Tech: thread title length limit

Subject: Tech: thread title length limit
From: Jack Campin
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 07:41 PM

This belongs in the FAQ.

What is the limit on thread title length? Is it elastic in some way? I see other people starting threads longer than any I can manage.

Do mods get to create longer titles than the rest of us?

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: GUEST,999
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 07:43 PM

Is this an example of 'title envy'?

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: olddude
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 08:11 PM

just Cause

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 08:23 PM

It's an old topic. The usual answer has been that it varies-- what is possible-- and that the cure for fixing too-short ones is to ask Joe Offer for help on it so that Help Central can do what we mere members cannot do.

It's actually fun trying to make thread-title-ideas fit, and making them short AND clear.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: Jack Campin
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 08:38 PM

If it's an old topic it ought to be in the FAQ.

What causes it to vary? The browser you use? System loading? Length of your username? The date? Your choice of font? What are the limits of the variation?

Asking Joe's help at thread creation time is unreasonable.

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 08:53 PM

No, I usually create as best I can and then ask for help and later it gets fixed, usually better than any idea I'd had. There's a current thread, for example, that I created today and then mentioned in the thread that its title needed some attention. If it's important, it will usually get fixed one way or another.

~S~

Subject: more on thread title length than you could possibl
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 10:13 PM

It has for quite awhile been 40 characters for the original title, but in the 'reply' box (see above) there are 50 characters available.
I 'believe' this limit was fixed by our former tech guru and main programmer, Jeff..(Pene Azul). I don't know that anyone has tried to alter it in recent years.
Title lengths can be affected by the prefix one chooses (obit/BS/tech)

I'm not sure whether Max has personally addressed the issue.

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: Young Buchan
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 05:41 AM

Do not attempt to use the word 'smiles' in thread titles.






There is a mile between the first and last letters.





I'll get my coat.

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: Tim Leaning
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 05:53 AM

I am currently working on a thesis exploring the connection between the amount of time retired /unemployed persons have on their hands, and the amount of space required to properly, and concisely describe the content of their threads, in the title area of the thread, they are seeking to create.
Could we have space for bibliography and possibly an automated section that posts the library references for this purpose.
Also the length of post within the thread seems to be limited somewhat by the attention span and, in some cases, remaining life span of the reader.
Is there a possibility of some sort of time bubble being made available so that however long our eyes are occupied we still emerge from our cat gazing before our bedtime or at least before the archers omnibus starts on a Sunday.
Now who has nicked me horlicks?

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: GUEST,One of the JoeClones
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 10:34 AM

What's a horlick? (And don't tell me "It depends on how much you pay her.")

When you start a thread, the text you type into the "Thread Title" box is limited to 40 characters.

In addition, you might have a prefix such as "Chord Req:" which adds up to 11 characters (including the space after the colon).

So the longest thread title you can create could be up to 51 characters if you choose the longest possible prefix (but I suspect it will get truncated to 50), or 44 characters if you choose the shortest prefix "BS:", or 40 characters if you choose no prefix at all.

The above restrictions apply to every thread when it is started, regardless of who starts it. If you see a thread with a longer title than what is allowed by the above limits, it means a JoeClone has changed the thread title AFTER the thread was started.

The font has no effect.

If a JoeClone changes your thread title, s/he sees your entire thread title (including the prefix, if any) as one field with a maximum length of 50 characters. So that means there usually is room to add a few characters.

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: frogprince
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 12:16 PM

Please, someone modify this; for years now, I've been frustrated in my desire to request the lyrics for "I've got tears in my ears from lying on my back in my bed while I cry over you".

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: Bill D
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 12:29 PM

If I were typing it, I'd just say
"Tears in my Ears...lyrics?"

but to save you further anguish:


I'VE GOT TEARS IN MY EARS
(FROM LYIN' ON MY BACK IN MY BED WHILE I CRY OVER YOU)
(Harold Barlow)


I've got tears in my ears from lyin' on my back
In my bed while I cry over you
And the tears in my ears, they're off the
beaten track
Since you said "It's goodbye, we are through"
So if I should get water on the brain
You will know you're the one who is to blame
I've got tears in my ears from lyin' on my back
In my bed while I cry over you.

