Projects
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Warning
Message: file_get_contents(http://twitter.com/users/show/WindowsDeath.json) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
Filename: boxy/WindowsDeath.php
Line Number: 6
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the facts...
What is @WindowsDeath?
@WindowsDeath is a Twitter bot that @replies to the respective user every time either of the terms "BSOD" or "blue screen" is used on Twitter.
What does "BSOD" mean?
BSOD is an abbreviation for "Blue Screen of Death", a common name for the kernel panic screen that has been found in all editions of Windows since Windows 95. You can read more about BSODs in Wikipedia's article entitled "Blue Screen of Death".
Who does the bot reply to?
Anyone and everyone who says "BSOD" or "blue screen."
How does it work?
A CRON job is running on a web server which executes the Twitter Bot PHP script every 5 minutes. The script then accesses Twitter's JSON API, requesting any tweet containing the terms "BSOD" or "blue screen" In each case an @reply tweet is formed randomly from a list of possible responses and sent to the user who used the term.
Can I have the source?
I'm currently not distrbuting the source, but I encourage you to use the contact form to send me a message expressing interest. I may change my mind on this if there is enough demand for it.
Okay, I get the joke. Can you stop sending me @replies now?
If you are getting replies that you don't want, just go to the bot's Twitter page and click the block button. If you are getting false positives where the bot is replying to something that it shouldn't be, please contact me so that I can either make the bot more intelligent or simply stop counting your Twitter handle. Please understand that I do not consider someone using the term BSOD to describe a Mac or Linux system to be a false positive--there is little I can do it correct for people's incorrect usage of terminology.
Is the bot busy?
Since its birth on June 2, 2009 the @WindowsDeath bot has tweeted 0 times. Currently @WindowsDeath has followers and is following 0 people. The last person that the bot replied to was @ at 4:00 pm PST at which time it said "" So, in a word, yes.
Hall of Fame
| Place | Twitter Handle | Hits |
| 1. | jiggawagga | 136 |
| 2. | BestOf | 122 |
| 3. | mrbiotech | 96 |
| 4. | tv_problems | 47 |
| 5. | dazzozo | 44 |
| 6. | windowsfaster | 43 |
| 7. | TheWhaleBaby | 42 |
| 8. | brettlegree | 40 |
| 9. | ConnorsCompShow | 40 |
| 10. | 1eyetech | 37 |
