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Tutorials/Finding conduits

2021-03-22T20:11:02Z

MikeP: Add links to search programs

A conduit is a collection of catalysts that creates an output active object in a certain position in response to an input object and can do so repeatedly. One example is [[Fx158]], which outputs a Herschel in one position in response to an input Herschel in a different position and with a different orientation. (The Herschel is then eaten by a block in this example in order to prevent the next Herschel from crashing into its ash.)
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 35, y = 29, rule = LifeHistory
8.A14.2A$7.A.A13.A$7.A.A11.A.A$5.3A.2A10.2A$4.A$.A2.4A.2A$.3A3.A.2A$4.
A$3.2A7$29.D$27.3D3.2A$27.D.D3.2A$27.D$C$C.C$3C$2.C2$15.2A$9.2A4.A.A$
10.A6.A$7.3A7.2A$7.A!
[[ PASTEMODE COPY T 0 PAUSE 1 T 158 PAUSE 2 PASTET 173 PASTE 2.3A.D$4A.AC$2.2A2.C$4.3A$.A! -6 19 T 180 PAUSE 1 T 338 PAUSE 1 PASTET 353 PASTE 2.3A.D$4A.AC$2.2A2.C$4.3A$.A! -6 19 T 360 PAUSE 1 T 518 PAUSE 1 ]]}}</center>
Conduits can also output a different object from the input object, but this is not required. Conduits are useful for transmitting signals for circuitry and computation. This tutorial will focus on stable conduits, i.e. conduits where the exact timing of the input does not matter.

==Prerequisites==
If you haven't already (and you aren't familiar with basic catalyses), read [[Tutorials/Catalyses]] first.
=Introduction=
==Definitions==
Here are some important definitions:
* A transparent object is an object that is consumed then restored by a reaction.
* A sacrificial object is an object that is consumed by a reaction and not restored. It must be restored using an additional mechanism in order for the conduit to be able to be used again.
* A conduit's step time is the number of generations that elapse between when the input object reaches its canonical form and when the output object reaches its canonical form.
* A conduit's repeat time is the minimum number of generations for which entering the active object twice separated by fewer generations in between would cause the conduit to not function properly.
* An active object's canonical form is a particular predecessor of that evolutionary sequence that is used as a reference for determining step time, displacement, and relative orientation.
* An elementary conduit cannot be split into separate pieces so that each piece is a complete conduit by itself. A composite conduit can be split into two or more separate conduits.

==Ground rules==
There are several basic rules for making and using conduits. The most important are the following:
* Don't rely on transparent or sacrificial objects.
* Up-conversion is more difficult than down-conversion.
* Always try to move the active region to somewhere new.
* Clearance matters.
Here is a pi-to-LWSS conduit that demonstrates all four of these rules.
The basic reaction is the following:
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 24, y = 25, rule = LifeHistory
10.2A$11.A$11.A.A$12.2A$6.2A$6.2A3$22.2A$22.2A$2E$2E9$8.3C$9.C8.2A$9.
3C6.A$19.3A$21.A!}}</center>
A Herschel is perturbed by some catalysts then collides with a block, resulting in a LWSS. Because the reaction does not restore the block, the block is sacrificial. (If the reaction consumed the block then later restored it, the block would be transparent.) In order for the conduit to be able to be used repeatedly, the block must be restored by the same reaction that produces the Herschel. Thus, the rule of not relying on transparent or sacrificial objects has been violated. In addition, because the LWSS exits in the same direction that the Herschel comes from, the rule of moving the active region to somewhere new has been violated. Because of this, getting the Herschel into the proper position will be difficult. Here is the complete conduit.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 65, y = 87, rule = LifeHistory
51.2A$52.A$36.A15.A.A$30.A5.3A14.2A$30.3A6.A7.2A$33.A4.2A7.2A$32.2A2$
63.2A$63.2A3$25.2A$25.2A10.2A$37.A.A$38.A4$37.2A$37.A11.3D$38.3A9.D8.
2A$40.A9.3D6.A$60.3A$62.A6$25.2A$26.A28.2A$3.2A21.A.A26.2A$4.A22.2A$2.
A$2.5A14.2A$7.A13.A$4.3A12.A.A$3.A15.2A$3.4A37.3D$.2A3.A3.2A32.D.D$A2.
3A4.2A32.D2.D$2A.A25.2A15.2D$3.A24.A.A$3.2A23.A$27.2A7.2A$35.A.A$11.2A
22.A$12.A21.2A$9.3A$9.A2$60.2A$60.2A8$61.2A$61.A.A$63.A$32.3C28.2A$34.
C$32.3C7$31.2A$32.A6.2A$29.3A7.A$29.A10.A$39.2A5$45.D.D$44.D$44.D$44.
D2.D$44.3D!}}</center>
The requirement that no catalysts may be placed in the LWSS's path restricts the possibilities for what conduits may be used to insert the Herschel. This means that the only conduits available may be suboptimal, and indeed, the pi-to-century conduit has a high step time, which contributes to the high repeat time of the overall pi-to-LWSS conduit. One of the reasons that the pi-to-century conduit has a high step time is because it breaks the rule of always moving the active region to a new position; instead, the activity goes forward, stops, goes back, hits the snake, then resumes forward movement.

The sacrificial object also complicates matters. Conduits that can make the century more quickly do exist, but most of them do not emit a glider in addition. The requirement that one of the conduits used to restore the Herschel emit a glider in order to be used to restore the block also complicates matters.

So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.

However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn|group=note|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so all glider-accepting conduits have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as most of the time, no arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread | format = ref | title = Re: History Of ConwayLife | p = 115054 | author = dvgrn | date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so difficult/unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object—unless the result would be amazing, very useful, novel, and thus worth it (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).
XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.
In terms of how easy it is to convert the signal into something else, here is a ranking of potential outputs from most difficult to easiest. The farther down any output is, the better.
* a still-life or blinker
* a glider or XWSS
* a relatively short-lived active region (e.g. bun)
* any long-lived chaos
* long-lived chaos especially well-suited for conduits (e.g. Herschel because it does not drop any hard-to-delete still-lifes early on, splits into two regions traveling in opposite directions, consistently travels in the general same direction before then, and releases a glider early on that can be used)
Besides the XWSSes, more useful outputs (in terms of how easy it is to find a reaction for appending another conduit to the end) tend to be rarer/more difficult to create. (However, gliders and XWSSes have another advantages, such as not being picky about the exact position and being useful for adjusting timing.)

