Yasashii Syndicate

Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - A few days ago, the Yasashii Syndicate released the first production-quality version of KittoKittoKitto, the open-source virtual pet game, similar to the popular Neopets.com game. Kitto is the most significant product released by the Syndicate to date, with nearly four months of development time invested, resulting in over six thousand lines of code.

“The new software framework written by Mr. Evans, KittoKittoKitto, will provide a basis on which many individuals will increase their skills in programming and set an example of coding excellence,” said Syndicate Chairman Stacey Ell in front of his home in Saskatchewan. “In addition to increasing the skills of starting programmers, it will also attract more people into the field. The world depends more and more on the software running behind the scenes. I hope KittoKittoKitto makes a difference.”

The Kitto release also marks another first in Syndicate history: cooperation with Lyghtspeed Solutions. Lyghtspeed has provided hosting for the Kitto project since it was first publicly announced and has provided invaluable bug reports and feedback throughout the entire development process.

What Is Kitto?
KittoKittoKitto is an open-source (licensed under the GPL v3) virtual pet site application, providing all of the basic functionality you need to start a virtual pet game. It is targeted towards those who are proficient with PHP or are trying to learn PHP. Kitto is purely object-oriented and adheres to the MVC pattern, making it an excellent package to begin learning PHP with.

Its goals are simple:

• Help new petgame developers get off the ground as quickly as possible. All of the essentials are ready to be used, including user management and adopting virtual pets. Developers may proceed with adding new and unique elements into the game without the time-consuming process of implementing their own frameworks.
• Help educate brand-new and novice programmers by giving them a well-designed application to hack away at. The code in Kitto will serve as an excellent example of best practices and DRY code to the next generation of pet-game developers.

What features does Kitto provide?

• Complete user system (register, login, logout, forgot password, preferences, avatars, titles, timezones and date formats, profiles, ban/unban, permissions).
• Forums with moderation abilities and ’secret’ permission-based boards/categories.
• News page with comments.
• Private-messaging system supporting a variable-number of CCs.
• Adopt pet / Abandon Pet, pet profiles, feed/play/paint pet.
• Extensible item system (the actions it ships with are use, give, and destroy item) with stacking. Kitto comes with support for toy items, food items, and paint items.
• NPC-owned shops and configurable restocks.
• Complete administrative back-end and granular user permissions.
• It’s own psudeo-cron system.
• No BBCode implementation - everything uses HTML instead of making your users learn Yet Another Markup Language.
• Kitto integrates the TinyMCE editor - the same editor found in Wordpress - to make styling their text easy. Users do not even need to know HTML!

What About Security?
Kitto takes advantage of several things to mitigate the possibility of flaws:

• Kitto is hardened against SQL injection attacks, thanks to its use of the ActiveTable library. ActiveTable deals with doing the appropriate quoting for the RDBMS you are connected to without any work on the part of the developer.
• Kitto uses HTMLPurifier to validate and strip malicious code from user-provided HTML.
• Kitto is resilient to cookie stealing attacks. It ties the password cookie’s hash to an IP address and places a time limit on how long the particular hash is considered valid. The hashes stored in cookies are temporary, throw-away, salted hashes, making them virtually immune to rainbow table attacks.

About Lyghtspeed Solutions
Lyghtspeed has been a leader in online services since the beginning of 2007. Their flagship products, Rescreatu and Virtual Pet List, bring in hundreds of thousands of page views per day and are both supported by active, friendly user communities.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.

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KittoKittoWiki, the gateway to all Kitto-related resources and downloads, including the full source code for Kitto.
Kitto Live Demo

Filed by OwlManAtt at 10:34 pm under Projects, Syndicate
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Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - Syndicate leader Nicholas Evans is pleased to announce another Syndicate software release, the ATP Unit MXX-4007, version .8.

About the ATP Unit MXX-4007
The ATP Unit MXX-4007 is the successor to the Syndicate’s mk_thumb.sh thumbnail gallery generator. It is implemented in the Ruby programming langage and makes use of the Ruby ImageMagick library to scale images. Because it takes advantage of Ruby, the ATP Unit should be completely cross-platform, although it has only been tested on Ubuntu Linux. This is the .8 release; several more features are planned to increase its usability before reaching the 1.0 release.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.
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ATP Unit MXX-4007 0.8.0

Filed by OwlManAtt at 12:28 am under Projects, Syndicate
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Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - The Yasashii Syndicate is pleased to announce that a formal charter has been adopted. The ratification of the charter took place on Sunday evening, mere hours before the end of two-thousand and six. The Syndicate’s charter formalizes a number of policies and procedures that the chairman and the other members of the board of directors must follow.

