Here is a new thread for helpful hints. Please do not clutter it with witty comments

Because of the way AWAD adds posts, it is much easier to read this thread in "flat mode" see icon at the top right of your screen. The beginning of the thread is not in a very useful order if you read it in "threaded mode". If you are in threaded mode you may prefer to read it the following three sections (all at the bottom of the page in threaded mode) before the others:
Using the different forums
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=17019
Adding a post and using markup in posts
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=17020
How do I know if a subject has been discussed?
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=17021

To keep it as clear as possible, please send me a private message with amendments/corrections/additions/useful links, so we can make it as easy as possible for newcomers to work their way through. I have not credited the various contributions made by others in the process of setting up these helpful hints in their relevant sections but I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone, especially Tsuwm, Jackie, Max, AnnaStrophic, WWH, Bridget96, WOW, Bobyoungbalt, Maverick and Bingley for their help and support.

If anyone asks a basic question then you can refer them here by posting the following link:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=17018

This thread has been included in the following website: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/maxq/Hints.html many thanks Max!

If you wish to ask a question about a word, then use Q&A about Words.

If you want to discuss a current AWAD word, you may find an existing discussion under "Weekly Themes", towards the bottom of your screen.

If you want to discuss wordplay and fun then use "Wordplay and Fun" - this tends to be where the word games live.

If you want to discuss AWAD in schools, then use "AWAD in schools", sorry if this is stating the obvious!

Almost anything else should go in Miscellany, although check out the bottom of the screen, for other subjects.

If a thread in Q&A wanders off the subject too far, feel free to start a new thread in Miscellany. This is because some people are only interested discussing words here and feel that they can go elsewhere for some of the more general discussions. Once threads get very long it can take a long time to load.

We try to keep Information and Announcements relatively clear (with limited success) so that threads like this can be found without too much wading through the mire.

Send me a private mail if you would like me to add/change/correct anything here.

The FAQ list on the menu bar, to the top right of the screen includes the following information:

Can I attach a file to my post?
Can I use html in my posts?
What software do you use to run the board?
Do I have to accept cookies?
I want to see more (or less) posts per page.
What's with all the buttons?
Why are Subject,Poster and Posted on clickable?
Why do you ask for two email addresses?
Why should I register a Username?

It is useful to try out the markup options, particularly changing [ blue ]colours[ /blue ]", adding [ b ]emphasis[ /b ], using emoticons [ i ]like this[ /i ][ smile ]. You can also reach the markup information by clicking on the link which says "you may use markup in your posts" at the top of the page where you add your post.

If you are replying to a previous post and the thread has divided up into sub-threads, it can be helpful to include a brief reference from the last message, so that people who are reading in "flat mode" can work out who you are replying to. In the early days, we got quite confused from time to time and this was a solution to making things run a little more smoothly. Some people prefer it if you put the quote on a different colour, say blue (see the notes on markup) others just add a ">" before the quote. Alternatively you can put [ quote ] before and [ /quote ] afterwards take out the extra spaces first to make a very impressive (if space consuming) introduction.

If you wish to add characters which are not obvious on your computer keyboard you will need to use the latin-1 ascii character set. Here are links to a couple of sites which have ascii lists:http://www.ramsch.org/martin/uni/fmi-hp/iso8859-1.html,
http://www.endsite.com/therest/webhelp/iso-latin-1-js.asp, so you need never be without the letter "ñ"!

Please send me a private mail with any corrections/amendments, so that I can make changes.

This can be quite difficult for newcomers. There are simply too many posts to look back through.

I would suggest that you do a quick check to see if there is a recent discussion on the subject by using the Search in the information bar at the top of the page.

Just to make things confusing there are two "search" mechanisms. The one at the bottom relates to all of AWAD. You need the one at the top, below the AWADtalk heading.

Chose the options highlighted in red:

Forum to search
All Forums
Words to search for
your word here
Search options
Entire Phrase or alternative, if you prefer
Date Range
All posts
Number of results to show per page.