As for the importance of clearance, the following B-to-Herschel conduit can let the LWSS through and emits an extra glider.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 42, y = 47, rule = LifeHistory
25.2A$25.2A7.A$33.A.A$33.A.A$32.2A.3A$38.A$32.2A.3A$32.2A.A7$4.2A$4.2A
$39.D$39.D.D$39.3D$41.D7$C$.C$.2C$2C$C3$5.2A$5.2A6$12.A.2A12.2A.A$10.
3A.2A12.2A.3A$9.A12.2A10.A$10.3A.2A6.2A4.2A.3A$12.A.A14.A.A$12.A.A14.
A.A$13.A16.A!}}</center>
However, it cannot be used to make the Herschel because one of the eater 2s in that conduit and one of the fishhooks in the next section would get in the way of each other, so the two conduits couldn't be used together. Another way to say this is that they don't have the necessary clearance to be able to be used with each other. Clearance is always a matter of both conduits. For example, this composite century-to-B has fair input clearance.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 26, y = 25, rule = LifeHistory
2.A$2.3A$5.A$4.2A7$15.2C$13.3C$14.C4$2.2A$.A.A$.A$2A$24.2A$24.2A$17.2D
.D$18.3D$19.D!}}</center>
However, due to a lack of century-making conduits with good output clearance, the only possible proceeding conduit is this:
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 27, y = 15, rule = LifeHistory
7.2A$8.A$8.A.2A$9.A.A13.2A$24.A.A$25.A$2.2D11.C.C$3D12.C.C$.D13.3C5$15.
2A$15.2A!}}</center>
It has good output clearance but horrible input clearance. In fact, the only (known) way to insert the pi requires a sacrificial object, which leads to bulky conduits with high repeat times.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 149, y = 178, rule = LifeHistory
63.A$63.3A$66.A$65.2A$31.2A62.A$32.A60.3A$32.A.A13.A43.A$33.2A12.A.A7.
A34.2A$48.A6.3A$54.A57.2A$54.2A56.2A5.2A$119.2A2$46.D$46.2D9.2D21.D36.
2A$45.2D11.2D18.3D36.2A$34.2A21.2D2.2A15.D.D42.2A$35.A21.D3.2A15.D44.
2A$35.A.A$36.2A2$103.D$49.2A52.D.D$49.A.A6.2A32.2A9.3D$51.A6.A20.2A11.
2A11.D$51.2A6.A20.A$58.2A17.3A$77.A3$146.A$32.2A3.3D7.2A66.3D4.A21.3A
$32.2A4.D8.A.A65.D5.A.A19.A$38.3D8.A64.3D5.A20.2A$49.2A76.2A$31.A95.A
$30.A.A85.2E4.2A.A$31.A77.2A7.2E4.A.A$28.3A78.A.A$28.A56.2A23.A$84.A.
A31.D.D11.2D$84.A33.D.D12.3D$83.2A33.3D13.D$37.2A$37.2A$112.3D$114.D30.
2A$46.2A65.D5.2A24.A.A$38.2D6.2A71.2A26.A$11.2A25.D.D82.2A2.D19.2A$11.
2A27.2D81.2A2.3D$129.2D$128.D.2D$30.3D12.2A81.3D6.2A.A$30.D.D12.A83.D
7.A.2A$30.D.D8.2A3.3A$41.A.A4.A81.2A$43.A86.2A$43.2A$45.A$16.2A25.3A70.
2A$17.A24.A74.A$14.3A25.2A73.A.A$14.A103.2A2$20.2A19.2A$20.2A19.2A5$141.
A$139.3A$129.3D6.A$129.D8.2A$19.2A107.3D$18.A.A16.3D$18.A9.2A8.D$17.2A
10.A6.3D104.A$26.3A113.A.A$26.A91.2A22.A.A$119.A21.2A.3A$119.A.A25.A$
120.2A19.2A.3A$45.D95.2A.A$46.D$44.3D2$119.2A$61.A57.2A$59.3A$58.A$58.
2A2$36.2A25.3D$36.2A27.D68.D$64.D70.D$27.2A.A7.D94.3D$27.A.2A6.3D5.2A
$36.2D.D5.A2.2A$46.2A.A5.2A$47.A7.2A$47.A$45.A.2A$45.2A2.A10.A$48.2A6.
2A.A.A$55.A.A.A.A$31.2A19.A2.A.A.A.A.2A$30.A.A19.4A.2A2.A2.A$30.A25.A
4.2A$29.2A23.A.A$54.2A3$54.2A$49.2A2.A2.A$43.3D3.A.A2.2A$34.2A8.D7.2A
$35.A6.3D8.A$32.3A15.A2.A.2A$32.A16.A.A.2A.A$50.A.A$51.A2.2A$52.2A.3A
$58.A$52.2A.3A$52.2A.A2$44.2A$35.2A7.2A$36.A$36.A.A$37.2A4$57.2A$57.2A
3$35.3C$37.C$36.C5.A$41.A.A$41.A.A$42.A$39.3A$39.A28$3A$2.A$.A!}}</center>
In addition, sometimes two conduits have more than enough clearance on one side but not enough clearance on the other side. An example of this is the B-to-Herschel conduit and the Herschel-to-LWSS partial from earlier.

=Other tips=
==Finding new conduits==
If you have a partial or complete conduit, it is recommended to check the Elementary Conduits Collection, which can be downloaded [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1849#p23178 here] (in two forms), in order to make sure that what you have found is new before posting it or potentially wasting time completing it.

Another strategy that you may want to use in order for the conduits that you find to have an increased chance of being new is to focus on investigating active regions that have not been investigated as much, such as the [[two-glider octomino]], instead of regions for which many conduits have already been found, such as the [[Herschel]]. Lists of the most common active objects can be found [https://www.conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2656#p38773 here] and [https://www.conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1849&start=150#p66338 here], and even if a region's conduits are omitted from the Elementary Conduits Collection, they may still be available to those who ask;<ref>{{LinkForumThread | format = ref | title = Re: The Hunting of the New Herschel Conduits | p = 106844 | author = Louis-François Handfield | date = October 17, 2020 }}</ref> looking at the conduits that create that region can be useful in order to get a sense of which direction(s) the active object can come from in order to be able to ensure that the conduits that one makes accepting that object have realistic input clearance.

==A recommended process==
Here is a summary of my typical conduit-finding process:
* Place a catalyst where it might work.
* Run the pattern and see whether the catalyst is successful or gets destroyed.
* If the catalyst gets destroyed, observe exactly how it fails and try a replacement catalyst.
* If no catalysts are destroyed, the activity moves to a new region, and no annoying still-lifes or blinkers are left behind, then I keep that catalyst and repeat the process (waiting until the active region has good enough clearance before placing any more catalysts) until all of the activity is well-defined, accessible active regions (including gliders and XWSSes). Otherwise, I remove that catalyst and try another catalyst placement.
Sometimes, especially before I place any catalysts, I will run the pattern without stopping to get a sense of when I should start trying catalysts for maximum clearance and whether or not there are any well-defined regions that I could try extracting. Also, if I want the active region to turn in a particular direction, I will often try only catalyzing it from the side that I want it to turn away from.

Also, when placing catalysts, always make sure that your conduit has feasible input clearance.

==Asking for help==
If you have what you think is a good partial but are unable to complete it, don't be afraid to ask for help. Many conduits get completed this way. For example, the [[bandersnatch]], which solved a lot of glider color (fine positioning) problems, was originally found as a mostly-complete partial glider-to-glider conduit by Extrementhusiast and was completed by Entity Valkyrie 2. Here is some advice for that situation.

===Complete what you can===
An 90%-complete partial looks more promising and is harder to resist completing than a 20%-complete partial. Each part of a partial that you have not completed is something that you have not demonstrated is completable and therefore makes your partial look less promising. Even if a catalyst is destroyed, if the conduit works except for that catalyst being destroyed, that catalyst should be included because it simplifies the problem from finding an interaction that works—even though one might not exist—to reinforcing the catalyst or finding a replacement catalyst.

===Make clear your partial===
A conduit that creates some random piece of junk that doesn't occur often enough for anyone to have bothered looking for conduits accepting it isn't useful, so make sure that your conduit doesn't look like one. Sure, the region may have settled into a recognized bottleneck at one point, but that could easily be missed at a high frame rate, most people can't accurately identify a methuselah based on how it looks fifteen generations later, and it may not be apparent exactly when to look. Also, common sequences that have been researched for conduits may pop up in the intermediate activity, including some unextractable ones, and the output object may have been created from an evolutionary sequence that did not go through the output object's canonical form; each of these would further confuse the people whose help you are requesting. A good way to clarify your partial conduit is to mark the output(s) in red cells using the rule LifeHistory, as has been done in the examples. (Marking the input in white is also encouraged but not as important.)

In addition, one can also state one's partial in the message. One can write out the operation in long form, but in order to make things more convenient, the objects commonly used in conduits each have a single-letter symbol that can be used to convey information more concisely, e.g. H→C instead of Herschel-to-century conduit. One can also use the message text to state any special property that your conduit partial has that might make others willing to expend more effort trying to complete it.

===Be prepared to take no for an answer===
If the more experienced conduit-makers think that your partial does not look promising enough, accept it. If you want, you may work some more on your partial then take it back to them once you've made more progress, but it's much better to do that before asking for help the first time.
It is also a good idea to know how practical your partial is before asking. If your partial conduit requires a sacrificial object that can't be replaced with a permanent catalyst, the input region would not realistically be able to get into the conduit, or your partial is otherwise not promising, don't bother posting it.

===Examples===
Here are examples of how to and how not to ask for help completing a partial.

====A bad way of asking for help====
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 15, y = 22, rule = B3/S23
2o$2o15$13b2o$10b2ob2o$10b2o2$12b2o$12b2o!}}
Can the block be restored?</center>
* By asking whether the block can be '''restored''', the poster implies that this conduit relies either on a transparent reaction, which is extremely unlikely to exist, or an independent restoration of the block, which will lead to a bulky conduit with an impractically long repeat time. Neither is promising.
* While any reader could probably figure that the output object is a century based on its ash, the input region for this conduit is not obvious. There are three blocks with the characteristic spacing of a century, but this does not indicate whether the input region is a century or a century simply happened to form in the ash. If the latter is true, then for all the reader knows, the only input that this conduit can accept is an arrangement of three blocks that would be extremely unlikely to form from a reaction because the first two blocks would start reacting with each other before the third block could be placed. Either way, the reaction leaves four blocks that would interfere with any attempt to use the conduit again, and there is no indication that they can be cleaned up.
* As mentioned in the previous bullet point, there is no indication that the partial conduit (if it can even be called that) accepts a well-defined region for which conduits creating it are already known. The poster has provided no indication that the reaction would be useful as a conduit in any way; thus, any reader would be likely to classify it as a novelty reaction—and not one worth completing.