Chairman Ell and Senior Vice Presidents Waters and Evans were present for the vote. As expected, the three members of the Acting Board all voted in favour of adopting the charter during the meeting which lasted roughly half-an-hour.

Afterwards, Syndicate Chairman Stacey Ell made the following statement:

This small Board of Directors may seem insignificant now, however, within it resides the power to change the world. Yasashii will use its power to better understand the universe we live in, and subsequently improve the life of all. This is only the beginning of a great thing.

The rest of the Board were unavailable for comment.

The charter also allows some small insight into the overall goals of the Syndicate and hints towards what may be contained in The Seekrit Plan. The preamble reads:

We, the members of the Yasashii Syndicate, have determined that, in order bring a new age unto the world, one which respects the Law of Nature and encourages humans to seek a deeper understanding of jurisprudence, one which provides an unprecedented environment for the worker to take advantage of his freedoms from shackles, one which allows humanity to survive without the burdens of blind faith and religious indoctrination, and one which is prepared as our Earth turns toward the next great Age of Exploration.

And for these ends, the Yasashii Syndicate will employ all means available to it to prepare for the New Age of Humanity.

We, the Yasashii Syndicate, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.

The Yasashii Syndicate is also pleased to announce that, with the ratification of the charter, it will now declare itself as a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization, similar to organizations like the ISO and the W3C.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.
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Charter of the Yasashii Syndicate

Filed by OwlManAtt at 7:36 pm under Syndicate
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Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - The Yasashii Syndicate wishes to express its remorse for the murder of Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, following a trial hosted by the Iraqi government. Mr. Hussien, while undoubtedly a sick and oppressive individual, is considered a loss to the world at large. The Syndicate also questions the validity of Iraq’s ability to try its former dictator for crimes against the human race.

Mr. Hussien’s execution took place after only one trial convicted him for his crimes in a specific incident - the murder of 148 individuals in retaliation for an assassination attempt against Saddam’s life. Justice may have been served, but only for the families and friends of these people. Saddam’s reign over Iraq lasted decades, and during that time, he ruled Iraq with an iron fist. The Syndicate has no doubt that his body count was much higher than the 148 Iraqis this trial dealt with, and with Saddam’s death, the survivors of his other victims will never have their day in court.

The murder of the former dictator was premature. While the government of Iraq may have policies clearly stating that a person convicted of crimes against humanity should be executed, the Syndicate mourns the loss of all testimony, documents, and revelations which would have come from additional trials. The trials of high-level Nazi leaders at the conclusion of the second World War was a goldmine of information for historians; these trials clearly set the record. They allowed for questions to be asked; they allowed for clarifications to be made. They allowed for history to know why, in the most detailed sense, these individuals acted in the way they did. But with Saddam’s execution, such insight is forever lost to history, and the Syndicate deeply regrets this.

Yasashii was also disgusted by the means used to kill Mr. Hussien. Hanging is a crude, barbaric, and disgusting practice. While the Syndicate realizes that the Middle East is, for the most part, stuck in the dark ages, we do not feel that the Iraqi government is conducting itself in a civil manner, especially considering their recent liberation by the United States. The video footage of the murder — showing the executioners wearing ski-masks — released shortly after the deed also portrayed the execution to be similar to insurgents murdering a hostage.

Finally, the Syndicate calls into question the legitimacy of its ability to try its former dictator for crimes against the human race. All throughout the trial, the court showed obvious bias against Mr. Hussien. The judge presiding over the trial was an Iraqi, and after the reign of Saddam, no Iraqi can possibly be unbiased. The Syndicate wishes that Mr. Hussien had instead been handed over to an international court so that he may have had a fair trial. He was charged with crimes against humanity, yet humanity at large was not allowed to judge him for this - his victims were.

About Saddam Hussien
Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein was executed by long drop hanging after being convicted of crimes against humanity following his trial and conviction for the illegal killings of 143 Shi’as in the town of Dujail in 1982.

Saddam Hussein was the president of Iraq from July 16, 1979 until April 9, 2003, when he was then deposed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led forces.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.

Filed by OwlManAtt at 10:13 pm under Syndicate
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Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - Sunday evening, senior Yasashii Syndicate officials issued a statement condemning the recent Novell-Microsoft patent covenant. Nicholas Evans, well-known for his writings (including the Introduction to SQL and Subversion in Fifteen Minutes papers), called the deal a slap in the face to open-source developers who have helped to build Novell’s Linux business on their personal time.

