missing avatars

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win10 pro version 20H2 (OS Bld 19042.928)

No member avatars are appearing . Anyone having this issue of late? I personally did not ‘join’ gravatar so it’s not a case of mine missing, just everyone else’s.

 

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Mine is still here for me. Are you using a/v or firewall to block the avatars as it’s an external service.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Sorry for the delay, but no I am using all the same software (Bit Defender) and no settings regarding avatars.

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I am still seeing those generic avatars missing in cyberSAR’s picture. So it is not a general problem at the moment.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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The Avatars AND the Graphics have disappeared for me.
I cannot use the Visual tab for entry.
There are NO edit functions in the entry box.
Looking at my NoScript, I am finding an unknown site trying to add scripts “rocketcdn.me”
Not about to allow this!!!!

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When using noscript, without rocketcdn.me which is a backend utility to speed up the site, gravatar and images simply do not display. You need to allow it, then all is SNAFU.
Although more concerning is the amount of cookies nine as anon (just a visitor) TWENTY ONE! as a signed in member AND non compliance to GDPR/ePR as well on checking cookiebot.

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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This hasn’t happened before until today.
And the fact that you put the url in your post has evidently allowed it’s intrusion, b/c I see the Avatars and graphics now.

So, then, I’m off the site till it goes away.
Not going to go along with this.

4 users thanked author for this post.

Mele20, OscarCP, Cee Arr, Fred

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GDPR/ ePR is a big thing and if it says no, NO it is.
Then you have US laws in the state of Virginia and Canadian PIPEDA..
more info: https://www.cookiebot.com/en/

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

1 user thanked author for this post.

Fred

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It’s the cache plug WP Rocket in that MillaN recommended as preferable over the W3 cache.  It speeds up the site (I put a notice in the Admin forum about this)  It didn’t just start today we moved over earlier this week on his recommendation.  It is GDPR compliant.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Susan Bradley wrote:

It’s the cache plug WP Rocket in that MillaN recommended as preferable over the W3 cache.  It speeds up the site (I put a notice in the Admin forum about this)  It didn’t just start today we moved over earlier this week on his recommendation.  It is GDPR compliant.

So would it not have been courtesy, to members and anons, to post publicly opposed to the private mods section..I’d certainly have thought so. Always after the event with an apology or distraction of sorts.

Who is this milan? a cyberpunk, hacker or what? there has been no formal introduction either on the public side so how do we all know??

rocket gizmo may be GDPR compliant but, there are obviously other things that are not, based on a request submitted and returned from cookiebot.
Perhaps posting as anon would be safer.

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

4 users thanked author for this post.

Mele20, Cee Arr, OscarCP, wavy

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He codes up the bbpress toolbox plug in and is extremely knowledgeable in what a big database site like this one needs to stay healthy.  We were using W3 cache and he recommended that we get rid of it from the site.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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rocketcdn.me
Looks like a Word Press thing. Not GOOD!!! Reply does not work for me as well as having lost graphics.

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

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Yes good, it speeds up the site so that wherever you are in the world you get the same speed.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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As Susan said above, RocketCDN speeds up the site no matter where in the world you are. But, from what I found, it’s also a paid (not free) optional (not included) add-on for WordPress sites. Did a Google search for ricketcdn.me, and part of the results was a question and answer area. One of the questions was “What is RocketCDN?”, and the answer is displayed below:

<span class=”ILfuVd NA6bn”><span class=”hgKElc”><b>RocketCDN</b> is WP Rocket’s custom content delivery network. It is an optional, paid subscription service. Using a CDN will help improve the loading time of your website for visitors that are far away from where your server is located.</span></span>

From the sounds of things in the posts above, it delivers on its promise by using tracking methodologies that have run afoul of anti-trackers, including Firefox’s, so perhaps there’s a better way to use the proceeds from the Plus members so generously supporting the site.

I use FF 88.0.1, and since Saturday morning, I have had the same issue as Don in his original post. To get around it, I have to change the block list in the Custom settings of Firefox’s tracking prevention to level 1 from level 2 to get the site to display correctly, and I get a warning about rocketcdn in the tracking prevention report from FF. I also have to drop it to get the CAPTCHA to work properly as well.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

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I’m paying for this service to ensure that readers from around the world get the same responsiveness.  As main server is located in the Central part of the US those overseas are impacted by the distance. This ensures that readers in different parts of the world get the same speed.  It’s not tracking you personally, it’s matching you up to a local content server.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I would say a warning for those of us that use script blockers it would have been nice to have, say a 3 or 4 day warning.
Glad you are still improving the site. Best..