====A good way of asking for help====
<center>Can the fishhook be replaced with a permanent catalyst that works in this situation?
{{LV:Viewer|x = 32, y = 47, rule = LifeHistory
7.D$6.3D$8.2D17$2A$.A$.A.A$2.2A2$20.2A$19.A.A$20.A9$14.C$13.3C$12.2C2$
25.2A$25.2A$25.2A$25.A$12.2A10.A.A$12.2A11.A.A.3A$26.A.4A$27.A!}}
If that one thing can be fixed, then this will yield a C→C with better output clearnace than anything that we currently have. (The unix is only necessary for cleaning up a block and works at any timing, and the century's first cousin 3bo$3bo$o2bo$b2o can get in and is made by multiple conduits, such as CBx37C and PF*39C.)

Also, as a bonus, a permanent catalyst that works would almost certainly yield an I→R+W signal splitter.
{{LV:Viewer|x = 15, y = 19, rule = LifeHistory
8.D$7.3D$2A5.D$.A$.A.A$2.2A3$10.C$9.2C2.2D$7.3C2.D.D$7.C3.D2.D$12.2D5$
10.2A$10.2A!}}</center>
* The poster asks whether a fishhook can be '''replaced''' with a fishhook-type catalyst that would not be destroyed. As there is a wide variety of replacement fishhook-type catalysts, it is likely that some replacement exists and therefore likely that the conduits can be completed.
* The outputs are each clearly marked using red cells in LifeHistory. This is important because none of the three outputs form from their canonical forms; instead, each forms from a sibling of its canonical form. The fact that the outputs are marked helps to clarify what the intended outputs are and that they are in fact well-defined regions. The input regions are likewise clearly marked using their canonical forms.
* The poster has taken steps to clean up all excess junk from the partial conduits. This demonstrates that such cleanup is possible and, by making the partial conduits closer to completed, makes them harder to resist completing.
* The poster addresses potential concerns about the usage of a sparker or the input clearance for the first conduit, reassuring that the first partial conduit can indeed be used with other stable conduits if it is completed.
* The poster explains that finding one replacement catalyst would likely yield two conduits. Better yet, each has a special feature that would make experienced conduit-makers willing to spend more effort trying to complete it than otherwise: The first conduit outputs a century with amazing, unprecedented, and certainly useful clearance, and the second conduit is a signal splitter, enabling one to get two output signals from only one input signal. Each conduit's special feature would make it useful, and the poster clearly communicates each special feature. In addition, the poster states that both of these very useful conduits would come from work that would normally only complete one conduit, making experienced conduit-makers even more willing to spend time and effort looking for a replacement catalyst.

=Using search programs=
There are many search programs that one can use when searching for conduits. Two of the most commonly-used programs are [[CatForce]] and [[Bellman]]. CatForce will take any active region, run all possible combinations of a pre-defined list of catalysts on it, and return any interesting results. One possible usage is to run all combinations of a particular active object with common still-life, such as a block, and return all cases where the still-life is restored in its original position and orientation (even temporarily), i.e. find all possible transparent reactions without any permanent catalysts. (This is okay because it doesn't involve wasting weeks trying to make one particular reaction work, but instead, the computer can try each case then move on if it doesn't work in a fraction of a second.) A more in-depth description of how to use CatForce can be found [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&p=117556#p117556 here].
Bellman operates on a desired active region and uses a backtracking search to construct a nearby still life which will survive its interaction with the expanding active region.

=Notes=
<references group="note" />

=References=
<references />

{{Tutorial}}

Tutorials/Finding conduits

2021-03-22T20:10:05Z

MikeP: Slightly more accurate description of Bellman (it doesn't use Boolean equations)

A conduit is a collection of catalysts that creates an output active object in a certain position in response to an input object and can do so repeatedly. One example is [[Fx158]], which outputs a Herschel in one position in response to an input Herschel in a different position and with a different orientation. (The Herschel is then eaten by a block in this example in order to prevent the next Herschel from crashing into its ash.)
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 35, y = 29, rule = LifeHistory
8.A14.2A$7.A.A13.A$7.A.A11.A.A$5.3A.2A10.2A$4.A$.A2.4A.2A$.3A3.A.2A$4.
A$3.2A7$29.D$27.3D3.2A$27.D.D3.2A$27.D$C$C.C$3C$2.C2$15.2A$9.2A4.A.A$
10.A6.A$7.3A7.2A$7.A!
[[ PASTEMODE COPY T 0 PAUSE 1 T 158 PAUSE 2 PASTET 173 PASTE 2.3A.D$4A.AC$2.2A2.C$4.3A$.A! -6 19 T 180 PAUSE 1 T 338 PAUSE 1 PASTET 353 PASTE 2.3A.D$4A.AC$2.2A2.C$4.3A$.A! -6 19 T 360 PAUSE 1 T 518 PAUSE 1 ]]}}</center>
Conduits can also output a different object from the input object, but this is not required. Conduits are useful for transmitting signals for circuitry and computation. This tutorial will focus on stable conduits, i.e. conduits where the exact timing of the input does not matter.

==Prerequisites==
If you haven't already (and you aren't familiar with basic catalyses), read [[Tutorials/Catalyses]] first.
=Introduction=
==Definitions==
Here are some important definitions:
* A transparent object is an object that is consumed then restored by a reaction.
* A sacrificial object is an object that is consumed by a reaction and not restored. It must be restored using an additional mechanism in order for the conduit to be able to be used again.
* A conduit's step time is the number of generations that elapse between when the input object reaches its canonical form and when the output object reaches its canonical form.
* A conduit's repeat time is the minimum number of generations for which entering the active object twice separated by fewer generations in between would cause the conduit to not function properly.
* An active object's canonical form is a particular predecessor of that evolutionary sequence that is used as a reference for determining step time, displacement, and relative orientation.
* An elementary conduit cannot be split into separate pieces so that each piece is a complete conduit by itself. A composite conduit can be split into two or more separate conduits.

==Ground rules==
There are several basic rules for making and using conduits. The most important are the following:
* Don't rely on transparent or sacrificial objects.
* Up-conversion is more difficult than down-conversion.
* Always try to move the active region to somewhere new.
* Clearance matters.
Here is a pi-to-LWSS conduit that demonstrates all four of these rules.
The basic reaction is the following:
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 24, y = 25, rule = LifeHistory
10.2A$11.A$11.A.A$12.2A$6.2A$6.2A3$22.2A$22.2A$2E$2E9$8.3C$9.C8.2A$9.
3C6.A$19.3A$21.A!}}</center>
A Herschel is perturbed by some catalysts then collides with a block, resulting in a LWSS. Because the reaction does not restore the block, the block is sacrificial. (If the reaction consumed the block then later restored it, the block would be transparent.) In order for the conduit to be able to be used repeatedly, the block must be restored by the same reaction that produces the Herschel. Thus, the rule of not relying on transparent or sacrificial objects has been violated. In addition, because the LWSS exits in the same direction that the Herschel comes from, the rule of moving the active region to somewhere new has been violated. Because of this, getting the Herschel into the proper position will be difficult. Here is the complete conduit.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 65, y = 87, rule = LifeHistory
51.2A$52.A$36.A15.A.A$30.A5.3A14.2A$30.3A6.A7.2A$33.A4.2A7.2A$32.2A2$
63.2A$63.2A3$25.2A$25.2A10.2A$37.A.A$38.A4$37.2A$37.A11.3D$38.3A9.D8.
2A$40.A9.3D6.A$60.3A$62.A6$25.2A$26.A28.2A$3.2A21.A.A26.2A$4.A22.2A$2.
A$2.5A14.2A$7.A13.A$4.3A12.A.A$3.A15.2A$3.4A37.3D$.2A3.A3.2A32.D.D$A2.
3A4.2A32.D2.D$2A.A25.2A15.2D$3.A24.A.A$3.2A23.A$27.2A7.2A$35.A.A$11.2A
22.A$12.A21.2A$9.3A$9.A2$60.2A$60.2A8$61.2A$61.A.A$63.A$32.3C28.2A$34.
C$32.3C7$31.2A$32.A6.2A$29.3A7.A$29.A10.A$39.2A5$45.D.D$44.D$44.D$44.
D2.D$44.3D!}}</center>
The requirement that no catalysts may be placed in the LWSS's path restricts the possibilities for what conduits may be used to insert the Herschel. This means that the only conduits available may be suboptimal, and indeed, the pi-to-century conduit has a high step time, which contributes to the high repeat time of the overall pi-to-LWSS conduit. One of the reasons that the pi-to-century conduit has a high step time is because it breaks the rule of always moving the active region to a new position; instead, the activity goes forward, stops, goes back, hits the snake, then resumes forward movement.

The sacrificial object also complicates matters. Conduits that can make the century more quickly do exist, but most of them do not emit a glider in addition. The requirement that one of the conduits used to restore the Herschel emit a glider in order to be used to restore the block also complicates matters.

So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.

