10:22 a.m.
Hi,
I've just noticed the current state of the procedure how to obtain a
login to upload a contributed package (as an author). This quiz strikes
me as prohibitive: "The midasreg command was introduced in"...
Seriously? I would fail bitterly, thank God I already have an access
account.
And question number 1 is ill-posed I think, sigma isn't defined.
cheers
sven
1:05 p.m.
On Fri, 4 Mar 2022, Sven Schreiber wrote:
I've just noticed the current state of the procedure how to
obtain a
login to upload a contributed package (as an author). This quiz strikes
me as prohibitive: "The midasreg command was introduced in"...
Seriously? I would fail bitterly, thank God I already have an access
account.
Seems to me anyone serious about gretl knows there's a change log
online (linked on the main gretl page) and can easily search through
it via their browser to find the earliest reference to midasreg. I
suppose we could insert a link to the change log in that question
but I don't think that should really be necessary.
And question number 1 is ill-posed I think, sigma isn't defined.
Conventionally, in the context of a regression, sigma^2 is the
variance of the error term unless otherwise specified, no?
Allin
7:10 a.m.
Am 04.03.2022 um 19:05 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
On Fri, 4 Mar 2022, Sven Schreiber wrote:
> I've just noticed the current state of the procedure how to obtain a
> login to upload a contributed package (as an author). This quiz strikes
> me as prohibitive: "The midasreg command was introduced in"...
> Seriously? I would fail bitterly, thank God I already have an access
> account.
Seems to me anyone serious about gretl knows there's a change log
online (linked on the main gretl page) and can easily search through
it via their browser to find the earliest reference to midasreg. I
suppose we could insert a link to the change log in that question but
I don't think that should really be necessary.
Hm, I really think we shouldn't overestimate the extent to which people
outside our devel bubble know the various bits and pieces of the gretl
universe. I mean the changelog isn't even shipped in the gretl
installation. (or is it?) And most people wouldn't care about it. Just
think how little even the gretl inner circle people are aware of when a
certain feature was introduced and what the resulting gretl version
requirement is.
I know we've had spamming problems in that area, but maybe we have
overshot the target. I think with contributed packages it's a bit like
voting in the US: it should be made easier, not harder.
> And question number 1 is ill-posed I think, sigma isn't defined.
Conventionally, in the context of a regression, sigma^2 is the
variance of the error term unless otherwise specified, no?
Well, yes, but since there are multiple choice options like
"hyperelasticity" one wonders if perhaps the sigma equation part isn't
also some kind of trick question :-)
cheers
sven
>
> Allin
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10:50 p.m.
Hi,
I tend to agree with the idea that the reply to the midasreg question is
not that obvious unless you are in the very inner circle of gretl
developpers, which I am obviously not. Actually, I consider myself as a
long time fan of Gretl but with just a mild technical knowledge of it.
Recently I lost my credentials in Gretl and I was unable to upload an
updated version of Kapetanios. I tried to get a new account; when I saw the
midasreg question, I tried to find the answer by googling it, but I only
obtained, apparently, wrong solutions. At the end, I simply tried multiples
times to open the new account by changing the reply to the
midasreg question. Perhaps not so surprisingly, I exhausted all the wrong
answers before getting the right one. This procedure is really
discouraging; I honestly prefer the other 3 questions. Perhaps it could be
replaced with a "recaptcha"? It's just an opinion.
Friendly regards,
D.
Missatge de Sven Schreiber <svetosch(a)gmx.net> del dia dg., 6 de març 2022 a
les 6:10:
Am 04.03.2022 um 19:05 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
> On Fri, 4 Mar 2022, Sven Schreiber wrote:
>
>> I've just noticed the current state of the procedure how to obtain a
>> login to upload a contributed package (as an author). This quiz strikes
>> me as prohibitive: "The midasreg command was introduced in"...
>> Seriously? I would fail bitterly, thank God I already have an access
>> account.
