Dave: I’m not familiar with how CGI works, but whatever you want to call the process of turning python code into byte-code (all those .pyc files), I want to know if it has to be done each time the user enters text, or if it is possible to execute the .py file only once and have the user participate in multiple chat volleys during that single execution. (This is the way I currently have things set up to run from the command line.) I’m not sure how such an interface would look like.

Tom: I’m not worried about the generation of compiled files. I’m worrying about python generating them with each back-and-forth chat with the user because the .py file gets re-executed each time the user submits text. I want to avoid this and set things up such that the .py file is executed just at the start of the chat session, and both the user and the bot can submit text multiple times during the session.

Maybe this is a problem I’ll just have to do my own research to figure out. At any rate, it’s not an immediate issue for my project. Just curious for now. Thanks for all the feedback so far.

Just wanted to add for clarity:

The reason I’m so interested in this is that I recall reading somewhere that one source of slowdown when using python/CGI is due to each imported module getting recompiled by the python engine each time the .py file is executed. If all the dependent modules are recompiled with each text volley, then that could slow down the response time of my already sluggish code. So it would be nice if the .py file only needs to be executed once and the user and bot could exchange multiple volleys of text.

Raymond Lavas - Jun 10, 2011:

Thunder Walk - Jun 10, 2011:

Please list all of the bots or proof of concepts you’ve created.

Whom are you addressing?
Raymond

I apologize for not being clear. I was addressing 8pla.net as he began this thread.

8PLA • NET - May 28, 2011:

I’ll be switching gears now, to try get ready for mailing, a bootable chatbot DVD,  to the Loebner Prize contest in the UK.

Does that mean you’re entering the competition, or are you speaking of your “Support Disc”?

Loebner Prize Contest entry tech support site

http://8pla.net/support/

http://www.chatbots.org/ai_zone/viewthread/539/

Just For Fun

Thunder Walk - Jun 10, 2011:

Please list all of the bots ... you’ve created.

The full 8pla.net bot list would take forever. 
For more information please visit: http://www.8pla.net/list/

Thunder Walk - Jun 11, 2011:

I apologize for not being clear. I was addressing 8pla.net as he began this thread.

8pla.net TOP 100 bot list:
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/1
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/2
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/3
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/4
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/5
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/6
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/7
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/8
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/9
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/10
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/11
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/12
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/13
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/14
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/15
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/16
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/17
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/18
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/19
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/20
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/21
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/22
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/23
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/24
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/25
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/26
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/27
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/28
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/29
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/30
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/31
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/32
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/33
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/34
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/35
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/36
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/37
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/38
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/39
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/40
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/41
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/42
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/43
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/44
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/45
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/46
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/47
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/48
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/49
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/50
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/51
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/52
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/53
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/54
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/55
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/56
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/57
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/58
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/59
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/60
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/61
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/62
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/63
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/64
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/65
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/66
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/67
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/68
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/69
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/70
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/71
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/72
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/73
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/74
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/75
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/76
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/77
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/78
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/79
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/80
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/81
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/82
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/83
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/84
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/85
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/86
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/87
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/88
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/89
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/90
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/91
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/92
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/93
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/94
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/95
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/96
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/97
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/98
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/99
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/100

Thunder Walk - Jun 11, 2011:

8PLA • NET - May 28, 2011:

I’ll be switching gears now, to try get ready for mailing, a bootable chatbot DVD,  to the Loebner Prize contest in the UK.

Does that mean you’re entering the competition, or are you speaking of your “Support Disc”?

Loebner Prize Contest entry tech support site

http://8pla.net/support/

http://www.chatbots.org/ai_zone/viewthread/539/

 
The site is solely to support the contest entry bot which
launches itself and runs in the contest automatically from its DVD.

http://8pla.net/support/postage.php

I think it’s pretty clear what 8pla really likes to do!

8PLA • NET - Jun 12, 2011:

Just For Fun

Thunder Walk - Jun 10, 2011:

Please list all of the bots ... you’ve created.

