Ratman's Blank Line Filter

Blank Line Filter

On WoW Forever my chat kept filling up with empty lines. With timestamps on, each one is just a time with nothing after it, usually several in a row. They started the moment I joined a guild and came back after every reload.

The cause is that every time one of your addons sends a message on the guild addon channel, the game answers with a system message that has no text in it. Addons that share stats or sync with your guild send a batch of those at login and while you play, so you get a burst of blank lines each time.

What this addon does:

• Hides system messages that have no text. That is the only thing it removes.
• Leaves every message with text in it alone, so you don’t lose real system messages.
• Works in every chat window that shows system messages.
• Has no settings. Install it and the blank lines stop.
• Has a page under Options → AddOns → Ratman’s Blank Line Filter that shows how many blank lines it has hidden and which addons sent guild messages. The numbers update while the page is open.

Commands:

• /blf (or /blanklines) shows how many blank lines it has hidden since you logged in or reloaded.
• /blf audit lists the addon messages your addons have sent to the guild channel, by addon, next to the number of blank lines hidden. That tells you which of your addons are behind them.
• /blf audit all also breaks down the other channels (party, raid, whisper) by addon.

Good to know:

• It doesn’t stop addons from sending their guild messages, so guild features like leaderboards and attunement sync keep working.
• The audit only watches and counts. When it can’t tell which addon sent a message it shows the message’s prefix instead, which is usually the addon’s name or close to it.
• I made this for Forever and that is the only client I’ve tested it on. It loads on the other clients too, but I haven’t seen the problem there.