PMs

I don't do much social stuff on e-mail and i consider going there more or less a chore. Sometimes I go 4 or 5 days w/o looking at e-mail. but I'm on TF and FB just about every day. One thing i like about e-mail is that you can post pictures.

manyboats said:

I don't do much social stuff on e-mail and i consider going there more or less a chore. Sometimes I go 4 or 5 days w/o looking at e-mail. but I'm on TF and FB just about every day. One thing i like about e-mail is that you can post pictures.

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Oh, I'd never be able to do that. We never go a day without checking emails, business and social. That's like checking voice mail. I can't not do it. Now, facebook, twitter, and other social sites, we don't post ever.

BandB said:

Oh, I'd never be able to do that. We never go a day without checking emails, business and social. That's like checking voice mail. I can't not do it. Now, facebook, twitter, and other social sites, we don't post ever.

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I'm with BandB on this one. Given that e-mail and texts come to every device we have at the same time--- phones, iPads, home computers--- it's easy to read and respond if we necessary to them no matter where we are or what we're doing.

Social media is a different story. It seems every day there are news items about serious problems someone has had as a result of some aspect of social media. While we have Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts we never use them to communicate with anyone. We so far have not had any reason to create a Facebook account.

Marin said:

I'm with BandB on this one. Given that e-mail and texts come to every device we have at the same time--- phones, iPads, home computers--- it's easy to read and respond if we necessary to them no matter where we are or what we're doing.

Social media is a different story. It seems every day there are news items about serious problems someone has had as a result of some aspect of social media. While we have Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts we never use them to communicate with anyone. We so far have not had any reason to create a Facebook account.

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I agree with you and BandB.
Other than a forum or two, no social media for me. A friend allows me to read her Facebook just for fun and it is always enough to remind me why I don't use it. I shake my head at the crap people get caught up in and how vulnerable they make themselves and sadly, other people in their lives. Before Facebook, it was My Space and it should really be called My Face. No thanks

As well, in the early days of online shopping and money transfers, I had a bank account compromised by a very dumb employee of a high profile e-commerce company. Had a bank employee not filled me in "off the record" I would have never known who it was.

I text a bit with my boys and a couple friends but mainly use email for day to day communications. Mostly because it is easier to keep a record of the stuff I want to. I only open my inbox when notified, if I am expecting
something, otherwise I would be checking my phone every time one of you responds to a post and the mouse runs across the piano.

As for forum commanders and crew, well, at one time in another life, I was a short lived mod on a forum. Short lived because I did not like the culture behind the scenes and, knowing I could not change it, I resigned and left the forum. That was an eye opener.

One has to always be in touch with the fact that where there are people, there are risks.

Some myth abatement...

• You can configure your account to e-mail you an alert of a PM.
• You can configure your account to set off a pop-up alert upon logging in that you have a PM
• you can configure your account to disable PMs and all e-mailed notices.
• Comments left on member profiles are publicly view-able - do NOT confuse this with the PM function.
• The site team is not able to read PM content.
• Some e-mail functions (e-mail the member from their profile) have been disabled because spammers and other markety types often use this to sell stuff to members and so as a privacy matter it has been disabled.

And finally one last myth - white chocolate is NOT chocolate. Don't bother trying to use it to bribe the site team and especially me

But once you have been hacked or had your identity stolen it will hit home as to how any "general" internet site is vulnerable.

I get emails all time from people--mostly older boat owners--announcing that their "email was hacked" and their changing their password. Their email wasn't "hacked" and changing their password won't help a bit because the miscreants didn't need a password, clicking on a link in an email--or even just opening an email you may or may not have thought was from someone you know (who'd also been "hacked' the same way), opened the door and invited them in. The only fix is a new email address, not a new password. Prevention: ALWAYS look a the actual return address,not just the (alleged) sender's name in the body of any email that isn't "normal" conversation . A good example fromy my own spam box...a notice that appears to be from gmail: "caution, you have delayed emails" and a link to "read emails." However, the actual return address is
"Secure Gmail Notifier <eqhtzo@ws132f." Doesn't look anything like a gmail or google address. But if you have a gmail address, I'd bet real money that 90% of you would have clicked on that link.

That so many people just "hit the cyberspace road" without even a smidgen of "driver ed"...If you took the same approach to marine navigation that you take to cyber navigation, you'd have sunk your boats before you got it out of the marina!

People who get caught in the email invasions are the same who are too polite and won't hang up on telemarketers. Will even share information. Get good spam filters and still watch carefully. People you don't know shouldn't be sending you emails, unless you're operating a business so look at the heading carefully and send them to your spam folder.

