The red 'x' button on the comping threads

fire**fly

i'm wondering how it would work with the long threads that are added to such as

Postal, Text and Phone Competitions - Part 18(1 2 3 ... Last Page)
princess pixiedust

Regularly updated puzzler.com competitions (Part 4)(1 2 3 ... Last Page)
fire**fly

Regularly Updated – Take a Break Puzzle Magazines(1 2 3 ... Last Page)
One-Eye

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Soosieboo

HI Joe,

I agree with others that the start date is not required but end date is, with an option to put an icon or X (or something) to indicate if it's a guessed end date.

Something that I and no doubt others would also find useful is the ability to add where on the net the competition is.. for example
E:30/11 Win whatever FB
E:30/11 Win whatever Twitter
E:30/11 Win whatever WEBSITE
E:30/11 Win whatever BLOG

This would give those that do not enter FB / Twit / Blog comps to filter those or to skip past them..

ALSO - would be lovely to have the ability to have the green tick/red X on the listing rather than go into each thread to click the buttons.

weeowens

Hi,Soosieboo

The title are so space limited that maybe shortened ends would work better eg;

E: 30/11 Win whatever FB
E: 30/11 Win whatever TW
E: 30/11 Win whatever
E: 30/11 Win whatever BL

I'd just have the website one as the default post style as that's the majority atm.
When I post a title I do try & keep it as close to the original as possible but space/information given does not always allow this.
If guessedenddate was used more it would help as the use of a question mark in the title visually works but does not make it searchable by MSE methods.

I'm just curious as to whether the MSE proposals will mean that when one comes to post a comp a default end date will be inputted by MSE automatically?
It's hard to know what is the answer as no matter how many times people must see requests for end dates to be added,mention of Twitter or FB posted in the title we still see them missed.Maybe that's just a part of an open forum & that's how we thrive as the new members add life & replace leavers plus it gives all a chance to contribute.
For most regular posters a lot of this auto title discussion is not really needed.It's often the newer/infrequent posters that need the auto option.Just my view of course.

weeowens

Now that the content of this thread has moved from the original title maybe I could make a couple of requests.
Whilst I really am thankful for all comps posted a few slight tweaks in posting style within the main post would speed things up for me.
Firstly could we try to move away from hiding the links behind words such as "Click","Link" etc.We are not trying to be secretive as to where we are linking to after all.
I just tend to make a "clicky" out of the stripped down comp URL eg here.
No way is perfect although I do like Twotimes posting style eg here but usually find my way quicker.I'd say that my way is even quicker than posting a separate,new word eg "Clicky"
Secondly could the link eg Daily Mail , Daily Telegraph etc be posted as the first thing on a comp post.
By doing both it would be possible to just place the cursor on the post,in page view & see the comps link page.This would saving opening posts that hold no interest for one eg for myself I do not enter via More Magazine or Meadowhall,amongst others.This is for various reasons & is not meant as a slight on the comp posters of those sites.

All the above is just a suggestion for further discussion & in no way meant as a slight on anyone.

Blulu

Hi Weeowens, I'm not sure about your last suggestion TBH. Although I can see that it would be helpful to display the comp host from the index, as you say.

However, personally, I prefer, where possible, to have fewer rules and restrictions. I quite like the randomness of everyone's way of posting. Also, and more importantly, it's hard enough getting newbies to conform to the current format, without adding to it. Not everyone is as tactful as you are, in pointing out when the title needs tweaking or other little errors. I would be reluctant to give more ammo to those who, shall we say, are perhaps a little less inclined to 'suffer newbies gladly'.

Finally, I know I keep harping on about adding a filter to the search facility, but actually if we did that, you could filter out More Magazine or whatever.

Blu X

One-Eye

fire**fly wrote: »

i'm wondering how it would work with the long threads that are added to such as

Postal, Text and Phone Competitions - Part 18(1 2 3 ... Last Page)
princess pixiedust

Regularly updated puzzler.com competitions (Part 4)(1 2 3 ... Last Page)
fire**fly

Regularly Updated – Take a Break Puzzle Magazines(1 2 3 ... Last Page)
One-Eye

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I don't see this as a problem. I would create the thread as E: 31/12 and edit it at Christmas to E: 30/06 and at Easter back to E: 31/12. If a year is included then I would use E: 31/12/2030 or something.

One-Eye

On end dates....

weeowens wrote: »

For most regular posters a lot of this auto title discussion is not really needed.It's often the newer/infrequent posters that need the auto option.

weeowens wrote: »

... hopefully we do not end up with too much added to the title section,that then needs to be edited.That would just slow things down when posting a series of comps.

These are important points. I agree it is needed more for infrequent posters (who omit or mis-format the date) than for regular posters (whose most common error with dates is to copy a previous title and forget to change the date). Slowing down the posting of a sequence of comps would be most unwelcome.

A previous idea I advocated might help and should not require any drastic changes. When you click on the icon to post a link the box is prefilled with http://. In a similar way if you posted a new thread could the title box be prefilled with E: DD/MM as a guide and reminder to less experienced posters. This can obviously be copied over etc. and would at worst require a few presses of the backspace key.

weeowens wrote: »

I'm just curious as to whether the MSE proposals will mean that when one comes to post a comp a default end date will be inputted by MSE automatically?

Interesting, and I'm not sure whether a default date is a good or bad idea. It might be good if having posted one comp the default date for a subsequent comp was the one previously used. Also should the default be a "guessed" or "known" end date?

One-Eye

weeowens wrote: »

could the link eg Daily Mail , Daily Telegraph etc be posted as the first thing on a comp post.

Totally agree with this - or to be more precise "Could the company running the comp be clearly shown at the top of a comp post"

There are companies whose comps you can not enter due to restrictions on geography, age, sex, number of or age of kids etc. and others who you avoid by choice. As it is not possible to put all relevant details in the comp title, it is handy to see the company when you hover over the comp in forum view.

Blulu

Go on then, I'll bite the bullet on this. It took all my courage to stand against one seasoned pro. I'm certainly not taking on both of you All I ask is that with this, and any new rules, that people remember the MSE thing about being respectful to other users at all times, and especially so with newbies

weeowens

Blulu wrote: »

Go on then, I'll bite the bullet on this. It took all my courage to stand against one seasoned pro. I'm certainly not taking on both of you All I ask is that with this, and any new rules, that people remember the MSE thing about being respectful to other users at all times, and especially so with newbies

Hi,I fully take on what you say re " remember the MSE thing about being respectful to other users at all times, and especially so with newbies".
I'm not aiming for my idea/view to be made a "rule" but more of a gradual change in style of posting.I'm not looking at grousing at each thread that does not conform :-)
Most newbies on here,in my view,do not read the Comping Guide prior to posting a comp for the first time.This is evident from the guidance that is often required to edit comps posted online by them.
If they are anything like me they just jump in & assimilate styles & rules as they go.
I just think that if we were to try & follow the ideas that I've posted or One Eye's idea lots would just see it as the norm & just follow along.I know that's what I did,in that I just picked styles that others used & adapted them.
Re the idea of a filter I do see some validity but I'm a bit blinkered as it's use on choosing comps to enter would be not in keeping with my comping style.I just comp as posted with the odd switch to the views that I posted here
I just run my cursor doem & if a comp is on my mental list of sites to skip I do & others I enter.When I have lots of Green Ticks I move on to the next page.
How would it be if I posted a link to this in Compers Corner to open the discussion up?