(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Have mentioned the problem of the browser kicking me off the forum before. And respondents have confirmed that this has happened to them as well.

When this happens while composing a long, detailed technical post, reporting figures, etc., it's a royal pain, and a major disincentive to posting such material, as everything has to be retyped after logging back on (which alone takes some time).

I had thought this was a defect in the browser, but yesterday's experience throws doubt on this. I lost everything at one point simply by highlining a piece of text for deletion. And then, after retyping it all, it happened again after Puppy locked up on me (probably due to having been corrupted by an unwanted "upgrade").

Whatever the reason, I think it is worth creating a fix for this problem, and I'm guessing it needs to be implemented at the website level.

My suggestion (admittedly uninformed by any knowledge of or experience in coding or html) is that the website should cache any uncompleted posts for a period of time (for an hour, a day, or maybe a week -depending on the strain this puts on website storage resources) after the last input , or after a "cancellation", and present the text to the author immediately on this or her next login, asking whether to delete or to continue with text entry.

The next best solution I can imagine is that of composing posts of any length or complexity externally and then copying and pasting them into this forum entry window.

And I'm afraid that some posters will simply pass on submitting detailed posts rather than resort to this kludge.


PS. the teeny size and font of the input window already requires considerable dedication to participate. I find I continually have to preview my posts, often finding typos I hadn't noticed in the entry window. I've tried using the "font size" function, but haven't seen any change effected in either the input or the preview screens.

I think the short term fix is to use the copy and paste method that you mentioned. When doing a post of any length on this or any other board, I tend to type it in Geany and when I have it the way I want it, I log in and paste the text into the message body window.

This isn't just because of the problem you have experienced but also because I'm often distracted in the midst of my typing and end up being timed out. Usually, that's not a problem, but the cut and paste ensures that it's not a problem.

IMHO the copy/paste method is the way to do all posting to anywhere.
It is the method I always use. It has many advantages.

(probably due to having been corrupted by an unwanted "upgrade")

Puppy doesnt do any upgrades, wanted or unwanted, so that's not the problem.

the teeny size and font of the input window

is a local (on your computer) issue.

Having said all that, the forum software does have many issues that need to be addressed.
Hang in there, we may get the forum we deserve one day (or do we have it ATM?).

While composing in the Puppy forum and also in Yahoo mail, if I (accidentaly) hit the "Insert" key, sometimes the browser closes without warning. Is that what happened to you, otropogo?

Flash wrote:While composing in the Puppy forum and also in Yahoo mail, if I (accidentaly) hit the "Insert" key, sometimes the browser closes without warning. Is that what happened to you, otropogo?

I believe that's happened to me on occasion. But this time it definitely wasn't the case. I hadn't finished positioning the highlighting for the delete, so my hand was still on the mouse. But the result was the same. The browser closed.

Most of the time I can't be sure exactly where my finger strayed when it happens, but it IS always toward the right side of the keyboard.

BTW - I've also had the system simply lock up on me on occasion while posting in the forum, and I don't remember that happening under any other conditions. Of course, I spend more time here than elsewhere on the web, at least on this system.

koolie wrote:IMHO the copy/paste method is the way to do all posting to anywhere.
It is the method I always use. It has many advantages.

In my opinion, the best method of posting to forums is to use a usenet newsgroup for the forum.

(probably due to having been corrupted by an unwanted "upgrade")

koolie wrote:Puppy doesnt do any upgrades, wanted or unwanted, so that's not the problem.

Well, I guess I've used the wrong terminology. I'm referring to whatever it does to my saved configuration when I boot with a different version without the "puppy pfix=ram" parameter.

koolie wrote:the teeny size and font of the input windowis a local (on your computer) issue.

Please elaborate. I encounter the same miniscule entry window whatever monitor I use to view this forum on . The one I usually use is 19 inches diagonally, is set for a resolution of 1280x1024, and at the moment I have the browser filling the entire screen.

The text entry window is exactly 12cm/4.75" wide.

Do I need a larger monitor, or what?

koolie wrote:Hang in there, we may get the forum we deserve one day (or do we have it ATM?).

I'm hanging just fine. I just wish I could use the time I spend here more efficiently.

IMO, a Puppy newsgroup, even an unmoderated one, would be an invaluable adjunct to the present forums, especially if the postings could be automatically ported from one medium to the other (using automatic and/or manual filtering for the newsgroup ports).

Do I need a larger monitor, or what?

It has nothing to do with your monitor.
It either your browser or system settings,

The forum was slow yesterday
means we were being 'spidered' by search engines such as Google
and / or John Murga was working on the forum

Cut and paste
You have something to say
We want to hear it
Don't lose it

It has nothing to do with your monitor.
It either your browser or system settings,

Do you have a larger input window koolie? What magical browser are you using?

