**Author:**  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2000, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/11 "2000-03-01T17:48:00Z")
I’ve brought this up only a zillion times since the Great Hack, but the HTML hyperlink code
**\words to click on\**
can handle much longer URLs than its UBB equivalent
**{url=web address goes here}words to click on{/url}**
so with a long URL, there’s no longer a way to keep the URL from stretching out the page.
## Is it possible that the UBB code will be upgraded to be able to handle longer URLs? Do our tech people know why UBB code has problems with URLs over a given length in the above format? And do they know how long a URL can be without causing problems in the above format?
I’m going to keep asking this $%&#@! question until I get an answer.
---
**Author:**  [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/12 "2000-03-02T06:08:00Z")
Here’s about as close as I think you’re likely to get to an answer from our side.
## We bought the software. Yep. Just went to Infopop and bought it off the shelf, much like I bought Microsoft Office. We did not write it. We don’t care to rewrite it. The people who _did_ write it have a UBB discussion forum [here](http://www.scriptkeeper.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi) . Have at them, and let us know what they say.
[Change Your Password, Please](http://204.95.48.199/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ubbmisc.cgi?action=getannounce&ForumNumber=3&Start=2451545.99&End=2451911&Session=2451598.1854) and don’t use HTML, as it has been disabled
---
**Author:**  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/13 "2000-03-03T06:04:00Z")
Thanks, Manny. I’ve posted [here](http://www.scriptkeeper.com/ubb/Forum22/HTML/003061.html) at the UBB site you linked to, and I’ll let y’all know if they tell me anything.
---
**Author:**  [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/14 "2000-03-03T06:14:00Z")
Here’s the reply to RTFirefly question :
> [@](#):
>
> The UBB automagically splits any string over a certain number of characters in length to prevent extreme table distortion. Besides manually changing the files to raise the limit, there’s nothing that can be done.
So it’s **automagic!** that’s doing that.
* * *
_Louie: young guy, possibly a bit green, but smart as paint._ - Greg Charles
[Have some fun (even though it’s now disabled)](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/19991103-2-000302.html)
---
**Author:**  [@Holly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Holly)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/15 "2000-03-03T09:03:00Z")
[blah](http://amarillonet.com)
---
**Author:**  [@Holly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Holly)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/16 "2000-03-03T09:04:00Z")
cool! I’m easily amused.
---
**Author:**  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/17 "2000-03-03T11:21:00Z")
I posted some followup questions - basically, (1) exactly how many characters would UBB allow before splitting the string, and (2) is info on how to manually raise the limit available to our techs? We’ll see what they say.
I spose I should have also asked for clarification on the reasons _not_ to raise the limit - I don’t know what ‘extreme table distortion’ is, or whether it’s something we’d have to worry about on this site.
---
**Author:**  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/18 "2000-03-03T22:56:00Z")
Testing:
[testing](http://www.scriptkeeper.com/cgi-bin/postings.cgi?action=reply&forum=UBB+Questions&number=22&topic=003061.cgi&TopicSubject=UBB+difficulties+with+long+URLs)
---
**Author:**  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/19 "2000-03-03T23:02:00Z")
More tests:
[Narrow Road](http://www.leftbehind.com/cgi-local/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=The+Narrow+Road&number=8&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=)
---
**Author:**  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910/20 "2000-03-03T23:05:00Z")
And another:
[uncertainty principle]([http://infoseek.go.com/?win=\_search&sv=M6&ud9=IE5&qt=heisenburg+uncertainty+principle&oq=strong+HUP&url=http%3A//theory.uwinnipeg.ca/physics/quant/node7.html&ti=The+Uncertaint](http://infoseek.go.com/?win=_search&sv=M6&ud9=IE5&qt=heisenburg+uncertainty+principle&oq=strong+HUP&url=http%3A//theory.uwinnipeg.ca/physics/quant/node7.html&ti=The+Uncertaint) y+Principle&top=)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-links-w-out-html/910.md?page=2)