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

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I don’t use a script blocker so I wasn’t aware of the side effect.  My apologies.  The main thing it’s trying to speed up is images, ergo why the avatars were the first to be impacted.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

1 user thanked author for this post.

Alex5723

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I have found that the main reason why some long threads take long to load, for me at least, here in the Eastern US of A, is the browser I am using.

For example, loading the thread on “Are these the best performances of classical music”, that by now is a long one, may take close to 30 seconds with Waterfox, but only a fraction of that with Chrome.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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I live in Europe and I’ve never had any problem with site responsiveness. It’s always loaded instantly for me, including the images, so I question if this is actually even a problem. Obviously there are going to be some parts of the world where it is slower than Europe, but has there been feedback that the site is not loading well for some people?

Either way, given that this plugin is causing people to have to lower their tracking settings in their browsers just to use the site properly it certainly doesn’t seem like a particularly great addition. Personally, I’d trust Mozilla rather than the authors of the plugin to tell me whether it’s tracking or not!

6 users thanked author for this post.

Cee Arr, OscarCP, NaNoNyMouse, Microfix, wavy, Fred

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sorry to say, but it’s it all about total control

* _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *

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First off, my apologies – several of your posts ended up in a spam filter and I didn’t realize it until I had already cleared out the spam filters tonight – which I do because the task I set up to do it doesn’t work – another of my todo fix things on my list of things that need fixing on the site.

There isn’t total control on this site, far from it. Rather it’s me trying to balance the attackers trying to get us from the wordpress that is not easy to keep patched.  Wordfence – which one of the best well known firewall for WordPress has issues with the use of vpns.  Quite a few of AskWoody users use them and quite frankly not all of the IP addresses offered up by these services have the greatest of reputations. So it is not intentional blocking but rather computers just trying to keep up with other computers. If you or anyone gets blocked, please let me know so I can whitelist you. Note that behavior by wordfence is not new.

Next my intent is to make the site faster and have the same speed for all users no matter where you are in the world. The server is located in the Central USA and the farther away you are, the slower it is. Ergo the use of the content delivery that shares out the images (the major slow down) to other locations closer to the readers.  I don’t use firefox’s noscript service as I interact with too many websites on a daily basis so unfortunately while I tested the impact of moving to the recommended caching plug in/service recommended to me, I was not aware of all of the impact to all.  It’s hard to test for all interactions is my only defense.

We do have a site set up to test things, clearly I need to ensure I set up more testing betas (gee sound a bit like Microsoft don’t I?)

Again my apologies if I’m a bit like a big company and not warning you when changes occur. I can only say that I wasn’t aware of the impact when I tested it.  Again the service is only trying to determine your location to speed up your access.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me at sb@askwoody.com if you have any issues.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I use Firefox – I have no intention of changing browsers.
I have allowed cookies from AskWoody – now there are twenty-six (26) when logged in. Are they all necessary?
I use NoScript to prevent websites for executing scripts I don’t want – I have no intention of reducing/turning off my security controls that don’t affect usage of other sites.
And I have never had speed problems accessing this site.

Currently, I see no Avatar icons or graphics when anon or logged in.
Half the time I cannot use the Visual tab when posting. And often there are no Editing buttons in the Text tab.
The site has become almost unusable for me.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Cee Arr, CADesertRat, Fred

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See screenshot

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What occurs when you click on the visual tab?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Nothing. It doesn’t work. I can’t access the Visual tab.

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I’ve opened a ticket with Rocket.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I’m having difficulty reading the ms-defcon indicator, as I’m partially blind, so does this site no longer accomodate the accessibility challenged like myself? I think it was Elly who encouraged and helped people with accessibility issues, although this change seems to be aa hinderance more than a help.

Alan

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We actually had it designed to increase accessibility with it being bigger and more obvious.   Are the numbers not big enough?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Thank you for your reply ms susan. for my eyes, the background color contrasts too much with the foreground indicators. Perhaps a dark backgound with white text as a suggestion.? more vibrant colors on the indicators? The problem is the similarity in colors, which merge and create blur.  The size can only be determined when the blurryness is removed.

