Computer Nerd Question

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Originally posted by J.N.:
If that has worked, how does one do it in a normal e-mail?

Ta.

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One doesn't unless one wants to annoy people by sending emails in HTML.

But you can use http://tinyurl.com to make big PITA URLs that get split across lines much smaller and easier to handle.

For example http://tinyurl.com/3e4l2 is better than http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=67019385&f
=58019385&m=1021950596

Matthew

Y ou suprised me there Mat my old son, I didn't think you'd get that one, innit ?

Fritz Von Therenarfbinsomecleverbastardsluckybleedersluckybleeders

It's called farting mate.

Fritz Von Blastenpuster

No answer yet!

What happens when one uses the 'URL' box in a 'Post a Reply' here to convert an address?

Can I not replicate this in e-mails to 'tidy up' a link address?

J.N.,

no, because the forum is not set up to do it. It's nothing to do with computer nerdery, the forum software (or a t least the version Naim are using) simply doesn't have the functionality you're looking for.

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Originally posted by J.N.:
No answer yet!

What happens when one uses the 'URL' box in a 'Post a Reply' here to convert an address?

Can I not replicate this in e-mails to 'tidy up' a link address?

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J.N. I did answer your query. You can't do it in a normal email. IF you want to put it into an HTML email and annoy people then an example of the code is "<a href="http://www.naim-audio.com"> Naim Audio </a> " (without the quotes of course)

You may have answered but in all my years of utter geekery I have never fathomed how you put a lilnk up that isn't the actuall adress.

Could some one explain?

Cheers

John;

Sorry if you did provide an answer - Not being a computer nerd; I didn't understand it!

Markus;

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because the forum is not set up to do it.

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The forum is set up to do it - that is my point. You just use the URL box to state the full link and the required converted abbreviated link.

Do e-mails work differently; so that this process cannot be applied?

JN,

The forum is, obviously, a web page and as such a web page is written in a language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language). HTML allows you to write content and describe its layout (and provide links) by "marking it up" with special codes. If you select Source from your browser's View menu you will see the HTML for the page you are currently viewing.

<p>So, for example, if you want to have some text formatted as a paragraph you it inside the a 'p' element with the appropriate start and end symbols as shown here.</p>

If you want to do bold you use <b></b>, etc. If you want to do a link you do the <a href="url">Link Text</a> thing John described earlier.

When you add a message to the forum you type it in text. This text is then converted into HTML by the forum software for display (since it must be in HTML to display in a web browser). The forum could allow you to write this in pure HTML directly but this is slightly dangerous in that if you get it wrong it can screw the whole page up and make others messags unreadable (both accidentally and maliciously). Instead it allows you to type a simplified HTML type language specific to this forum called UBBCode. This is the little bits with the square brackets that the URL buttons insert into your message for you.

When you post your message UBB is converted to HTML. It therefore allows you to "sex up" your post with HTML-like constructs without the risk of screwing up the site if you make a mistake (HTML is quite pernickety).

Now, e-mail is essentially a means to send text messages to other people. Originally this was just plain text and all e-mail programs just displayed the message as it arrived. So if you sent HTML in an e-mail you would see the HTML rather than the rendered page you would see if you looked at it in a browser.

Then Microsoft started putting their web browser (Internet Explorer) inside ever other piece of software as part of their evil plan to rule the world. This was to allow other software the ability to understand and display HTML. This included Outlook and Outlook Express (MS's e-mail programs) and so e-mail gained the ability to deal with HTML and you could, effectively, send a simple text message as a web page and include pictures, links, formatting, etc. There then followed a short period of time where MS users would send HTML e-mail to people who couldn't use it as they were not using MS's e-mail software.

Nowadays everyone (just about) can send and recieve HTML email. This has several uses:

-- AOL users can send each other pictures of their cats and converse in blue, italicised Times Roman fonts.

-- Commercial organisations can send you a web page rather than a simple letter.

-- Spammers can send you a web page that means you end up getting even more spam (they can do some trickery with the pictures so that if you download the e-mail the picture confirms your e-mail address as valid with their website even if you don't reply).

-- Hackers can send you e-mails that contain viruses and the like that exploit vulnerabilities in HTML implementations in e-mail clients.

-- Telecoms companies and hardware manufacturers can make more money selling stuff as the total amount of internet traffice just jumped by 20% (most of it < and > )

-- Idiots with poor language skills can pepper their e-mails with etc

<Many reasons later>

-- You can send someone a link in HTML which you couldn't do in a plain text email.

How you do this depends on your e-mail client. If you are using Outlook make sure the format is set to HTML (its the default) and then Insert | Hyperlink and fill in the dialog appropriately. To edit a link right click it and select "Edit Properties" and fiddle with the same dialog. This will insert the appropriate HTML for you and allow you to send a working link with friendly descriptive text.

So essentially John's original answer was correct -- yes you can do it using HTML.

Matthew

PS In future when faced with problems like this I suggest you use the Help function.

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-- AOL users can send each other pictures of their cats and converse in blue, italicised Times Roman fonts.

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I protest! I have never sent anyone a picture of a cat and have never conversed in blue, italicised Times Roman fonts.

In recent versions of Outlook downloading of pictures in HTML mails is disabled by default.

Matthew

I don’t know if I am over simplifying this but does JN not just need to add a hyperlink in his E-mails?

If so you can type “click here” highlight the words, click “insert” and click “hyperlink” you will see a URL box either type in or cut and paste the URL in the relevant box and the text is now a link.
If you cut and paste make sure the address does not say http// twice at the front as windows sometimes adds one already,

Hope this is of help John.

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Originally posted by Matthew Robinson:
[entire post above]

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Brilliant! I think everyone reading this will thank you for clarifying so much that was previously vague.

While we're on this (but at the risk of a degree of topic drift):

What is your understanding of the implications of deliberately "bouncing" incoming spam? Is it in fact "agressive non-validation" of one's email address, thereby actually defeating the object by validating it anyway? Or what? Someone has asked me this and I must confess I haven't a clue -- plus it's easier to ask here than anywhere else!

Anyone?

Best;

Mark

Matthew

Many thanks for your lengthy reply in non-nerdy language.

John

Thank you for your simple explanation. It works!