mbot - the forum contest bot
 

I've got to hand in a little "internet programmation" task in a week or 6, and i've come up with a neat idea.

Those "show me your highest 3Dmark/Pifast/....' threads are very popular on forums, but it's a b*tch to maintain them manually.

How about a bot, that maintains the first post? It skims the pages for expressions like [ mbot ]<nickname> - <time/score> - system specs - ...[ /mbot ], and updates the first post manually.

If someone wants to start a contest he should fill in a form on the madmark website containing the url of the first post, the type of contest and the team name, from then on the mbot updates the thread hourly.

Pretty easy to do, any comments/suggestions?

a verification system would be very usefull, otherwise some jokers will do

[mbot]the best - 999999999999999 - P8 9ghz [/mbot]

Such entries should be removed manually. It's not an anonymous entry, you'll still have to be registred at the forum where the contest takes place.

won't removing entrees manually f*ck up the bot?

how will the bot the able to update the 1st post btw?

Editing the first entry is just an HTTP Post request. However, you'll need to give your password and login if the mbot isn't the owner of the first post.

You've got a point about messing up the bot with manually removing the entry. I could blacklist the user who posted it.

that's quite a security risk, maybe always let the bot make the 1st post?

That would simplify things. : )

or maybe 1st post by the user with explication and details
and then you go to the bot, specify the thread and hit go, the bot will then reply with a first basic list and rules you gave the bot.

the only reference you need for updating from then on is the unique post id

Good idea, i'll get to the coding asap. : )

Nice idea!
Janssens will like you so much. :-)

Janssens always does :)

hehe : )

Received a : sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection
Getting an input stream...
# matches: 1
Found match:[mbot]the best -
User: the best
score: 9.9999999E14
system: P8 9ghz
-----------------------------------

testje

[mbot]richba5tard - 17935 - Athlon XP 2Ghz R9700 Pro[/mbot]

Retrieving webpage...
# matches: 1
User: the best
score: 9.9999999E14
system: P8 9ghz
-----------------------------------
User: the best
score: 9.9999999E14
system: P8 9ghz
-----------------------------------
User: richba5tard
score: 17935.0
system: Athlon XP 2Ghz R9700 Pro
-----------------------------------

does the bot monitor the thread with all the replies? how does it cope with multiple pages? does it know what updates it has already one? :)

[mbot]jmke - 17936 - Athlon XP 2.05Ghz R9700 Pro[/mbot]

Retrieving webpage...
# matches: 1
Found match:the best - 999999999999999 - P8 9ghz
Found match:richba5tard - 17935 - Athlon XP 2Ghz R9700 Pro
Found match:jmke - 17936 - Athlon XP 2.05Ghz R9700 Pro

User: the best
score: 9.9999999E14
system: P8 9ghz
-----------------------------------
User: richba5tard
score: 17935.0
system: Athlon XP 2Ghz R9700 Pro
-----------------------------------
User: jmke
score: 17936.0
system: Athlon XP 2.05Ghz R9700 Pro
-----------------------------------

No, it rebuilds the whole page each time it checks. It's faster than checking whether the entry already exists in the database.

multiple pages should be no problem, but it isn't implemented yet.

mbot beta at work in this thread.

Basic stuff seems to work. : ) It can parse the results and edit the first thread automaticly.

Ok, the bot has matured enough to put it to work. : )

mbot v0.9:
--------------
features:
* automaticly updates first post at given interval (default: 6 hours)
* filters highest score from user
* supports unlimitted subcats
* includes image attachment for proof (vbb only atm)
* includes futuremark url

flexibility:
* forum specific stuff (how to edit post, how to make sth bold are *not* hardcode, hence other forumsoftware engines are easy to support.
* very easy to add support for 3Dmark, aquamark, etc

bugs:
* none known

todo:
* add support for other contest types than superpi
* add support for other forumsoftware
* add webpage so other users can launch the bot

mbot v0.91:
--------------
added features:
*possibility for reverse sorting (lower = better)

bugfixes:
* '>', '<' and '&' are allowed
* subcategory fix

todo:
* add support for other contest types than superpi
* add support for other forumsoftware
* add webpage so other users can launch the bot

i was just thinking
after a while such a thread well be dozens off pages
does he always scan all of'm?
cause, that could slow him down, no?

It checks whether there are multiple pages, and has no problem scanning them all.

It takes about 1 sec per page, so it would become a problem if it had multiple threads to maintain, and the update interval would be small (eg 10 minutes). That's why the default update intervak is 6 hours... that's still way more frequent than if it were done manually. ;)

Keep in mind this is a server oriented app. The current version may also run as a clien app (on any pc with an internet connection), but v1.0 will be run from a webserver, so it doesn't hog my bandwith.

mbot v0.92:
--------------
added features:
*supports identification by cookies

bugfixes:
* none

todo:
* add support for 3Dmark contest

maybe slight error overhere:

http://shrimpcity.spelletjesgarnaal....threadid=60212

Koensa has a futuremakr url in his signature, and it seems that the bot searches these to.

You'd better put in some fancy colors for janssens ;)

mbot v0.93:
--------------
added features:
* linux / win dedection
* caches unaltered webpages. 100+ pages long thread doesn't consume more bandwith than a single page one.
* added 3dmark 01 and 03 formatter

bugfixes:
* subcategory dedection is no longer case sensitive

todo:
* add funky colors
* code rewrite

Bug:

my score was not updated here: http://shrimpcity.spelletjesgarnaal....threadid=60220

my system specs are wrong, it says P4 2.4@4 , while it is only 2.4@3

I added a reply at the bottom:

[mbot]JMke - 20795.0 marks - P4 2.4 "C" @ 3 Ghz + R9800 Pro default[/mbot]

one mark higher then the score listed, in the hope the bot would update.. but it didn't ?

"Last edited by mbot on 09-05-2004 at 17:37"

could the "name" field be case sensitive?
if yes, aha. but then it should have added a JMke entree anyway?

todo:
* debug import code :)

Development of the mbot website is going well. I estimate it will be up and running by the end of this weekend.

It will feature the new & improved mbot, the ability for end users to configure and launch their own mbot, an interforumcontest page and the source code of the whole project.

Are there any immediate request except an interforum contest page per benchmarkprog, and the ability to control your own mbot?

sneak peak :)

sexy :)

working beta version: http://madmark.madoka.be/

looks like pure crap in ie, I recommend firefox / mozilla / opera.

uhm.. hm.. everybody has full access?

I was unable to create a bot.. but I accidently hit delete on the "madshrimps 3dmark03" bot entree.. and poof.. it was gone.. wtf?

user identification and a more user friendly way of creating bots is nearly finished.

just some html-comments..

css:
- try changing all bordersettings (td.botlist, ...) 'thin' to '1px'..
- hr -> height 1px
(will all look the same in mozilla, improvement in IE)

htm add-bot:
removal of the width="350" setting for right table + usage of empty tr for spacing (or top or bottom margins \ other class|style)

:ws:

Thanks aboroth, IE looks much better this way.

Mbot.org 1.0 rc1 is online and has replaced the old bot.

To see the bots at work, visit http://madmark.madoka.be/

looking great :)
although I'd remove that test account, just in case somebody tests on how to delete a ranking :/

in the Mbot table.

Is it possible to create links to the threads ?

Shrimp Superpi 337 Sloefke (795.0) 42 view

Sloefke leader ? :)

Reverse superpi will be fixed in the next release.

A link to the actual forumpost is possible, but that feature doesn't have high priority.

@jmke: it will be removed eventually

-edit- hmmm, hosting seems to be awfull slow atm.