If it doesn't give you anything, modify your word and search again. If you can't find anything useful, then it is likely to be new.

If you do find some discussion decide:
(i) Is it recent?
If it is, you may choose to add to the thread which you have just uncovered.
(ii) Is it old?
If it is quite old, then some people may not have been around the last time it was discussed. If the thread is short, it may be a good idea to add your post, it will then "resurrect" the thread to the top of the list and people can follow on from there. If it is very long and has divided into a lot of subthreads, then you might prefer to start a new thread. If you are feeling helpful you can provide a link to the old thread using the method shown on this page.

Providing a link to an old post:
Once you have conquered adding links - see using markup in posts, use the same method to make an internal link.
(i) find the relevant post, using "search" or however you prefer.
(ii) Highlight the post address from the window at the top of your screen then copy and paste it into the new post, deleting everything after the number:

http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=17010

adding [ url ] before and [ /url ] after (take out the extra spaces) makes it into a hot link. So I get http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=17010 and others can choose to look at it.

Postscript:
Sometimes old threads become difficult to follow in flat mode, they seem to have a mind of their own, you may need to use threaded moded which you can either change thread by thread (see the icon to the top right of your screen, once you have a thread open) or in your profile.

Wide Links There has been some discussion of w-i-d-e mode. This happens when a thread, for no apparent reason, takes off into the blue yonder to the right of the screen. It is a lovable/irritating feature of this bulletin board and takes place when some kindly soul adds a very long URL. It changes the width of every post in the thread. If you spot this has happened, the easiest thing to so is go back to your post and either delete the link or take out the "(square bracket)url(square bracket)" "(square bracket)/url"(square bracket)" which turns it into a hot link and let people post it into their internet-browser-of-choice themselves. No-one else can edit your post, so you may find a private message from someone who has noticed the thread go w-i-d-e, asking you to change it.

We really do try to keep site-specfic words to a minimum and we don't tend to use endless abbreviation, remember, some of us are card carrying pedants!

Some of the words you may find used are
YART
LIU
YCLIU
AYLEUR
ITYIY....

So as not to spoil the fun, you can use the search feature to find out what they mean. Definitions are given below in yellow if you really give up.

Clue: To read yellow writing - highlight it by running your cursor across it whilst holding down your left mouse button, all will become clear.

Definition of LIU:
see YCLIU
Definition of YCLIU
http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=14676
Definition of YART
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=14612
Definition of IITYWYBMAD
http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=14676
Definition of Ayleur
Apparently, you can search the archives for this for ever and never find the answer. You can try if you like before reading on ....
OK if you give up...
It comes from a discussion about what we should call ourselves. It was quickly realised that we would never find an answer agreeable to everyone so AYLEU-R was suggested
meaning "Anything You Like Except Unanimous" with the R added to make it into a person. So now you know!

For an old thread on acromyms look at:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=14676

AWADabilia
Max's AWADabilia site can be found at: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/maxq/ with pictures at
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/maxq/Gallery1.html

Yes we know it is a little unusual and yet we have come to love/tolerate it.

It doesn't like British spellings, and it has a fairly limited number of words in its memory. We have called it Enigma/Ænigma and there are plenty of posts on the subject, if you care to use the search facility. (Enter all forums, all dates - Enigma or Aenigma).

A useful alternative, used by some of us, is to install Atomica (formerly Gurunet). There is a free download at http://www.atomica.com/ this will enable you to check any word using the alt key and the mouse.

