keeping the community informed…

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a plea for code tags

If you check out the DaniWeb Rules, in particular that section marked as 'Keep it Organized' you will find the requirement, for easy readability, to "always wrap programming code within posts in [code] (code blocks) and [icode] (inline code) tags." Unfortunately, this is not something that everyone does and it is causing our volunteer moderators, especially those who look after the software development forums, all sorts of headaches as they have to jump in and clean up the code in order that other members will be able to read it and so help answer your questions. There really is no excuse for not taking the little bit of extra time to use code tags, doubly so considering that the Queen of DaniWeb has made it such a simple process.

Code tags, also known as code bbcode or code vBcode, are nothing more than wrapped around programming code in the editor window when typing out a post. They tell DaniWeb to output the code all nicely formatted, in a fixed-width (monospace) font, while preserving whitespace, so that it looks just like it would in your favorite code editor or IDE. Another advantage to using code tags is the Toggle Plain Text link, which puts the code into a textbox where it can easily be copied and pasted. This is very useful to quickly test out programming code that has been posted on DaniWeb while trying to debug errors.

Check out the full code tags FAQ here.

helping us to help you…

Because of the IT support nature of many of the forums here on DaniWeb, we employ an editing timeout on the postings that you make of five minutes for the thread title and thirty minutes for the message text itself. Although some members find it strange that we should prohibit them from being able to edit their own posts after this short period of time, perhaps it might help to explain the method behind the apparent madness. If we allowed posts to be edited at any time, then not only could the content of a single message change but the entire context of the thread that contains it could change as well. Imagine if you were reading a support thread, one which you thought would provide the answer to a problem you had been having, only to discover that someone had deleted the vital bit of code from their posting or had changed their mind and posted something completely different to the original. The thread would cease to make sense, the help on offer could be negated. In order to prevent such a scenario from panning out, we took the decision to limit the editing time instead. We truly believe that thirty minutes should be enough to allow you to post your message, read it through and then make any changes that are necessary such as misspellings or errors in coding for example. Of course, it helps everyone if you take the simple precaution of actually reading what you have written before you hit the post button…

do you have what it takes to be top of the bloggers…

You cannot have helped but notice the IT related news stories that appear on DaniWeb and which can be found not only on the main homepage but also sorted by subject matter within each forum category homepage, such as Tech Talk for example. However, what you might not have realised is these news stories are contributions from DaniWeb members who participate in our very own blogging system. DaniWeb blogs are different to most others in that the entries are restricted to IT news, editorial and reviews and our Blog Editor personally weeds out the 'my dog is ill' type entries along with the self-promotional, the spam and the support questions (which belong in the forums, of course.) Blog postings which reach a certain level, meeting the IT related content requirement plus being well written, timely and interesting, get elevated to 'featured status' and it is these that you see published as news stories across the DaniWeb site and beyond. Beyond, you ask? Well yes, featured DaniWeb blog entries regularly get featured at Google News as well as other worthy global news sites.

If you want to join the ranks of the likes of khess, EddieC, Techwriter10, Brian.oco, newsguy and of course the current top of the DaniWeb bloggers with more than a million views for his postings to date, happygeek, then you are welcome one and all…

every month one member makes the DaniWeb hall of fame…

Please welcome our newest member of the DaniWeb hall of fame, scru, has only been part of the DaniWeb family for fifteen months but in that time has settled nicely into the C#, Windows Vista and Geeks' Lounge forums. Here's what we discovered about our latest proud recipient of the Featured Poster badge when we decided to probe that little bit deeper…

Where are you from?

I'm from a multi-island country in the Caribbean called St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

How old are you?

18

What is your occupation?

I'm currently a web developer but my contract expires in July and after that I plan to study to become a Systems Software Engineer.

What is your favorite computer and why?

Um...my own? Because I use it night and day. Of course, if you are referring to a makes and models, I would have to say Dell and Acer without getting to specific, because Dell offers superior quality without sacrificing the price points, and Acer offers superior price points without sacrificing the quality!

Any fascinating facts about yourself that you would like to share with the DaniWeb community?

Well I hardly think that I am fascinating in any way. Just a few quick facts though. I was named Student of the year for Computing at my A Level college in my first year. I still don't know how it happened, but hey, looks good on a resume right? After finishing A Level college, I took a year off (still in progress) to work before going to University, it is the second biggest mistake I ever made in my life. The biggest was choosing the Business and not Science track when I was in Secondary school.

What first brought you to DaniWeb?

I found you through Google when I was trying to solve a problem on my old, now dead, computer. If I recall correctly, my first post was about some trouble I was having with a Tkinter counter for my Computing A Level project.

What makes you stay here?

At first it was the quick responses I got to whatever questions I had about anything IT. And then I grew to love the openness and diversity of the community. Later I realised that even little guys like me could help out from time to time, which is satisfying in its' own way. Oh, and the IRC channel helps to keep me entertained on boring days at work.

What is your favorite forum and why?

That's a tough one. Right now it should be a tie between Geeks' Lounge and C#, but these constantly change. I love the lounge because it's a nice place to have discussions (sometimes heated) and share things with people who have similar interests. I say the C# forums now because I enjoy lending a hand when I could to fellow .NET programmers on things I know about. That and although I considered C# a boring language before, the new additions to the .NET framework make it fun still.

What are your interests outside of IT and outside of DaniWeb?

I am into photography, still in my learning stages and gathering gear. Apart from that I love to write, and hope to publish a novel some day.

How long do you spend, on average, on DaniWeb every day?

About 2 - 3 hours. I admit though, that I am usual on the IRC server whenever I am online (whether at home or at work). I go by TerranceTheGreat; give me a shout sometime!


Name the best thing about DaniWeb, and one thing you would change if it were in your power?

The best DaniWeb assets are its users, or perhaps its ability to attract and retain them. I would say the broad spectrum the site covers has a lot to do with it. What would I change? If it ain't broke...

by newsguy

Reports are emerging that according to a Gartner analysis, albeit a controversial one, Windows is on the verge of collapse. The conclusion being that unless something is done soon then it is only a matter of time before a competitor that is more able to tackle the problems it has faced will emerge and dethrone the OS King.

The analysis, carried out for Gartner by Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald, included a survey which asked if Microsoft needed to radically alter its approach to Windows to stay viable. Of the assorted IT managers and executives questioned, half apparently raised their hands.

Interestingly, the spectre of Windows 7 might be having an impact upon the commercial success of Vista with Silver providing anecdotal evidence of customers calling to ask if it was advisable to wait for the next generation Windows OS rather than upgrade now to Vista. The answer, according to the Daily Tech report at any rate, was to adopt Vista on an attrition basis and replacing XP only when those machines died.

The analysis offers the following advice for Microsoft: reduce development time, deliver better inter-platform consistency, tailor fit the operating system to specific applications and simplify licensing.