Babs
HCI Forum Board Member
Posts: 589
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Post by Babs on Jan 8, 2010 10:34:59 GMT -5
David, I would say making the change so that only "members" can post is an excellent idea. It would save both wasted time and energy which can be put to better use than eliminating "garbage" others seem to find amusing to post. I will never understand the reasoning behind why people do this other than just to annoy someone else?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2010 11:18:26 GMT -5
David,
You have my full support.
George
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Post by David Sechrest on Jan 8, 2010 14:19:53 GMT -5
Ok, it is done.
From this point forward, all new accounts must be approved by a staff member before their account becomes active.
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Post by David Sechrest on Jan 8, 2010 14:22:42 GMT -5
I also made a board change where you have to sign in to be able to read the board. Sorry, but this is a necessity.
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Babs
HCI Forum Board Member
Posts: 589
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Post by Babs on Jan 8, 2010 14:50:17 GMT -5
We will just all have to remember this little change as I normally don't bother to sign in if I just have a minute or two to check things, (i.e. first thing in the morning I usually just pop in for a second)... I will now change that habit and always sign in. Thanks David and whatever we need to do is fine with me, we've got to keep this so those silly ads and gibberish are not constantly appearing and making "busy work" for Richard and you.
Modified: Jan. 10th: It does seem like a few complaints have caused David to return things they way they were and yes, I do understand about the library but I also think that the wasted time "someone" has to spend is just ridiculous. I sure wouldn't want to have to be that "someone". Whatever works David! It does only take an extra second folks!
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Post by Jason Hatton on Jan 8, 2010 23:30:32 GMT -5
I also made a board change where you have to sign in to be able to read the board. Sorry, but this is a necessity. David/Richard, I completely understand and applaud your efforts to force posters to become members first. I really think this will cut down on the amount of spam. However, I do want to throw my two cents in regarding logging in to see/read the boards. We do use these boards quite often at the library to refer patrons and answer questions. As you know they are a treasure trove of great information. Forcing a login to see/read the boards will make things much more difficult for us here at the library to use. Not only that but I think that it also has the unintended consequence of keeping this great information hidden. One of the reasons that these message boards have become so popular is that you can read the great history and information without having to mess with logging in. Unfortunately, I think that forcing a login will keep people from seeing the wonderful treasures. As I said, this is just my two cents worth. I know you need to do whatever is necessary to keep the site funtioning properly without many wasted hours spent dealing with spam. However, I would advocate that perhaps you try just forcing a login for posting and see how that affects the spamming. Jason
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RER
HCI Forum Board Member
"Democracy & Freedom"
Posts: 2,462
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Post by RER on Jan 9, 2010 9:14:21 GMT -5
Ref: Jason's comments and David's efforts to stop trash or spam postings.
Jason has a good point and well stated. I wonder if most trash or spam occurs after 11:00 PM daily? Then I wonder if it is possible to only change the boards to sign in starting at 11:00 PM until Richard or David opens it up like it was before. Just a thought because I don't know what you can do according to the boards procedures etc.
I support whatever you determine in any event, but Jason's comment about the library viewers is well taken. I have some friends that read the boards but are not members, so there is some impact by forcing the sign-in. Knowing David and Richard as I do, they will figure out the best, to reduce trash/spam deletion times. ___________________
Nancs and I have been discussing a little through email on the trash and sign-in thing. Here is my last comments to Nancs to add to the discussion:
"Thanks Nancs.............on the boards questions. If they have pre-approval to be a member that is good. If they can open and close the boards on sign-in (as I suggested) that might reduce the garbage/trash/spam for many hours. China is bad on that stuff and on a different time zone; while most of us are sleeping.
I don't know how hard it would be for example to start sign in at 11:00 PM (or 10:00 PM) and then open it up at say 8:00 AM (or 9:00 AM). It was just a thought but would control the trash for 10 or 11 hours a day maybe."
