Re: Inactive Icons (was Re: Infinite loop!)

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <6cagkd$5iq@metro.usyd.edu.au>,
Adrian Whichello <adrianw@gingko.ee.usyd.edu.au> wrote:
>I also have Gupp installed (thanks, Nathan), but I still
>ocassionally get the error walking icon list, infinite loop
>problem. But it's usually when I'm doing something I shouldn't with
>icons.

   I don't check for highly corrupted icon files, partially as that
could drastically slow down the Finder's launching. I do have a shell
command 'vfyicon' which is useful for seeing if files have problems in
them, and it points out that the file you list below is quite
corrupted. If the uploader cared about quality, not quantity,
corrupted and copyrighted files should have dealt with BEFORE
uploading, rather than foisting yet more garbage on the world and
making them deal with bad files.

>For example, buried in the AOL collection on ground (thanks, Tom)
>there's a file called "INACTIVE.ICONS" which is a useful collection
>of CDA, NDA, CDEV etc icons, but they've been redrawn with a big red
>X through them if they are inactive (ie the auxtype is $8000 or
>greater). But for some unaccountable reason, the file's been
>uploaded as a prodos binary file, not as a shrinkit archive, or
>binscii text etc., but as the icon file itself. So it's very
>corrupted and using it on the 2GS gives you a screen full of
>multicoloured garbage or some other problem at some stage.

   (1) It shouldn't have been uploaded as a raw file, quite probably
in ascii mode. (2) The uploader or site admin should have bothered to
test if the file actually worked, and on finding out quite trivially
that it doesn't, either not uploaded it, or placed it up in a special
area with lots of warnings saying to stay away. Those who provide
files should *care* in the slightest about making sure users can use
them, but some care more about getting their name on lots of things.

   If it's corrupted, delete it, and ask that it get fixed and/or
deleted from online places. There's no good reason why anyone else
should suffer from garbage files.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
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