Alan

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Can you try it now?  And apologies as we meant to put the alt-text up and forgot.  When you hover over the images it will give you the wording that’s up there.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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It’s OK the AW Team is at hand – it will be alright in the end.

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Yes we will make it better.  Like I said the reason for the change was to increase accessibility and readability.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I have received comments about the speed from places overseas.  Content delivery networks are just to help a site deliver the best speed world wide.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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The following are excerpts of the cookiebot report for askwoody:

The domain http://www.askwoody.com has been analyzed by Cookiebot to determine if it
is compliant with EU regulations on the use of cookies and online tracking.

Your website is: Not compliant

The requirements to make your website GDPR/ePR compliant
In addition to fulfilling the tested requirements, Cookiebot can also help you:

* Inform your visitors in plain language about the purpose of your cookies and
trackers before setting other than strictly necessary cookies (ePR)….

Subsequent info has been fulfilled in the Posts and Privacy section

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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I requested a report – haven’t yet received it – I’ll update accordingly.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Could I ask you a favor?  Can you forward the report to sb@askwoody.com?  I requested it hours ago and it hasn’t been sent.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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People have been receiving messages right after posting something that tell them the content has been blocked and to contact user support. It has happened to me and others, but it turned out to be an overly-eager content filter’s glitch. This filter, I understand, has been installed to save MVPs some of the labor involved in policing every single of the, by now, almost innumerable postings that are made (often quite redundantly) every single day. I do sympathize.

However, I have had reports of people getting that message with the added information that they have been “Forbidden. Sender Blacklisted” followed by no explanatory emailed message, as in the case of ordinary deletions. So this looks like another of that over-eager filter glitches. And that is definitively not good progress, in my opinion

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

1 user thanked author for this post.

Mele20

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If anyone ever gets a message about being blacklisted, PLEASE follow the instructions and email me and I can white list you.  The filter in particular is ensuring that new users/those registering for the first time are filtered.  I’ll review with the plug in author the issues we’ve been having.

Thank you for understanding.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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generic avatars are back….
Apologies for the huge screenshot…seems I’ve forgotten how to set the size using irfanview

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

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i don’t see any pictures (not even msdefcon) if i don’t allow that rocketcdn thingamajigs.
i won’t allow that. askwoody didn’t need it up to today so why now? i don’t get it!

could you please display msdefcon status in plain text as fallback so one can see status?
as i said, i won’t allow any third party spying thing which wasn’t necessary until today.

PC: Windows 7 Ultimate, 64bit, Group B
Notebook: Windows 8.1, 64bit, Group B

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It is not a third party spying – it’s a service part of the caching plug in to speed up the site for all users.  I’ve now disabled it but unfortunately for anyone overseas the site speed/slowness will be what it is.

 

 

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

1 user thanked author for this post.

Sky

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Well I’m overseas and wish you’d leave things alone. And yes, it is like MS and to quote the famed Woody we are “guinea pigs” for new plugins etc.etc. Run a survey prior to making changes and see what members want before dumping it on them. The new defcon looks awfully like a poker machine cum pin ball whatever. The new yellow is not the best. More unnecessary changes for change sake. If it ain’t broke!!  Less is better.

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Cee Arr wrote:

The new defcon looks awfully like a poker machine cum pin ball whatever. The new yellow is not the best. More unnecessary changes for change sake. If it ain’t broke!! Less is better.

I wholeheartedly agree. I don’t have a problem with contrast or “off” colors, etc and I now see the wording on mouse hover. But the new defcon icons panel is childish and amateurish looking! While I was never a fan of the mustard yellow color on the right column, the current shade of yellow is worse as it is garish, harsh on the eyes. It makes one want to leave the site as it is not inviting. Colors have a lot to do with the quality of one’s monitor. I only use stand alone Dell wide screen Ultra Sharps so I don’t think the problem is is due to an inferior cheap monitor with poor color.

Plus, I keep wanting to erase those three vertical white lines running down the right side of the white portion of the page. They are not on both sides and I can’t see an easy, useful reason for them on one side. They make the site “busy” looking and that kind of visual irritation can be lethal for those bothered by it. Plus, what happened to the background texture? The background texture on the yellow made the site seem less Halloweenish.

