FROM THE FORUMS By Will Fastie Plus member Chuck wrote to say he wasn’t sure how to make a post in our forums. The comment proved a bit alarming. We h
[See the full post at: How to participate in the forums]

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FROM THE FORUMS By Will Fastie Plus member Chuck wrote to say he wasn’t sure how to make a post in our forums. The comment proved a bit alarming. We h
[See the full post at: How to participate in the forums]
Here’s information on How to Use the Forum:
Getting Started Forum can also be helpful:
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/forum/askwoody-central/getting-started/
I agree with Chuck. Almost everything about the forums is great except for making a new post. I rarely do so which means I have to figure out how to do it each time. I know what trips me up, posting in “Windows 10 version 22H2” requires navigating through Forums » AskWoody support » Windows » Windows 10. I have to stare at each screen and figure out where to go next.
I visited the ‘getting started’ forum when I first joined. Perhaps I missed something so intend to spend time in it again.
By far, I would say that the largest problem in posting in the forum, is the editor box including the swap between Visual tab and Text tab; and using the edit tabs. The edit tabs that function as anticipated depend on your editing privileges.
HTML?
BBCode?
A knowledge, at least rudimentary, of HTML and BBCode is also required.
My post is a mess and I don’t understand why. I did copy/paste but thought I used the “Paste as plain text” context menu option. The composition looked like plain text but it didn’t end up as expected. Perhaps pasting as plain text is what caused the oddities considering the default composition mode is “Visual”.
Regarding new topic posts, I would prefer obvious “Create new topic” links in which the destination forum would be selected, perhaps only in the search results screen to encourage searches first.
Information for removing unwanted HTML after posting:
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/how-to-use-the-forum/#post-2452984
Information for edit tabs while creating a post:
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/how-to-use-the-forum/#post-2452981
Read:
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/how-to-use-the-forum/
For the more than two years that I have been a Plus member, I have scrolled beyond the “Talk Bubbles box” in the Newsletters and then have dithered around, trying to find the page with the “Comment in the Forums” link. The box is so obvious, but I never paid attention to it. I just thought it was a divider between Newsletter articles with a link to the same place that the “Forums” link in the header will take you, and that’s not where I wanted to go. Thanks for REALLY drawing my attention to it in this article!! And, I agree with @b, in that the link in the “Talk Bubbles box” should be more accurately “feedback about this topic”, instead of “our forums”.
the link in the “Talk Bubbles box”
I’ll take feedback from anyone about the precise language you think will be most clear. I’m willing to change the wording for something better.
But be as clear as you can, because the change is more work than you might think. If I’m going to change it again (it’s been altered twice on my watch), I’d like it to stick for a long time. Give me the entire slug as you think it should read in the talk bubbles box and I’ll give all suggestions due consideration.
For the record, the text we inherited at the end of each article read as follows:
“Questions or comments? Feedback on this article is always welcome in the AskWoody Lounge!”
As you can see, the problem with the old one was using “article” for the link. We wanted to be sure we were pointing at the forums instead. We also made the entire box much more prominent because we felt the original was melting into the background.
I just thought it was a divider between Newsletter articles
Yes, I did want a more prominent separator between articles and I feel the talk bubbles box serves that purpose as well. But it’s not the reason for the box.
Please put How to Use the Forum link in the AskWoody sidebar to the right. It would be useful for all.
How to Use the Forum link
I’ll take that one up with Susan.
Note that my goal is to make engagement related to the newsletter articles as easy as possible. General use of the forums is Susan’s bailiwick.
Click here to join the conversation! This AskWoody Newsletter article is available in our forum for your questions, comments, and feedback.
======
Click here would be the link to the article.
Click to join the conversation in our forums about this article! We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.
======
Better?
Done.
I’m probably late to the party here for suggestions about the “Talk bubble box.”
I’m not sure what the link would be in the suggestion of @geekdom at #2543367
But, it seems to me that presently, the link should be “this topic” and not “our forums”, i.e.,
Join the conversation! Your questions, comments, and feedback about this topic are always welcome in our forums!
Maybe, capitalizing it or bolding it (or both) to make it stand out more?
As long as the link is always highlighted, and as long as it’s the only link in the separator box I’ll find it. It does take a bit of observation or experience with the Newsletter to realize the function of the separator and the location of the link, but once learned, this becomes second-nature.
As long as the word “forums” is in the link I’m good. In my web mail service (Yahoo) the link stands out well as blue against the yellow background. And blue as opposed to normal text in black.
I usually log in at least a couple of times a month at the forums just to keep in practice. I often post, but not always, even after logging in.
I support any changes which help more readers find the forum topics.
-- rc primak
It does take a bit of observation or experience with the Newsletter to realize the function of the separator and the location of the link …
That’s horrible news. I made the box bigger and more colorful, added design elements, and changed the wording. Yet folks don’t see it? I’m devastated.
