Updating a Posting: Could be Clearer

When you edit a forum posting, the system displays the post you are editing.  Also, just above it, it displays the last page of the topic, centred on the last posting.

This can be particularly confusing if you are editing the last post because then you are looking at TWO COPIES of the post.

Also, you are just shown the first line or two of the post you are editing so you have to scroll down to see the rest of it - whereas you are shown the full version of the copy you cannot edit!

First: the view should be centred on the post you are updating.

Secondly, the read-only copy of the post should be greyed out or better flagged so that you don't try to edit it

Thirdly, whereas when you submit a post initially, you have CANCEL, SAVE & PREVIEW and SUBMIT NEW FORUM TOPIC buttons; when you update a post, you only have a SUBMIT YOUR CHANGES button. There should be a CANCEL button at least.

I find the required scrolling of the post you are editing to be extremely annoying and troublesome. It is made worse if you insert a diagram and much worse if you insert multiple diagrams when the diagram place-holders are all over the place and you can lose all perspective on which is which.

The question was asked before: is the forum editor 3rd party software that would be challenging to adapt - or was it created from scratch in-house?

It's always good to know when I'm not the only one complaining. When it's only me I start to become paranoid.

wormrose wrote: It's always good to know when I'm not the only one complaining. When it's only me I start to become paranoid. 

Who's complaining? I thought you were 'giving constructive feedback'.

I am complaining! That is constructive feedback. At least that's what I tried to tell my boss.

Does anybody remember the "Flying Fickled Finger of Fate Award"?

(this is totally irrelevent to the subject)

We need it here.

No - RaMLI was before my time.

If you know about RaMLI then you remember it. (or did you google it?)

Okey, so I googled it and discovered that's not the one I was thinking of. I am remembering a hand held upward with the index finger extended as though declaring the number one. While the hand was motionless the finger rotated in a "whoopee!" sort of way. I wonder where I saw that?

Hard to say - but following my recent chainsaw accident, after my middle finger was repaired, it was very stiff. I can't close that finger when I make a fist and when driving, many people get the mistaken impression that I am being critical of their driving in some way.

City Slickers?

No! Long before that. On a TV show. Maybe it was Johnny Carson.

MPFC?

Chainsaw accident?! Are you for real?

wormrose wrote: Chainsaw accident?!   Are you for real?

I wish I was making it up.

Absolutely! If I am editing and then decide I don't like my changes; I don't have any choice. So I usually navigate away from the page and then find my way back to it to make sure my changes did not get posted or to make changes more to my liking.

(what happened to spellcheck? ) 

The button is still there; it's just become invisible.

yes... and when you click it, it still underlines misspelled words but it does not offer a list of alternate words.