There are also a lot of useful on-line dictionaries discussed in:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=1268

If you feel the need the correct someone else's spelling then some of us are not so keen about being corrected in front of the whole world, particularly when we are unable to usefully spell-check out own contributions. You may like to send a private e-mail if you think your comments are constructive or helpful in any way, otherwise you can decide whether you wish to say anything or not. We come from all walks of life, we span a wide range of ages and several people do not have English as their first language - they are usually the ones with the perfect spelling and grammar

<b>How have people chosen their nicknames?</b>
Search on “handles” or look here:
<A HREF="http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=499" target="_new">http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=499</A>

<b>How do you graduate from “Stranger”?</b>
There are different titles given, based on the number of posts.
Here are the titles:
Stranger (0), Newbie (25),
Journeyman (50), Member (100)
Enthusiast (200), Addict (400),
Old Hand (700), Veteran (1200), Pooh Bah (1600)
Carpal Tunnel (2500)
At the time of writing, we don't know if there are any more.
Search on “Graduation” for threads that discuss this subject

<b>Signature Lines:</b>
The system allows you to add a signature. In the past, some of us have used our favourite quotes but we've found that this becomes distracting after seeing the same line several times so we prefer not to use them.

<b>Rogues Gallery</b>
There is a "rogues gallery" in Max's AWADabilia site at <A HREF="http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/maxq/Gallery1.html" target="_new">http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/maxq/Gallery1.html</A>

There has been some useful discussion on this subject. It seems to be a matter of personal preference. Search on “flat mode” or “threaded mode” to find the discussion. You can use the icons on the top right of the thread menu bar to switch modes.

It can be helpful if people quote a little of the post that they are replying to, to help flat-moders find out what is going on. See the Making a post sub-thread for more discussion on this.

Becoming Unthreaded
When accessing old thread you might find that you can only view them in threaded mode, once you get past page 1 of flat mode they seem to cross-link to other threads. I tend to find this a little disconcerting but it seems to be part of the amusement of the board.

Using More than One Window
Some (most) browsers will let you have more than one window of AWAD open at a time. This can be very useful and may save you getting lost, especially if you need to use “Search” or are adding a post and trying to link to a previous post. http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=15640

Here are some other issues which have been discussed in the past. I'll try to add any others that come up.

Quotes
If you are going to quote an external source, use quote marks/inverted commas. If you are taking information from another site you can add a hot link to the site (see markup info). There is a discussion on the subject at: http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=16546

Length of threads
It appears to have been agreed that threads should not get longer than 99 posts. At this length, those with slower computers (some, I believe, wind powered) or slower connections start to growl. The remedy is to start a new thread, refering back to the old one. For example, if the old thread was called "everything you ever wanted to know about socks", the new thread could be called "socks revisited" or "socks part II" or anything you like. Ideally provide a note at the end of the old thread to say where it has gone and, if you can manage it, a hyperlink, to make it easy to find (see previous notes on making hot links). You don't have to be an ancient member of the group, anyone can set up a new follow-on thread.

Tone of Posts
E-mail is a fairly blunt medium and some of us try quite hard (at least some of the time) to pose questions thoughtfully without too much unkindness. There are a few running jokes, as you may find in any group, where conflict appears to surface but soon disappears when it turns out that there is no real animosity. From time to time there are real differences of opinion, as is inevitable in a group open to the whole world. Sometimes voices are raised. We have tried quite hard to make this group not just another place on the internet where people hurl abuse at each other, so if you want to call people names, rather than use persuasion to challenge their ideas, then you might prefer another, more combative group. This board is primarily about words, so there is plenty of scope for discussion of ideas and culture linked to our main topic.

Here are some thoughts that were posted some time ago by one of our members during one of our regular discussions about behaviour. As you can see, we all feel quite strongly about behaviour on this site:

