Why isn't the picture changing/loading/reloading?
If the image doesn't load at all, loads broken, or a message appears saying it's unavailable, then the cam is most likely offline and can't be viewed right now. If you see an image but it isn't changing, it's possible the cam has gone offline
while you were watching it, or it might have a slow refresh rate. Most cams update at least once every few seconds, if not much faster,
but some cams may only update once every 30 seconds or so. Also, if the room you're looking at is empty, the cam might be updating, but
not so much that you would notice. If in doubt, reload the page.
Where is the RC Car?
Over time I have had several RC Cars that were controllable from the webpage. Since they've all been
modified toys, they tend to not hold up well and need to be replaced over time. I've since built a "critter" which is a mobile platform which isn't quite a car, isn't quite a tank, and isn't quite a robot, so for lack of a better term, I use "critter". Due to constant abuse, it's not currently working either.
Why can't ring your doorbell?
I used to have my doorbell on the internet, and plan to again, but it could never be rung FROM the internet. What I had were logs of when someone physically rang it. That action would also trigger a camera to take pictures of the person ringing the bell.
Where is all the other stuff that used to be on this site? And is it coming back?
In addition to the lamps and a semi-functional rc vehicle, I also used to have doorbell logs, motion sensor logs, a lot more lamps and cams in my own house, a current grocery inventory, and controllable plush toys of the "push the button and make it sing and dance" variety. Most of these features are still possible and will likely return in the future. The problem right now is simply one of space. The construction in my house creates two problems. It creates a mess which we don't want visible to the world, and because of the
mess, I have less available space to set up cams, devices, and other fun stuff. I can't build proper storage facilities in the house until all the walls are properly put together, and as such, the problem persists. In time, these features will return. In time.
Why does it say my message needs to be moderated?
Don't worry, you *probably* didn't do anything wrong. However, no matter how smart I can make an abuse filter, a program can't catch everything. It's pretty easy to identify definite abuse, and completely
harmless stuff is pretty simple to figure out too. But there's a huge grey
area in between that it really takes a human to verify. Right now there are about 80 different checks for possible abuse, and a positive on any of them will result in the message requiring moderation. For instance, being one letter off on a cussword will trigger it. Once a moderator has moderated the message (which will usually happen in a matter of seconds), the original message will be displayed for you, and the message will get sent to its intended recipent.
A short list of some of the things it checks for: Being one letter (or sometimes two) off from a cussword, any word that contains most of a cussword in the spelling, new visitors are triggere more often than older ones, a large amount of recently blocked users will raise the bar for moderation on ALL messages... for a while. Visiting from certain geographical areas triggers moderation more often, as will visiting from a network of anyone that has
been blocked. Repeating the same thing multiple times will raise your threat level, as will speaking non-english words repeatedly. Eventually I will
incorporate a grammar filter as well, so if your language is extremely broken,
it will also trigger it. MANY phrases which have a possible sexual meaning
will trigger it.
