Meta thread is meta

Pretty Posts Sticky

By justingoblue — January 30th, 2013 at 2:34 AM — 27 comments
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Wondering how to blockquote? Don't know how to embed videos? This sticky is your go-to thread for help with making your comment or thread look as good as the most computer literate users here, hopefully in steps simple enough for [rival joke here] to understand. Before we get to it, there have been helpful threads in the past, such as this one from ShockFX (which goes into more plain text detail than I will here). I'm not promising anything revolutionary as much as providing a link for "one stop shopping" to help people with common problems.

How do I get a quote to show up in the fancy yellow box?

  1. Click "switch to plain text editor". This is a link at the bottom of the text box for either a comment or post/diary.
  2. Write out <blockquote></blockquote>
  3. Paste your quote between ><
  4. Switch back to rich text editor. This button is in the same spot at the bottom of the text box as plain text editor.
  5. Format as needed: this is just trial and error. If you're really stuck it's not the end of the world, it sometimes takes practice.

How do I embed a video?

  1. Click "switch to plain text editor". This is a link at the bottom of the text box for either a comment or post/diary.
  2. On YouTube, click "share" and "embed".
  3. Copy the link that appears.
  4. Paste the link into the text box.
  5. Switch back to rich text editor. This button is in the same spot at the bottom of the text box as plain text editor.
  6. Look for a box. It should have a red outline and say either "flash" or "iframe". If you see this, you've succeeded; congrats.

How do I embed a video in a forum topic or diary?

Follow the instructions immediately above, but after clicking "share" on YouTube, you need to check the box below it that says "use old embed code".

I don't know how to embed a picture in my comment or post/diary.

  • The easiest way to do this is to drag the picture from a site hosting it (such as Google Images, Facebook, ect.). You can left click your mouse on the picture and select "view" in Firefox or "open in new tab" in Chrome. Make the window smaller and drag the image into the text box.
  • When commenting on a thread, story or diary, the comment box has a line of options at the top, with options like bold, italics, ect. On the far right is a little picture. Click this picture and paste the URL of the picture you would like included. You can obtain the URL by left clicking the image and selecting "copy image location".

Note: .gifs work the same way as pictures. Either of these instructions will work for GIFs.

I want to embed a Tweet in a comment.

  1. Click "switch to plain text editor". This is a link at the bottom of the text box for either a comment or post/diary.
  2. On the tweet you want to embed, click where it says "More"
  3. On the drop-down, select "Embed Tweet"
  4. Copy the code that appears
  5. Paste the code into the post
  6. Switch back to rich text editor. This button is in the same spot at the bottom of the text box as plain text editor.

Note: I'm told this does not work for forum topics or diaries. Sorry.

I've seen some posts use a fancy link that's part of the text. I want to do that too.

  1. Highlight the text you want to turn into a blue link.
  2. Click the blue globe on the top of the text box.
  3. Paste the URL you'd like to link to.
  4. Click "OK".

I want to get fancier than that.

To make the link open in a new window or tab:

  • After clicking the globe and pasting the URL, click "target" and switch to "New Window (_blank)"

To underline links:

  • While the text is highlighted, hit "ctrl" (Command for Apple users) and then "u" on your keyboard.

I need to create a table and copy/paste from Excel looks messy.

  1. Go to this link.
  2. Paste the table you have into the box and "Tableize It!"
  3. Click "switch to plain text editor". This is a link at the bottom of the text box for either a comment or post/diary.
  4. Paste the information the website spits out as "your table"
  5. Switch back to rich text editor. This button is in the same spot at the bottom of the text box as plain text editor.
  6. Format as needed. This usually means (for me) making sure there aren't a bunch of lines between the text and the table.

I still need help; the sticky isn't covering my problem.

Leave a comment here. We're fortunate to have a lot of knowledgeable and friendly posters here on the board, and someone will have an answer for you.

Notes:

  • Thanks to Raoul, Seth and MGoShoe for their work in the suggestions thread, and Michigan Shirt for the ShockFX link; some of the work above is yours and this is my way of giving you credit.
  • Thank you everyone who made suggestions in the prior thread.
  • Irrelevant comments made while this is on the front board will be deleted after it's off, this space should be kept clean for Q&A's.
  • Questions, other tips not accounted for here or pointing out something I've done wrong in the OP are all highly encouraged.

 

META: A message from former moderator profitgoblue

By profitgoblue — March 5th, 2013 at 12:53 PM — 119 comments
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I just wanted to take a quick moment to let you all know that I've stepped down as a moderator on this here Board.  LSA is stepping in to pick up my slack and probably perform a much better service than I have of late. 

I've been a moderator over 2 years now (!) but during past few months my outside life started to cut more and more into my personal time.  Two little children, a wife, and my career now leave a lot less time for my extracurricular activities.  A while back I stopped working nights - thank goodness BiSB and now JGB were there to pick up my slack - and I now find it increasingly more difficult to read through all of the threads created each day.  I realized that was not fair to Brian and you all, especially after seeing what a great job JGB is doing and realizing that a full-time moderator needs to be available much more than I have been.

