[Rollercoasterider]

Forum Modifications
Sometimes I will add new features to the forum that are not out of the package. These are called mods over at smf (simple machines forum) where I download them. I thought I would start listing the new mods that are relevant here. Some aren't relevant because they are for administration only, but some are cool things for you. Some I'm just testing.

Pretty Urls
A few months ago the urls used to be numerically assigned. The pretty urls mod sets them up to use the thread title in the address. They are supposedly better for search engine optimization.
But a warning: Pretty Urls cannot handle an exclamation point ! in the address. Please do not use exclamation points when titling your thread--otherwise we have to change them manually by editing your title. I don't know why this is, but OldPilot has only recently discovered this problem and let me know.

Notepad
I've just added two of these and don't know which to keep. One of them can be accessed right up there  at the top of your screen. It is in the menu buttons and called Notepad.
The other can be accessed in the Summary section of your Profile. The Notepad button will open a little notepad pop-up, the Notepad in your Profile is an already open box.
These are just places where you can store personal notes. I don't know itf anyone will u se it or not, but hey, it may come in handy.

Drafts
This was a feature that went away when I upgraded because the mod was not compatible with the new version of smf. But hey, they upgraded the mod and it is now functioning. You can see it when you are writing a post. There will be a Save as Draft button next to the Post, Preview and Spell Check buttons.

Facebook/Social Share
A lot of you m,ay not want to use this one, but just in case... There are some sharing icons around the board. I haven't tried them out, but sharing should put a little link to the specific post you are sharing--or maybe the thread. I have made sure that these buttons are not activated for the private board.

Twitter
At the bottom of the front page of the forum you can see my Twitter feed. I'd like to have it moved so it is on a sidebar on every page, but I don't know how to do that yet. It may require a change in style/theme of the look and layout and I'm not ready to do that yet. Theme changes often make some mods non-functional and I don't want to risk that right now. But you can check out the feed on the front page. I don't Tweet much, but all of my Blog posts go to my feed automatically, so it will show you when I put up a new article on the blog.

Downloads
I have no idea! Really, I think this is some function for attachments but I don't know how it works and I'm not sure I want them here or not. But I was curious. So there is a Download  button up on the top menu  of your screen now. I don't know if you can do anything with it or not, but it's there for at least awhile.

Google Search
Just like the Twitter feed, this is at the bottom of the front page--where no one probably will see it. So I would like this to be part of a side bar too--along with all the forum stats that are at the bottom of the front page.
I just tried it. I didn't see a Submit button, so I just hit enter. It opened up a new window and looked just like a typical Google search page except everything it found was limited to the forum! Cool.

Mods I want but don't have

Topic Starter
This is not yet working. I had it with the old version and it now says it is compatible with the new version of smf, but when I tried to install it I got a message saying the folder is empty. I will keep trying though. This is a very simple mod. It just puts a little icon--it looks sort of like a pencil--next to the poster who started the thread. So on page 8 you can tell whose story it is because all of there posts will have the icon--someday when I get it working. 

Announcements
This is another one we no longer have due to the upgrade. I wantit back! This was a mod I used all the time, so I'm keeping an eye on it for upgrades. I can use it to put an announcement at the top of each board--and I only have to write it once. Now the only way to really do this is by starting a topic and sticking it to the top, but I have write it over and over if I want it on several boards. UGH. I would have used it to announce the Mentor Program.

Private Message to Groups
Apparently the number of people you can PM on a single message is limited--I think the limit is 5. I am the only one who has a higher limit. My Moderators can't PM the entire moderator group! The people at smf said I could use this even though it is only set for version RC4 (This board is RC5) by hitting a little mimic a previous version button. I did that and installed it, but I don't see an option when I PM--though maybe that is because I don't have limits. But when I added it, it did not give me a clear success. It also did not give me a clear failure. I don't get it!


I will either add to this list as I add new mods, or more likely just describe them in new posts below. But I will revise this list if I remove a mod or am able to get one that I've described as wanting but not having yet.