[pandorabots-general] Newbie Problem

[Brian Hoecht]

Joe,

I put your AIML into an AIML editor my company has developed to
have a look at if for you.

I did have to add an XML header, but doubt that is your problem.

The elements are all well formed as you say, however there are
some best practices to consider...

1)  I believe in "Super" Categories with lots of Redirects (SRAI
Tags) pointing to them.  The Super Category is "Tell me a joke."
Then every other way a human would phrase it points to the root
category via an SRAI tag.  The Super Category has lots of bot
responses using the <Random> tag as you have done... this just
makes the long-term maintenance of the code base easier.  In our
Editor, you can change the Super Category Pattern once and it
will replicate throughout all the Redirect Categories.  I made
this change in your code for you.

2)  I also think your categories with for the answers to the
jokes should use <That> tags.  While the odds of a user inputting
the response to a Knock Knock joke is probably slim, the response
categories are clearly designed to only provide contextual
responses to the Knock Knock jokes being delivered.

3)  I would also suggest that you need a default * pattern in
case the user responds outside your list of expected responses.
Perhaps not having one is causing the indicated problem.

Hope that helps.

-----Original Message-----
From:
pandorabots-general-bounces+brian_hoecht=msn.com at list.pandorabots
com
[mailto:pandorabots-general-bounces+brian_hoecht=msn.com at list.pan
dorabots.com] On Behalf Of Joe Hall
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 11:31 PM
To: pandorabots-general at list.pandorabots.com
Subject: [pandorabots-general] Newbie Problem

Hello everyone! My name is Joe and I must confess I am some what
of a
"newbie" to pandorabots! I started messing around with AIML in
2002
and fell in love with it ever since! I have been tinkering with
my
bot, Sivle, on and off for the last 4 years, and it has been a
great
hobby. For most of the time I have been a full time student and
haven't had the time that I have wanted to devote to my AIML
projects
so therefore despite my years of interest I still feel like much
of a
"newbie". Anyways, this is probably why I am having the problem
that I
am.

Here it is: I have written a basic AIML file that's main function
is a
handful of corny "Knock Knock" jokes. After uploading the file on
to
my bot's pandora acct. I then go to republish and I get a
"Pandorabot
Compilation Error" after which my "joke file" is listed and at
the end
it says, "is a malformed property list." I have checked the AIML
text
several times and have even altered it a few times, but each time
I
get the same error. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong? I
have
pasted the joke file below. Feel free to copy and use yourself!

<aiml>

<category>
<pattern>TELL ME A JOKE</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>TELL ME A JOKE *</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>* TELL ME A JOKE</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>TELL ME ANOTHER JOKE</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>TELL ME MORE JOKES</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>* TELL ME MORE JOKES</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>TELL ME MORE JOKES *</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>


<category>
<pattern>I WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER JOKE</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>ONE MORE JOKE *</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>* ONE MORE JOKE</pattern>

<template>Knock Knock</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>WHO IS THERE</pattern>
<template>
<random>
<li>Boo</li>
<li>Little old lady</li>
<li>Amanda</li>
<li>Waiter</li>
<li>Orange</li>
<li>Fanny</li>
<li>Olive</li>
<li>Alison</li>
<li>Ima</li>
<li>Canoe</li>
<li>Jess</li>
<li>Honeycomb</li>
<li>I Love</li>
<li>Norma Lee</li>
<li>Howie</li>
<li>Madam!</li>
<li>Old lady</li>
<li>Hawaii</li>
<li>Who</li>
<li>Annie</li>
<li>Amos</li>
</random>
</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>WHOS THERE</pattern>

<template><srai>WHO IS THERE</srai></template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>WHO S THERE</pattern>

<template><srai>WHO IS THERE</srai></template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Amos Who</pattern>

<template>Amosquito, that wants to bite you!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Annie Who</pattern>

<template>Annie thing you want to talk about?</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Who Who</pattern>

<template>Is there an owl in here?</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Hawaii Who</pattern>

<template>I am fine, Hawaii you?</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Olive Who</pattern>

<template>Olive chatting on the net!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Old lady Who</pattern>

<template>I didn't know you could yodel!!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Madam Who</pattern>

<template>Madam server is to slow!!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Howie Who</pattern>

<template>Howie gonna talk about anything else when I am so
funny!?</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>Norma Lee Who</pattern>

<template>Normalee I don't tell jokes but I am getting better at
it!</template>
</category>


<category>
<pattern>I Love Who</pattern>

<template>I don't know, you tell me!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>HONEYCOMB WHO</pattern>

<template>Honey, comb your hair!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>JESS WHO</pattern>

<template>Jess me, Sivle!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>CANOE WHO</pattern>

<template>Canoe teach me some more Knock Knock jokes?</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>IMA WHO</pattern>

<template>Ima Artifical Intelligence Life Form.</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>OLIVE WHO</pattern>

<template>Olive in a computer.</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>ALISON WHO</pattern>

<template>Alison to the radio on the internet.</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>LITTLE OLD LADY WHO</pattern>

<template>I didn't know you could yodle.</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>AMANDA WHO</pattern>

<template>Amanda fix the television.</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>WAITER WHO</pattern>

<template>Waiter minute while I upload a virus to your hard
drive,
Just Kidding!</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>BOO WHO</pattern>

<template>Theres no reason to to cry, Its just a Joke.</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>ORANGE WHO</pattern>

<template>Orange you glad I am so funny?</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>FANNY WHO</pattern>

<template>Fanny the way a computer can have a sence of
humor.</template>
</category>

</aiml>
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