However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn|group=note|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so all glider-accepting conduits have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as most of the time, no arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread | format = ref | title = Re: History Of ConwayLife | p = 115054 | author = dvgrn | date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so difficult/unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object—unless the result would be amazing, very useful, novel, and thus worth it (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).
XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.
In terms of how easy it is to convert the signal into something else, here is a ranking of potential outputs from most difficult to easiest. The farther down any output is, the better.
* a still-life or blinker
* a glider or XWSS
* a relatively short-lived active region (e.g. bun)
* any long-lived chaos
* long-lived chaos especially well-suited for conduits (e.g. Herschel because it does not drop any hard-to-delete still-lifes early on, splits into two regions traveling in opposite directions, consistently travels in the general same direction before then, and releases a glider early on that can be used)
Besides the XWSSes, more useful outputs (in terms of how easy it is to find a reaction for appending another conduit to the end) tend to be rarer/more difficult to create. (However, gliders and XWSSes have another advantages, such as not being picky about the exact position and being useful for adjusting timing.)

As for the importance of clearance, the following B-to-Herschel conduit can let the LWSS through and emits an extra glider.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 42, y = 47, rule = LifeHistory
25.2A$25.2A7.A$33.A.A$33.A.A$32.2A.3A$38.A$32.2A.3A$32.2A.A7$4.2A$4.2A
$39.D$39.D.D$39.3D$41.D7$C$.C$.2C$2C$C3$5.2A$5.2A6$12.A.2A12.2A.A$10.
3A.2A12.2A.3A$9.A12.2A10.A$10.3A.2A6.2A4.2A.3A$12.A.A14.A.A$12.A.A14.
A.A$13.A16.A!}}</center>
However, it cannot be used to make the Herschel because one of the eater 2s in that conduit and one of the fishhooks in the next section would get in the way of each other, so the two conduits couldn't be used together. Another way to say this is that they don't have the necessary clearance to be able to be used with each other. Clearance is always a matter of both conduits. For example, this composite century-to-B has fair input clearance.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 26, y = 25, rule = LifeHistory
2.A$2.3A$5.A$4.2A7$15.2C$13.3C$14.C4$2.2A$.A.A$.A$2A$24.2A$24.2A$17.2D
.D$18.3D$19.D!}}</center>
However, due to a lack of century-making conduits with good output clearance, the only possible proceeding conduit is this:
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 27, y = 15, rule = LifeHistory
7.2A$8.A$8.A.2A$9.A.A13.2A$24.A.A$25.A$2.2D11.C.C$3D12.C.C$.D13.3C5$15.
2A$15.2A!}}</center>
It has good output clearance but horrible input clearance. In fact, the only (known) way to insert the pi requires a sacrificial object, which leads to bulky conduits with high repeat times.
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 149, y = 178, rule = LifeHistory
63.A$63.3A$66.A$65.2A$31.2A62.A$32.A60.3A$32.A.A13.A43.A$33.2A12.A.A7.
A34.2A$48.A6.3A$54.A57.2A$54.2A56.2A5.2A$119.2A2$46.D$46.2D9.2D21.D36.
2A$45.2D11.2D18.3D36.2A$34.2A21.2D2.2A15.D.D42.2A$35.A21.D3.2A15.D44.
2A$35.A.A$36.2A2$103.D$49.2A52.D.D$49.A.A6.2A32.2A9.3D$51.A6.A20.2A11.
2A11.D$51.2A6.A20.A$58.2A17.3A$77.A3$146.A$32.2A3.3D7.2A66.3D4.A21.3A
$32.2A4.D8.A.A65.D5.A.A19.A$38.3D8.A64.3D5.A20.2A$49.2A76.2A$31.A95.A
$30.A.A85.2E4.2A.A$31.A77.2A7.2E4.A.A$28.3A78.A.A$28.A56.2A23.A$84.A.
A31.D.D11.2D$84.A33.D.D12.3D$83.2A33.3D13.D$37.2A$37.2A$112.3D$114.D30.
2A$46.2A65.D5.2A24.A.A$38.2D6.2A71.2A26.A$11.2A25.D.D82.2A2.D19.2A$11.
2A27.2D81.2A2.3D$129.2D$128.D.2D$30.3D12.2A81.3D6.2A.A$30.D.D12.A83.D
7.A.2A$30.D.D8.2A3.3A$41.A.A4.A81.2A$43.A86.2A$43.2A$45.A$16.2A25.3A70.
2A$17.A24.A74.A$14.3A25.2A73.A.A$14.A103.2A2$20.2A19.2A$20.2A19.2A5$141.
A$139.3A$129.3D6.A$129.D8.2A$19.2A107.3D$18.A.A16.3D$18.A9.2A8.D$17.2A
10.A6.3D104.A$26.3A113.A.A$26.A91.2A22.A.A$119.A21.2A.3A$119.A.A25.A$
120.2A19.2A.3A$45.D95.2A.A$46.D$44.3D2$119.2A$61.A57.2A$59.3A$58.A$58.
2A2$36.2A25.3D$36.2A27.D68.D$64.D70.D$27.2A.A7.D94.3D$27.A.2A6.3D5.2A
$36.2D.D5.A2.2A$46.2A.A5.2A$47.A7.2A$47.A$45.A.2A$45.2A2.A10.A$48.2A6.
2A.A.A$55.A.A.A.A$31.2A19.A2.A.A.A.A.2A$30.A.A19.4A.2A2.A2.A$30.A25.A
4.2A$29.2A23.A.A$54.2A3$54.2A$49.2A2.A2.A$43.3D3.A.A2.2A$34.2A8.D7.2A
$35.A6.3D8.A$32.3A15.A2.A.2A$32.A16.A.A.2A.A$50.A.A$51.A2.2A$52.2A.3A
$58.A$52.2A.3A$52.2A.A2$44.2A$35.2A7.2A$36.A$36.A.A$37.2A4$57.2A$57.2A
3$35.3C$37.C$36.C5.A$41.A.A$41.A.A$42.A$39.3A$39.A28$3A$2.A$.A!}}</center>
In addition, sometimes two conduits have more than enough clearance on one side but not enough clearance on the other side. An example of this is the B-to-Herschel conduit and the Herschel-to-LWSS partial from earlier.

=Other tips=
==Finding new conduits==
If you have a partial or complete conduit, it is recommended to check the Elementary Conduits Collection, which can be downloaded [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1849#p23178 here] (in two forms), in order to make sure that what you have found is new before posting it or potentially wasting time completing it.

Another strategy that you may want to use in order for the conduits that you find to have an increased chance of being new is to focus on investigating active regions that have not been investigated as much, such as the [[two-glider octomino]], instead of regions for which many conduits have already been found, such as the [[Herschel]]. Lists of the most common active objects can be found [https://www.conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2656#p38773 here] and [https://www.conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1849&start=150#p66338 here], and even if a region's conduits are omitted from the Elementary Conduits Collection, they may still be available to those who ask;<ref>{{LinkForumThread | format = ref | title = Re: The Hunting of the New Herschel Conduits | p = 106844 | author = Louis-François Handfield | date = October 17, 2020 }}</ref> looking at the conduits that create that region can be useful in order to get a sense of which direction(s) the active object can come from in order to be able to ensure that the conduits that one makes accepting that object have realistic input clearance.

==A recommended process==
Here is a summary of my typical conduit-finding process:
* Place a catalyst where it might work.
* Run the pattern and see whether the catalyst is successful or gets destroyed.
* If the catalyst gets destroyed, observe exactly how it fails and try a replacement catalyst.
* If no catalysts are destroyed, the activity moves to a new region, and no annoying still-lifes or blinkers are left behind, then I keep that catalyst and repeat the process (waiting until the active region has good enough clearance before placing any more catalysts) until all of the activity is well-defined, accessible active regions (including gliders and XWSSes). Otherwise, I remove that catalyst and try another catalyst placement.
Sometimes, especially before I place any catalysts, I will run the pattern without stopping to get a sense of when I should start trying catalysts for maximum clearance and whether or not there are any well-defined regions that I could try extracting. Also, if I want the active region to turn in a particular direction, I will often try only catalyzing it from the side that I want it to turn away from.

Also, when placing catalysts, always make sure that your conduit has feasible input clearance.

==Asking for help==
If you have what you think is a good partial but are unable to complete it, don't be afraid to ask for help. Many conduits get completed this way. For example, the [[bandersnatch]], which solved a lot of glider color (fine positioning) problems, was originally found as a mostly-complete partial glider-to-glider conduit by Extrementhusiast and was completed by Entity Valkyrie 2. Here is some advice for that situation.

===Complete what you can===
An 90%-complete partial looks more promising and is harder to resist completing than a 20%-complete partial. Each part of a partial that you have not completed is something that you have not demonstrated is completable and therefore makes your partial look less promising. Even if a catalyst is destroyed, if the conduit works except for that catalyst being destroyed, that catalyst should be included because it simplifies the problem from finding an interaction that works—even though one might not exist—to reinforcing the catalyst or finding a replacement catalyst.