Which is why I want more suggestions.
the link stands out well as blue against the yellow
Yes, the link will always be blue because for every article, the forum topic link is new. Thus it will be blue the first time you see it. However, if you click through you’ll get the “visited” color, which the site uses as the rather standard purple.
However, if you click through you’ll get the “visited” color, which the site uses the rather standard purple.
Personally, I’ve never liked the purple color used as the default for visited links because it’s just too close to the blue used for unvisited links.
So many years ago I added a special site-override .css to my browsers that uses green for visited links to make it easy to ID which links I have/haven’t clicked on a site.
Only the last few “talk bubbles” boxes in AskWoody Plus – 20.12.0 – 2023-03-20 that I received contain a valid link. The first few contain the link text FORUMLINK or nothing at all. A cursory check of a few earlier editions of AskWoody Plus didn’t reveal any other obviously invalid links in the boxes.
That’s horrible news. I made the box bigger and more colorful, added design elements, and changed the wording. Yet folks don’t see it? I’m devastated.
I have never noticed it so I just opened a newsletter to see what you were talking about. I immediately realized that I was not ‘seeing’ it because it looks like an ad banner. I realized that my mind skips anything designed to steal my focus.
Personally, I’ve never liked the purple color used as the default
I don’t like the default blue, either. However, unless I’m building a site from scratch, I use the colors that were originally designed into the site I’m modifying. Our site uses the default blue/purple combo.
That combo is an extremely old default, and thus common.
I immediately realized that I was not ‘seeing’ it because it looks like an ad banner.
There are no ads in the Plus edition of the newsletter. Everything in the Plus edition is there for a functional reason.
In the free edition, all ads are clearly marked with the word “Advertisement.”
In the free edition, all ads are clearly marked with the word “Advertisement.”
But, if we never read the free edition, we don’t know that. It has always stuck me as being something like an ad or merely functioning as a divider (which ads often do).
Topics are in forums, right? And the present link will take you to the topic, right? (It does say Topic in the gray banner at the top.) So, why not make “this topic” the link, instead of “our forums”. I always ignored the “Talk bubbles box” because I always thought the link would take me to the same place that the “Forums” tab (just below the AskWoody banner) would take me and I didn’t want to end up scrolling through all of the choices there to find the right Forum and the right topic. But, the link DOES take you to there — to THE TOPIC. So, “this topic” should be the link.
For correct Forum choices ….. If Browsers are Desktop Software …. ARE Mail Apps, too. Outlook is part of Office BUT I use — outlook.live.com — ONLINE — + EPIM mail app installed. I’ve not seen the words “Mail Apps” & never been able to figure this one out.
W10 Pro 22H2 / Hm-Stdnt Ofce '16 C2R / HP Envy Desk-Ethernet - SSD-HDD/ i5(8th Gen) 12GB / GP=2 + FtrU=Semi-Annual + Feature Defer = 1 + QU=0
I’m probably late to the party here for suggestions about the “Talk bubble box.”
Never too late! All suggestions welcome.
But, if we never read the free edition, we don’t know that.
We make a point that a benefit of Plus membership is no ads. However, we make no mention of that in the Plus newsletter itself.
Should we?
Done.
Susan’s remark relates to her addition of a “How to use the Forums” link in the “Forums” section of the right sidebar of the site.
Let us know if that’s helpful.
Click here would be the link to the article.
As a general rule, I don’t like to make links out of “click” or “click here” or “here.” I prefer that the words in the link give some hint as to where the user will be taken upon the click.
In the same vein, we’re 25 years downstream of the appearance of the Web. Imperatives such as “click here” are no longer needed — everyone knows how to navigate websites. Besides, a whole lot of folks now touch instead of clicking, and I certainly would not change such generic links into “Click or touch here.”
Join the conversation in our forums about this article! We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.
Oh and talk about color controls not working…
<span style=”color: #ff0000;”>Discuss this topic <span style=”color: #333300;”>HERE</span></span>
Color controls work just fine but are not available to regular users. You are a regular user. Read here for information on edit tabs while creating a post:
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/how-to-use-the-forum/#post-2452981
Join the conversation in our forums about this article! We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.
Join the conversation in our forums about this article! We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.
Not bad. Any thoughts on this idea?
I won’t be making this change right away because of the time it takes, so there is plenty of time for this conversation.
So, what words comprise the link?
geekdom wrote:
Join the conversation in our forums about this article! We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.
Not bad. Any thoughts on this idea?
“the conversation,” maybe? I’d like that.
I also thought the ‘bubble’ was a divider between topics (a good idea), and that the ‘forum’ link would only take me to the forum site, not to the topic. I already knew how to get to the forum, so never used it until I was told about it.