“Basically, Novell is telling us that Microsoft’s claims of Linux infringing on their intellectual property are true, and that we all need to start paying a Microsoft tax on SUSE. Furthermore, they insult the people who have donated their time to developing the software which they have taken, free of cost, integrated into their product, and resold.” said Evans. He also questioned the sanity of senior Novell management. “And what happens when the Free Software Foundation moves their code over to the GPL v3?”

The GNU GPL is one of the licenses that has shaped the open-source movement. Version three is a work-in-progress which will contain additional protections against deals like the one struck between Novell and Microsoft which allow for limited redistribution of patent licenses. Critical components in the Novell SUSE operating system will be migrated to GPL v3 around the second fiscal quarter in 2007, potentially preventing Novell from integrating the latest versions of Free software into their product.

When asked outside his home in snowy Saskatoon, Chairman Ell stated, “These disturbing events just show the massive effect of FUD and the sad state of the US patent system.” FUD is a buzzword for the growing trend of technology companies spreading claims designed to insight fear, uncertainty, and doubt, without actually backing their claims up.

As a whole, the Yasashii Syndicate is against this deal, fearing that it will hurt the open-source community and drive a wedge between Novell, the Free Software Foundation, and other major players.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise™. With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With more than 20 years of experience, 4,700 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environments while reducing costs. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.

Filed by OwlManAtt at 11:42 pm under Syndicate
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Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - The Yasashii Syndicate is proud to announce that our numbers have incremented. In an astounding 3-0 vote, Axis has been inducted into the Syndicate as our first Junior Member. The duties and benefits of Junior Membership are to be determined at a later date by a full board vote.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.

Filed by OwlManAtt at 11:47 pm under Members, Syndicate
2 Comments

Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - Syndicate member Nicholas Evans has updated and re-released his world-reknown ‘Introduction To SQL‘ tutorial under the Yasashii Syndicate’s flag this morning. This paper provides complete beginners a guide to writing queries for relational databases (MySQL is used throughout the paper). It was originally released in Q3 of last year.

MySQL
MySQL is the world’s most popular open-source RDBMS. Maintained by MySQL AB, a Swedish-based company, MySQL is available both under the GNU General Public License, but also offer it under a more flexible license if people are willing to pay. It is used widely throughout the world, with most hosting providers offering MySQL over Oracle or PostgreSQL.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.
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Introduction To SQL

Filed by OwlManAtt at 8:50 am under Projects, Syndicate
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Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - Syndicate member Nicholas Evans is pleased to announce the Syndicate’s first software release, the subSyndicate Subversion Syndicator for UNIX and Linux.

About subSyndicate
The subSyndicate Subversion Syndicator is a simple piece of software designed to allow easy publishing of your Subversion logs via Really Simple Syndication, an Internet standard for content syndication.

Because subSyndicate is implemented in the Ruby programming language, it is portable across all UNIX and UNIX-Like (Linux) systems that are supported by the Ruby runtime environment. Support for Microsoft Windows is so far untested, but is theoretically possible.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.
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subSyndicate

Filed by OwlManAtt at 10:14 pm under Members, Projects, Syndicate
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Srsly, we are all about srsness. Here is some classified video clips of the syndicates private operations in Yasashii HQ. These clips were produced by Agent ZippoCat and contain some brief clips of some of the other agents.

NOTE: BEST VIEWED WITH QUICKTIME

• One of yasashii’s agents doing SRS business
• More SRS business…SRSLY.

We’re that SRS.

Yasashii, Serious business.

Filed by ZippoCat at 7:28 pm under Syndicate
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Calgary, Alberta (Yasashiisyndicate.org) - Syndicate member Nicholas Evans is pleased to announce the release of the Syndicate’s first tutorial, Subversion In Fifteen Minutes. This is the first in a long series of document that the Syndicate plans to release as a part of its Seekrit Plan.

About Subversion
Subversion is the premiere source control management software package. The Subversion project was founded by a number of individuals who were discontect with CVS and its philosophies. Since its founding in June of 2000, nearly six years ago, incredible progress has been made.

About The Yasashii Syndicate
The Yasashii Syndicate, otherwise known as the Gentle Syndicate, is an organization dedicated to its execution of The Sekrit Plan. The Sekrit Plan’s goals, to outsiders, seem strange and mysterious. To syndicate members, however, The Sekrit Plan makes perfect fucking sense.

For more information about the Yasashii Syndicate, please see yasashiisyndicate.org/about.
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Subversion In Fifteen Minutes.

Filed by OwlManAtt at 3:58 pm under Projects
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