Time warp - Google searches on the openSUSE forum

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#1

I was googling about on a current topic of interest when I noticed a hit that looked familiar - a post of mine from Feb 10, 2013.
I opened itand was a bit surprised to see my current signature field on the item.

Yet another distortion of the time-space continuum.

One of the few things I dislike about internet searches is the lack of a usable time frame reference .

One could read this post and infer that I was running oS 13.1 kde 4.12.4 in Feb of 2013!
Maybe my time machine really is working…:wink:

#2

You get the signature, as of the time the page is constructed (usually when you load it), rather than the signature at the time the post was written. I think that’s supposed to be a feature, not a bug.

#3

On 2014-04-15 02:46, cmcgrath5035 wrote:
>
> I was googling about on a current topic of interest when I noticed a hit
> that looked familiar - a post of mine from Feb 10, 2013.
> I opened 'it ’ (http://tinyurl.com/mxrpghh)and was a bit surprised to
> see my current signature field on the item.
>
> Yet another distortion of the time-space continuum.

No, absolutely not.

You have to blame for this the forum software, which applies to any
post, current or ages old, your current signature. Whatever signature
you had at the time is lost.

You will notice that my signature, however, is correct and is not altered.

But this is not an issue to discuss here, in the application forum.
Please ask a moderator to move it.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)

#4

Its been a while since I moved a thread, but I’ll see if I can still remember how.

I plan to move this thread to the “How to use forums” area: https://forums.opensuse.org/forumdisplay.php/690-How-to-use-the-forums

I request no one reply to this thread until after it has been moved. I’ll post when the move is complete.

#5

[quote="“nrickert,post:2,topic:99648”]

You get the signature, as of the time the page is constructed (usually when you load it), rather than the signature at the time the post was written. I think that’s supposed to be a feature, not a bug.[/QUOTE]

This thread started by user **cmcgrath5035 **has now been removed from 'applications to the “How to Use the Forums” sub-area.

It is now open again for comments by both NNTP and web based users.

#6

This is one ofthe reasons why I allways ask people to tell at the begin of their thread what openSUSE version and what desktop (and other relevant information non-clairvoyant people may need to even start thinking about a subject). Having this in a signature is lousy.

  1. To begin with the reader first has to scroll down to the end of the post and then up again to start reading.
  2. People tend to forget to update it when they install e new version.
  3. Some people mention several systems with different software (and they still think they make friends that go and help them).
  4. When the signature is updated, all old threads are worthless information (as you now found out).

It is rather logical. The Forums software provides a signature to sign a post with your name, maybe your address and that sort of thinsg. When you move to a different address, then that should be retrofitted to old posts of course. Thus IMHO the forums software designed this feature for a purpose. And as with all software/hardware (not only in the computer world) when you try to use it for a different purpose, you most probably got stuck somewhere.

#7

hcvv This is one of the reasons why I allways ask people to tell at the begin of their thread what openSUSE version and what desktop (and other relevant information non-clairvoyant people may need to even start thinking about a subject). Having this in a signature is lousy.

  1. To begin with the reader first has to scroll down to the end of the post and then up again to start reading.
  2. People tend to forget to update it when they install e new version.
  3. Some people mention several systems with different software (and they still think they make friends that go and help them).
  4. When the signature is updated, all old threads are worthless information (as you now found out).

Use of the signature seemed good when folks started using it a while back, but can’t argue with your 1. - 3. observations.
Item 4 was somewhat of a surprise to me, but logical haw it works when you think about it.

In an ideal world there might be an icon, perhaps called “My system essentials” on the forum that would populate a terse report (Like a “Quote”) with the important info for initial engagement on an issue.
I don’t use the NNTP interface, so have no idea how equivalent would be achieved there.
Or perhaps a shell script that could be run and the results posted, but then many starting out are not familiar with running scripts or copy-and-paste into a code block.

Something to contemplate; for now just good to keep in mind the side effects of using signature I guess.

#8

It would appear that on Apr 15, cmcgrath5035 did say:

> Use of the signature seemed good when folks started using it a while
> back, but can’t argue with your 1. - 3. observations.
> Item 4 was somewhat of a surprise to me, but logical haw it works when
> you think about it.
>
> I don’t use the NNTP interface, so have no idea how equivalent would be
> achieved there.

Leaving the other arguments against using a signature for current
system data aside. With the NNTP interface the “sig” can be something
inserted either by the user with an editor command, or (if so configured)
it can be something automatically inserted by the users news client.
To the forum it would then be part of the post itself, so if the user does
remember to edit it when they upgrade their system, it wouldn’t affect
past posts. I think it’s only the Forum’s sig file that would retroactively
display the new data in old posts where the new system data could cause
confusion.

Actually though, since I hadn’t been using the forum software’s signature
function, I’m not even sure if it gets applied to NNTP posts…
I’ll be testing that with this post. If it does this post will briefly have
two sig lines, one of which should disappear when I turn the forum sig
function back off. I’ll use a reply to indicate for posterity whether or not
it worked that way…

–
JtWdyP

#9

It doesn’t seem like the forum sig file gets applied to NNTP posts after all…

#10

On 2014-04-16 02:06, jtwdyp wrote:
>
> It doesn’t seem like the forum sig file gets applied to NNTP posts after
> all…

I don’t have a signature when I post via web side, I just checked. Only
the posts I make via nntp get a signature, and I create it on my client.
I have a different signature for each machine or partition I use. I can
make mistakes when upgrading or setting up a new one, of course, but
normally my signature should correctly reflect my status at the moment
the post was written.

Henk does have a point, when he says that the point of forum signatures
is rather to locate or identify the person at the time the post is read.
An old signature might not work for that :wink:

Interesting different points of view… I suppose that nntp users relate
to email users. Older usage. A forum user is more “modern” :slight_smile:

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)

#11

… which is the way I have always understood it on forums. Things relative to the post at the time are best in the post itself, rather than the signature.

#12

On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:06:01 +0000, jtwdyp wrote:

> It doesn’t seem like the forum sig file gets applied to NNTP posts after
> all…
>
>
> –

Correct. The gateway doesn’t do anything to NNTP post content.

Jim

–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C