===Make clear your partial===
A conduit that creates some random piece of junk that doesn't occur often enough for anyone to have bothered looking for conduits accepting it isn't useful, so make sure that your conduit doesn't look like one. Sure, the region may have settled into a recognized bottleneck at one point, but that could easily be missed at a high frame rate, most people can't accurately identify a methuselah based on how it looks fifteen generations later, and it may not be apparent exactly when to look. Also, common sequences that have been researched for conduits may pop up in the intermediate activity, including some unextractable ones, and the output object may have been created from an evolutionary sequence that did not go through the output object's canonical form; each of these would further confuse the people whose help you are requesting. A good way to clarify your partial conduit is to mark the output(s) in red cells using the rule LifeHistory, as has been done in the examples. (Marking the input in white is also encouraged but not as important.)

In addition, one can also state one's partial in the message. One can write out the operation in long form, but in order to make things more convenient, the objects commonly used in conduits each have a single-letter symbol that can be used to convey information more concisely, e.g. H→C instead of Herschel-to-century conduit. One can also use the message text to state any special property that your conduit partial has that might make others willing to expend more effort trying to complete it.

===Be prepared to take no for an answer===
If the more experienced conduit-makers think that your partial does not look promising enough, accept it. If you want, you may work some more on your partial then take it back to them once you've made more progress, but it's much better to do that before asking for help the first time.
It is also a good idea to know how practical your partial is before asking. If your partial conduit requires a sacrificial object that can't be replaced with a permanent catalyst, the input region would not realistically be able to get into the conduit, or your partial is otherwise not promising, don't bother posting it.

===Examples===
Here are examples of how to and how not to ask for help completing a partial.

====A bad way of asking for help====
<center>{{LV:Viewer|x = 15, y = 22, rule = B3/S23
2o$2o15$13b2o$10b2ob2o$10b2o2$12b2o$12b2o!}}
Can the block be restored?</center>
* By asking whether the block can be '''restored''', the poster implies that this conduit relies either on a transparent reaction, which is extremely unlikely to exist, or an independent restoration of the block, which will lead to a bulky conduit with an impractically long repeat time. Neither is promising.
* While any reader could probably figure that the output object is a century based on its ash, the input region for this conduit is not obvious. There are three blocks with the characteristic spacing of a century, but this does not indicate whether the input region is a century or a century simply happened to form in the ash. If the latter is true, then for all the reader knows, the only input that this conduit can accept is an arrangement of three blocks that would be extremely unlikely to form from a reaction because the first two blocks would start reacting with each other before the third block could be placed. Either way, the reaction leaves four blocks that would interfere with any attempt to use the conduit again, and there is no indication that they can be cleaned up.
* As mentioned in the previous bullet point, there is no indication that the partial conduit (if it can even be called that) accepts a well-defined region for which conduits creating it are already known. The poster has provided no indication that the reaction would be useful as a conduit in any way; thus, any reader would be likely to classify it as a novelty reaction—and not one worth completing.

====A good way of asking for help====
<center>Can the fishhook be replaced with a permanent catalyst that works in this situation?
{{LV:Viewer|x = 32, y = 47, rule = LifeHistory
7.D$6.3D$8.2D17$2A$.A$.A.A$2.2A2$20.2A$19.A.A$20.A9$14.C$13.3C$12.2C2$
25.2A$25.2A$25.2A$25.A$12.2A10.A.A$12.2A11.A.A.3A$26.A.4A$27.A!}}
If that one thing can be fixed, then this will yield a C→C with better output clearnace than anything that we currently have. (The unix is only necessary for cleaning up a block and works at any timing, and the century's first cousin 3bo$3bo$o2bo$b2o can get in and is made by multiple conduits, such as CBx37C and PF*39C.)

Also, as a bonus, a permanent catalyst that works would almost certainly yield an I→R+W signal splitter.
{{LV:Viewer|x = 15, y = 19, rule = LifeHistory
8.D$7.3D$2A5.D$.A$.A.A$2.2A3$10.C$9.2C2.2D$7.3C2.D.D$7.C3.D2.D$12.2D5$
10.2A$10.2A!}}</center>
* The poster asks whether a fishhook can be '''replaced''' with a fishhook-type catalyst that would not be destroyed. As there is a wide variety of replacement fishhook-type catalysts, it is likely that some replacement exists and therefore likely that the conduits can be completed.
* The outputs are each clearly marked using red cells in LifeHistory. This is important because none of the three outputs form from their canonical forms; instead, each forms from a sibling of its canonical form. The fact that the outputs are marked helps to clarify what the intended outputs are and that they are in fact well-defined regions. The input regions are likewise clearly marked using their canonical forms.
* The poster has taken steps to clean up all excess junk from the partial conduits. This demonstrates that such cleanup is possible and, by making the partial conduits closer to completed, makes them harder to resist completing.
* The poster addresses potential concerns about the usage of a sparker or the input clearance for the first conduit, reassuring that the first partial conduit can indeed be used with other stable conduits if it is completed.
* The poster explains that finding one replacement catalyst would likely yield two conduits. Better yet, each has a special feature that would make experienced conduit-makers willing to spend more effort trying to complete it than otherwise: The first conduit outputs a century with amazing, unprecedented, and certainly useful clearance, and the second conduit is a signal splitter, enabling one to get two output signals from only one input signal. Each conduit's special feature would make it useful, and the poster clearly communicates each special feature. In addition, the poster states that both of these very useful conduits would come from work that would normally only complete one conduit, making experienced conduit-makers even more willing to spend time and effort looking for a replacement catalyst.

=Using search programs=
There are many search programs that one can use when searching for conduits. Two of the most commonly-used programs are CatForce and Bellman. CatForce will take any active region, run all possible combinations of a pre-defined list of catalysts on it, and return any interesting results. One possible usage is to run all combinations of a particular active object with common still-life, such as a block, and return all cases where the still-life is restored in its original position and orientation (even temporarily), i.e. find all possible transparent reactions without any permanent catalysts. (This is okay because it doesn't involve wasting weeks trying to make one particular reaction work, but instead, the computer can try each case then move on if it doesn't work in a fraction of a second.) A more in-depth description of how to use CatForce can be found [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&p=117556#p117556 here].
Bellman operates on a desired active region and uses a backtracking search to construct a nearby still life which will survive its interaction with the expanding active region.

=Notes=
<references group="note" />

=References=
<references />

{{Tutorial}}

Mirage

2013-08-01T22:39:10Z

MikeP: Notability? Feh. This is a beautiful piece of art. Disc is cheap.

{{Pattern|name=Mirage|pname=mirage|c=331|bx=68|by=46|life105=true|life106=true|plaintext=true|rle=true}}
'''Mirage''' (or '''Fata Morgana''') is a reaction in which many sparse [[cell]]s quickly create 13 [[glider]]s. Eight of those gliders [[glider synthesis|construct]] a [[Gosper glider gun]] at [[generation]] 34, but the remaining five gliders destroy the glider [[gun]] by generation 73.<ref>[[Alan Hensel]]'s [http://www.ibiblio.org/lifepatterns/ lifep.zip] pattern collection.</ref>

==References==
<references />

Talk:Half-bakery

2013-07-06T06:42:45Z

MikeP:

how about an image of the "remarkable reaction" that shifts (3,6) and passes a glider through?
: I found this with gencols:
<pre>
#P 0 0
.............
..*..........
...*.........
.***.........
......*......
.....*.*.....
.....*..*....
......**.*...
........*.*..
........*..*.
.........**..
.............
</pre>
I don't know how to add patterns to the wiki properly, though. Hopefully someone else can help. [[User:MikeP|MikeP]] 06:42, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

Talk:6 bits

2013-06-26T23:22:38Z

MikeP:

the "6 bits" page says in text that it's an oscillator of period 75, but in the
"box" the period is listed as 61! I don't know how to correct this.
: There's no RLE file for this pattern so I can't conveniently check the period, but how can it possibly be period 61 if it's made of pentadecathlons with period 15? So I changed it to 75. [[User:MikeP|MikeP]] 23:22, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

6 bits

2013-06-26T23:03:35Z

MikeP:

{{Oscillator|name=6 bits|pname=6bits|c=49|p=75|bx=40|by=26|v=1.00|h=71.3|discoveryear=2004|nofile=true}}
'''6 bits''' is the smallest known [[period]] [[:Category:oscillators with period 75|75]] [[oscillator]]. It is a glider [[shuttle]] using three [[pentadecathlon]]s as [[reflector]]s.