In addition, when BiSB rage-quit I realized that he was feeling all those same things I am without having thought about it.  The Board is a great place but it just doesn't have the same feel as it used to.  I can't place my fingers on it and I don't want to go negative, but it just doesn't feel the same.  I'm hoping that by becoming a "normal" poster again and not moderating anymore will un-jade me.  You all might or might not realize this, but being a moderator is pretty damn hard, and not-so-rewarding, work.  I always took great pride in knowing that Brian and Seth appreciate our hard work at keeping the Board classy and respectable (e.g. not MLive-ish) but the wear-and-tear of the daily job is pretty tough.  At least it was for me.  I'll still be around to help provide damage control in case anything blows up and the Board goes crazy if they need me (kind of like BiSB is doing now).

All that said, its been a pretty entertaining run.  A special thank you to:  (a) FormerlyAnonymous and Brian for thinking enough of me to recommend and accept me, respectively, as someone who was worthy of my former role, (b) BiSB and JGB for being good friends and colleagues, and (c) most all of you for being respectful, patient, and understanding.  With that, time for profitgoblue to make like a fetus and head out!  You stay classy, internets.

(P.S.  For anyone who's interested, I've created a new account under "CooperLily21" and will be posting on that one instead of this "profitgoblue" account.  Its time for a fresh start:  This "profitgoblue" account was my first foray into online discussion boards and I went from N00B to loved/hated poster during the Coaching Change fiasco to loved/hated moderator.  Its time for a fresh start, I think.  If you're interested, you can follow me on the Twitters at @CooperLily21 )

OT: MGoBlog - The MOVIE?!?!?

By Decatur Jack — February 12th, 2013 at 2:33 AM — 89 comments
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Obviously NOT REAL, but for humor's sake...

(Tourist version only...)

real pic of ace

META: 503 Service Unavailable

By profitgoblue — December 18th, 2012 at 5:11 PM — 36 comments
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For all you computer-savvy folks out there, I just got the following response as I tried to refresh the page several times a few minutes ago.  What does this mean?  Did it happen because Brian was in the process of posting new front page content?  Or is it something with my computer?  Or is it some kind of statement with respect to my mental capacity having been overloaded this Tuesday afternoon?

 

Error 503 Service Unavailable

Service Unavailable

Guru Meditation:

XID: 1005852184

 

How can I be expected to fulfill my duties if I can't access the site?   #modhumor

META: Verified user flags?

By MikeCohodes — November 19th, 2012 at 10:00 AM — 82 comments
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So I was thinking, now that Martavious Odoms has become an occasional contributor to the forums, and we have also seen posts from the Zoltan Mesko Foundation on here as well, I had a thought for a site improvement for the offseason.  Twitter has a process where they flag an account as a "verified" account to show that the celebrity is truly who they claim to be on Twitter and not an imposter.  Maybe there can be a way we can do this for the blog for those types of users?  Who knows, maybe some other former players will come forward and start contributing to the blog as well?

Thoughts?  Is this a waste of time because there are so few former players on here?  Or will this maybe encourage more past players to show up and be on here?

META: The Season Cometh

By BiSB — August 15th, 2012 at 3:56 PM — 46 comments
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As you may have noticed, the season is around the corner. Thank you, sweet 6 pound 8 ounce baby Jesus, the season is almost here. But with that said, might be time to refresh some people on the changes with in-season rules for the board.

During the season, there are no OT threads. Threads about pet issues, tv show discussions, or musical groups coming to the Palace will be deleted with extreme prejudice. There are exceptions, of course; stuff involving other college football teams are generally acceptable, as are Lions-related threads and a Sunday NFL open thread. If we kill Bin Laden again, that's fair game. It's a case-by-case thing.

I know. I likewise thought this was America

This horrible infringement on your First Amendment rights goes into effect one week before the start of the season, or a week from this Saturday. Also, be advised that Brian occasionally has to change the posting privileges in-season to prevent absolute chaos. So, if you have 101 points and try to post a "WTF WAS THAT????11??" thread after a loss and you can't, there's probably a reason. In Soviet Russia, board posts you.

Beyond that, a few season-related things to remember:

  • The trolls will come. Most of them will breathe primarily from their mouths. And most of them will be from Michigan State. Resist the urge to feed the trolls. You can inform the mods in the Moderator Action Sticky thread, and we will take care of it.
  • Consider your threads carefully, and ask yourself if it's really new. After a loss, you will see three or four straight threads titled, "well that sucked," or "why did we suck?" or "I'm disappointed" or "that was disappointingly sucky." Your opinion is like a snowflake; it's unique, just like everyone else's. If you can insert your opinion in an existing thread, that is encouraged.
  • Personal attacks on players will not be tolerated. "Should Kalis be getting more reps than Mealer" is fine. "Mealer sucks, get his ass out of there" is not.
  • There is an influx of newbies when the season begins. Resist the urge to start flame wars with all of them.
  • Muppets are for BIG THINGS only. Beating Alabama is a muppets thing. Beating UMass is not.
  • Denard.

Hoke Uber Alles.

 

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