One thing I'd add. If you're going to give your email fairly freely online, sign up for things, exchange with acquaintances, I recommend a second email for that. Or third. Or fourth.

When I had a govmt job, I was always vigilant about controlling mine and my direct reports' email so no personally identifiable info was disclosed. We also kept social media sterile-no bong hit pics or anything politically incorrect. But now that I am retired, I still protect my personal info, but I don't give a **** about the the PC police. It's one of those intangible benefits of being retired.

drb1025 said:

...We also kept social media sterile-no bong hit pics or anything politically incorrect. But now that I am retired, I still protect my personal info, but I don't give a **** about the the PC police. It's one of those intangible benefits of being retired.

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LOL!! Then you got a bong hit pic you can share?

MyBad said:

I do believe PM's can be read in the database. There are also [or there was] add-on's so the admin can read PM's.

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+1 ... the mods have limited access rights and no ability to track the PMs or read their content under normal circumstances.

The admins, whoever they are, with the full access to forum's files/database and enough time can track activities and read anything what was posted/hosted on the forum.

Composting

I like to write my posts in word so I canproof and edit before hitting the publish button.

Almost always, when I copy andpaste from word toforum, words jam up, some paragraphs get double spaced and somelines duplicate. It can take up to 4 save-edit-save tries before it is all fixed up.


Is there a trick to getting it right the first time?

Hawgwash said:

I like to do write my posts in word so I canproof and edit before hitting the publish button.

Almost always, when I copy and paste from word toforum, words jam up, some paragraphs get double spaced and somelines duplicate. It can take up to 4 save-edit-save tries before it is all fixed up.


Is there a trick to getting it right the first time?

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Use something other than Word for it, a text only program without all the Word formatting. Now, you can accomplish that in Word by saving the file as plain text.

Word tries to format lines and feeds, but the forum won't accept it's formatting in many cases.

BandB said:

Use something other than Word for it, a text only program without all the Word formatting. Now, you can accomplish that in Word by saving the file as plain text.

Word tries to format lines and feeds, but the forum won't accept it's formatting in many cases.

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Thanks B

Hawg--- I write directly onto the forum. That's not to say typos or mistakes never get through. One thing I did quite awhile ago is turn off the auto-replace (aka "auto-guess") feature of my iPad. This was an extremely annoying feature in all my iPad writing--- e-mails, posts, and writing for work and my own book projects.

This has eliminated wrong words sneaking into what I write as I type quite fast and don't necessarily catch what auto-guess is doing until I've already hit send. I have a case for my iPad which includes a proper keyboard so the problem wasn't so much typos as incorrect auto-guess guesses.

Once I've written something in the TF box I try to proof it as carefully as I can, and I may do some editing at the same time before sending.

If the post is not to be toooo long I usually simply complete it right on the TF reply window. If I feel editing may be needed I do it first on Outlook email. Then copy it to place on TF. Some on-site edits for clean-up may still be needed. The quick reply has too many times simply disappeared on me while I'm in middle of writing... so I don't use it too often. When I do, I often take a copy of text so that even if it were to vanish I can begin immediately again.

Well Marin and Art, the direct to TF is fine for you kids but you see, sometimes I need lots of time to organize my thoughts and even then I get it wrong or wish I'd said it different. Doing it up and pondering it for a spell is part of...now, what was I thinking?

Hawgwash said:

....sometimes I need lots of time to organize my thoughts and even then I get it wrong or wish I'd said it different.

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Of course a post doesn't go anywhere until you hit Submit Reply. So far as I know there is no time limit on how long you leave an typing window open on TF. So you can do all the thought organizing and editing you want and then submit it when you're ready.

Also, there is an edit button under a post that lasts for a certain time period-- I forget how long, it might even be as much as two hours. So even if you submit a post you can go back and change it if you like within the edit time limit. I do this fairly often, actually.

But if you prefer to write in another application and then copy and paste that certainly works fine too.

One thing I try to do is edit a quoted post if I include one in a reply. Usually I'm replying to just one point--- maybe a sentence or just part of a sentence in the quoted post--- so cutting out all the rest of what can sometimes be a very long post can save space and so make the new post easier to read. It's no big deal when people don't do this and include the entire original post, however.

I do use Word sometimes. Better than timing out. Especially when I start a reply that appears to want to continue longer than I originally thought.

