Hello. I have found that the inability for a user of this site to jump to any page has made it difficult for me to browse the forum. This site is a great source of information, so I have been reading through every page of every forum. However, if I leave off at page 40, I need to click through the "Next Page" link may times to get there. I have been bookmarking pages at certain intervals, but it would be great if I could just jump to any page number. Thanks for listening, and for the great site.

Ed,
That's not a bad idea. I don't know the software's ability to do that; perhaps Nathan Robinson will chime in.

Here's a workaround. We can each set how many threads display per page. I set mine to 25. When I go to Historical Arms Talk and click to the second page, this url is generated: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewforum.php?f...p;start=25

Check out the end of the url: "&start=25".

To skip forward ten pages, I could change the "25" in the link above to 250 (25 threads per page times 10 pages). 40 pages would be http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewforum.php?f...start=975. The 41st page for me would be "&start=1000".

The default setting is 20 threads per page, I believe. So you can just do that math and go. :)

Yup. I forgot about that :). A while back, I noticed that the URL contains info on the page number, so I changed it like you said and it worked. I since forgot about it since I haven't turned off my computer since then Well, if you need extra hands, I am a software developer by day and I am always happy to work for new swords :)

Welcome to the wonderful world of dynamic content otherwise known as a discussion forum. The dynamic nature is both great and also a severe limitation.

A forum is a fantastic venue for organic off-the-cuff dynamic conversations and yet is one of the absolute worst formats for archived content that has ever been developed. These two needs are quite opposite and so finding a solution that does both is full of compromises.

I've added several features such as the ability to watch topics, save favorites, and view marked topics we call "Spotlight Topics" that have been selected and categorized as worth reading. Despite being better than most forums on the 'net in this regard, these things do not make the forum format as worthwhile of an archival medium as editorial content.


RE: Bookmarking pages in forum-view
Bookmarking different pages of a forum makes no sense because a forum is dynamic. New topics are added daily and new posts are being added and result in topics being bumped from page to page daily. A topic found on page 20 of a forum may end up back on page 1 at any time. Bookmarks, by their very definition, are intended to be permanent markers to content found on the 'net. If the destination leads to dynamic content, then the entire system is completely flawed.

Bookmarking a page on one day with a list of topics will not reveal those same topics when the market is visited days later, let alone months or years later. The resulting destination and its content would be wildly different: a confusing user experience and a solution that offers no value whatsoever.


RE: Bookmarking pages in topic-view
Bookmarking a topic's individual pages would not work. What one member has on page 2 of a topic may differ from what another member has for his page 2 because each member can define in their preferences how many posts he wants to be displayed for each page.

Instead, you can bookmark any post you want. Not just a topic, but a post. Simply click the post icon listed at the top of each post for the link to that specific post. it shows up as:

[ Linked Image ] (new posts)
[ Linked Image ] (regular posts)


RE: Working for new swords
If anybody is going to be compensated for work, it's going to be me first. Get in line. None of us are paid for this. :p

Oh, it was just a joke :). I know you guys don't get paid for this stuff, I am a moderator on a few programming forums. Thanks for the speedy responses.