Let’s say you want to link to a very lenghty page and the information you want people to see is half-way down. How do you make it so that when people click on the link, they go straight to your info instead of the top of the page? It must be possible as I saw someone else do it but I don’t remember the thread.
Good question. I just figured this one out.
First thing you need to do is get the Post ID number of the post you wanna link to. Move your cursor over (you don’t have to click) the “quote” button below the post you want to link to. When you do this you should see a big URL in the status bar at the bottom of your browser. It looks like this.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?action=newreply&postid=1127763
At the end of this URL is the Post ID number. For example, Rat, your post in this thread has the ID 1127763. Remember that number.
Then all you need to do is enter the following URL into the browser…
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=X#postX
…where you replace both of the X’s with your Post ID number. So to link directly to your post, KR, you’d provide the following URL:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1127763#post1127763
Tada. Of course the effect is much more useful for posts in the middle of threads.
This only works if the page you’re linking to already has markers for those links built-in. vB conveniently does this (though for its own purposes, not ours), but many pages at other sites might not.
Yep, it works just fine. Thanks, Arnie Winky! 
:Scrapes egg off face, slowly.:
Alphie, you have permission to give me the mother of all dopeslaps. I confused you with Winkelried in the moment of my victory. Damn.
Thank you, marvelous moderators. I will certainly use that technique but I had something different in mind. I’ve looked hard for the post in question but can’t find it. It was at least a month ago. I should have asked the poster at the time! This guy linked to a very lenghty page outside the SDMB. He wanted to show a quote from Shakespeare (I’ve already tried to find the post that way) and when you clicked the link, you were taken to the middle of the page (you could see the scroll bar was already half way down). Now maybe I’m all wet here and he was able to “select” this quote on the site itself which took him to the middle of a page and therefore the URL would do the same.
I do like your answers, though!
These are called “anchors”.
They have to be built into the page before you reference it.
If you click on the ?[sub]faq[/sub] icon at the top of this page, you will see a page like this.
Here’s the whole page: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/index.php?action=faq
Here’s a sample link to the topic “How can I change my profile information?” taken from that list:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/index.php?action=faq#profile
Derleth is in so much trouble I don’t know where to start.
[ul][li]He confuses me with Alphagene. As everyone knows, Alphagene and I are polar opposites. I’m old, he’s young. I’m at the top of the SDMB, he’s at the bottom. I’ve been called (by Duck Duck Goose) the “Donna Reed” of moderators. I don’t think anyone would ever dare compare Alphagene with Donna Reed.[/li][li]He refers to me as “Arnie Winky”? Only my mother can call me that, and until I receive proof to the contrary, I’m going to assume that Derleth is not my mother.[/li][li]Upon discovering the mistake, Derleth apolgizes to Alphagene but not to me?!?[/ul][/li]
I’m hopping mad right about now.
To Arnold Winkelried:
[ul]
[li]You’re right. I should have told Alphagene I complimented him by confusing him with the ‘Donna Reed’ of Mods and then apologized like hell to you.[/li][li]I’ve been making up little names for all the muckety-mucks around here. I try to base them around the user names, but I see here that will not be appropriate. Therefore, you shall be called Spanky from now on.[/li][li]See point one. Scroll on up there, Spanky.[/li][/ul]
(Ya know, I’d better run.)
…
(heavy breathing) The force is strong with this one. He is a great danger to our power. This lack of respect cannot be endured. He must learn to fear us or die. (more heavy breathing)
You forgot to mention that you think Green Acres is the place to be, while New York is where I’d rather stay.
And Noodles is definitely the Donna Reed of mods. I’m more of a Donna D’Errico.
OK, I looked up Donna D’Errico at google since I’m not familiar with the pop culture heroes you youngsters have on your posters. Alphagene, I regret to say that your pectorals, perky though they may be, suffer greatly when compared to Donna D’Errico’s proud breasts.
In any case, most people that frequent the Straight Dope would choose the homespun, sensible qualities of a Donna Reed over the superficial charms of a blonde California lifeguard.