1. Everyone is welcome here, whether they are really expert in the English language or struggling with it.
2. Every member has an obligation to make newcomers welcome and to assist them if they ask for help on a linguistic point. We have a special obligation to assist young people and those who speak English as a second language.
3. Fresh members and fresh ideas and viewpoints are not only welcome, but necessary if we are not to become a snooty inbred clique. Nothing is expected of new members except a desire to ask a question, or to join in on our discussions and cyberlife to whatever extent they may want or be able to, observing the common rules of courtesy and responsible conduct.
4. Except for Anu Garg, our esteemed founder, we have no officers, no one with any authority over other members. The titles we bear confer no special status and are linked only to the number of times we have posted, which is mostly a matter of simple longevity and ample leisure time. No one is expected to show any deference to any other member simply on the basis of his/her title. Those who are worthy of some degree of respect and deference due to their demonstrated knowledge and wisdom reveal themselves to anyone who sticks around for very long.
5. Our interests and discussions are wide and far ranging. There are categories for postings to be placed in, and we will try to make use of them, but there is some overlap and some subjects do not fit well in the categories, so there should be no criticism of anyone's choice of category.
6. We do not expect or desire to entertain discussions of religion, politics, ethical or moral questions as such. This is not the place for proselytizing, preaching, or trying to argue partisan positions. But quotations or references from scriptural, religious, political etc. sources are acceptable as literature or to illustrate a point in a discussion.
7. Given the number of posts which have built up (due to the popularity of this board), no one can be expected to search thru all, or many of them. It is therefore to be expected that new members will ask questions that have been asked before, or initiate a subject which has been discussed before (what old timers call a YART). It may be useful to gently and politely let that person know that this is covered in old postings, and advise how to find them; but this is only as a matter of helping them out, not to criticise them for doing something heinous.
8. Language which is not suitable for everyone will from time to time be used. We are not prudish and do not attempt to censor anyone. However, all should bear in mind that we have members who do not appreciate scatological language and we also have members (and highly valued ones) who are 14 or even 10 years old.
9. A member, or newcomer, can make him/herself unwelcome by engaging in unnecessary bad language, rudeness to other members, getting personal in debate, introducing subjects not the purview of this board, or, in general, violating the rules of civilized discourse which ladies and gentlemen are expected to observe. We have no way of expelling anyone who becomes unwelcome; the only thing we can do is to admonish such a person, which must be done with the greatest caution and all possible good will, and only in a private message. If unwelcome conduct continues, we can only ignore the offender.
10. We do not tolerate plagiarism. An idea or expression not one's own should be identified by author and source, if known.

Even old timers find this a great help. Just adding this to keep the category up top of the board.
wow

Thank you, Max.

Folks, it is my opinion that we owe our sweet Max a round of thank-yous for not only this effort on behalf of us all, but also for all the trouble he has gone to, three times no less, to set us up a site where we can post things that this format doesn't allow for.

Dear Max: I clicked on the "markup" at upper right of "post" window. The window with the smileys,etc appeared.
But I could not find out how to use the smileys, or the colors. What keystrokes are needed to use them. (I may not be the only one so baffled.) Bill Hunt

You type it just as you see it on the page listing the Markup codes. The basis of Markup is the use of the square brackets and a few words that usually describe what it does.

For the emoticons, if you put the word "smile" in these brackets [ ] (without the quotations, you get this: There is nothing else needed but those brackets around the word.

When doing colors or other modifications of the text, you have a bracket set [ ] to start and finish the section you want to change. [*b]bold[*/b] -- just remove the stars. That / slant in the second bracket set is to tell the browser that this is where you want your chosen effect to end. To practice, you can start a message, and make sure "I want to preview my post" is selected. If you see the colors/emoticons you want, you got it right.

I hope that helps.

The subject assures me that there has been no editing of the photo whatsoever, it's really him.

Eggscellent! (Or should that be Humptydumptyscellent? )

A good way of keeping hints towards the top (and therefore relatively easy to find), without adding clutter is the following:

i) If you notice that "hints" has moved into oblivion onto the second page then add a post to the end. It can just be one word if you like.
ii) This will bring the thread to the top.
ii) Immediately delete the post. As long as you do this before the daily e-mail list is compiled (around 11pm - 12 midnight GMT) there will be no record of the post. If you do it either side of the time that the e-mail list is complied you will see a post that says "post deleted by ..." , so it is best to avoid this.
Good luck!

