About those contributions and things, can you explain something someone mentioned in some thread at some point (wish we could do body searches!) about Amazon.com, and how if you are going to order from them if you do it through Mudcat then Mudcat gets a slice? And are there any other cooperative affiliations of this type?

Mrzzy,if you click on the banner with the Mudcat Logo that says Help Support the Mudcat at the top of this page, you will get the answers to your first question. -Jon Freeman-

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Mrr says: Another question: What does the little SHOP line mean that sometimes, and sometimes not, appears below the date of the posting? Thanks, -Mrr

Click on one, and see, Mrr. It leads you to recordings of songs mentioned in the message, and you can buy the recording and generate a small amount of income to help support Mudcat.

Ok, I see what it DOES, but why or how does it get there? I have seen something under my name sometimes that didn't seem to relate to anything... I will try to find an example. Thanks again. I'd like to benefit Mudcat - pity I buy so little music!

It gets there by Max's Magic, Mrr. Max is the whiz who keeps this place running.
-Joe Offer-

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Trouble with Thread Titles and Starting Threads

Mrrzzy: Another question: sometimes when creating a new thread, I change my mind about what the title should be halfway through. Then when I post, what I see posted is always what I first typed, not what I had (by the end of my typing) decided to title the thread. Does it save the thread title as soon as you tab into the body, and if so, how can you change your thread title from your first stab? Should I wait to title till I'm completely done thinking?

The title for the thread appears to be set when you first go to create it. When you enter and submit the post, you have the option to change the subject field but not the actual thread title. If you change your mind halfway through creating a new thread, I would suggest that you copy the text that you have already typed, abandon that attempt (you can do that by using your back button but make sure you don't hit the Submit button before doing this) and starting again with the correct title. You can then copy what you have already typed back into the form. -Jon Freeman-

Sometimes, people get error messages when they are trying to create a thread. The thread creation mechanism is complicated and a bit fussy, and does not allow all punctuation marks and special characters. If you get an error message, the first possible solution is to check the thread title and avoid using punctuation or special characters. Quotation marks in thread titles can be real killers - please don't use them.

Jon's partially right in his comments about aborting the thread creation process. No thread is created until you click on the "submit" button for your first message (be sure to click on it only once). However, please AVOID using the "back" button on your browser to navigate the the Mudcat, especially in the process of posting messages and creating threads. As much as possible, use the navigation links Max has provided, and that will help reduce the problem of duplicate threads and messages. To abort a thread creation or a message, click on any link on the page, but don't click on the "submit" button. If you do start a duplicate message or thread, don't worry. Somebody will take care of it. If you need to have something deleted right away, post a request on the Help Forum

Be sure to give your thread a specific title. Titles like "desparately seeking lyrics" are considered generic, trite, and poorly spelled (desperate people never spell the word right). Tell people what you want by putting the song title or a phrase from the song in the name of the thread. In your inital message, tell us everything you know about the song, not just the title. Too many songs share titles, and many songs have several different titles.

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Thread too big to load in your computer?

In the "messages" column on the Forum Menu, there's a column of numbers that tells how many messages are in each thread. If the thread has more than 50 messages, that number is a clickable link that will display the thread in batches of 50 messages. Next to that number is a small "d" that is a link that will display the messages in reverse (descending) order.
-Joe Offer-