[[Category:Shuttles]]

User talk:Nathaniel

2013-05-30T16:00:40Z

MikeP: /* Snark reflector */ new section

==Math formulae==
So, it was my impression that something like
:<math>\sqrt{1-e^2}</math>
should look like a math formula and those tags should do stuff. But that appears to not be the case. How come? [[User:Elithrion|Elithrion]] 03:40, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

: Stuff like that works on Wikipedia because of an extension they manually coded in. I'll see if I can find a way to install it, but it doesn't come with MediaWiki by default. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 03:45, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

:: Upon looking into this deeper, it doesn't look like it's going to be possible on the current server setup, since we're on a shared Windows host. If the wiki becomes more popular then it may become worth it to move to a Linux and/or dedicated host, but until then this won't happen. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 19:13, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for correcting mistakes I made when editing the [[spaceship]] page (I'm a bit new to this whole wiki business). I was wondering If there were a page on conventions and standards used in this wiki.

Sokwe 17:54, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

You may want to be alerted to the [http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Main_Page&diff=prev&oldid=6402 spam] added to [[talk:Main Page]] by [[Special:Contributions/211.240.14.91|211.240.14.91]]

Sokwe 23:17, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

: Yep, it happens frequently enough, sadly. Thanks for deleting it -- I've banned that IP address. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 23:22, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

==Error in wickstretcher template==
The [[Template:Wickstretcher|wickstretcher template]] puts anything you write ''inside'' the infobox. This is because the table in the template has no concluding "|}". Please add a line containing "|}" directly above the <nowiki><noinclude></nowiki> tag.

~Sokwe 00:33, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

: Whoops. Thanks for letting me know, it's fixed now. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 03:02, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

==Problems with forms==
I somehow seem to have caused some problems with forms such as the [[:Category:oscillators|oscillator search form]]. I was testing their functionality for other purposes, and somehow caused an error: %DPL-1.7.4-WARNING: Wrong '$0' parameter: 'uses'! Using default: 'Template:{#request:cat}'. Help: $0=

'''Note''': "Template{#request:cat}" was part of the stuff I was doing.
I never saved any pages, I was just viewing previews for testing.

Sorry about the mess!

~Sokwe 21:31, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

: I'm hoping it's a caching issue... DynamicPageList loves giving cryptic error messages as a result of an invalid search that was performed hours earlier, so hopefully it clears up by itself soon. In the meantime, I'll look for a way to disable the caching so that this stuff doesn't happen. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 21:46, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

== Parameter search ==

I created a simple [[User:Sokwe/Template:info search|template]] to be used to look up which pattern pages are missing specific parameters in their templates (there may be some bugs, I haven't tested it much). This can be used to look up such things as which patterns do not have defined glider syntheses or bounding boxes. I was wondering if this template should be included on another page as a resource for other contributers if they feel they have the time to add information like this (for example, I recently added bounding box sizes to ''all'' of the still life pages). ~Sokwe 17:44, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

: That's pretty excellent, thanks. I think that the most natural place for it is probably [[LifeWiki:Helping out]] in a new subsection. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 17:51, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

::I added it under [[LifeWiki:Helping_out#Adding_pattern_information|Adding pattern information]], but it requires [[Template:(]] to work; this template should probably be protected. I also created a new page for it: [[Template:PatternInfoSearch]] ~Sokwe 18:50, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

==Error in GrowingSpaceship template==
It's the ''exact'' [[User_talk:Nathaniel#Error_in_wickstretcher_template|same problem]] that the wickstretcher template had: [[Template:GrowingSpaceship]] puts information from the page inside the infobox. Please add the necessary "|}" above the <nowiki><noinclude></nowiki> tag. ~Sokwe 20:19, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

: Thanks, fixed now. It's a result of the new glider synthesis boxes -- I made the necessary change on most of the other templates (such as [[Template:Oscillator]]), but I apparently missed Wickstretcher and GrowingSpaceship. Fixed now. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 20:26, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

== Some suggested updates ==

I've created a [[Template:Reflector|template for reflectors]] because they currently all use the pattern template. [[:Category:Eaters|Eaters]] also use the pattern template even though they are exclusively still lifes. I suggest adding support for type=eater to the [[Template:stilllife|still life template]]. I also suggest that you delete [[Template:People]] as it has been effectively replaced by [[Template:Person]]. ~Sokwe 13:58, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

: Those changes have now been made. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 14:31, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

===Some more ideas for updates===

First of all, I suggest that you replace the number of glider syntheses on the main page (currently "over 200") with the following:

<code><nowiki>{{#dpl:categorymatch=Patterns_that_can_be_constructed_with%|resultsheader=%TOTALPAGES%|format={{#if,:,,:|}}}}</nowiki></code>

Also, I have the basic design for a navigation box for oscillator periods. This would go on oscillator period category pages and would link to the nearest oscillator period categories (it does not link to pages that do not exist). What I haven't come up with is a good format for displaying this information, and I was wondering what you thought about it.

The basic idea:

p=2 
{{User:Sokwe/Template:osc_num|p=2}}

p=18 
{{User:Sokwe/Template:osc_num|p=18}}

p=144 
{{User:Sokwe/Template:osc_num|p=144}}

 ~Sokwe 20:41, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

: Very nice, made the glider synthesis change and inserted your template into the appropriate oscillator category pages. Thanks, and great work! [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 12:37, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

== ? ==

Why did you undo my edit?--[[Special:Contributions/71.80.49.38|71.80.49.38]] 14:09, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

== The new agar ==
I found the agar in '''Serviettes (B234/S)''' rule! 
please visit my user page.--[[User:David|David]] 13:53, 13 December 2009 (UTC)
:And, would you change this agar to oscillator or spacefiller? --[[User:David|David]] 06:19, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

== Upload request ==

Please upload the file ''Diuresis.rle'' from http://www.conwaylife.com to the extant [[Diuresis]] pattern page. You were devising a method to let people upload .rles, weren't you ?

Thanks a lot. --[[User:Methodood|Methodood]] 21:31, 16 December 2009 (UTC)
:It is possible to add patterns to the online database via the save/online database feature in Nathaniel's Game of Life player. This will save the pattern to the online database in RLE format, however, it can be overwritten. The pattern can be added to the ''official'' database (including other formats) by any of the conwaylife.com [http://www.conwaylife.com/forums/memberlist.php?mode=group&g=4&sid=1a91dd137f0f14460d2527db6280b122 moderators]. Patterns in the official database can not be overwritten via the the Game of Life player, so if you find that a pattern in the official database needs to be replaced, you should contact one of us. (Note: I have also uploaded the requested pattern files) ~Sokwe 22:48, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

== Suggestions ==

I have a few suggestions:
*Make a simplified version that can be embedded into pages (this would require a MediaWiki extension) so that users can view pattern evolution without having to go to a separate page.
*Add a "clear" button to make erasing patterns easier. Also allow editing after pressing the back button, which would become especially important in case users accidentally press the aforementioned button.
I think that these would both be helpful additions.

Also, why are you unable to add MediaWiki extensions on a shared Windows host? Can't you just copy the PHP files into the proper directory? Or do you not have access to the MediaWiki directories? [[User:The last username left|The last username left]] 02:35, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

: Hi there, and welcome to the wiki. What do you mean about a "simplified version"? Do you mean a simplified version of the applet to be embedded in wiki pages? That would indeed be quite cool, though I'm not sure I have the time at the moment for that undertaking. I'll add it to the to-do list though. As for the clear button -- there should already be a clear button at the lower-right corner of the applet. Does it not appear for you?

: As for editing after pressing the back button -- I'm not sure this will happen. It would require re-writing a *lot* of the applet, and I'm not sure how to even go about doing it while maintaining the functionality of the applet.

: I am quite capable of adding MediaWiki extensions to the wiki (and in fact there are a handful of them running on this wiki right now, mostly to do things like fight spam). What I wrote above about being on a Windows host is only a problem for the specific extension that enables the <math> tag. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 06:39, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

::Oops, sorry about that. I had originally said "a few suggestions about the applet", but reworded it. I forgot to mention it in the suggestion. Yes, I meant a simplified version of the applet.

::No, the clear button does not appear for me - at least not on the computer I was using at the time (Vista with IE8). Over on a Windows 7 machine, it appears just fine. I think it was because of the font size settings on that computer. The menu is still not working properly, though; see the screenshot. [[User:The last username left|The last username left]] 23:21, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

[[Image:Applet menu issue.png]]
==I want to...==
Please active my account in conwaylife.com forums.--[[User:David|David]] 08:36, 23 January 2010 (UTC)

: I assume that your forums account has the username "David"? If so, then this is done now. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 14:38, 23 January 2010 (UTC)

==Sawtooth 262==
You'll need to update the [[Sawtooth/Snippet|sawtooth snippet]] for [[sawtooth 260]] because it's protected (due to currently being included on the main page).
:'''Edit''': Never mind, it is no longer the featured article, so I did it myself. ~Sokwe 09:53, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

==Citation extension not working==
The reference tags (<nowiki><ref></nowiki>) don't seem to be working. ~Sokwe 01:45, 29 May 2010 (UTC)

: Thanks Sokwe. My server folks moved the site to a new machine that doesn't like the citations extension (or one of the spam-fighting extensions, hence the increase in spam over the last few days). Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out soon. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 15:23, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

:: OK, looks like the citations extension is (finally) functional again. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 13:01, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

== Refs are not doing their job properly ==

(And I don't mean football referees! :)

The <nowiki><ref> </ref></nowiki> tags are no longer being recognised by the software on LifeWiki, thus making a complete mess of every page. An example is the page entitled [[Switch engine]].