I've got tears in my ears from lyin'on my back
In my bed while I cry over you
I've been cryin' these tears and soakin' in my
sack
Since the day I found you were untrue
And if I don't get up pretty soon
I'll turn into a sleepy lagoon
I've got tears in my ears from lyin' on my back
In my bed while I cry over you.

I've got tears in my ears from lyin' on my back
In my bed while I cry over you
It's been so many years, my sacroiliac
Feels as though it's been soaked through and
through
Oh, you lied when you said we'd take the plunge
Now I know how it feels to be a sponge
I've got tears in my ears from lyin' on my back
In my bed while I cry over you.

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: Bill D
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 12:32 PM

Now, would you like the words to: "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin? Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues"

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: catspaw49
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 12:33 PM

Damn Bill.....Beat me to it!

TIM LEANING....LMAO!!!! Great post!

Spaw

Subject: RE: Tech: thread title length limit
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 01:24 PM

Jack, the easy answer is that you get as many spaces as you can fit into the box. Since this answer is obvious, I saw no need to put it into the FAX.
You get fewer spaces if you use ALLCAPS, and I think you get more spaces if your title favors the letter "i" and other narrow characters.
The moderators have a few extra spaces at their disposal for use in indexing, clarification, and the like. If the title you want doesn't fit, feel free to ask a moderator to add a few letters for you.
We often change thread titles for the sake of standardization and clarification, since we require that thread titles give a fair idea of what's inside a thread. We try to do this by adding to the thread title, rather than by changing the title completely. That way, we hope the thread originator can find the thread if the title has changed. Doesn't always work, but we try.
Please note that a "tag" at the beginning of a thread title is not required. There is a blank space among the dropdown list of tags - please use that one or make up your own tag if nothing on our list fits what you're trying to say.
In addition, do your best to ensure that your thread title is different from any thread title that has been used before - or consider adding your comments to an existing thread. The best tool for finding things by thread title is the Filter.
If you use [CTRL-F] to search the FAQ for Thread title, you will find that the term comes up 31 times. That seems to me to be an indication that the topic of thread titles is discussed at some length in the FAQ.
But the answer to your original question on how many spaces you are allotted in a thread title is this: it depends on a number of factors, but the easy answer is that you get as many spaces as you can type before you get to the end of the box. Oh...and you get a few more spaces in message titles.
You probably should have asked your question in the FAQ. Since we don't allow threads discussing Mudcat policy, I'm going to close this thread. You can argue all day about whether the title limit should be 40 or 42 spaces, and there's no answer. It's a totally arbitrary thing, based on Max's guess on how many spaces will fit without totally screwing up the display of the Forum Menu on a not-so-wide monitor.
-Joe-

Subject: thread title length
From: Jack Campin
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 03:09 PM

Joe just closed this thread before I could reply, so here goes:

the easy answer is that you get as many spaces as you can fit into the box. Since this answer is obvious

It isn't obvious, since virtually no forms interface works that way - you can nearly always type more text than will fit. Exactly how much text fits in the box (on Mudcat as elsewhere) depends on the character width, which has nothing to do with acceptable string length.

Simple check: type this as a thread title.

......................................................................

That's 60 characters. If you're using a proportionally spaced font it will easily fit in the box, but the forum software won't let you type it.

Whereas this

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

is 40 characters, the forum software is happy with it, but it probably won't fit in the box.

Anyway, OneOfTheJoeClones gave the complete answer (which does not involve boxes). Could it go in the FAQ? (I was asking for documentation of what presently happens, not a change in the spec).

Subject: RE: thread title length
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 04:24 PM

Visually, on your screen, "wwwwwwwwww" takes up more space than "iiiiiiiiii"—assuming you're using a variable-width font—but in your computer's memory, or on your disk drive, they take up exactly the same space, and font doesn't matter.