One suggestion for rewording: “Your questions, comments and feedback about this topic are always welcome. Click ‘Here’ to go to the Forum and Join the Conversation.”
‘Here’ would be the live link and a different color.
Alternately: “Your questions, comments and feedback are always welcome. Go to the Forum and ‘Join the Conversation’ about this topic.” with ‘Join the Conversation’ being the live link.
You may notice that this is duplicate post. the first time it was posted as Guest, since I had forgotten to login before creating the post. A constant problem for me at this forum. Then I login, have to refresh the page, which then loses my post and have to recreate it if I didn’t remember to copy the post text before logging in and refreshing. Would be nice if there was a warning or request to login, rather than simply continuing as ‘guest’.
Would be nice if there was a warning or request to login, rather than simply continuing as ‘guest’.
If you get asked to enter email address then you are not logged in:
Mail (will not be published) (required):
Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge
Would be nice if there was a warning or request to login, rather than simply continuing as ‘guest’.
If you get asked to enter email address then you are not logged in:
Mail (will not be published) (required):
huh?
huh?
Not sure if I can explain it any better. You only see that line in bold (where you completed your email address on your now-deleted Guest post) if you have forgotten to sign in.
Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge
(where you completed your email address on your now-deleted Guest post)
Why does the now-deleted guest post have to be deleted? Couldn’t it be kept so that it could be used in the new now-logged in post?
There have been many times that I have been logged off in the middle of composing a message. (In other words, I am logged in at the time I navigate to the topic and start composing a post in the message box, but by the time I post, I discovered that I am logged out. So, my message is lost and I have to start over.
This has happened to me so many times that I now compose my message in Word first and then paste it to the message box.
Why does the now-deleted guest post have to be deleted? Couldn’t it be kept so that it could be used in the new now-logged in post?
The logged-in post was already done within two minutes:
You may notice that this is duplicate post. the first time it was posted as Guest, since I had forgotten to login before creating the post.
Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge
That’s horrible news. I made the box bigger and more colorful, added design elements, and changed the wording. Yet folks don’t see it? I’m devastated.
That’s exactly what’s making it look like an ad banner. I think a plain white box with a black border would work better, as long as “Join the conversation” is the link and is bold.
So…. you are still not logged in. Shouldn’t you be logged in by now since you now know about it?
Yes, I usually stay logged in. I don’t know why this time I wasn’t logged in. And as usual, don’t notice the hints.
Sorry about the distraction from topic.
Why does the now-deleted guest post have to be deleted? Couldn’t it be kept so that it could be used in the new now-logged in post?
The logged-in post was already done within two minutes:
My question was a general one, not specific to a particular circumstance.
Generally, we only delete duplicates (unless a rule is broken).
Maybe I didn’t frame my question well. Let me start again.
I’ve found myself in this situation.
1. I am logged in.
2. I start to compose a message.
3. I finish the message and press submit.
4. I find in front of me the screen that Geekdom posts at #2545193, which indicates that, even though I started composing the message while I was logged in, I’m not logged at the point of submission.
5. If I log in now, I lose the message that I have typed into the message box and have to start all over again.
Is there some way for the system to keep the message (instead of discarding it) and to transfer it to the logged-in message box?
Is there some way for the system to keep the message (instead of discarding it) and to transfer it to the logged-in message box?
The short answer is no.
You could copy post content at that stage for paste after sign-in.
But before valid submission it hasn’t been received by the system for moderation, so nothing to either discard or retain yet at the WordPress/bbPress server. Even if there was, how could it be definitively matched with a member and retained until an appropriate signed-in post is somehow identified?
We do sometimes copy text from a guest post to a member post where obviously necessary.
Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge
Do you have some sort of no cookie added in your browser?
I’m not sure who this question is for, but I do have problems with getting logged out as I am composing a message. I don’t get logged out otherwise.
I use Firefox (now 111.0.1) and I use the UBlock origins extension.
Susan,
I would like to mention a recent case of unexpected logout unrelated to entering a reply.
I usually remain logged in. On Monday, as usual for me, I received the Plus Newsletter in my GMail and followed the read online link to the AskWoody site to read through the newsletter. After reading to the end, I hit the Home key to return to the top and clicked on New Posts in the Last Day to see what is new.
I was at first puzzled to see nothing highlighted on the left side column, then saw the logon prompt on the right side. My browser is Firefox 111.0 with Ublock Origin.
But before valid submission it hasn’t been received by the system for moderation, so nothing to either discard or retain yet at the WordPress/bbPress server. Even if there was, how could it be definitively matched with a member and retained until an appropriate signed-in post is somehow identified?
Here’s a good project for AI!!
I agree. The other forums I follow have “auto subscribe to posts that I create or reply to” as an option in preferences. If this exists at Askwoody, I can’t find it. I don’t see much in the way of preferences here.
