Questions

[Cavebear]

We should move this discussion elsewhere.  We've gone beyond site questions.  LOL!

But what is this "rating" stuff (I suddenly noticed)?  Can I give a "rating"?  How is it different from "likes"  There are some people here I admire.

Liking a post is one thing, but if you generally agree with a poster's various stands on issues, you can give them a "rep". Under each name you will see the number of reps a person has received. +/-1, or zero for us common folks, but admins can really bestow some grace, up to 5 (I think). I think that you are limited to doing 5 reps a day. If you click on that number, it takes you to that person's reputation page. There you can input your reason for repping. Default is +1.

And, yeah, we can stop talking about that never-to-be-sufficiently-damned Mac I worked on 28 YA. 

Thanks for the info about reps. I hadn't noticed that before. And I see the difference. I will consider it carefully and judiciously..

[Cheerful Charlie]

1. Go into the settings of your browser and set your homepage as the forum address.

2.  

I appreciate the suggestion.  

No.  I use that for another purpose.  And it shouldn't be an external requirement.

But I just discovered that clicking on the site header gets me there.  Did you know that?

Yes.  I do that frequently.  It also refreshers everything so I can see the latest posts.  Try user CP.  You can subscribe to threads and other things like that.  I don't bother with that.  This forum is not so big I can't keep up.

[Cheerful Charlie]

Cha! The only Mac I ever used crashed with astonishing frequency. I was writing some FORTRAN code on it and got to where I saved after every line of code was entered, so that I wouldn't lose it.

I never met anyone before who crashed a Mac.  Did it get power-surged or something mechanical?  It might be wort asking about at a Mac help site.

My few little attempts at using Mac date way back to the old Macintosh Classic.  It did in fact sometimes fail to save stuff correctly.  Amiga did it better.

[Cheerful Charlie]

Try clicking on the AD logo at the top of the page.

That's what I posted above.  Mentioning it somewhere might be a good idea though.    Just because I'm clever and exploratory doesn't mean that everyone is.  And, duh, maybe a "home" button...

Another way is to look at the bar that says User CP, Alerts etc.  Below that is an info bar that tells you where you are, for example
"Atheist Discussion › Forum Information › Rules and Information › Questions"

This is where you are at now.

If you hit "Atheist Discussion" it will take you to the home page.  Or from say, "Forum Information" to "Rules and Information"   Browser arrow keys work with this too.

[SYZ]

Cha! The only Mac I ever used crashed with astonishing frequency. I was writing some FORTRAN code on it and got to where I saved after every line of code was entered, so that I wouldn't lose it.

My mechanical design engineer dad was using FORTRAN in the
early 1960s.  I remember using the punch-cards as scribble pads.



The more things change, the more they stay the same.    

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Ah, "Hidden Figures".

[Minimalist]

Whew...  flashback.





I looked at that picture and all I could think of was "hanging chads."

[SYZ]

About the 80-hole width...


Why did IBM chose 80 column cards in 1928?  The choice was based on the typical number of
characters per line of typewriters of the time.

Most 1920's typewriters had a platen width of 9 inches, which corresponds with the standardisation
of US paper sizes of around 8" to 8½" width. At a typical typewriter pitch of 10 to 12 characters per
inch that leads to documents with widths of between 72 and 90 characters, depending on the size of
the margins. As such, 80 characters per line would have represented a good compromise between
hole pitch (small rectangular holes and/or larger round holes) and line length, while maintaining
the same card size.

[Minimalist]

Why is it that sometimes when an image is posted it does not appear but instead we get

[image:  and then a big long number and then a ]

Sometimes I see this where all the images appear this way and other times one or two shows up normally.

You can click "view image" and it comes right up.

[Free]

1.  Is there a "Home" button here somewhere?  Everytime I want to see all the forums, I have to hit my bookmark.

2.  The "How Do I"  thread is closed?  That doesn't make any sense.  If any thread should be sticky, that's the one.

Just click the big AD logo at the top

[Drich0150]

did I get bann? it seems I'm lock out of my other account

[Drich0150]

You do not have permission to access this page. This could be because of one of the following reasons:
Your account has either been suspended or you have been banned from accessing this resource.
You do not have permission to access this page. Are you trying to access administrative pages or a resource that you shouldn't be? Check in the forum rules that you are allowed to perform this action.
Your account may still be awaiting activation or moderation. (Resend Activation Code)
You have accessed this page directly rather than using appropriate forms or link.

You are currently logged in with the username: 'Drich0150'

have I been bann?