>
> Seems to me anyone serious about gretl knows there's a change log
> online (linked on the main gretl page) and can easily search through
> it via their browser to find the earliest reference to midasreg. I
> suppose we could insert a link to the change log in that question but
> I don't think that should really be necessary.
Hm, I really think we shouldn't overestimate the extent to which people
outside our devel bubble know the various bits and pieces of the gretl
universe. I mean the changelog isn't even shipped in the gretl
installation. (or is it?) And most people wouldn't care about it. Just
think how little even the gretl inner circle people are aware of when a
certain feature was introduced and what the resulting gretl version
requirement is.
I know we've had spamming problems in that area, but maybe we have
overshot the target. I think with contributed packages it's a bit like
voting in the US: it should be made easier, not harder.
>
>> And question number 1 is ill-posed I think, sigma isn't defined.
>
> Conventionally, in the context of a regression, sigma^2 is the
> variance of the error term unless otherwise specified, no?
Well, yes, but since there are multiple choice options like
"hyperelasticity" one wonders if perhaps the sigma equation part isn't
also some kind of trick question :-)
cheers
sven
>
> Allin
> _______________________________________________
> Gretl-devel mailing list -- gretl-devel(a)gretlml.univpm.it
> To unsubscribe send an email to gretl-devel-leave(a)gretlml.univpm.it
> Website:
> https://gretlml.univpm.it/postorius/lists/gretl-devel.gretlml.univpm.it/
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10:17 a.m.
Am 07.03.2022 um 04:50 schrieb Daniel Ventosa-Santaulària:
Hi,
I tend to agree with the idea that the reply to the midasreg question
is not that obvious unless you are in the very inner circle of gretl
developpers, which I am obviously not. Actually, I consider myself as
a long time fan of Gretl but with just a mild technical knowledge of
it. Recently I lost my credentials in Gretl and I was unable to upload
an updated version of Kapetanios. I tried to get a new account; when I
saw the midasreg question, I tried to find the answer by googling it,
but I only obtained, apparently, wrong solutions. At the end, I simply
tried multiples times to open the new account by changing the reply to
the midasreg question. Perhaps not so surprisingly, I exhausted all
the wrong answers before getting the right one. This procedure is
really discouraging; I honestly prefer the other 3 questions. Perhaps
it could be replaced with a "recaptcha"? It's just an opinion.
Thanks for sharing your experience. A follow-up question: I think before
the new account is valid and usable you would get some feedback "from
gretl". Maybe it's a manual step done by Allin, I'm not sure. Do you
remember whether that worked alright for you? Because I've heard
complaints that one couldn't proceed because of that.
thanks
sven
11:36 a.m.
Hi Sven,
Once I obtained the new account, I easily uploaded the updated version of
the function. Then, I received two mails with feedback that were
particularly useful (apparently, the new function still has some issues; I
am still working on this). If that is the feedback you are referring to,
it worked perfectly in my case; I have the feeling that the feedback is
carried out manually, which I highly appreciate.
Cheers,
D.
El lun., 7 de marzo de 2022 9:17, Sven Schreiber <svetosch(a)gmx.net>
escribió:
Am 07.03.2022 um 04:50 schrieb Daniel Ventosa-Santaulària:
Hi,
I tend to agree with the idea that the reply to the midasreg question is
not that obvious unless you are in the very inner circle of gretl
developpers, which I am obviously not. Actually, I consider myself as a
long time fan of Gretl but with just a mild technical knowledge of it.
Recently I lost my credentials in Gretl and I was unable to upload an
updated version of Kapetanios. I tried to get a new account; when I saw the
midasreg question, I tried to find the answer by googling it, but I only
obtained, apparently, wrong solutions. At the end, I simply tried multiples
times to open the new account by changing the reply to the
midasreg question. Perhaps not so surprisingly, I exhausted all the wrong
answers before getting the right one. This procedure is really
discouraging; I honestly prefer the other 3 questions. Perhaps it could be
replaced with a "recaptcha"? It's just an opinion.
