Replies

1. 
   Tish | Jun 25, 2002 06:15pm | #1

   Dear Linda_Maries,

   This forum is hosted by Prospero, which hosts many others as well.  I don't know if the other Lindamarie is here on this particular site or not.  She may be anywhere in Prospero world.  I also was not able to register as "Tish."  I have never ecountered another Tish, but there's one out there and my husband tells me that there's a Tish.com regisered as well.  No problem.  I don't want a web site nearly as much as he wants me to have one.

   I was able to become Tish on the Taunton forums by changing my preferences.  Go the the "My Forums" button at the top right of the page and click.  On the left side of the new page you'll see "My Info."  Click on "My Preferences."  About half-way down the page you will be able to enter a nick name.  When you have set your preferences you will appear as your new nickname when you post a message or a reply.  Your registered name will not change, and you will use it whe you log in, but to us, you will be the person you want to be.

   Hope this helps!

1. 
   carolfresia | Jun 25, 2002 07:19pm | #2

   Tish, thanks so much for explaining that to Linda Marie. I knew that the Prospero connection can cause trouble for people registering here, but I'd forgotten that you can establish a nickname for use here, while having another name for registration purposes. By the way, Linda, it's possible that YOU are the "other" Linda Marie, if you've already registered on some other Propero-hosted website. Now there's a coincidence!

   Carol

1. 
   Jean | Jun 25, 2002 08:20pm | #3

   I think most of us had that problem when Taunton changed over from WebX. Major agitation and confusion as a result. ;-/

2. 
   lindamaries | Jun 25, 2002 09:28pm | #4

   Thank you for your insite on my same name problem. I never registered as lindamaries anywhere else. This is the first time I've used it anywhere, other than buying a web address:lindamaries.com.

   I used to call myself El Pea, but ran into troubles with that name, too. When I went to buy a web address with elpea.com I found out that a guy in New York was sitting on it. He must have seen it on E-bay and figured he could make some money. I could rent the elpea.com address from him if I wanted to, but I just decided to

   change my name. It only cost me $10 again at my county to switch.

   I think that is why I am a little sensative about this.

   I just think it is totally odd that someone would put an "s" on the middle name exactly like my web address. I really do believe it is someone sitting. I'm a little afraid that that someone might start writing icky stuff and other people might think it is me.

1. 
   ElonaM | Jun 26, 2002 11:16pm | #5

   When re-registering here, I also ran into the "name already taken" problem. In my experience, "Elona" is a VERY unusual name (I've only met two others in over fifty years). Perhaps my previous registration was a factor?

1. 
   deebee247 | Jun 27, 2002 06:25am | #6

   I had to change my name too, that's how I got 247 added...I figured I AM deebee for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That's not such a big deal, but what annoys me about this site is that I cannot find this wonderful 'My Forum" that everyone talks about! Across the top of my screen the right side is too long and it stops at the 'n' in 'hands-on' and so on down the right side. So I'm guessing that the MY FORUM is over there where I can't get to it. I have tried that arrow thing to move stuff over to the left, but that doesn't move the top title stuff. I realize I am a dolt at this computer stuff so maybe it's right under my nose, but I don't see it and it is so frustrating!

1. 
   carolfresia | Jun 27, 2002 03:57pm | #7

   Yes, "My Forums" is over to the far right--it's almost directly under the Threads tab, which you probably can't see, either. I'm kind of a dolt about computer stuff, too (thank heavens for Taunton ITS!), but I know that it's often possible to decrease the size of your display--i.e., make all the fonts and everything smaller, so that you get more of the picture on your screen. That might allow you to see the whole web page, include "My forums".

   Carol

2. 
   Tish | Jun 27, 2002 06:09pm | #8

   DeeBee, what browser are you using?  Let me describe my Internet Explorer screen- if you're using IE this may help.

   I keep my "Favorites" list up on the screen.  This is my list of bookmarked sites. It takes up between a fifth and a sixth of the width of the screen.  Usually, this doesn't effect how much I see of a site or page when I'm visiting on the web, however, sometimes I can't see the full width of an image.  When I close down the favorites column, I get the full width of my monitor screen and can see the full image.

   If, by chance, you are using IE, and if, by chance, you keep your favorites column up where you can see it, this may help you.  Otherwise, please tell us what browser you are using.  In the first weeks of being located on Prospero, we learned that different browsers have different quirks and some are not as compatible with Prospero as others.  There was quite a bit of discussion over in the Sandbox.

   Of course the way to get into the Sandbox is to go to My Forums, which you can't see, or to follow the link from the first page in the forum; the one where you see the welcome message right after you log in.  The Sandbox link is on the far right-- in the section of the screen that you are not getting.  I know this is frustrating!  My dad was having so much trouble with Netscape that he called me and said we wasn't going to register.  When he came to visit me, I sat him down at my computer and registered him and he was back on track in no time.

3. 
   deebee247 | Jun 28, 2002 04:35am | #9

   Carol and Tish, thank you both. I don't know who did what, when but... joila! tonite I have the whole screen. And there is that elusive MY FORUMS!! I really appreciate your responses.

   I use IE, (that means Internet Explorer, right?)

