AutoInsult v3.1

The latest version of this document is held at http:\\dialspace.dial.pipex.com\jonrb\files\docs\AutoInsult.html which may be more recent than the version in autoinsult.zip

Contents

Overview
Installation
What's New?
Usage
Feedback
FAQ
History
The Future
Acknowledgements
Support
Legal

Overview

AutoInsult is a silly little program that runs under Win9x / WinNT and generates insults for you in either an Arabian, a Shakespearean or a modern style.  It then copies them into the clipboard so that you can paste them wherever you deem appropriate.

Users can specify the number of insults to generate, the level of offensiveness, and various other options.

All the word resources are stored in an external file, which allows new dictionaries to be "plugged in".

Installation

AutoInsult makes use of Windows95 / WindowsNT "INF" files.  These are install scripts to be used with the standard Windows Installer, and obviate the need for a full-blown setup program that would probably be bigger than AutoInsult itself.

To install:

• If you haven't done so already, unzip autoinsult.zip to a temporary folder.  If you don't have an unzip program then try WinZip (available at http:\\www.winzip.com)
• Choose which of the two version you want to install - English or American English.
• Using explorer, say, click on inst_UK.inf (for the English version) or inst_US.inf (for the American English version) with your 2nd mouse button (usually the right mouse button) and select "install".
• The install script will copy the appropriate files to a folder called "AutoInsult" off your "Program Files" folder, add a new group to your "Start" menu, and add an uninstall entry in "Add / Remove programs" list.
• You can delete the contents of the temporary folder now if you wish.

To uninstall:

• Go to Control Panel and select "Add / Remove programs"
• Select the entry for AutoInsult and click on "Add/Remove"
• The install script will remove AutoInsult. 
  NB: If you have moved the entry for AutoInsult in your "Start" menu somewhere else, then the uninstall script will not be able to remove it and you will have to remove it by hand.  Likewise if you have moved the program files elsewhere you will have to delete them by hand as well.

What's New?

Since v3.1 Beta

• An install / uninstall script.
• Searches for .dat files in both the current folder and the folder autoinsult.exe resides in.
• Now ships with both an English and an American English word file.

Since v3.01

• Searches for all files with a .dat extension in the folder autoinsult.exe resides in. Eliminates errors due to insultdata.dat being renamed and paves the way for multiple data files.
• Frequently Asked Questions moved to the on-line AutoInsult FAQ
• Added more words.
• Modern insults tab is no longer hidden when the offensiveness level is too low.  It is present and a message informs you that it is disabled until you enable it. This should prevent users thinking it is not included in the version they have.
• "More" button re-labelled as "Options"

Since v3.0

• Added extra reporting for errors
• Extended the documentation, including mentioning a bug that some people are reporting (see the FAQ)
• Added a few more words.

Since v3.0 Beta 3

• Fixed bug where modern style couldn't be set as default
• Added a proper picture to the Arabian style. (See Acknowledgements)
• Added "back" and "forward" keys so that if you hit "Again Please!" accidentally, you won't lose a good insult.
• Added 2 orders of magnitude more words (now 328billion combinations compared to 2.8billion).  A big "thank you" to Paul Levin for sharing the data from his Arabian Insult page at http://www.cris.com/~pelevin/insults.shtml
• Added tool-tips

Since v2.01

• Arabian-style insults
• All data is now stored in an external file, insultdata.dat.  You can download updated versions from the AutoInsult web page
• You can now select a number options to modify how the insults are generated.  These are remembered between sessions.

Usage

There's not a lot too it, really.  Choose the type of insult you want from the tabs at the top (Arabian, Shakespearean or Modern). An insult will be generated.

You can then hit "Again Please!" to generate another.  When you have the perfect insult, press "Copy to Clipboard" to (gasp!) copy it to the clipboard. What you do with it after that is up to you (choosing "Paste" in an email is a good suggestion).

Click "About" to call up an "About" box which, amongst other things, will allow to you jump straight to our web site or send us some mail.