[Mathilda]

I've approved your new account for now Drich until we can get you back into your old account.

You have not been banned.

If you have forgotten your password we can reset it for you.

I did try sending you an email but it got bounced back unfortunately.

[Dānu]

The stable genius forgot his password. Shocked, I tell you, shocked!

[SYZ]

I've approved your new account for now Drich until we can get you back into your old account.

You have not been banned.

If you have forgotten your password we can reset it for you.

I did try sending you an email but it got bounced back unfortunately.

Uh... bad move Mathilda, sorry. It would've been a painless way to
get rid of this ignorant cum-guzzler.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The stable genius forgot his password.  Shocked, I tell you, shocked!

God's will. Or rather God's won't.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Try clicking on the AD logo at the top of the page.

That's what I posted above.  Mentioning it somewhere might be a good idea though.    Just because I'm clever and exploratory doesn't mean that everyone is.  And, duh, maybe a "home" button...

In my experience, that's pretty much the SOP for all forums: header takes you to home page.

[Cavebear]

I'm Cavebear.  I just learned today, talking to Dom, that I haven't been seeing the Atheist Discussion Forum the same way most of you do.  For whatever reason, when I open the site, I see "Open Buddy List, View New Posts, View Today's Posts, and Private Messages" across the top of my screen with the logo on the left.  

No forums. No threads.  Just posts.  I never thought to click on the logo.  When I was advised to, I saw specific forums with threads, and specific discussions.  I'm sorry.  I am dumb as a box of rocks.  I stuff broccoli in my socks.  I shine my shoes with cheese.  I didn't know.  

You don't have to change any opinion you have about me, but I am sorry I didn't understand what some of you were saying about conversations.  I wasn't seeing the conversations.

I'll pay better attention to that now that I know about it.  I'm still just "Cavebear" though.  Some things won't change.   Now I have to figure out how to make the screen open as everyone else sees it... It is probably just what I saved as a bookmark originally.

Cavebear

Can you PM me a screen shot?

Hope that works.  Used postimages...

[Cavebear]

I took 3 screenshots, heard the "click", and I can't find them,  I looked everywhere.  I deleted every screenshot I could find (after viewing) to eliminate seeing the same ones over and over.  They aren't on the desktop, I can't see any left in Finder (its a Mac) and there isn't anywhere else to look.

Mate... firstly don't be too concerned about a few technical stuff-ups on your part—it
happens to the best of us at times.  And just between you and me (uh?) I'm getting
more pissed off with all these alleged "advances" in everyday communications.  I just
want a phone that simply makes phone calls LOL.

With screen shots, you need to download an image hosting site such as this one I've
used for a long time:  

https://postimages.org/plugins

You then copy the direct image URL that they produce by pasting it into the "image" icon
drop down box—by clicking the icon at the top of the screen.  You can also resize your
image and/or crop it.

Hope this makes sense.   

I tried imjur and it didn't work well and found a sticky note at the computer about postimages. I had forgotten I had an account there and it worked well before, Well, that's what sticky notes are for, right? As you can see, it worked. Just a bit of catching up... Thanks.

[Aliza]

Moved a conversation about the forum's thread configuration from the introductory post area.

Original location: http://atheistdiscussion.org/forums/show...p?tid=5919

[Cavebear]

I have to ask if you are discussing the solution from a Windows viewpoint. I'm on a Mac. Not that I don't appreciate the help, but I have a $1,000 Windows as a doorstop because I can't figure out how to make it organize anything as I can on my Mac.

[Aliza]

I'm Cavebear.  I just learned today, talking to Dom, that I haven't been seeing the Atheist Discussion Forum the same way most of you do.  For whatever reason, when I open the site, I see "Open Buddy List, View New Posts, View Today's Posts, and Private Messages" across the top of my screen with the logo on the left.  

No forums. No threads.  Just posts.  I never thought to click on the logo.  When I was advised to, I saw specific forums with threads, and specific discussions.  I'm sorry.  I am dumb as a box of rocks.  I stuff broccoli in my socks.  I shine my shoes with cheese.  I didn't know.  

You don't have to change any opinion you have about me, but I am sorry I didn't understand what some of you were saying about conversations.  I wasn't seeing the conversations.

I'll pay better attention to that now that I know about it.  I'm still just "Cavebear" though.  Some things won't change.   Now I have to figure out how to make the screen open as everyone else sees it... It is probably just what I saved as a bookmark originally.

Cavebear

Can you PM me a screen shot?

Hope that works.  Used postimages...

