Auto Links

[Dozey]

Regarding the automatic links being assigned to certain key words I’ve got to say I’m not a really big fan of this feature.

In some cases it could lead new members to totally irrelevant information to the advice being given. And in other cases it can lead to members ignoring a link to relevant information. This occurred with a thread I was dealing with tonight when the OP’s post included a link attached to word “filter”. I completely ignored the link at first but fortunately the OP pointed out that the link was relevant. Flow rate for internal filter

It’s just really tough to know when someone is posting a link to relevant information or if it’s just another irrelevant link.

That’s just my humble opinion and I look forward to other members’ opinions.

[MissMTS]

Honestly I like the feature. It directs newbies to good information and keeps people who are helping the newbies from having to repeat the same information all the time. A lot of beginners don't know where to start when it comes to finding information. Directing them to informative articles is great. IMO there is no harm in clicking the link to see if it is relevant to what you are looking for. Maybe people who are posting links for others to look at could make sure that it is clear that they are doing so. Perhaps just saying "here's a great link that may help you:_____" would do the trick. That's just my two cents

[Jonah]

If I was to have any issue with the dictionary links at all it is that on my system when I click on an underlined word it redirects my current web page to the linked info, it would be easier if it launched a pop-up window.

I'm using Firefox v3.0.7 with a completely 'out of the box' set-up if Mike reads this and finds it interesting. But I tested with IE7 as well and got the same result.

But as MissMTS said its still a good idea so you know that if you type nitrogen cycle etc when responding to a post you do not have to remember to include a link to the Cycle page as well.

[MissMTS]

I do think that a pop up window with the link would be a good idea Joe It can be annoying when your browser page is re-dirrected.

[Red1313]

I always right click and ope the new links as tabs.

[Dozey]

I hope this works as I intend but if my example works this is kind of what I'm getting at...

Unrelated...
Bla bla... my canister filter ...bla bla bla.

Related...
Bla bla... my canister filter ...bla bla bla.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Red1313

I always right click and ope the new links as tabs.

I do the same. Still looking for ways to make them open in new windows on their own though.

Originally Posted by Dozey

Regarding the automatic links being assigned to certain key words I’ve got to say I’m not a really big fan of this feature.

In some cases it could lead new members to totally irrelevant information to the advice being given. And in other cases it can lead to members ignoring a link to relevant information. This occurred with a thread I was dealing with tonight when the OP’s post included a link attached to word “filter”. I completely ignored the link at first but fortunately the OP pointed out that the link was relevant. Flow rate for internal filter

It’s just really tough to know when someone is posting a link to relevant information or if it’s just another irrelevant link.

That’s just my humble opinion and I look forward to other members’ opinions.

Thanks for pointing this out. If a word is made into an external link by the poster the system won't replace that instance with the dictionary link. If the word is repeated though in the thread it will replace the word if it's not linked. Kind of what your test showed. To get around this you could just copy and re-paste the whole link whenever you use that word if you don't want the dictionary link to get embedded.

EDIT: I found a way to make the dictionary links open in new windows and for them to look different from regular links - they now have a dashed underline below them to differentiate them from the other links.

[Dozey]

That works great Mike, very nice work.