Post by jk on Nov 27, 2023 22:26:44 GMT
I originally posted this information at EH but of course it's equally applicable here. My apologies for not having posted it sooner.
While much of this has been explained before, it's handy to have all such information in one place. Please feel free to add stuff and/or point out anything that's poorly explained -- or undiluted gibberish -- and I'll deal with it. Some of this might seem simplistic but I've seen everything here cause problems in the past.
Editing and deleting posts
It doesn't seem to be common knowledge that you can always edit a post. The one caveat is that once 20 minutes (on this forum) have passed since originally posting, you'll get an unsightly message at bottom right... as you can see here. So if you're editing grammar, correcting typos and/or adding information, you would do well to do so within that time.
The big advantage of being able to edit a post until eternity is that you can, for example, delete or replace embedded videos that have been removed. As for deleting entire posts, click on the "cogwheel" at far right and scroll down. You can also use this feature if you want to retract a post to edit and repost it on the strength of new information received. Go to BBCode and back up the post in question to your PC/tablet/whatever in that format with all the appropriate codes built in (this could save you a lot of work!). Then delete that post here and repost it in the form you'd prefer, maybe elsewhere on the forum. Needless to say, the ability to edit and delete posts can be abused, like anything else.
If a post (or a PM) is proving troublesome to organize (e.g., there's too much redundant space or you're having trouble quoting someone), you can do no better than click on BBCode and sort it out there, checking at Preview as you go. This may seem obvious to some but I spent weeks, maybe months, communicating with a friend in ridiculously oversized PMs before a kind poster pointed me at BBCode!
I've noticed posters quoting another's post occasionally get their response caught up in the quote box, as if it's part of the quote. BBCode can help you there too. It can also help you quote from another post in sections, or even one sentence at a time, by using [ quote ][ /quote ] (without the spacing, which is for demonstration purpose only) for each quoted passage.
Polls
You can only organize a poll in the opening post of a thread. If you forget, save that poll-less opening post to your hard disk, delete the topic and begin again before others join in. If they do, it becomes a job for the mods that could have been avoided.
Uploading images
If the image is on your hard disk, drag it to the Desktop (or anywhere else you consider convenient). Then go online to "postimages.org". Click on "Do not resize my image" and scroll down to "640x480 (for message boards)". Then go to "Choose image", go to Desktop, click on that image and then on "Choose". It will upload in seconds. This gives you a "direct link", which is what you need for posting, so copy that. Click on the little square with a landscape on it at top right (you'll see it when you're creating or editing a post) and paste the direct link into it, making sure the "http://" bit isn't double.
If the image is already online, simply click on the little square and paste the image's URL into it. You can also try dragging the image into the post -- sometimes it's the only way to get an image of, say, an album cover up to a size where you can read the information. So there's that option too.
Shouts
You can always edit a shout. Move the cursor onto your shout and "Edit" will appear at the right. (Click on the X to delete a shout).
Using the Shoutbox on your smartphone
Go to the front page at BBT and scroll all the way down. At bottom right you'll see the word "Desktop". Click on it and it will give you the format you'd get on your PC or laptop, including the Shoutbox. You can then shout as you would on a computer. This works for me on my iPhone, so it should work for you too.
Links to posts/threads at Smiley
This may seem obvious but here 'tis anyway. You can't activate a link to Smiley directly (or at least I can't), presumably due to the comma in the URL. I've found the only way is to copy and paste it into a new window.
While much of this has been explained before, it's handy to have all such information in one place. Please feel free to add stuff and/or point out anything that's poorly explained -- or undiluted gibberish -- and I'll deal with it. Some of this might seem simplistic but I've seen everything here cause problems in the past.
Editing and deleting posts
It doesn't seem to be common knowledge that you can always edit a post. The one caveat is that once 20 minutes (on this forum) have passed since originally posting, you'll get an unsightly message at bottom right... as you can see here. So if you're editing grammar, correcting typos and/or adding information, you would do well to do so within that time.
The big advantage of being able to edit a post until eternity is that you can, for example, delete or replace embedded videos that have been removed. As for deleting entire posts, click on the "cogwheel" at far right and scroll down. You can also use this feature if you want to retract a post to edit and repost it on the strength of new information received. Go to BBCode and back up the post in question to your PC/tablet/whatever in that format with all the appropriate codes built in (this could save you a lot of work!). Then delete that post here and repost it in the form you'd prefer, maybe elsewhere on the forum. Needless to say, the ability to edit and delete posts can be abused, like anything else.
If a post (or a PM) is proving troublesome to organize (e.g., there's too much redundant space or you're having trouble quoting someone), you can do no better than click on BBCode and sort it out there, checking at Preview as you go. This may seem obvious to some but I spent weeks, maybe months, communicating with a friend in ridiculously oversized PMs before a kind poster pointed me at BBCode!
I've noticed posters quoting another's post occasionally get their response caught up in the quote box, as if it's part of the quote. BBCode can help you there too. It can also help you quote from another post in sections, or even one sentence at a time, by using [ quote ][ /quote ] (without the spacing, which is for demonstration purpose only) for each quoted passage.
Polls
You can only organize a poll in the opening post of a thread. If you forget, save that poll-less opening post to your hard disk, delete the topic and begin again before others join in. If they do, it becomes a job for the mods that could have been avoided.
Uploading images
If the image is on your hard disk, drag it to the Desktop (or anywhere else you consider convenient). Then go online to "postimages.org". Click on "Do not resize my image" and scroll down to "640x480 (for message boards)". Then go to "Choose image", go to Desktop, click on that image and then on "Choose". It will upload in seconds. This gives you a "direct link", which is what you need for posting, so copy that. Click on the little square with a landscape on it at top right (you'll see it when you're creating or editing a post) and paste the direct link into it, making sure the "http://" bit isn't double.
If the image is already online, simply click on the little square and paste the image's URL into it. You can also try dragging the image into the post -- sometimes it's the only way to get an image of, say, an album cover up to a size where you can read the information. So there's that option too.
Shouts
You can always edit a shout. Move the cursor onto your shout and "Edit" will appear at the right. (Click on the X to delete a shout).
Using the Shoutbox on your smartphone
Go to the front page at BBT and scroll all the way down. At bottom right you'll see the word "Desktop". Click on it and it will give you the format you'd get on your PC or laptop, including the Shoutbox. You can then shout as you would on a computer. This works for me on my iPhone, so it should work for you too.
Links to posts/threads at Smiley
This may seem obvious but here 'tis anyway. You can't activate a link to Smiley directly (or at least I can't), presumably due to the comma in the URL. I've found the only way is to copy and paste it into a new window.