@Cavebear

That's an unexpected choice for a theme. Did you choose that deliberately? 

The screenshot you posted shows you a list of threads that have been updated in the last day; it's not showing you posts, though. You would have to click on each thread to see the posts. What you're missing mostly from this view is the organization of threads in their subforums. 

Take a look at the left side of your screen shot on the portion of the screen that makes up the forum (disregard the menu on the left). Go about halfway down and you'll find the words "Atheist Discussion". This will be near to the words, "Search" and "Results". When you click on that, you'll be on the forum's home page, which presents forums and then the threads and posts can be found within the forums. 

Another way to find the homepage would be to just bookmark this: http://atheistdiscussion.org/forums/

I also noticed that you have 3,108 alerts.... this count can be found immediately to the right of the word "Atheist Discussion" that I directed you to above. Those alerts are there to tell you when someone has replied to you, liked your post, mentioned you, modified your reputation, etc... You're meant to click on that to view and clear your alerts feed.   

Does this help?

[Aliza]

I have to ask if you are discussing the solution from a Windows viewpoint.  I'm on a Mac.  Not that I don't appreciate the help, but I have a $1,000 Windows as a doorstop because I can't figure out how to make it organize anything as I can on my Mac.

I can't help you with Mac, but the forum should work the exact same whether you're on Mac or PC.

[Cavebear]

Can you PM me a screen shot?

Hope that works.  Used postimages...

@Cavebear

That's an unexpected choice for a theme. Did you choose that deliberately? 

The screenshot you posted shows you a list of threads that have been updated in the last day; it's not showing you posts, though. You would have to click on each thread to see the posts. What you're missing mostly from this view is the organization of threads in their subforums. 

Take a look at the left side of your screen shot on the portion of the screen that makes up the forum (disregard the menu on the left). Go about halfway down and you'll find the words "Atheist Discussion". This will be near to the words, "Search" and "Results". When you click on that, you'll be on the forum's home page, which presents forums and then the threads and posts can be found within the forums. 

Another way to find the homepage would be to just bookmark this: http://atheistdiscussion.org/forums/

I also noticed that you have 3,108 alerts.... this count can be found immediately to the right of the word "Atheist Discussion" that I directed you to above. Those alerts are there to tell you when someone has replied to you, liked your post, mentioned you, modified your reputation, etc... You're meant to click on that to view and clear your alerts feed.   

Does this help?

Thank you.

I don't know that I chose the view of the site. But it is what I got used to. And I had no idea it might have been causing a problem. You get used to what you see. I thought the "Today's Posts" were all there were (well older posts would show below if I followed them far enough). But since I wasn't very concerned with posts from months ago, it didn't seem to be a problem.

I've been clicking on the updated posts and then following the right edge up/down arrow down to find the newest ones. because, in my experience, raising and responding to old posts annoys people. I mean, who cares what someone said 3 months ago. It is a bit outdated at best and they may have changed their minds anyway. Or left.

In the view you see, I do click on each thread to see the posts. And I reply to the most recent. I do tend to think in "the present, here and now". Why would I care what polls or posts 3 months ago say about current events now?

I understand that subforums organize threads, but I've never seen that to really matter in daily discussion. I'm not challenging that, just saying that it seems more for archiving and back-research than daily discussion.

I have noticed the alerts. I look at them sometimes to see likes or quote about me, but I didn't know they should be deleted nor that they mattered beyond the time thy were posted. I thought it archival stuff like my personal information on the Control Panel. To be frank, I thought deleting them would be eliminating information I might want to see later. I was a Government worker for 30 years; I tend to default to "save information". It's hardwired.

I gather from your post that I should delete the alerts routinely. I will do so after this reply.

I've been trying out the forums view (Dom's suggestion in PM and I do appreciate the advice he has offerred). I have to say that it feels awkward. Most threads are old and I have to search for the new ones. I'm not sure I'm missing anything by looking at "View Today's Posts" because what I want to see on most threads is what people are saying that day.

But I HAVE been clicking on the logo when I open the site. It doesn't mean that gives me much reason to read old posts, but I am giving it a try. But either way, I'm probably going to be looking at the newest posts.

No harmful intent...

[Cavebear]

I have to ask if you are discussing the solution from a Windows viewpoint.  I'm on a Mac.  Not that I don't appreciate the help, but I have a $1,000 Windows as a doorstop because I can't figure out how to make it organize anything as I can on my Mac.

I can't help you with Mac, but the forum should work the exact same whether you're on Mac or PC.

The forum does but things like where screenshots get saved aren't.