# Links to treads never work **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 11, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047 "2001-02-11T16:51:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047/1 "2001-02-11T16:51:23Z")
Whenever I click on a link to a Straight Dope thread [the link being contained in a post] it opens up a new window and takes me to the opening page of the SDMB where are listed the different forums. Why doesn’t it link me to the thread intended? Just a query. Any answer will be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047/2 "2001-02-11T18:09:50Z")
Eh, I’ve never heard of this happening, so I’d suspect something in your browser, maybe having to do with Log On/Log Off? It would help us answer your question if we knew what kind of computer you have and what kind of software you’re using (Windows, Netscape, what?) Also, how many times has it done this? My other guess would be that it was just that you happened to click on an embedded link that didn’t “make” properly. Tell us which link(s) it was, in which thread(s)? Does it only do this with links to SDMB threads, or to other websites, too? Does it only do this with http: links, where it says “threadid=” etc., or does it do this with embedded links, where you see words in blue, like “This thread…”? ---
**Author:** ![lazy1\_boltonlandingny.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lazy1\_boltonlandingny.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazy1_boltonlandingny.net)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047/3 "2001-02-11T18:25:42Z")
I guess a high post count doesn’t mean you’ve looked around much. Many of Cecil’s threads contain them, so a fan will run into them a lot. There are hundreds of these links, all on the fabled “pre-conversion” threads. like this one [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=14264](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=14264) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047/4 "2001-02-11T18:28:05Z")
I’ve seen this, too, and it’s due to a mistake on the part of the person making the link. If you leave off the http:// at the beginning of a link, say “[www.snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com)”, it’ll think that you mean “[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/www.snopes.com](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/www.snopes.com)”. Of course, there isn’t a file called [www.snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com) in the sdmb directory of [boards.straightdope.com](http://boards.straightdope.com), so the server fudges it and just shows you the default page. This’ll happen regardless of whether the page in question is an SDMB thread or not. ---
**Author:** ![lazy1\_boltonlandingny.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lazy1\_boltonlandingny.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazy1_boltonlandingny.net)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047/5 "2001-02-11T18:42:27Z")
That too. Also, there are broken links that don’t take you to the menu page. Usually they are links that are too long and get broken by word wrap. Also, there’s a bug where the link is good but it’s not activated - you can’t click it, but cut & paste works. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047/6 "2001-02-11T23:52:28Z")
**wolfstu** , if the problem you are experiencing are indeed in the preconversion threads like the one lazy linked to, it’s because the linked address no longer exists. Those links worked back when the MB was using UBB software, but all the thread addresses were changed when the MB was converted to vB software. The first post in lazy’s linked thread links to the address [http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/006962.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/006962.html) Compare that to the URL for this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59505](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59505) ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2001, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/links-to-treads-never-work/54047/7 "2001-02-12T00:23:45Z")
Oh. Thanks. I have since found a few new, presumably ‘post-conversion’ links that did work. Thank you for your help.