Show HN: A vichan variant that ChatGPT helped me host
h2ochan.org
In the past, I had tried setting up vichan a few times, but I was overwhelmed by the many technical tasks involved, such as using a remote terminal, working with MySQL databases, configuring nginx, setting file permissions and owners, and using Emacs (or trying to avoid clunky local file edits and FTP).
However, I recently discovered chatGPT and have found it very helpful in assisting me with various technical issues. I began by asking for help setting up a public PHP forum, saying that I was a gamedev with some experience in Unity and C#, but not familiar with web development. chatGPT recommended that I look into ASP.NET [1] (which is similar to C#) and gave me some specific recommendations for webhosts and domain registrars. Based on these recommendations, I was able to get a Shared Windows Host [1] up and running, with my nginx [3] page visible after visiting the proper IP address.
During the vichan installation process, there is a config-help screen that shows red and yellow lights, to show stuff like if vichan is missing permissions, the SQL database is misconfigured, etc. Initially, this screen showed about three errors and five warnings, mostly related to vichan's inability to read or write certain files. ChatGPT was very helpful in troubleshooting these issues, whether I copy-pasted error messages or described the problems in my own words. It helped me with tasks such as using `chmod`, `chroot`, and `grep`, as well as with fixing HTTP status codes such as 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, and 500 Internal Server Error [2]. ChatGPT also helped me locate log files and fix other issues, and eventually all of the warnings were resolved.
Emacs was also very helpful during the setup, with chatGPT assisting with emacs commands (I have a double-sided Sheet of them somewhere...) Although I am still learning basic hotkeys, I am able to Save, Undo, and Quit with confidence, and I have almost memorized the Page Up/Down keys. I was initially drawn to Emacs because I saw a page about hotkeys for capitalizing, lowercasing, and uppercasing words years ago, but never sticking with it. Now using it more, my thoughts still being "My smartphone can't even Delete (forward) or Undo! Modifying whole WORDS like this is incredible!"
Please go look at h2ochan, and Drink Water!
[0] https://github.com/vichan-devel
[1] I did have to switch from a Shared/managed ASP.NET to a Dedicated Linux Host, since remote SSH was not supported for Windows, only Linux
[2] I forgot two of these error codes, so I asked chatGPT to remind me of ones I might have encountered during setup. chatGPT also revised my initial post (making sure chatGPT got a [] citation, no matter how confusing!) which I revised once more before posting.
[3] Windows + nginx, huh? I may be mis-remembering this bit, but there was certainly a point of realizing "I need Admin access so I can edit Permissions..." or something, and that Windows without SSH was wholly insufficient for vichan
[-] chatGPT was occasionally a bit outdated, which led to missing packages, non-existent paths, and imperfect configurations. However, it seemed happy to accept corrections, such as when I wanted to show line numbers in PHP files in Emacs, but my init.el file already had a setting to show line numbers for all programming languages, and I didn't have php-mode installed. Instead, I needed to use phps-mode.
[-] The website favicon is a Koreisha mark, hue-shifted to the Blues. It's used in Japan to signify elderly drivers, and used Abroad by Car Enthusiasts. I love the Half-Teardrops in contrasting Bright and Subtle Blue.