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General discussion

Cnet text length for Chuckthom ....

Jun 2, 2004 9:56AM PDT

Dear Chuckthom,

Thank you for helping me with "search" function. I hope I can offer help back to you re CNET length of posts. I am not connected CNET, I just happen to know this from experience.

As I said, I thought there was a fix, but on checking, this seems to have been withdrawn by Lee.

Therefore, I see it like this - if I am wrong, hopefully someone will tell us:

You can make a "long" post if you are initiating a new discussion, i.e. approx 91 lines seems to be the max (this by copy/paste from Word - don't know if works equally well simply by typing it in).

However, if you are posting a reply, you are limited to approx 31 lines - whether pasting in or typing in.

But, the workaround that I mentioned, is that to increase your 31 lines you have to insert lines in the middle, and I was successful with a further 26 inserted lines (see link below), i.e:

If you have a post greater than 31 lines, type (or paste) in the first 15 lines, then type (or paste) in the last fifteen lines, so that you are missing the middle part of your "essay".

Then go back to the middle (i.e. Line 16) and press Enter to get new lines and then type (paste) the missing middle bit into this space. Like I said, the middle bit works for 26 lines (maybe more, but I don't know how many).

Please see my link below, in the Test Forum, proving the 91 lines for starter post, and max 31 reply and 57 lines as extended.

FWIW - I don't understand these numbers, since Cnet seems to run off 55 per page. But what do I know.

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6622-0.html?forumID=66&threadID=24621&start=0

Regards
Mo



S

Discussion is locked

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Re:Cnet text length for Chuckthom ....
Jun 2, 2004 10:20AM PDT

Mo,

Good job.

You're basically correct except the limitation tends to occur when using Internet Explorer browsers only. "Replies" have a smaller character limit than "original" posts. Some of the other browsers, (I use Mozilla's Firefox when visiting these forums) are able to create large amounts of text in either "original" posts or "replies".

For example look at some my replies in the these links:

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6121-0.html?forumID=45&threadID=22053&messageID=243397

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6121-0.html?forumID=45&threadID=22053&messageID=259303

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Dear Grif - Co-incidences? Well I never ....
Jun 2, 2004 11:17AM PDT

First, yes, I do run on IE and it was remiss of me not to point out that my test data was based only on that browser - logged into brain for future reference.

Coincidences: Your first example of long text length contains info which popped up as a query in a different Forum recently, and I guess you won't mind if I re-post your link to that Forum.

Your second link is "spooky", because I was only today wondering about the best test, since I'm not sure that Steve Gibson's is current these days. I refer of course to your EICAR testfile. Having now referred to it, should I ask you to reply with the link and a brief summary?

My personal thanks - and I'm sure others will be glad also.

Regards
Mo

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Mo, About EICAR...
Jun 2, 2004 1:10PM PDT

It is only a virus test file, not a real virus, and most of the specific information on what it is and how to use it are including in the link below. (It's the same link I provided earlier.)

How To Test Your Antivirus Program

Remember though, the EICAR test file is only a basic test to make sure your antivirus program is functioning. Steve Gibson's security site includes a number of different types tests and most are for firewall security. Two different things entirely. There are also a number of other test sites...some which scan for viruses, some for spyware, some for firewall vulnerabilities, etc. Try them all. Be safe, but experiment with some of the scanner sites that are posted occasionally on these forums.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Re: CNet text length for Chuckthom ....
Jun 2, 2004 11:02AM PDT

Well, thanks for the effort Mo, and the input Grif. But I have tried many tests in the "Test Forum" with little definitive results.

I tried to find out if it was paragraph, line, word, or even character limited, and I could not come up with one answer.

I actually have made one test that had over 300 lines in it: see Line test.
I could have entered more, too. I only stopped at 300 because it was more than enough, for me.

At another test, same day, same PC, same browser, I was limited to just 61 lines.
Another time, same pc, different text, I was limited to about 31 lines.
Just too weird. Too arbitrary.

I like your idea of entering in a lot of of "expansion space" in the middle first, then going back to fill in that middle. I'll try something like that the next time.

Since Grif does not have a problem with some other browser, I would guess it is not any sort of counting via the Forum anyway. It seems it is some sort of IE limitation. And since I seem to have different results with different workstations (all using IE) I don't even want to waste the time and experiment any further, to see if I could change some IE setting to get past the problem.

As it is now, with my need to break up my sometimes lengthy responses, it might just be a "good" thing. That's because many people seem to not want to read a long response, ... but if it broken up (part 1 of n), then maybe, it will get read, and understood, more easily.

I might even just start up one of the other browsers, if I desire to get around the problem all-together.

OR, I might just keep complaining about it ... Happy

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Re: Cnet text length ... (addendum) (adden-DUMB)
Jun 2, 2004 11:15AM PDT

In just entering that last reply, I was having trouble with getting that in. I had a nice response composed and it did Preview, and I went back to add a small sentence right in the middle. ... could not get it to Preview. Dang!

So I went in and tried the "expansion" tip you suggested.
Didn't work for me.

Trying, trying, and trying more things.

I just needed to add a few words ... and as I started to subtract characters I hit some point where the Preview did work.
But one more character and it didn't.
I removed some line spacing in other parts and found I could add a few more characters.
Put back those lines and again I had to remove a few characters.
(I know, a new line, in PCs, has a real character count of two characters (lf & cr).

But I tried character count tests before and at times I was able to insert "tons" more characters than just this. Oh well, it isn't worth the bother, right now.

Thanks for the input anyway.

Chuck~

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Dear Chuckthom: One thought ...
Jun 2, 2004 12:09PM PDT

and you know that Grif is the expert rather than I.

I noticed in your post to the Test Forum that you use the "back-arrow" - normally meaning - in Word - that you use "Shift+Enter" to continue the same paragraph formatting.

I don't know what effect this might have on Cnet posts, but if it it visible,I guess it must have some effect. It is OK, I find, just to continue typing and allow the lines to "wrap" in the text box and be re-aligned by the Cnet software in the Preview/Post mode.

Just wondering whether the "back-arrow" constitutes a stop-point in the Cnet software, thus preventing it from wrapping the text, so that it is starting a new line each time each time it encounters one, hence effectively reducing your line-availability.

I write this only because it is the only thing that springs to mind if you are using IE also. This is only from me, and I am not of course knowledgeable in these things.

Regards
Mo