For that matter, Otropogo and Flash - what browsers are you using? Seamonkey? That is a pretty serious bug IMNSHO. Is the insert key bound correctly (does it actually toggle insert/overwrite mode)?

Yes,Cut n' Paste is the best way to assure you don't lose any of your laborious task but don't be fooled into believing this disappearing data won't happen under any other software.In fact on some other forums I am on,this is exactly the system others use as some of their post disappeared into the black hole.This might not be of any consequence on a short post but on a large post,it can be maddening.

bill wrote:Yes,Cut n' Paste is the best way to assure you don't lose any of your laborious task ...

It is to laugh!

I had this bright idea myself last night, thinking to avoid the deadly "insert"key stroke in Seamonkey by composing my text in Geany.

Now, apparently Genie doesn't auto-save, but it does ask you if you want to save the text when you close the program.

After some major input, my desktop got cluttered, and I decided to minimize Geany momentarily using the same tab that works fine for that task in Seamonkey.

Geany disappeared from the screen, leaving no tab, and all my labourious input was gone in an instant. Ironically, when I opened Geany again, hoping my text might be there, there were two old compositions left from the last time I had actually chosen to close the app - but no sign of my recent work.

@otropogo

OMG. I've experienced the mysterious Geany Crash, too! I've failed to report it due to chalking it up to hitting an unfortunate keyboard combination or my highly personalized Puppy installation.

Now that I think about this, I've only experienced Geany crashing when using Puppy Linux. Extensive use of this editor in three other major distros has never revealed this bug or intermittent anomaly.

Leafpad to the rescue?

iirc puppy uses a development version of geany or it did a few months ago anyway that is probably the reason IMO

I don't know what circumstance each user has when they lose their data on screen but it happened to me and suddenly I was looking at my Puppy 4 desktop.I don't know how this happened but..................If this happens to you .go to the bottom left of the screen and you will see two windows,click on them and just maybe your post will automagically re-appear.This probably happened due to a loose user.

bill wrote:....go to the bottom left of the screen and you will see two windows,click on them and just maybe your post will automagically re-appear.This probably happened due to a loose user.

Sorry, been there, done that. Nothing automatically appeared, and there was no loose user. I clicked on the minimize tab, and Geany was gone, and all my input with it.

But thanks for the cheap shot.

I have also had this prob with long posts, being logged out during typing.
Easy fix: after relogging in, use back button to navigate to the page with the post typed up, then submit... Works for me...

puppyluvr wrote:
I have also had this prob with long posts, being logged out during typing.
Easy fix: after relogging in, use back button to navigate to the page with the post typed up, then submit... Works for me...

I want to save this post for posterity as an example of the hazards of

1. not providing a proper context by means of quotes or other references to identify the specific post and issue being addressed, and

2. offering a solution without carefully reading the existing commentary in the thread

In Firefox 3, click file, save page as, web page complete.

With other browsers, YMMV.

alienjeff wrote:In Firefox 3, click file, save page as, web page complete.

With other browsers, YMMV.

Very funny Jeff.

But I don't have Firefox, and posterity doesn't get to tour my hard drive much.

But, I am still looking for a method as simple as you describe for saving an entire forum thread, instead of having to save it page by page and rename each one so they don't overwite each other as "viewtopic.ph".

The other thing that drives me crazy is, when reviewing saved pages of a thread, I see "posted today at xxxx" . What good is that? Posts should always be tagged with the date, time, and time zone from the get-go. If it's too hard for participants to remember the date, maybe a honking big calendar with the day's date could be suspended over the posts.

You wrote:

Have mentioned the problem of the browser kicking me off the forum before. And respondents have confirmed that this has happened to them as well.

When this happens while composing a long, detailed technical post, reporting figures, etc., it's a royal pain, and a major disincentive to posting such material, as everything has to be retyped after logging back on (which alone takes some time).

I wrote:

I have also had this prob with long posts, being logged out during typing.
Easy fix: after relogging in, use back button to navigate to the page with the post typed up, then submit... Works for me...

Seems my responce was quite applicable.
But thats what I get for trying to help YOU.
I should have known better, but....

@(I have read the entire thread, (all 2 pages LOL), and tried to offer a simple solution to one of the issues mentioned) Browser death (the other prob.) is script related.

BTW...Thanks for trying to belittle me.
I shall also "save this post for posterity as an example of the hazards of" ....
Helping Otropogo....

@ Jeff, nice tip, thanks... (to many??) LOL