The full 8pla.net bot list would take forever. 
For more information please visit: http://www.8pla.net/list/

Thunder Walk - Jun 11, 2011:

I apologize for not being clear. I was addressing 8pla.net as he began this thread.

8pla.net TOP 100 bot list:
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/1
.
.
.
http://www.8pla.net/list/bot/100

 

That’s very impressive, however, they all appear to be the same.  Great practical joke.

Human: Hi.
Bot: How are you today.. What would you like to discuss?
Human:  What’s the weather like where you are?
Bot:  What makes you think I am ?
Human:  What’s the weather like where you are?
Bot:  Perhaps you would like to be ?

That’s very impressive, however, they all appear to be the same.  Great practical joke.

Still, if you look over time, I’ve seen more bots (small as they might be) coming from 8pla then from anyone else. Being that prolific in their art, that deserves respect, if you ask me. I mean, in the end, all those things had to be made.

Jan Bogaerts - Jun 12, 2011:

That’s very impressive, however, they all appear to be the same.  Great practical joke.

Still, if you look over time, I’ve seen more bots (small as they might be) coming from 8pla then from anyone else. Being that prolific in their art, that deserves respect, if you ask me. I mean, in the end, all those things had to be made.

I saw Billy Joel on one of those “Storytellers” programs where musicians talk about their music careers.  He talked of meeting Stevie Wonder and how he introduced himself by saying, “I’m Stevie Wonder, I write a new song every day.”  Joel went on to say that writing a new song every day is impressive, the question is, how good are the songs?

Have you tried out any of the bots on the list of 100?

Have you tried out any of the bots on the list of 100?

a couple. But that’s not really the point, now is it?
I mean, I often don’t understand 8pla. Most of the time, I find it hard to figure out if he is joking or serious. But I can see that he tries to communicate through the bots he shows. They tend to be themed to the conversation that is occuring at the same time. That to me, is art. It doesn’t really matter much what they say. Though most of the time, it’s on topic, in sync with the conversation. They are indeed no bildgesmythe’s, mitsuku’s, Alice’s or whatever in general scope of conversation. They serve another purpose.

Jan Bogaerts - Jun 12, 2011:

Have you tried out any of the bots on the list of 100?

But that’s not really the point, now is it?

Actually, it is.

You can view any of a long list of Pandorabots… hundreds… that people have signed up for and never revisited… never made any effort to improve them or add to the knowledge base. They all still have the same spelling errors… the same grammatical and coding errors. If you measure success by proliferation, in that sense, then I suppose ALICE is the greatest bot ever.

I think a software engineer can probably produce a lot of programs that could dazzle the public with bots that can do tricks, and might accomplish tasks in ways that have never been done before, and we’d all be properly impressed. But, then what?

By definition, a chatbot is intended to engaged in conversation. What impresses a visitor/guest/client is a satisfying exchange… something that emulates understanding. I doubt that any human participant ever complimented a bot for having a lot of clones, and I’ve never read a chatlog where a person said, “That was a stupid answer, but you produced it in a creative way.”  No CBC or Lobener contestant has ever been awarded a prize for anything other than answering the questions correctly, or for simulating a human-like conversation.

Is lots of bots from a single source impressive? Sure. But, if a chatbot can’t truly chat, how good is it?  How much time would you spend chatting?

By definition, a chatbot is intended to engaged in conversation.

By definition, a paper is intended to write on,  until you give it to a painter, or a small kid, or paper - folder (forgot the name),.... Sometimes, the world is more than what we see in it.

Jan Bogaerts - Jun 12, 2011:

By definition, a chatbot is intended to engaged in conversation.

By definition, a paper is intended to write on,  until you give it to a painter, or a small kid, or paper - folder (forgot the name),.... Sometimes, the world is more than what we see in it.

And, a Penguin is a bird with wings, but it can’t fly.

Clever, but we’re not talking about abstract principals.  The issue is specifically chatbots.

UPDATE:

Site navigation has been tweaked in the user interface
at http://www.8pla.net/list to be consistent in IE and Firefox.

Now, in IE, the 8pla.net list reacts to the mouse when the
mouse pointer hovers over any of the 8pla.net bot numbers.