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Saving long posts for the forum transition (important)

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One of the changes being made to the new forum software is a post character limitation. I won't get into the technical reasons why I made this decision, but I'll back it up by saying that most other modern forum software packages have similar limitations in order to maximize database performance.

Posts will be limited to 8,000 characters. If you have a post that spills over that amount, you'll have to split it and make a second post to follow up your first. The effects should be minimal because 8,000 characters is quite a bit of text. However, browsing around the forum today, I noticed there are some posts that go beyond that limit. That's going to cause a problem when current posts are migrated to the new database.

All current posts moved to the new database will be truncated to 8,000 characters. Any text beyond that limit will be discarded. I strongly suggest you edit your posts if possible in order to avoid this issue.

In the event a post proves valuable, its length is justified, and the post author is unable to edit the post without ruining its intent, I propose the following solutions:

A. Ask the person whose post appears immediately after yours if you can "borrow" some space and place half your post into theirs. Mark it as "continued from so-and-so's previous post".

B. Send the post to me and make me do some work

1. Copy the text of the post you wish to save into a text file. Please use a character counter like the one in MS Word to verify the post is over 8,000 characters (with spaces) beforehand. Note that the character count must include the raw post text with custom forum tags intact if they exist; copying the post directly from the page will give inaccurate results.

2. Copy the URL contained within the "quote" link at the bottom of the post, either by clicking the link and copying the URL from your browser's address bar or right-clicking the link and selecting "copy link". Place this link at the top of the text document above the post text.

3. Save the file as messid.txt, where messid is the value following the messid variable in the "quote" URL. See the bold number for an example:

messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=7&threadid=4490&messid=180105&STARTPAGE=1&ezquote=y&parentid=180105

4. Send the file to forum at originaltrilogy dot com with the subject: "Big post: messid". Do not paste the text of the post into the e-mail itself. Please attach the text file.

Once I've moved the current posts to the new database, I'll create an additional post to follow up the first post and position it beneath the original.

Please reserve option B for truly important posts because it will involve lots of shenanigans on my part. I'd prefer you explore option A first.

Thanks guys.
Forum Administrator

MTFBWY…A

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That's a good idea, Jay. And if my long-winded list of rules for Six Degrees of Star Wars only clocks in at 4,300 characters, I think anyone should be set.

Which ones came in over that total? I'm having trouble imagining that one.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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Probably some of DanielB's old drivel. No big loss there, then.

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I've got my initial posts from the edit threads backed up, just in case.

What is a good tool for counting characters?
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Word has a word counter in it.

ha ha ha

word has a word! I kill me!

“You know, when you think about it, the Ewoks probably just crap over the sides of their tree-huts.”

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Yeah, but you don't want to use the word count feature. You need to copy/paste your text into Word and look along the bottom bar and see what the number is in the ####/#### box. That will tell you (after the "/") how many characters you have in your post. Word count is just that, it counts the number of words. Jay's code is counting characters which includes each individual letter, space, and punctuation mark.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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MS Word's "word count" is both a character and word counter.
Forum Administrator

MTFBWY…A

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That's right, it is. Or save yourself a step and just do what I posted. Since the counter shows by default anyway.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com