"); err == nil {
-		fmt.Fprintln(f, "enabled: remove or rename to suspend the contest.")
-		f.Close()
-	}
-
 	if f, err := s.Create("hours.txt"); err == nil {
 		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# hours.txt: when the contest is enabled")
 		fmt.Fprintln(f, "#")
-		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Enable:  + timestamp")
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Enable:  + [timestamp]")
-		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Disable: - timestamp")
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Disable: - [timestamp]")
 		fmt.Fprintln(f, "#")
-		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# You can have multiple start/stop times.")
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# This file, and all files in this directory, are re-read periodically.")
-		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Whatever time is the most recent, wins.")
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Default is enabled.")
-		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Times in the future are ignored.")
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Rules with only '-' or '+' are also allowed.")
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# Rules apply from the top down.")
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "# If you put something in out of order, it's going to be bonkers.")
 		fmt.Fprintln(f)
+		fmt.Fprintln(f, "- 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z")
 		fmt.Fprintln(f, "+", now)
 		fmt.Fprintln(f, "- 2519-10-31T00:00:00Z")
 		f.Close()

cmd/mothd/state_test.go

@@ -17,8 +17,16 @@ func NewTestState() *State {
 	return s
 }
 
+func slurp(c chan bool) {
+	for range c {
+		// Nothing
+	}
+}
+
 func TestState(t *testing.T) {
 	s := NewTestState()
+	defer close(s.refreshNow)
+	go slurp(s.refreshNow)
 
 	mustExist := func(path string) {
 		_, err := s.Fs.Stat(path)
@@ -33,7 +41,6 @@ func TestState(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	mustExist("initialized")
-	mustExist("enabled")
 	mustExist("hours.txt")
 
 	teamIDsBuf, err := afero.ReadFile(s.Fs, "teamids.txt")
@@ -163,6 +170,9 @@ func TestStateEvents(t *testing.T) {
 	if msg := <-s.eventStream; strings.Join(msg[1:], ":") != "init::::0" {
 		t.Error("Wrong message from event stream:", msg)
 	}
+	if msg := <-s.eventStream; !strings.HasPrefix(msg[6], "state/hours.txt") {
+		t.Error("Wrong message from event stream:", msg[6])
+	}
 	if msg := <-s.eventStream; strings.Join(msg[1:], ":") != "moo::::0" {
 		t.Error("Wrong message from event stream:", msg)
 	}
@@ -184,19 +194,37 @@ func TestStateDisabled(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error(err)
 	}
 	defer hoursFile.Close()
+	s.refresh()
+	if !s.Enabled {
+		t.Error("Empty hours.txt not enabled")
+	}
 
 	fmt.Fprintln(hoursFile, "- 1970-01-01T01:01:01Z")
 	hoursFile.Sync()
 	s.refresh()
 	if s.Enabled {
-		t.Error("Disabling 1970-01-01")
+		t.Error("1970-01-01")
 	}
 
-	fmt.Fprintln(hoursFile, "+ 1970-01-01 01:01:01+05:00")
+	fmt.Fprintln(hoursFile, "+ 1970-01-02 01:01:01+05:00")
 	hoursFile.Sync()
 	s.refresh()
 	if !s.Enabled {
-		t.Error("Enabling 1970-01-02")
+		t.Error("1970-01-02")
+	}
+
+	fmt.Fprintln(hoursFile, "-")
+	hoursFile.Sync()
+	s.refresh()
+	if s.Enabled {
+		t.Error("bare -")
+	}
+
+	fmt.Fprintln(hoursFile, "+")
+	hoursFile.Sync()
+	s.refresh()
+	if !s.Enabled {
+		t.Error("bare +")
 	}
 
 	fmt.Fprintln(hoursFile, "")
@@ -204,7 +232,7 @@ func TestStateDisabled(t *testing.T) {
 	hoursFile.Sync()
 	s.refresh()
 	if !s.Enabled {
-		t.Error("Comments")
+		t.Error("Comment")
 	}
 
 	fmt.Fprintln(hoursFile, "intentional parse error")
@@ -218,7 +246,7 @@ func TestStateDisabled(t *testing.T) {
 	hoursFile.Sync()
 	s.refresh()
 	if s.Enabled {
-		t.Error("Disabling 1980-01-01")
+		t.Error("1980-01-01")
 	}
 
 	if err := s.Remove("hours.txt"); err != nil {
@@ -229,14 +257,6 @@ func TestStateDisabled(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error("Removing `hours.txt` disabled event")
 	}
 