Oddly, I do see it checked for this reply. Is it because I checked it for a previous reply?
We keep very little in the way of information about users. Think that should change?
For the most part, no. I don’t see a need for a big change. The only item I go to preferences for in other forums is to set the default ‘notify me of posts’ when I post to a thread.
Makes sense to me to simply have the box default to checked when users reply. If there’s a reason to not have it checked, I’m not aware of it. Do most users not want to see replies in threads they’ve voluntarily joined? They can uncheck it if that’s their preference. There’s also the possibility of adding an ‘unsubscribe me’ button.
From what I’m reading here (and elsewhere in the forum), many aren’t posting in the forum because they don’t know how, don’t feel comfortable doing so, or are frustrated by the posting process.
From what I’m reading here (and elsewhere in the forum), many aren’t posting in the forum because they don’t know how, don’t feel comfortable doing so, or are frustrated by the posting process
Count me as one of these. Finding this topic to make this post after logging in was not intuitive, even after spending a good bit of time trying to figure out how to navigate the forum.
BTW, I do not support the proposal of turning on “Notify me of follow-up replies…” by default. It is valuable when posting for help but not when posting an experience or opinion in a topic for which you don’t have anything more to contribute or don’t have an interest in beyond contributing your two cents.
So I want to focus on this. what about that link on the side would make it easier to find where to post?
As a aside I believe I reviewed the “auto check” in the past and given that I’m a person who HATES auto sign ups and really wants a person to make the choice to sign up I decided against it. As PK has pointed out, if you forget, just go to the top of the thread and subscribe.
Susan Bradley Patch Lady
what about that link on the side would make it easier to find where to post?
Yes, that link (“Comment in the Forums”) is always what I look for to make my first post in the forum after reading a Newletter piece or after reading a Blog post. Because I’ve been notified in e-mail that that forum has come to exist, that’s generally how I get into that particular Newletter forum or that particular blog forum. Then, I make a point of subscribing so that I will receive in my e-mail a link to any posts that follow, which I click on in my e-mail to get back into that forum and then I go from there.
So, links in my e-mail are the starting point when it comes to the Newsletter and Blog posts, after which I look for the “Comment in the Forums” link as illustrated in your screenshot. If you removed that “Comment in the Forums” link at the place where you show it in your screenshot, I’d be really discombobulated. If you repeated it on the side, that would be OK, but please don’t remove it from where it is now.
So I want to focus on this. what about that link on the side would make it easier to find where to post?
Blog posts and news articles on other sites have comment links at the bottom, not at the top.
Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge
Blog posts and news articles on other sites have comment links at the bottom, not at the top.
Most commonly when the entire post is displayed.
The blog on this site (the home page) displays only a blurb for newsletter articles, which are very short. However, when viewing a full article in the newsletter, whether the reading on-site or in the email, the bottom of an article is exactly where we place the “comment” link in the Talk Bubbles box.
We’re unlikely to move the comment links for posts in the blogs elsewhere. Those links have been in place for quite some time, well before Susan took the reins. And we just made a programmatic change to the way they are handled.
We’re unlikely to move the comment links for posts in the blogs elsewhere.
From the Home tab (just below the 2nd orange “divider”), was it mistakenly omitted here?
was it mistakenly omitted here?
Nope, that was deliberate. Compliments on your eagle eye.
This was the change to which I alluded. Prior to this week, it was not possible to prevent a post to the blog from having a forum topic. This was due to the original site designers not seeing any reason for not including the link (probably reasonable at the time) combined with an error in the WordPress plugin that is used to automate forum topic creation.
In the years before Susan’s reign, the “From the forums” (FTF) feature was included in the newsletter but not presented in the blog. A characteristic of FTF is that it usually discusses other forum topics and provides links to those. Observe the “The forums, and networking” FTF post, which does exactly that.
Simply stated, we don’t want a topic associated with the FTF post – we want readers to get direct links to the forum posts under discussion. And now with this change, we can include FTF in the blog, which we felt was useful.
The developer of the plugin corrected its problems (for which Susan made a generous donation) and I modified the site’s code to behave in this new manner.
So if you don’t see the link, it means there is no forum topic associated with the post.
The use of our “new” feature will be rare.
In the last newsletter “AskWoody Plus – 20.12.0 – 2023-03-20 – Making Windows 11 on Arm less obnoxious”, all the story forum links seem to be broken.
Join the conversation! Your questions, comments, and feedback
about this topic are always welcome in our forums!
The hot link sends me to:
Which obviously is wrong. I suspect this has something to do with this topic.
Can you issue an update for that newsletter with the links working?
Thanks.
all the story forum links seem to be broken
Actually, just two of them. They were fixed last Monday for the online newsletter but there was nothing I could do about the email.
I suspect this has something to do with this topic.
No, it had to do with me. I made an error when preparing the final copy of the newsletter.
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