One forum I frequent, Boatdiesel, has a very good feature. It's called "Finish Later"
Invaluable.
If you appear to be heading into a tome it works as a saver if clicked periodically. If you want to stop and rethink some part or rearrange the tome it gives the opportunity to do so, on the site. You can edit an hour later or a day later, whenever time and thoughts allow by simply going back to the thread and clicking "EDIT"..

I don't know if this forum could do that but it might be worth considering.

Some good points.

Marin said:

So far as I know there is no time limit on how long you leave an typing window open on TF.

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I wondered about that, actually. Would it disappear though if I shut of the PC or stay there as long as I am logged in?

Also, there is an edit button...I do this fairly often, actually.

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I do too but was under the impression the overlords don't like it when you edit repeatedly. I've been wrong before though.

One thing I try to do is edit a quoted post

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Ditto.

C lectric; said:

One forum I frequent, Boatdiesel, has a very good feature. It's called "Finish Later"
Invaluable.

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That would be nice.
A while back when I did the never ending sagas on once upon a time coast life, it took longer to edit out the incompatibility issues than to create the tome.

Hawgwash said:

... was under the impression the overlords don't like it when you edit repeatedly. I've been wrong before though.

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Never seen that mentioned before. I think you can edit as often as you want until the time limit is up.

Marin said:

Never seen that mentioned before. I think you can edit as often as you want until the time limit is up.

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Marin is right Hawg, and frankly, the software used on this forum, (as opposed to some I've been on), is so robust, I never bother doing a post on another word processor app and copying and pasting, as there is always the probability of losing some of the formatting. You can edit the post as much as you like for quite a period - certainly plenty long enough to get it how you want it. There is no obligation to put why you edited it in that box at the bottom either. So make life easier for yourself, and just type in the TF direct, but if you want to add a pic or emoticons, remember to use the advanced mode, and not just the quick reply box. You can select it later however to add something like that if you forget.

I also agree with Marin that autocorrect function can be really annoying, because each time I go to type Marin, it puts Marina, but I'm wise to that now...

Wow, I really misread the title of this thread. Thought it was PMS (all caps) and that it would explain some of the bad moods and heated rhetoric we sometimes see on on-line fora--without consideration of gender.

FlyWright said:

LOL!! Then you got a bong hit pic you can share?

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Well, there you go. I didn't know what a bong hit pic was. Sometimes it's not good to go to Google.

Moonstruck said:

Well, there you go. I didn't know what a bong hit pic was. Sometimes it's not good to go to Google.

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Don - You are so virgin still!! Refreshing!!!

Marin said:

Never seen that mentioned before. I think you can edit as often as you want until the time limit is up.

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Even after the time limit is up, if you will just go to your post and click on the "report" icon (the little triangle at the bottom left of the post), then say that you need to edit it, one of the moderators will be more than happy to accommodate you. Helpful, we are.

angus99 said:

Wow, I really misread the title of this thread. Thought it was PMS (all caps) and that it would explain some of the bad moods and heated rhetoric we sometimes see on on-line fora--without consideration of gender.

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Haha..
I thought about the title and how far afield it might go so deliberately used the no-cap s. I still didn't think it would take so long to get there though.

Hawgwash
You'll need to be careful you don't suffer from PMS.
You live where you can minimize it.
PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome):lol::lol:

Ted

Ted said:

Hawgwash
You'll need to be careful you don't suffer from PMS.
You live where you can minimize it.PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome):lol::lol:Ted

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Haha Ted, you know it.
Although, for the cost of annual tire replacement I can rent a bike for a 4 or 5 day fix. Plus, a few years back I sold a DWG to a buddy in Osoyoos for his wife so I can go grab it any time and I don't have to ride the city. Before moving to Sidney, I lived in Yaletown. I could go for a 12-15 hour day ride and enjoy every second of it until...the last 15 minutes, from the PNE to the Roundhouse, with all the blind pedestrians, taxis, buses, red light runners, pigeons and junkies, it could put a real damper on the day.

What I miss most is the chance for spontaneous rides, like an early evening ride to Boston Bar for a burger or ice cream.

I miss the water more though and I'll get there.

Just a little edit...
Looking outside right now, at the horizontal rain, I would much rather be on the hook in Okeover Arm, cozied up to an Espar, with Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and the fixin's for a half dozen Monte Cristo coffees, than riding anywhere.

As noted, the extra code used in Word doesn't play well with the forum editor. Suggestion: if you feel the need to compose offline, consider using your e-mail interface and save your post as an unaddressed draft. You can go back and edit and use the spell checker, etc. When you are finally ready to post, copy and paste.