-	if err := s.Remove("enabled"); err != nil {
-		t.Error(err)
-	}
-	s.refresh()
-	if s.Enabled {
-		t.Error("Removing `enabled` didn't disable")
-	}
-
 	s.Remove("initialized")
 	s.refresh()
 	if !s.Enabled {
@@ -291,11 +311,11 @@ func TestStateMaintainer(t *testing.T) {
 	eventLog, err := afero.ReadFile(s.Fs, "events.csv")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Error(err)
-	} else if events := strings.Split(string(eventLog), "\n"); len(events) != 3 {
+	} else if events := strings.Split(string(eventLog), "\n"); len(events) != 4 {
 		t.Log("Events:", events)
 		t.Error("Wrong event log length:", len(events))
-	} else if events[2] != "" {
+	} else if events[3] != "" {
-		t.Error("Event log didn't end with newline")
+		t.Error("Event log didn't end with newline", events)
 	}
 }
 

docs/FAQ.md

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+Frequently Asked Questions
+=================
+
+I should probably move this somewhere else,
+since most of it is about 
+
+Main Application Questions
+=====================
+
+## Can we add some instructions to the user interface? It's confusing.
+
+The lack of instruction was a deliberate design decision made about 9 years ago
+when we found in A/B testing that college students are a lot more motivated by
+vague instruction and mystery than precise instruction. We've since found that
+people who are inclined to "play" our events are similarly motivated by
+weirdness and mystery: they enjoy fiddling around with things until they've
+worked it out experimentally.
+
+Oddly, the group who seems to be the most perturbed by the vagueness is
+professionals. This may be because many of these folks spend long amounts of
+time trying to make things accessible and precise, and this looks like a train
+wreck from that perspective.
+
+Another way to think about it: this is supposed to be a game, like Super Mario
+Brothers. We were very careful about designing the puzzles so that you could
+learn by playing. The whimsical design is meant to make it feel like trying
+things out will not result in a catastrophic failure anywhere, and we've found
+that most people figure it out very quickly without any instruction at all,
+despite feeling a little confused or disoriented at first.
+
+## Why can't I choose my team from a list when I log in?
+
+We actually started this way, but we quickly learned that there were exploitable
+attack avenues available when any participant can join any team. One individual
+in 2010, having a bad day, decided to enter every answer they had, for every
+team in the contest, as a way of sabotaging the event. It worked: everyone's
+motivation to try and solve puzzles tanked, and people were angry that they'd
+been working on content only to find that they already had the points.
+
+## Why won't you add this helpful text to the login page?
+
+It has been our experience that the more words we have on that page, the less
+likely any of them will be read. We strive now to have no instruction at all,
+and to design the interface in a way that it's obvious what you have to do.
+
+## Why aren't we providing a link to the scoreboard?
+
+It's because the scoreboard looks horrible on a mobile phone:
+it was designed for a projector.
+Once we have a scoreboard that is readable on mobile,
+I'll add that link.
+
+## Why can't we show a list of teams to log in to?
+
+At a previous event,
+we had a participant log in as other teams and solve every puzzle,
+because they were upset about something.
+This ruined the event for everyone,
+because it took away the challenge of scoring points.
+
+
+Scoreboard Questions
+=================
+
+## Why are there no links or title on the scoreboard?
+
+The scoreboard is supposed to be projected at events, to participants. The current scoreboard isn't something we intend participants to pull up on their mobile devices or laptops.
+
+Think of the scoreboard as sort of like the menu screens at Burger King.
+
+
+## Will you change the scoreboard color scheme?
+
+The scoreboard colors and layout were carefully chosen to be distinguishable for
+all forms of color blindness, and even accessible by users with total blindness
+using screen readers. This is why we decided to put the category name inside the
+bar and just deal with it being a little weird.
+
+I'm open to suggestions, but they need to work for all users.

docs/administration.md

@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ Scores
 Pausing/resuming scoring
 -------------------
 
-    rm /srv/moth/state/enabled     # Pause scoring
+    echo '-###' >> /srv/moth/state/hours.txt # Suspend scoring
-    touch /srv/moth/state/enabled   # Resume scoring
+    sed -i '/###/d' /srv/moth/state/hours.txt # Resume scoring
 
 When scoring is paused,
 participants can still submit answers,
@@ -54,12 +54,13 @@ and the system will tell them whether the answer is correct.
 As soon as you unpause,
 all correctly-submitted answers will be scored.
 
+
 Adjusting scores
 ------------------
 
-    rm /srv/moth/state/enabled # Suspend scoring
+    echo '-###' >> /srv/moth/state/hours.txt # Suspend scoring
     nano /srv/moth/state/points.log  # Replace nano with your preferred editor
-    touch /srv/moth/state/enabled # Resume scoring
+    sed -i '/###/d' /srv/moth/state/hours.txt # Resume scoring
 
 We don't warn participants before we do this:
 any points scored while scoring is suspended are queued up and processed as soon as scoreing is resumed.

docs/overview.md

@@ -33,24 +33,13 @@ The state directory is also used to communicate actions to mothd.
 Remove this file to reset the state. This will blow away team assignments and the points log.
 
 
-`disabled`
+`hours.txt`
-----------
-
-Create this file to pause collection of points and other maintenance.
-Contestants can still submit answers,
-but they won't show up on the scoreboard until you remove this file.
-
-This file does not normally exist.
-
-
-`until`
 -------
 
-Put an RFC3337 date/time stamp in here to have the server pause itself at a given time.
+A list of start and stop hours.
-Remember that time zones exist!
+If all the hours are in the future, the event defaults to running.
-I recommend always using Zulu time.
+"Stop" here just pertains to scoreboard updates and puzzle unlocking.
-
+People can still submit answers and their awards are queued up for the next start.
-This file does not normally exist.
 
 
 `teamids.txt`