FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

There are a few questions which, since I first released Potato way back when, I've been asked many times. Thus, the Official Potato FAQ (patent pending; known to cause stupidity in the state of California).

Why is it called Potato?

I honestly have no idea - I didn't name it. The very first version of Potato was written by someone I once knew on a MUSH; I started learning Tcl/Tk so I could play with it, and ended up spending several years and much of my sanity re-writing it from scratch a few times and adding a lot more features. The name was retained for posterity.

Why did you write it in Tcl? Why not <my favourite language>?

See previous question.

I found a bug!

Please file a ticket on the online Issue Tracker, if there isn't one up for the bug already.

Will you ever add <desired feature>?

Maybe! Feel free to discuss it with me and/or put up a ticket.

Potato is awesome! And free! Can I contribute in some way?

Yes; thank you! I gratefully accept donations of anything which can be traded for food, and also have a few wishlists at various places.

Note: Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to accept your first-born son. There's far too much paperwork involved, and quite a mess if you forget to put air-holes in the box before mailing him. Sorry.

Can I do any scripting in Potato?

Yes! Some scripting can be achieved via the /commands; anything more complex can be done with custom Tcl code. If there's something you'd like to do but you're not sure how, let me know and I'll help if I can. However, I do have limited time, so can't always promise to do giant custom scripts just for you. No harm in asking, though.

If it's called Potato, why is the logo a peanut?

Don't be absurd; everyone knows peanuts wear top hats and monocles, not baseball caps.

Why should I use Potato instead of <other client>?

Potato rivals most other clients in terms of features, runs on Windows, Linux and MacOS X, is totally free (unless you're feeling generous *nudge nudge wink wink*), and is one of only a handful of MUSH clients which is still being updated.

Why doesn't Potato work on my favourite MUD?

I have recently found out that Potato doesn't always work nicely on MUDs, which do things a little differently to MUSHes. This should be resolved in the next release or two, though - sorry for the inconvenience!

Why does Potato jump to the front when there's activity?

If you're on Windows, you might need to install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistribuable, currently available here (though Microsoft have a habit of changing their URLs; if it stops working, please let me know!). If you use a 64bit version of Potato, grab the x64 version, otherwise the x86. (Many thanks to Anixy for her patience in tracking down the exact cause and the file needed.)

If you're on Linux, there are a number of possibilities, a little too complex for an FAQ; drop me a message or open a ticket and I'll try and help debug it.

Help!

If you have any problems, questions, etc, that aren't covered here or elsewhere in the helpfiles, get in touch and I shall endeavour to do what I can.

Why is this FAQ so dull? Why no nudity!?

Although Kitai did try and convince me to add more pizzazz* (his words, not mine), I had to decide against it in the end. Sorry, Kitai. Besides, if you've read this far, you're probably interested enough in Potato that I don't need to lure you in with nekkid pictures, anyway.

(* If enough people request it, though, I will add more pizza. A link to the petition will follow shortly.)

Why is this FAQ so short?

Because it's 2am and I'm going to bed.