This is scary.

[EightBitz]

I was going to post a question, and I think Mathias and I psychically tuned in to each other. He sensed my question and I sensed his answer. Because as I was composing the post, the answer formed in my mind in a rather complete context.

I was going to ask about the pros and cons of creating a custom data set with .dat files vs. using the editor to create .user files. And the answer that I realized is that in terms of using the editor, the .dat files are static. They're a gold standard. They won't be touched.

This allows use of the editor to create .user files to add and customize things without modifying the core content and screwing things up permanently.

Thanks Mathias!

(Edited for a typo and an error.)

 

[Mathias]

Welcome to rubber duck debugging. I've deleted a great many emails I started writing to Colen because the process of writing out the question forced me to re-examine my assumptions, and notice where I had gone wrong, or find the typo/logic error that was my problem.

(Rubber duck debugging is when you explain the problem out loud to an inanimate object, and get the same effect of organizing your thoughts and re-examining the problem).

 

[EightBitz]

No, no, no. It was just rubber ducking. The answer formed in my head as if you had explained it.

 

[Farling]

In our office we would call this a "Cardboard Mathias" - you explain your problem to the cardboard figure of Mathias, and you get the answer without cardboard Mathias saying anything.