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nancs
HCI Forum Board Member
Posts: 948
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Post by nancs on Jan 9, 2010 9:25:27 GMT -5
I have been procrastinating on making a comment about the board changes------------truly not knowing just how to express myself on this issue--------- Well, I waited, and BINGO--------Jason and RER/Bob beautifully caputured some of my concerns, and put them into words. Thanks, guys. I can completely understand how all the 'garbage posts' are so time consuming to remove, and are quite a distraction to the regular readers and contributors. Thanks again, to one and all, for recognizing all the various slants one must take to continue to 'make these message boards a GIANT contribution to the history of Columbus.' Nanc
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jdhinkle
HCI Forum Board Member
LITTLE HINK
Posts: 330
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Post by jdhinkle on Jan 9, 2010 12:00:51 GMT -5
I THOUGHT I WOULD ADD SOME THOUGHTS TO THE DISCUSSION BEING AN OLD COMPUTER PROGRAMMER AND ANALYST I AM NOT CONVINCED THE GIBBERISH IS SPAM I THINK THERE MAY BE SOME BUGS IN THE SCRIPTS THAT INTERFACE WITH OUR WEBSITE
A YEAR OR SO AGO THERE WAS A GIBERISH THAT I GOT A COPY OF FROM RICHARD IT WAS POSTED TO THE ATTERBURY THREAD
IN LOOKING THRU THE GIBBERISH IT APPEARED TO HAVE ITEM THAT LOOKED LIKE PARTS OF LIST THAT LED BACK TO ONE OF THE THREE ADS AT THE TOP
I AGREE IT WILL BE TOUGHER ON GETTING PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THE BOARD
HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO VISIT THE SITE WITH LOOK CAPABILITY ONLY
I SURE YOU ARE AWARE THAT SOME PEOPLE WILL LOOK BUT WILL NOT WANT TO JOIN
IM GOING TO SNOOP AROUND AND SEE IF I CAN GET ANY TECHNICAL HELP
JACK HINKLE
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Post by David Sechrest on Jan 9, 2010 14:21:51 GMT -5
Jason, you bring up some excellent points that I had not considered.
Maybe it would be best to go back to the way things were and just deal with junk postings.
I have made the change so that the board can be viewed without logging in.
I do appreciate everyone's input!
Sorry for any inconvenience that was caused by the change.
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Post by David Sechrest on Apr 28, 2010 22:14:01 GMT -5
For those of you familiar with this message board, you know by now that you can find a link to the most recent posts at the bottom of the main/welcome page in an area labeled FORUM STATISTICS. I've changed the count from 35 to 40.
I also changed the number of posts/replies per page from 10 to 15, and I might even kick that number up to 20 if all goes well with 15.
A couple of other changes:
The LIFE MAGAZINE Category has been moved just under Life In Columbus Indiana Throughout The Decades
Also, the Flood Of 2008 Thread has been moved into the General Discussion Topics Category
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Post by David Sechrest on Jun 11, 2010 9:10:15 GMT -5
Hi All!
If anyone here is in contact with Julian Piercefield, could you please email me?
Thanks very much!
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Post by David Sechrest on Oct 28, 2010 2:01:13 GMT -5
Since no one was using the Columbus Indiana Classifieds Thread, I deleted it.
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Post by David Sechrest on Oct 28, 2010 19:36:45 GMT -5
Last night, I noticed while looking through some old Threads, that pictures weren't showing up. I can't remember which pages I was looking at, but when I hit the "refresh" button, they loaded. (I use Mozilla Firefox as my internet browser). I don't know why pictures sometime disappear on the pages. One thing I want to let everyone know is, neither Richard nor I will ever delete your pictures.I have a feeling the problem lies with the service you use to store your pictures on the internet. I stopped using ImageShack because it seemed like a lot of the pictures I would post would disappear after a period of time. I created an account with Photobucket ( photobucket.com/), and since I've been using Photobucket, I've not had any pictures disappear. Photobucket is a free image hosting website. You can store up to 1 gig of pictures for free. If you find you are having problems with this, first try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, check the URL of the picture you copied and ensure it's correct. If it still doesn't show up, try using another host such as Photobucket and see if you have the same problem. I wish I had an answer to this, but I don't. There are so many wonderful pictures here that I would hate it if any of them couldn't be viewed. I don't think the problem is with ProBoards. I think it lies with the hosting service you use to store your pictures online. If you find that you do have continuing problems with your pictures, drop me a message.
