Forum Utility: ABBREX - The Abbreviation Expander Extension

[BandC]

Hello CivFanatics! I am a long-time Civ player (Civ, CIV, CIV Col, and CiV, skipped Civ 2-3). As my post count here would show, I am not really a poster but I browse CivFanatics as well as other game forums daily.

I would like to introduce you my new Firefox/Chrome extension: ABBREX - The Abbreviation Expander. It attempts to solve one of my biggest annoyances about reading this and other gaming forums: the myriad obscure gaming abbreviations!

What it does is when you visit any web page (forum etc.) it automatically finds abbreviations on that page and adds on-hover tooltips showing the meaning of them.

This includes generic abbreviations like LOL, OP, etc. as well as very specific abbreviations only meaningful in the context of a game like Civilizations.

ABBREX's back-end abbreviation database is completely community-driven so even for obscure and very specific abbreviations like PT, UU, GS, etc. as long as someone enters the meaning, everybody benefits from it when they visit the CivFanatics forums for example.

I built it because I see many obscure abbreviations on gaming forums I don't know the meaning for (especially if I am new to a game) and you can't exactly go to Wikipedia for abbreviations that specific. That being said, it is also useful for all kinds of generic abbreviations.

Below is a screenshot of me surfing the strategy forum here with the PT tooltip. You can also see a demo (without even installing it) here: http://abbrex.com

Using it is as simple as installing the extension (either Firefox or Chrome) and simply surfing the web. You don't need to do anything: ABBREX will work automatically and unobtrusively behind the scenes.
You can (if you want) also take a more active role and enter some abbreviation meanings (very easily right from the extension) while you're at it for the benefit of the community.

Please check it out and let me know what you think. I hope you find it useful. I am open to all questions, feedback, and ideas.

http://abbrex.com

Thank you.

 

[Dreadnought]

I don't think advertising posts such as these are allowed. But, I did see something like this on another forum (Dungeons and Dragons, I think) that was built into the site itself.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Well he's not selling anything, Firefox apps are free. It sounds like a neat utility.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Well I think it should be moved to computer talk meybe. It would fit there beter.

 

[BandC]

Thanks. Yes it is free. I am not selling anything. I wanted to post in off-topic because I didn't know where else to post as the intended audience is the Civ players who discuss strategy etc. and the other forums were specific to other things.

 

[Grisu]

I don't think advertising posts such as these are allowed. But, I did see something like this on another forum (Dungeons and Dragons, I think) that was built into the site itself.

As long as the thing you advertise is free (and legal) and has at least some connection to this site (which seems to be the case here), I don't see the problem.

Moderator Action: but it fits better in Computer Talk - moved

 

[Maniacal]

Alternatively you can right click on the word and google though still a useful app for people.

 

[Mise]

That's very cool I honestly think this should be featured on the main site. I.e. on http://www.civfanatics.com as a recommended addon for this site.

 

[Zelig]

That's very cool I honestly think this should be featured on the main site. I.e. on http://www.civfanatics.com as a recommended addon for this site.

Agreed.

 

[Quintillus]

Pretty cool. Definitely useful, too. Loaded it up in Firefox 4 and it works just like BandC said it would. Unfortunately the reservoir of Civ terms seems to be somewhat lacking - either that or I just got unlucky. So we'll have to fix that . I've already added one term.

The only problem I'm seeing is that it disappeared from my addons in Firefox 4 when I loaded up Firefox 3.6 (which Mozilla claims it is incompatible with), and then went back to Firefox 4. This does somewhat limit its usefulness for me, as Firefox 3.6 is my preferred version of Firefox (primarily because of another Firefox add-on, Google Gears, that is incompatible with Firefox 4 or higher, go figure! also because it doesn't go out of date every 6 weeks). Might be able to fix it by messing with the Firefox installs though, or if I can find a way around Mozilla's disabling it in 3.6.

Yes I know FF4 is like 50% out of date. But I don't think I'd started it since FF5 came out.

 

[Abaddon]

What is the most up to date version of FF... if its not up to date with that we're a bit lagging isn't?

Otherwise great idea. I suggest everyone gets on it, from Other Games, NES to OT, it really would be a boon for CFC


#Edit, installed, awesome!

 

[Camikaze]

Out of curiosity, how does this work with things like GL, which could mean both Great Library and Great Lighthouse?

Also, we have lists both here and here of acronyms and abbreviations that might be helpful if you're looking to add more in.

 

[Mise]

Out of curiosity, how does this work with things like GL, which could mean both Great Library and Great Lighthouse?

Also, we have lists both here and here of acronyms and abbreviations that might be helpful if you're looking to add more in.

GL isn't in its database yet, but on other acronyms (e.g. "OP") it shows you all the different possible meanings, just like in a dictionary:

1. Original Poster
Used to refer to the original poster of a thread on online forums.
Contexts: Internet Forums
2. Original Post
3. Overpowered

 

[Abaddon]

You getting adding corrections then Mise?

 

[Mise]

Yeah, you can "update" or "add" for abbreviations that aren't in the database yet (comes up as a red link for "GL").

 

[Abaddon]

It should now be green. However, same as a wiki, this will only get better with more people contributing.

I like how you can disable individual links as well, because at the moment, its highlighting all sorts that I don't need it to!

 

[Mise]

Woo! It's green!

 

[BandC]

Hey guys! I am glad you find my extension useful and it's working for you.

A couple of comments:

1) This extension is kind of like a fax machine. The more people there are actively using it, the more useful it becomes to everybody. So if you like it, get the word out. Add some abbreviation meanings, tell your friends, post about it, blog about it, etc.

I honestly think this thread should be on a main / strategy section of this forum but obviously I am biased and I am not the one to make this decision. "Computer Talk" forum is visited by a tiny fraction of the CivFanatics community so a lot of the potential usefulness of the extension is lost since very few people know about it. I will try to private message Camikaze to see if he or a moderator is willing to move this to a more prominent section of the site.


2) The current Firefox version of the extension is installable for Firefox 4 up to Firefox 10.0a1 which I thought should cover 99% of the Firefox users but I guess I was wrong. ABBREX "might" also work on Firefox 3.6 but honestly I didn't test it. It is easy for me to make it also installable for Firefox 3.6 but since I didn't test it on FF 3.6 I don't want to risk it. A workaround for Firefox 3.6 users would be to download the extension .xpi file from Mozilla, open the extension manifest file, change the minimum installable version to 3.6, and install it manually. Feel free to send me a private message if you need any help with this.

Again, thanks for your interest and all comments and feedback are welcome.

 

[Linkman226]

Wow, very nice. Thank you.

 

[Camikaze]

I've already added it to the Civ5 War Academy article on abbreviations, which is where most people will probably go when looking for abbreviation help (though the Civ4 version has a direct main site link). We're discussing in staff where this could be placed.