Jo suggests (among other ploys): Immediately delete the post.

Oh sure, jo. Have us all scurrying around threads, trying to figure out what the new post is. You must is one a nem dang flatliners.

I finally got around to posting the only pic of me I've got on this PC - it's an old bitmap of me about 5 years ago, and it's of crappy quality. It looks like it was edited, because I was trying to cut the funny-looking guy out of the pic (did I cut the wrong one?).

Hyla

MaxQ noticed that Europanto was about to push this thread off the first page, and decided to rescue it.

Buen job mein ami.

I do not want to run afoul of the law so I would like your advice on the following:
1. I would like to copy a poem to one of the threads. It is is fairly new and published in the New Criterion. Is it o'kay for me to just name the author and the magazine?
2. How about quoting a song by Bob Dylan in its entirety. How do you do that to conform to copyright law.
3. How do you quote a radio essay?

I thank you for your help whoever you are who wanders into this thread.

chronist

Just to push this thread up so it doesn't get "buried".

chronist

Question: When I view in threaded mode, the list of postings appears. They are not in chronological order. What order are they in? Also, some subject lines are preceded by yellow icons and some by orange. What does the color mean? And, some icons are faces, some are books and some a trophy. What does this mean? I see now, that I am posting, that perhaps i can choose this icon myself!

Hello, Ilsgakenia, and welcome.

In threaded mode, the board display posts in an outline form; a post appears underneath the post to which the poster is responding.

Icon color changes when you read a new thread or post in a thread.

And, as you have discovered, icons are designated by the poster. Generally, the icons are an attempt to signify the content of the post.

The order in which posts appear in threaded mode can be a little confusing at first. It is a tree structure; the branches are in reverse chronological order, that is, the more recent branches are towards the top. The individual posts within a branch are in chronological order, with more recent posts towards the bottom. A given post will be under and inset to the right of the post to which it is a response. Sparteye's post of Fri Jun 22 08:17:49 2001, which was a response to your post was directly under and inset from your post of Fri Jun 22 07:00:52 2001. Now mine of Fri Jun 22 10:25:57 2001 is under yours. If someone responds to my post it will appear between mine and Sparteye's.

Why does anyone bother with threaded mode? [neverdidunderstandthat]

It's quicker if you wish to select particular responses to your (or someone elses) post, without having to plough through the whole thing.
V.useful if you are visiting the thread after a long absence, and want to see, at a glance what has been going on.
But normally, I just open up and then dive straight to the bottom.
Of the thread, that is.

yeahbut. Sometimes person B may reply to something said by person A but attach it to the thread by linking to the last item, which could be by person x, y, or z...

Surely if you set your display preference to 99 posts per page, there is no quicker way to view everything, and above all get the overall context of an unfolding (or collapsing) discussion? When the thread opens, you just hit the <end> button, go back over the last couple of posts (or more if required for context or previous comments), and when you are done with that thread, just hit the Next Thread / Previous Thread buttons, for a one-stop move.

I prefer it to flatline.

What *I don't understand is why anyone would prefer flatline.

[all huffy and obviously morally superior emoticon]

this was initially (and for quite a long time) a nice short, pithy thread of nine posts. it has now reached the point where I feel okay with commenting on this.

And I take it there's no need to delete our posts anymore?

... bringing this back to the top ...

just popping it back to top

It's back!

...complete with out-of-date links to paradise [bloody typical] Can that be updated by any means other than emailing Jo to alter it, or doing a whole new version of this, or doing a brief pointer just to Max's current site which we keep on top instead of this...?

Can that be updated by any means ? ...or doing a brief pointer to Max's current site ...?

Not all Newbies and/or Strangers know about dear MaxQ's site ... this version is a sorta' backup or redundant system !?!? Least-a-ways that's how I think of it ... does that make sense?
Back up top!

>...making it one post longer each time.

not necessarily! [now if i can just get back and delete this before 28 other people jump in...]