April 15, 2005

Muddled-up Posting George On the physics of posting: One thing that always gets to me is that i still can't remember off by heart the recipe for the html for links, all that stuff. Do monkeys have secret techniques to make the posting of links easier? The other thing that's difficult is finding out whether there's been any new comments on ancient threads that you're interested in. (I'll be darned if someone's going to get the last word in!) It would be nice if it showed me all new comments that have come up on all threads i've posted to?
posted by StoryBored 19 years ago
  • What brought this on: I was in a rush but i wanted to recommend a specific book for the Typographic George posting earlier this evening. I pasted an Amazon URL into my post. It looks like web barf. Stop me before i barf again.
  • Firefox extension 'makelink'
  • whether there's been any new comments on ancient threads that you're interested in. Updates show up in the sidebar regardless of when the initial thread was posted. In "profile," set the "Recent comments to display" field to an insanely high number (like 10,000) so you don't miss anything. Older posts appear at the top. Of course, you have to remember which ones you're interested in and keep an eye out for them in the sidebar.
  • Bookmarking is your friend.
  • Derail: Fucking a Fireplace - is your username a reference to the dodgy old English adage about sex with the ugly that 'you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire'? I had a flashback to my callow youth receiving all sorts of dubious advice from crusty old workmates.
  • No, I really am fucking a fireplace.
  • Thanks for the clarification. Isn't there a danger of major cock burn?
  • how did you know my name is Cockburn?
  • Major Cockburn: rugged, go-get-em, man of action!
  • Major Cockburn. Right, I'll fuck off now.
  • Just learn the html tags and use 'em some for a while, otherwise the stuff dribbles out of short-term memory into the Vasty Deep.
  • Before I memorized the html tags, I used to have two windows open: the one I was composing the post in, and the one that showed the html cheat sheet (listed under Posting Guidlines in the side bar).
  • I find that administering myself a quite noticeable but reasonably safe electric shock when I forget something helps me remember it in the future.
  • I have a text file with <a href=""></a> copied about seven times. I paste in the urls, write the text around the links, and paste the lot into the post box. For posts with several links, it's easier than writing it all in the post box and saves typing out the code over and over. If you have trouble remembering, you could use something like <a href="URL HERE">LINK TEXT HERE</a>
  • Heh, Plegs - I've got exactly that stuck to the filing cabinet next to my desk so I can post while pretending to work...
  • I sort of do the same thing as Plegmund...I have a text clipping on the desk top that says... MonkeyFilter I left the monkeyfilter url and the word monkeyfilter in so I wouldn't screw up where to paste in what i want.... I just drag it into the text box when i need it.. I'm on a mac, if you're on a pc ymmv.
  • That's what I do, too - on my PC desktop I have a shortcut to a Notepad file with all the codes in it. Copy, paste.
  • Ach, I just type it all out, speculating the while on the mysterious A. Href and wondering how s/he came, oddly embedded, so close to fame and yet so far from immortality.
  • i have the coding in a word file that i keep open so i can just toggle back and forth and do a copy/paste
  • I wonder if A.Href plays Hnefatafl?
  • 'you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire' I'm filing that away, thank you very much.
  • I'm like beeswacky, I just managed to memorize it, probably by pronouncing it in my head - aaa hrefff - a href is a short fat gray creature kind of like a rhino & kind of like a hippo, he goes and fetches the website for you - However I got cocky with my vast html knowledge with the work website only to be told by the real web guy that my html was soooo old and passe and no good anymore. Sigh.
  • As a total l337 h4Xx0r, I must now slap you all Moe-style. *slap!-ap!-ap!* Spread owwwt! Ya chuckleheads! Gimme that pipe wrench! actually whatever works, works y'know? but really 'a href' and 'img src' and the rest are not that hard to remember. Brushing one's teeth however - good to have a post-it note reminder on the inside of the front door some days eh?
  • There's a piece of paper in my desk drawer with all the html codes on it. Recently I realized I've got the codes memorized, because I've always had to type them (rather than copy & paste).
  • I don't mean to malign you, but you made me feel really young just now. That never, ever happens. Thank you. I'd cast a suggestion for a paper/sticky-note cribsheet rather than a copy/paste text if you're at all a "learn by doing" sort. This will lead you to type it in every time, which may help to establish it in your memory - and you will still get it right every time as long as you give it a once-over. But like anything else, it sticks after repetition.
  • ...I just reiterated what Mickey said, come to think of it. blargh! Uh, seconded, then.
  • Thanks everyone!! You guys are great. I used to have a sticky-note thing but i keep losing it on my messy desk. I'll give that Firefox extension a try, F.A. Fireplace. If it don't work, i'll nail that sticky-note to the side of my monitor.
  • I think i'll also try the text file template approach suggested by Plegmund!
  • Is blogger being hateful these days, or is it just me? I'm getting all backed up over here....
  • Methinks Google is doing some overhauling, and it's gumming up the works.