-- [[User:Calcyman|Calcyman]] 19:57, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

: Thanks Calcyman -- see one section up on my talk page for an explanation. Should hopefully have it figured out soon. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 23:42, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

== Lake discussion page ==

To circumvent the continual spam, I have attempted to protect [[Talk:Lake|this page]] from editing by using the 'protected' template. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working. [[User:Calcyman|Calcyman]] 10:51, 14 June 2010 (UTC)
:Placing {{[[Template:Protected|Protected]]}} on a page doesn't protect the page. A sysop/administrator/bureaucrat/etc needs to use the protect feature which does not appear for normal users who cannot use this feature. [[User:Keiji|Keiji]] 15:51, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

::Yes, I know that, but it might trick the spam-bots. They might be programmed to ignore pages with the 'protected' template, since pages on Wikipedia with this template are protected, so there is no point attempting to edit them.

::: I've gone ahead and actually protected the page from unregistered users. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 20:06, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

==Merging and deleting users==
Since you are the only one capable of using the merge and delete user extension, you will need to delete/merge any of the spam accounts that I block. ~[[User:Sokwe|Sokwe]] 01:31, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

==Spam issues==
Much of the spam that we currently get is from new accounts. Would it be possible to prevent accounts that are less than a couple of days old from posting external links or uploading files? (or does that seem too restrictive to new, legitimate users?) ~[[User:Sokwe|Sokwe]] 17:07, 29 May 2011 (CDT)

: I'll look at another spam-fighting extension or two tomorrow to see what can be done before doing that. I'd like people to be able to sign up and start editing right away... maybe e-mail address verification should be required? [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 21:25, 29 May 2011 (CDT)

:: Looks like a change I made yesterday afternoon is working for now at least. If (when?) the current system starts to fail, I will implement reCAPTCHA for suspicious edits and see how that works. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 10:46, 31 May 2011 (CDT)

==Animated Gif==
How do I get the animated gif working at [[Karel's p15]]? --[[User:Scotgot|Scot Ellison]] 14:06, 21 July 2011 (CDT)
: There was a memory problem with MediaWiki that made it not want to play nice with newly-uploaded animated GIFs. Fixed now! [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 00:20, 22 July 2011 (CDT)
::Thanks! :) S.E.

==Wrong page title==
I somehow got the wrong title on the [[P11_signal_injector]] page. I intended it to be P11 double-length signal injector, but I can't seem to change it now. Is there way for me to fix this without creating a new page and setting a redirect?--[[User:Scotgot|Scot Ellison]] 10:58, 3 August 2011 (CDT)

: I've moved the page for you. Only administrators (i.e., me and Sokwe) can move pages, so just ask and it'll be done! [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 00:24, 5 August 2011 (CDT)

== External links bug ==

Hi, I seem to be getting loads of "Your edit includes new external links" prompts, even when I'm not. (Such as this very query.) I think this is triggered whenever I try to edit a page that contains external links - including those to pattern files - for the first time?

'''ETA:''' Nope, not quite. Just got the same with the Task List which I have edited before. Pages not edited before this bug turn'd up, then?

Besides… Doesn't MediaWiki allow limiting these kind of checks to some editors? Eg. accounts with less than X edits, or younger than Y days?--[[User:Tropylium|Tropylium]] 07:53, 8 September 2011 (CDT)

: Thanks for letting me know, I'll look into it. Unfortunately the MediaWiki spam fighting tools leave a bit to be desired -- they're actually implemented via extensions (i.e., they aren't built into MediaWiki itself at all). The extension I'm using has fairly limited categories for who is subject to spam verification and who isn't -- basically it boils down to the question of "are you an admin or not?" But still, it shouldn't be asking you to verify if the links aren't new... will get back to you. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 09:45, 8 September 2011 (CDT)

:: I've created a "trusted" user group that is exempt from the SPAM filter, and placed you and a few other people into it. You shouldn't get those anti-SPAM messages at all anymore (let me know if you experience otherwise). [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 09:58, 8 September 2011 (CDT)

== Day & Night Link Broken ==

This link is broken: [[Day & Night]]

Can you move it to somewhere else so that we can access it?

[[User:Zhuyifei1999|Zhuyifei1999]] 09:13, 20 February 2013 (CST)

:Fixed. I made a redirect that works. But I'm waiting for you to update the system so that it can support "&" marks.

:[[User:Zhuyifei1999|Zhuyifei1999]] 13:41, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

:: Hi Zhuyifei1999. Unfortunately, this is a result of the wiki using short URLs, and it seems that the only fix is to install a patch to apache that alters how it deals with ampersands. I don't have access to install patches on the server myself (it's a shared host), so the best that I can do it contact my host about it and hope they're willing to install it for me. Given this, I would recommend either continuing to use the work-around you have right now, or re-naming the page to something like [[Day and Night]].

:: [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 12:30, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

:::[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_%26_Night Wikipedia] uses [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Short_URL short URLs] too, but it works. So I think the bug is not caused by short URLs, instead, I think it is caused by version problems.

:::[[User:Zhuyifei1999|Zhuyifei1999]] 22:53, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

:::: Wikipedia has root access and has installed the apache patch that alters how it deals with ampersands. Unfortunately, I can't do the same, since I don't have root access. You can see a brief discussion about this issue [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/mediawiki-l/2005-June/005814.html here]. - [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 01:24, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

== Move request ==

[[:File:Live_Free_or_Die_Spaceship.png]] to [[:File:Moon.png]]

[[User:Zhuyifei1999|Zhuyifei1999]] 03:54, 26 February 2013 (CST)

: Moved. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 12:30, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

== Upload pattern request ==

[[Moon]]:

<code>
x = 2, y = 4, rule = B2/S
 
o$bo$bo$o!
</code>

[[Frothing puffer]]:

<code>
.......O.................O.......
 
......OOO...............OOO......
 
.....OO....OOO.....OOO....OO.....
 
...OO.O..OOO..O...O..OOO..O.OO...
 
....O.O..O.O...O.O...O.O..O.O....
 
.OO.O.O.O.O....O.O....O.O.O.O.OO.
 
.OO...O.O....O.....O....O.O...OO.
 
.OOO.O...O....O.O.O....O...O.OOO.
 
OO.........OO.O.O.O.OO.........OO
 
............O.......O............
 
.........OO.O.......O.OO.........
 
..........O...........O..........
 
.......OO.O...........O.OO.......
 
.......OO...............OO.......
 
.......O.O.O.OOO.OOO.O.O.O.......
 
......OO...O...O.O...O...OO......
 
......O..O...O.O.O.O...O..O......
 
.........OO....O.O....OO.........
 
.....OO....O...O.O...O....OO.....
 
.........O.OO.O...O.OO.O.........
 
..........O.O.O.O.O.O.O..........
 
............O..O.O..O............
 
...........O.O.....O.O...........
 
</code>

[[Jagged lines]]:

<code>
<nowiki>
#C Jagged lines</nowiki> <nowiki>
#C Jagged lines of gliders, formed by a drifting collision of two LWSS</nowiki> <nowiki>
#C streams, crash to form an approximately vertical jagged line of pairs</nowiki> <nowiki>
#C of blocks. I don't know if the line stays within a bounded distance</nowiki> <nowiki>
#C of the center line, or extends infinitely far to the left, or to the</nowiki> <nowiki>
#C right, or both.</nowiki> <nowiki>
#C Dean Hickerson, 5/3/2005</nowiki> <nowiki>
x = 125, y = 67, rule = B3/S23</nowiki> <nowiki>
42bo13bo11bo13bo$41b3o11b3o9b3o11b3o$40b2obo5bo4b2obo9bob2o4bo5bob2o$
40b3o5b3o3b3o11b3o3b3o5b3o$41b2o4bo2b2o3b2o11b2o3b2o2bo4b2o$47bo3bo21b
o3bo$48b2obo21bob2o$50b2o21b2o2$55b3o9b3o$33b3o5b3o11bo2bo7bo2bo11b3o
5b3o$32b5o3bo2bo11bo13bo11bo2bo3b5o$31b2ob3o6bo11bo13bo11bo6b3ob2o$4o
5b2o21b2o9bo12bo11bo12bo9b2o21b2o5b4o$o3bo3b2ob2o30bo6bo23bo6bo30b2ob
2o3bo3bo$o8b4o29bo5b2obo21bob2o5bo29b4o8bo$bo8b2o36bo2bo21bo2bo36b2o8b
o2$13bo30b2o5bo21bo37bo$3b2o8b2o12bo17bo4bobo19bobo22bo12b2o8b2o$2bo2b
o9bo12b2o19bo25bo19b2o12bo9bo2bo$2bo2bo4b5o12b2o67b2o12b5o4bo2bo$2b2ob
2o3b4o97b4o3b2ob2o$4b2o4bo103bo4b2o3$11b3o97b3o$4o6b5o95b5o6b4o$o3bo4b
2ob3o95b3ob2o4bo3bo$o9b2o25b2o47b2o25b2o9bo$bo34b4o45b4o34bo$19b2o14b
2ob2o45b2ob2o14b2o$18b4o14b2o19b3o5b3o19b2o14b4o$17b2ob2o34bo2bo5bo2bo
34b2ob2o$18b2o39bo5bo39b2o$59bo5bo$59bo5bo$23bo34bo7bo34bo$21b4o75b4o$
20bob5o71b5obo$19b2o6bo27b2o11b2o27bo6b2o$20b3obo3bo25b2ob3o5b3ob2o25b
o3bob3o$21b3o3bo27b5o5b5o27bo3b3o$26bo29b3o7b3o29bo2$19b2o20b3o37b3o
20b2o$18b4o4b4o11bo41bo11b4o4b4o$17b2ob2o4bo3bo11bo39bo11bo3bo4b2ob2o$
2b4o5b2o5b2o6bo71bo6b2o5b2o5b4o$2bo3bo3b2ob2o12bo69bo12b2ob2o3bo3bo$2b
o8b4o21b3o47b3o21b4o8bo$3bo8b2o22bo51bo22b2o8bo$37bo49bo2$5bo6bo99bo6b
o$4bo7b2o17b3o57b3o17b2o7bo$4bo6b2o18bo61bo18b2o6bo$4b2o4b2o20bo59bo
20b2o4b2o$6bo111bo$8b2o105b2o$26b3o67b3o$26bo71bo$2b4o21bo69bo21b4o$2b
o3bo13bo83bo13bo3bo$2bo16bo85bo16bo$3bo15bo3bo77bo3bo15bo$19b4o79b4o!
</nowiki>
</code>

[[Duoplet]]:

<code>
x = 2, y = 2, rule = B2/S
 
bo$o!
</code>

[[loafer]]:

<code>
x = 9, y = 9, rule = B3/S23
 
boobboboo$obbobboo$bobo$bbo$8bo$6b3o$5bo$6bo$7boo!
</code>

[[loafer]] glider synthesis:

<code>
x = 40, y = 37, rule = B3/S23
 
38bo$37bo$37b3o2$8bobo$obo6b2o$b2o6bo$bo3$4bobo$5b2o$5bo20bo$24bobo$
25b2o2$33bo$33bobo$33b2o6$38bo$37b2o$37bobo8$5b3o$7bo$6bo!
</code>

[[Edge-repair spaceship 1|edgerepairspaceshipsandobjects.rle]]:

<code>
x = 113, y = 11, rule = B3/S23 
107bo3bo$107b2ob2o$108bobo$29bo76bobobobo$16bo11b2o8bo19bo8b2o8bo19bo
8b2o3b2o$o14b4o9bo8b4o15b4o7b2o7b4o15b4o8bo3bo$obo7bo3bo3b2ob2o9bo3bo
3b2ob2o7b2ob2o3bo3bo6bo3bo3b2ob2o7b2ob2o3bo3bo$3o6b4o5bo2b2o8b4o5bo2b
2o7b2o2bo5b4o4b4o5bo2b2o7b2o2bo5b4o$2bo5bo3bo7bo2bo6bo3bo7bo2bo5bo2bo
7bo3bo2bo3bo7bo2bo5bo2bo7bo3bo$9bobo2bo16bobo2bo23bo2bobo4bobo2bo23bo
 
2bobo$13bo21bo25bo12bo25bo!
</code>

[[Flying wing]]:

<code>
x = 159, y = 90, rule = B3/S23
 
13b3o11b3o99b3o11b3o$12bo3bo9bo3bo97bo3bo9bo3bo$11b2o4bo7bo4b2o95b2o4b
o7bo4b2o$10bobob2ob2o5b2ob2obobo93bobob2ob2o5b2ob2obobo$9b2obo4bob2ob
2obo4bob2o35b3o15b3o35b2obo4bob2ob2obo4bob2o$8bo4bo3bo2bobo2bo3bo4bo4b
o28bo3bo13bo3bo28bo4bo4bo3bo2bobo2bo3bo4bo$20bobo15b3ob2o23b2o4bo11bo
4b2o23b2ob3o15bobo$8b2o7b2obobob2o7b2o2b2o3bob2o20bobob2ob2o3b3o3b2ob
2obobo20b2obo3b2o2b2o7b2obobob2o7b2o$20bobo13b2o2bo4b5o15b2obo4bob2ob
3ob2obo4bob2o15b5o4bo2b2o13bobo$14b3o9b3o5bo2bo5bobobob2ob2o5bo4bo4bo
3bo4bobo4bo3bo4bo4bo5b2ob2obobobo5bo2bo5b3o9b3o$14bo3bo9bo6bo8bo3bo3bo
b2o2b3o15bo5bo15b3o2b2obo3bo3bo8bo6bo9bo3bo$14bobo4b3o26bo4b3ob3o2b2o
7b2o9b2o7b2o2b3ob3o4bo26b3o4bobo$20bo2bo4b2o19bo3bobo5b2o33b2o5bobo3bo
19b2o4bo2bo$23bo30bo6bo2bo29bo2bo6bo30bo$19bo3bo39bo31bo39bo3bo$19bo3b
o111bo3bo$14bo8bo111bo8bo$14bobo3bobo113bobo3bobo$14b2o127b2o4$12bo23b
3o11b3o53b3o11b3o23bo$12bobo20bo3bo9bo3bo51bo3bo9bo3bo20bobo$12b2o20b
2o4bo7bo4b2o49b2o4bo7bo4b2o20b2o$33bobob2ob2o5b2ob2obobo47bobob2ob2o5b
2ob2obobo$32b2obo4bob2ob2obo4bob2o45b2obo4bob2ob2obo4bob2o$31bo4bo3bo
2bobo2bo3bo4bo43bo4bo3bo2bobo2bo3bo4bo$10bo32bobo67bobo32bo$10bobo18b
2o7b2obobob2o7b2o43b2o7b2obobob2o7b2o18bobo$10b2o31bobo67bobo31b2o$37b
3o9b3o55b3o9b3o$37bo3bo9bo55bo9bo3bo$37bobo4b3o65b3o4bobo$8bo34bo2bo4b
2o53b2o4bo2bo34bo$8bobo35bo65bo35bobo$8b2o32bo3bo65bo3bo32b2o$42bo3bo
65bo3bo$37bo8bo65bo8bo$37bobo3bobo67bobo3bobo$6bo30b2o81b2o30bo$6bobo
141bobo$6b2o143b2o2$35bo87bo$35bobo83bobo$4bo30b2o85b2o30bo$4bobo145bo
bo$4b2o147b2o2$33bo91bo$33bobo87bobo$2bo30b2o89b2o30bo$2bobo149bobo$2b
2o151b2o2$31bo95bo$31bobo91bobo$o30b2o93b2o30bo$obo153bobo$2o155b2o2$
29bo99bo$29bobo95bobo$29b2o97b2o$3o153b3o$obo153bobo$3o153b3o$27bo103b
o$6b2o19bobo99bobo19b2o$8bo18b2o101b2o18bo$6b3o141b3o$5bob2o141b2obo$
4bobo145bobo$4bobo18bo107bo18bobo$25bobo103bobo$9b2o14b2o105b2o14b2o$
8bo2bo135bo2bo$9b2o137b2o2$23bo111bo$12b2o9bobo107bobo9b2o$11bo2bo8b2o
109b2o8bo2bo$12b2o131b2o3$21bo115bo$21bobo111bobo$17b2o2b2o113b2o2b2o$
 
17b2o121b2o!
</code>

[[User:Zhuyifei1999|Zhuyifei1999]] 04:24, 26 February 2013 (CST)

: Sorry for the delay -- I'll get to these shortly. Will let you know once they're online. [[User:Nathaniel|Nathaniel]] 12:31, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

== Snark reflector ==

Hello,

Here's the missing RLE data for the [[Snark]] reflector:

<code>
x = 23, y = 19, rule = B3/S23
 
18b2o$18bo$20bo$2o14b5o$bo13bo$bobo12b3o$2b2o15bo$16b4o$11b2o3bo3b2o$
 
11b2o4b3o2bo$19bob2o$3b2o14bo$2bobo13b2o$4bo2$10b2o$10bo$11b3o$13bo!
</code>

[[User:MikeP|MikeP]] 16:00, 30 May 2013 (UTC)