   While I'm on a roll here, I have another question that I could probably find the answer to myself, but hey, I might as well go for it! The question is...when there are just a few responses in a thread is it possible to get the whole thread up at one time? In other words, you go into a subject and there are, say, 4 responses, but it is broken into messages 1-3 and then you have to round up number 4...can't they all come up at once? Now that I have MY FORUMS I can probably do it there.

   Thanks again! Dorothy 

4. 
   deebee247 | Jun 28, 2002 06:00am | #10

   Well, I spoke too soon! The title bars for Taunton Press are still running over on the right side. What happened was that I looked at e-mails from Carol and Tish and answered them from the html posted on the e-mail (is that all the right terminology?) Anyway, when the screen appeared on the e-mail it was fine. Now, I'm on the internet as I usually am and I'm back to the partial screen. I don't keep My Favorites on screen. And I can't find a way to adjust the size of the screen. If my husband wasn't in pain from sciatica and arthritis I would drag him out here to show me how. I will check with him for sure when he feels better. LOL. Thanks Dorothy

5. 
   deebee247 | Jun 28, 2002 06:23am | #11

   Would you believe? It's me again! I found the answer...actually my husband came out to the kitchen even as I was writing about him. All I had to do was minimize  the MY STUFF bar on the MSN Home Page. I still don't have the total of the Taunton titles bar, but I have most of the last words and I think I can work on it some more and finally get it. I'll just slink away now. Thanks, Dorothy 

6. 
   carolfresia | Jun 28, 2002 05:16pm | #12

   Congratulations, Dorothy! I personally don't find most of these browser things all that "intuitive," so I too feel a sense of triumph when it manage to get things working the way I want them to.

   I don't know of a way to get all the messages on the screen and scrollable. Will ask our SYSOP about that.

   Carol

7. 
   Tish | Jun 28, 2002 05:55pm | #13

   I don't think the Sysop can do anthing about the frames.  I haven't read the Sandbox messages for a long time, but I think that the frames are one of the things that the users have asked the SYSOP  to ask Prospero to adjust.  Maybe Jean knows about this.  She's really the one I watch for useful tips on how to get around the board.

   In your preferences page, you have the option of selecting your preferred view of the screen.  There's a basic mode and an advanced mode, and you can select how many messages to view in a screen, up to a maximum of twenty.  The length of the messages may effect how many can be read at a time.  There's nothing you can do right now, though, about the amount of screen space the frames take up.

   I would not know anything at all about how this forum works if it weren't for other users who discussed their problems in the Sandbox forum and helped each other out, and for continuing help from other users when I have questions.  You should never call yourself bad names just because you are not figuring something out on your own.  Just put your questions up and somebody will help you.  In the first days, the moderators were experimenting as much as the users were and we learned together.

8. 
   carolfresia | Jun 28, 2002 06:18pm | #14

   You said it! I'm still "experimenting"--and usually I just kind of use the board the way it comes to me. I'm much more interested in trying to keep up with the content of the board than in reformatting my view of it. Plus, my experience has been that. invariably, either another user or one of our sysops will come along promptly and answer questions clearly and accurately. At this point in my life I'm trying to save my available brain cells for other things whenever possible.

   Carol

9. 
   Barbaran8 | Jul 01, 2002 05:10pm | #15

   OK, I give, what is the sandbox, and how do I get there? I don't see any such thing when I click on the "my forums" button...

   Barbara

10. 
    carolfresia | Jul 01, 2002 05:28pm | #16

    Barb, When I go to the "welcome" page for Gatherings, in the far right column, near the top, is a little notice for The Sandbox. It's a sort of free-for-all forum where you can practice doing stuff like posting photos, and ask questions about how to get the most out of using the discussion boards. It was started way back when Taunton moved the boards over to Prospero. I haven't been there in so long I actually wasn't sure if it still existed! You'll run into folks from all the interest groups there, not just sewers, as well as New Media folks who can help you sort out any problems you're having.

    Carol

11. 
    Tish | Jul 01, 2002 06:51pm | #17

    Look for the link to the Sandbox almost directly below the Threads/ Gatherings links on the Welcome page.

    Also, give yourself time to read through the messages, because the titles don't always indicate what they're about.  That's a hold-over from another forum host.  We used to see the first post in a thread every time so people would title a post "Don't you just hate it...." and start the message, "when you can't get the ketchup out of the bottle?"  IN the old format, those kinds of title/message combinations made snese, but they don't here.

    The value of the sandbox is that people go there with gripes and questions, and there is a lot of sharing new discoveries.  You just have to read through to find out.

2. 
   COLOJD | Jul 09, 2002 10:45pm | #18

   I am new to this forum and saw your message regarding duplicate names. I used to participate in the About.com sewing forum. When I came to this forum, it defaulted to my username for that (about.com) forum.

   I know that there were quite a few people on the About forum had multiple usernames.  I have no idea why they were doing this. It could be that they are going around to other forums and "borrowing" names that they can use not realizing that when they do this, that the original user of that name then cannot get logged on properly.  

1. 
   lindamaries | Jul 10, 2002 02:50am | #19

   Maybe they are schizophrenic. I know I'm paranoid!!!!

1. 
   COLOJD | Jul 10, 2002 03:09am | #20

   Not sure about the schziophrenic or paranoid part ;-) I think it was more along the lines of them wanting to monopolize the forums and make it look like there were quite a few "new" people posting. They must have had a lot of time on their hands, I guess! Take care.