Anyhow, I agree with others in this thread who think we should have been asked first and given a chance to give our feedback.

I too have 26 cookies for this site (on Basilisk). I would have put getting that number pared way down far ahead of changing the yellow shade or the look of the Defcon avatars.

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The looks of the DEFCON do not bother me, because now I have a Mac, so have no need to look at it (*).  To me the new color of the right bar is not an improvement, nor a worsening of the page’s looks, but the more sober previous look and the wood-grain background had  a certain je ne sais quoi. The one thing that really bugs me, and continues to bug me, is the portrait of Woody, that looks kind of shifty-eyed and much too pleased with himself.

(*) As you might know, or might not, my postings are totally emoji-free, so you’ll just have to do the mental work necessary to figure out if I am being ironic or dead serious.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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I always just assumed the woodgrain panels were put there by Woody because it was the Ask Woody website.  Things are easier to read now with the pumpkin orange side panel.

Being 20 something in the 70's was much more fun than being 70 something in the 20's.

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PKCano wrote:

I use Firefox – I have no intention of changing browsers.
I have allowed cookies from AskWoody – now there are twenty-six (26) when logged in. Are they all necessary?
I use NoScript to prevent websites for executing scripts I don’t want – I have no intention of reducing/turning off my security controls that don’t affect usage of other sites.
And I have never had speed problems accessing this site.

Currently, I see no Avatar icons or graphics when anon or logged in.
Half the time I cannot use the Visual tab when posting. And often there are no Editing buttons in the Text tab.
The site has become almost unusable for me.

Peculiar to wander around in a non-tested site where there are constantly changes…. Is this websecurity_4.0?

* _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *

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Susan Bradley wrote:

It is not a third party spying – it’s a service part of the caching plug in to speed up the site for all users.  I’ve now disabled it but unfortunately for anyone overseas the site speed/slowness will be what it is.

 

 

Like this, Speed is fine, and good anough at any part. Even with Android. Like any site.NNothing wrong with that. I will not lower my security either.   🤔

 

* _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *

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While I’m delighted that the new plugin has been removed, there seem to have been some odd problems introduced, specifically the ‘new’ icon next to unread posts doesn’t disappear until I post a reply to that same thread, and leaving thanks doesn’t appear until I post a reply to that same thread (well, it appears, but when I refresh the page it is gone).

For example, I thanked Susan for her above post in this thread and thanked someone else in another thread, but both disappeared upon refreshing the page. Upon making this post the thanks on Susan’s post appeared again, but the thanks in the other post still hasn’t.

The ‘Topics with my reply’ page has yet to update for either thread also.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Microfix, OscarCP

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As an experiment, I tried thanking Sky’s comment above, and then refreshed the page. As Sky reported in his case, the OscarCP “Thanks” disappeared” right away.

So I went to look at something else, came back, and my “Thanks” was back in place and quite visible. I hope it also can be seen by you, the one looking at this right now. Otherwise, do mention its second disappearance in a reply.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

1 user thanked author for this post.

Microfix

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Sky wrote:

I thanked Susan for her above post in this thread and thanked someone else in another thread, but both disappeared upon refreshing the page. Upon making this post the thanks on Susan’s post appeared again, but the thanks in the other post still hasn’t.

Sky, getting the same behaviour here on your thanks above. Thanks for pointing that out.

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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It may take a few hours to clear the cache out from all browsers.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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So one would assume that it’s ok to use Microsoft Trademark colour scheme in the new MS-Defcon graphic, is this in breach of TM and Copyright policy..Yes it’s the same colours as the Windows 7 logo in the same arrangement..to quote the late andrew sachs (manuel) from Faulty Towers, ‘I know nothhhhhing’

MSFT Trademark Usage

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

2 users thanked author for this post.

Cee Arr, OscarCP

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Definitely not Susan’s day.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

3 users thanked author for this post.

Cee Arr, cyberSAR, CADesertRat

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FWIW
On Acer A515-54G-73WC using win10 pro version 20H2 (OS Bld 19042.928) the avatars are as shown in the 1st post.No specialized avatars. I posted a reply to my own post stating they were back to normal. Wrong because  I didn’t realize I was using an older machine (acer e5-576G-5762) (win10 pro version 20H2 (OS Bld 19042.928) where the avatars DO appear as they ever have.

Has the nested reply by dbl click been done away with?

 

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