Use the "Options" button to view and set the following options:

• The number of insults to generate each time.  Set this to be between 1 and 500.
• Whether or not AutoInsult is always on top.  Useful when you're doing several cut & pastes, I find.
• Whether or not to capitalise the initial word of each sentence.  This is useful if you want to paste your insult into an email as part of a sentence, rather than a new one.
• A "Set default tab" button.  This will ensure that whichever tab you currently have selected will be automatically selected next time you run AutoInsult.
• The offensiveness level.  At the moment this either enables or disables the Modern insult style.  In the future it may enable or disable sets of words.

Some people have been offended by parts of AutoInsult, mainly by the Modern style.   This is ok, not everyone's humour overlaps completely.  Some people find the Arabian and Shakespearean styles funny, but not the Modern style.  Because of this I have built in an option to disable or enable it.  In the future I plan to have word sets that will be enabled or disabled for the Arabian style, but for now, the insult level only controls whether or not the Modern style insult tab is displayed or not.

Feedback

We value your feedback!  We really want to hear if you like AutoInsult, or if you have a suggestion to improve it.  Please add an entry at the AutoInsult feedback page, or else mail us at Jumping.Armadillo@dial.pipex.com

FAQ

History

The Future

We may add the following features in the future:

• Companion programs for registered users (see below)
• More words (of course)
• A timed insult that can pop up an insult for you at regular intervals whilst the main program stays hidden on the task bar.

The next version of AutoInsult may well be shareware. The actual core program (AutoInsult.exe) will remain freeware for now.  However, users who choose to register will receive several companion utilities. These will include an ActiveX version (for inclusion in client-side web pages, or embedded in your own applications), a command-line / console version (for server-side web pages, CGI scripts, etc.), and a utility to allow you to create and edit your own data files.
Registered users will also be notified of new versions as soon as they are available.
We anticipate the registration fee as being in the region of £12 (UK pounds) or $20 (US Dollars) for a single license, with a volume discount scheme. You'll be able to register on-line with your credit card.

Whether or not we actually implement any or all of the above will depend on the amount of feedback we get from people, so make sure you email us!

Acknowledgements

The resources for the Shakespearean insults were found on the web. There are many sites that generate these insults. Some sites credit Jerry Maguire of Center Grove High School, Greenwood Indiana, as being the originator of the list of words.

A proportion of the modern words came from an old MS-DOS program called Insults from the Modern Advisory Institute, Utah (Freeware, © 1983-1985). Incredibly Jon still had a copy of it on a floppy disk.

Likewise a proportion (but not all) of the Arabian insult words came from Paul Levin. Visit his Arabian Insult page at http://www.cris.com/~pelevin/insults.shtml

All the other words came from JonRB's own sick head!

The picture for the Arabian style came from http://www.internet-stuff.com/multimedia_gallery/index.html and was submitted by berliner@home.com. As far as we are aware all the pictures we have used are royalty-free and have no restrictions that prevent us from including them in this application.

We consider all the words to be in the Public Domain (especially the modern and Arabian ones, which are all either in the dictionary or recognised as being in common verbal usage) and do not feel that we have infringed anyone's copyright.  If you disagree then please contact us.  Any trademarks used in the word list are acknowledged as belonging to their owners.

Support

By releasing this software as FREEWARE we are not committing ourselves to providing any support for it. However, we are willing to provide limited email support at our discretion. Please mail us at Jumping.Armadillo@dial.pipex.com stating your problem, with as much detail as possible.  We're afraid that emails that simply say "your software doesn't work" will not help much.  We will look into the problem and may provide a workaround or bug fix.

We are not willing to provide any support via phone or fax, even if you phone us or otherwise pay for the call.  Jon really doesn't appreciate people in different time zones phoning in the middle of the night since our offices are in his house.

Before emailing, be sure to check http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/jonrb/AutoInsult.html for the latest version of AutoInsult and http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/jonrb/files/docs/AutoInsult.html for the latest version of this document.

Legal