Thanks for sharing your experience. A follow-up question: I think before
the new account is valid and usable you would get some feedback "from
gretl". Maybe it's a manual step done by Allin, I'm not sure. Do you
remember whether that worked alright for you? Because I've heard complaints
that one couldn't proceed because of that.
thanks
sven
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To unsubscribe send an email to gretl-devel-leave(a)gretlml.univpm.it
Website:
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1:16 p.m.
Am 07.03.2022 um 17:36 schrieb Daniel Ventosa-Santaulària:
Hi Sven,
Once I obtained the new account, I easily uploaded the updated version
of the function. Then, I received two mails with feedback that were
particularly useful (apparently, the new function still has some
issues; I am still working on this). If that is the feedback you are
referring to, it worked perfectly in my case; I have the feeling that
the feedback is carried out manually, which I highly appreciate.
No, sorry, the word "feedback" was misleading. I meant that after
passing the quiz questions in order to apply for a (new) account for the
package server, I heard that these days you get a message saying you
will receive an answer from gretl soon afterwards. This is all related
to creating the account and before you actually upload the package.
Maybe I should try myself to create a new dummy account in order to see
what is really involved...
thanks
sven
5:15 p.m.
On Mon, 7 Mar 2022, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Am 07.03.2022 um 17:36 schrieb Daniel Ventosa-Santaulària:
> Hi Sven,
> Once I obtained the new account, I easily uploaded the updated version
> of the function [...]
Glad to hear it!
Maybe I should try myself to create a new dummy account in order to
see
what is really involved...
Here's the sequence of events.
1) Somebody fills out the form at http://gretl.sourceforge.net/apply/
2) This is submitted to mkpass.cgi on SF, which checks for validity
of the email address and correct answers to the questions on the
form. If all is OK, a login request is written to a file on SF.
3) After a slight delay (supposed to be <= 5 minutes) the Ancona
robot picks up the request and sends email to the applicant, of the
following form:
<pattern>
Somebody has applied for a login to upload gretl function packages.
giving this email address. If it was really you and you wish to
proceed, please click the link below.
http://gretl.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/mkpass.cgi?email=XXX&token=YYY
The gretl team
</pattern>
4) If the applicant clicks on the supplied link, they should be
added to the list of accepted package uploaders.
So there's actually no action required on the part of gretl admins,
once a correct application is submitted and the applicant clicks on
the link supplied in the automatic email sent out at point 3.
I just tested this myself, going as far as point 3, where I received
an email on the stated pattern. Since I already have a working login
I did not click on the link, but from Daniel's experience it seems
that works OK.
BTW, I have now replaced the question about midasreg with a question
about gretl's "ols" command which should be easier to answer for
anyone with passing familiarity with gretl. The only reason we added
a gretl-specific question to the application form was that we did
get one prankster who knew enough to answer the first 3 questions
but was just out to make mischief.
Allin
6:35 a.m.
Am 08.03.2022 um 23:15 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
3) After a slight delay (supposed to be <= 5 minutes) the Ancona robot
picks up the request and sends email to the applicant, of the
following form:
From the real-world case that I've heard of, I think this step failed.
I suspect a usual spam email problem stood in the way.
thanks
sven
12:20 p.m.
On Wed, 9 Mar 2022, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Am 08.03.2022 um 23:15 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
>
> 3) After a slight delay (supposed to be <= 5 minutes) the Ancona robot
> picks up the request and sends email to the applicant, of the
> following form:
From the real-world case that I've heard of, I think this step failed.
I suspect a usual spam email problem stood in the way.
The initial message that's shown to people who successfully complete
the (now easier) quiz has been revised as follows:
<quote>
Thank you for applying for a gretl login. Before long you should
receive an email from the gretlpkg server, with a link to complete
the procedure. If you don't get that email within about 10 minutes
please check your spam, as automated mails may be blocked.
</quote>
Hopefully this should help.
Allin
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days inactive
989
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9 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
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Allin Cottrell -
Daniel Ventosa-Santaulària -
Sven Schreiber