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nancs
HCI Forum Board Member
Posts: 948
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Post by nancs on Oct 29, 2010 9:16:33 GMT -5
Hi to all, with regard to this post of David's----------am about 100% certain that nearly all of the photos that I have posted, are NO longer there----------and in my case, am also certain stems from 'where' I had them stored...........................Given time, eventually I will try and re-do...........for the moment, aside from caregiving, am knee deep in my local community on a variety of issues..................and extra time, I just don't seem to have. Best to all, Nanc Last night, I noticed while looking through some old Threads, that pictures weren't showing up. I can't remember which pages I was looking at, but when I hit the "refresh" button, they loaded. (I use Mozilla Firefox as my internet browser). I don't know why pictures sometime disappear on the pages. One thing I want to let everyone know is, neither Richard nor I will ever delete your pictures.I have a feeling the problem lies with the service you use to store your pictures on the internet. I stopped using ImageShack because it seemed like a lot of the pictures I would post would disappear after a period of time. I created an account with Photobucket ( photobucket.com/), and since I've been using Photobucket, I've not had any pictures disappear. Photobucket is a free image hosting website. You can store up to 1 gig of pictures for free. If you find you are having problems with this, first try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, check the URL of the picture you copied and ensure it's correct. If it still doesn't show up, try using another host such as Photobucket and see if you have the same problem. I wish I had an answer to this, but I don't. There are so many wonderful pictures here that I would hate it if any of them couldn't be viewed. I don't think the problem is with ProBoards. I think it lies with the hosting service you use to store your pictures online. If you find that you do have continuing problems with your pictures, drop me a message.
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Post by David Sechrest on Nov 10, 2010 18:21:03 GMT -5
Just for clarification, if you see a message at the top of the main page saying You Have (1) Message, it is an advertisement.
If you have any messages, the notification will appear next to your name at the top of the main page.
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Post by David Sechrest on Aug 9, 2011 0:37:13 GMT -5
Hello! I hope everyone is doing wonderful and trying to stay cool! It's been a hot summer around these parts!
Just a notification to let everyone know that I moved a Topic regarding the Crump homes on Washington Street to the Historic Homes Folder. You can now find it there.
Take care!
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Post by David Sechrest on Aug 9, 2011 1:26:51 GMT -5
A couple of other things:
I have changed the post count number from 15 per page to 20 per page.
I have also done away with that funky coloring in the blue borders at the top and bottom of the pages so that the text links within those borders are easier to read.
For all our new members:
Sorry, it has been quite a while since I've been around. I apologize for that, and will try to play a more active role here. I want to thank Richard for the fine job he does in maintaining things here.
If you would like to reply to a post, you have two choices:
1) you can use the "Quick Reply" box at the bottom left of the page, or
2) you can click on the word "reply" in the blue border at the top or bottom of the page.
Thanks!
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Post by David Sechrest on Aug 26, 2011 1:48:40 GMT -5
At the bottom of the welcome page, I've changed the number of most recent post count from 40 to 50.
As a reminder to all of our new members, the easiest way to keep caught up on the latest postings is to scroll down to the bottom of the main page to where it says FORUM STATISTICS. Then click on "View the 50 most recent posts of this forum"
If you have any questions, please ask either myself or Richard. Thanks!
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Post by David Sechrest on Aug 26, 2011 2:40:00 GMT -5
I have moved the topic Columbus Indiana Spotlight On CBS News Sunday Morning to the bottom of the GENERAL TOPICS OF DISCUSSION CATEGORY.
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