The past few days, I’ve noticed that we now have a “Rate This Thread” dropdown at the bottom of each thread. Isn’t this one of those features we decided Way Back When that we wouldn’t want, even if it were available? Was this just turned on, or did I only just notice it? And does it actually do anything? I don’t see a rating listed anywhere in connection with a thread.
I don’t see it, it must be one of the Super Special SDSAB perks:)
I must be blind, cause I don’t see it. Where, exactly, is it?
I don’t get it either. Tell you what, Chronos, why don’t you rate a thread or two and tell us what happens? That way we can at least live vicariously through you. 
I just rated this thread “terrible”, as a test.
It’s at the bottom of the thread, under “<Prev thread | Next Thread >”, and above Posting Rules. I get a grid of four sets of features:
Thread Tools . . . Search This Thread
Display Modes . . . Rate This Thread
The only thing under “Rate This Thread” is a dropdown
5: Excellent
4: Good
3: Average
2: Bad
1: Terrible
with a “go” button next to it.
Possibly relevant, I’m currently using Netscape Navigator 4.79 under Windows 2000, with Java and Javascript enabled. I’ve also seen this on my home computer, Netscape 4.something, Windows 95, without java.
I’ve seen this option since the vB upgrade also, but only when I access the board using the text-based browser w3m. Several other thread tools are displayed by w3m but not by Mozilla Firefox, including a “Search this Thread” function, an option to switch between display modes, and links to “Show Printable Version”, “Email this Page”, and “Subscribe to this Thread”. When I try to access these additional functions in w3m, I get the “insufficient privileges” error message.
Which thread display mode do you use?
Though, most probably, it has to do with Navigator 4.0’s non-standard HTML implementation. Not that IE adheres to the standard much more, but my edumacated guess / instinct says it’s something to do with DIV tags, which Netscape 4 didn’t have. The vBulletin set-up probably has all options in each page and just ‘hides’ certain DIVs.
On a ‘View Source’, I see I am correct.
There’s a DIV tag enclosing a thread-rating menu - Browsers that recognize DIV tags read it’s style setting that makes it invisible, and thus don’t show it. Browsers that don’t recognize DIV tags ignore the DIV tag, but not the items enclosed by them.
OK, then, I guess that explains it, as well as explaining why I’m only just noticing it. Ordinarily, I use Mozilla on my office computer, but the office is currently closed for floor waxing, so I’m using the computer lab instead.
And not that it’s relevant any more, since we’ve figured it out, but I’m in linear mode.
Thanks, CandidGamera and others!
I’ll have to make sure it’s turned off for everyone, as we do not plan to use that feature.
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
I think that’s only half the story. The source you view seems to be generated by javascript that queries your browser for its capabilities, and returns one of (at least) two pre-defined page templates. I currently have the page source opened in both lynx and Mozilla Firefox, and they are different. The thread-rating menu and other functions in the source given to lynx are enclosed by HTML comment tags, which indicate that special provisions have been made for “non-popup browsers” (presumably including Netscape 4, w3m, and lynx). Cursory glances through the code reveal that even the underlying markup used to create the thread-rating menu and the other functions is different (the markup for “non-popup browsers” triggering memories of a bygone age in www history).
Quite welcome. Glad to see my years as a freelance web-designer have had benefits.
For what it’s worth, similarly-ancient versions of Internet Explorer (around 4.0) should be okay with DIV tags.
TubaDiva, I don’t know how vBulletin does things, but you may not be able to prevent Netscape 4.x users from seeing that menu… the best you may be able to do is make sure it doesn’t do anything. But for testing purposes, if you want to see how it behaves, any version of Netscape 4.x (or earlier) should work.
That’s extremely interesting. I’d bet the other half of that story is that it’s not programmed to recognize Netscape 4.x because it’s obsolete … otherwise, Chronos wouldn’t be seeing the menu. It may be smart enough to recognize a current version of Lynx… I’ve never heard of w3m myself, so they may not have accounted for it.
It may be able to query to find out if your browser has Java–enabled, but otherwise, in my experience, it can only ask the browser to identify itself. So if the response is Internet Explorer 5.0, then the vBulletin system may produce one set of code… it may produce quite another for Mozilla of any version, etc. But inevitably, when one produces “conditional” versions of a webpage, based on the viewer’s browser, you’re not going to get them all … so you make a default case.
I’d wager the Netscape 4.0 falls into the default… but here’s a good test - Chronos, use the View Source command to look at the source HTML for this thread. You should see, near the bottom of a massive text file, a ‘Thread Rating’ labelled section. See how it’s done.
Or, more simply, just search for ‘DIV’ in the text file that the ‘View Source’ produces.
Search for div? You’re mean. 
div appears some 619 times, as of now.
Looks like there’s actually two places looking to call the thread ratings:
<!-- thread rating menu -->
<div class="vbmenu_popup" id="threadrating_menu" style="display:none">
<form action="threadrate.php" method="post">
<table cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="thead">Rate This Thread<a name="goto_threadrating"></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>You have already rated this thread</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
</div>
<!-- / thread rating menu -->
and way, way down, near the end
<!-- temp -->
<div style="display:none">
<!-- thread rate -->
<!-- / thread rate -->
</div>
It claims I’ve already rated this thread, but that’s not true. Guess it’s been jiggered to think everyone has rated threads?
If a DIV tag appears in code meant for Netscape 4, then it’s not customized properly for the browser. Are you using Netscape 4?
Holy cow, Chronos, they’re actually cleaning your office? … that’s one of the seven signs of the end of the world, isn’t it?
Don’t give in, though, don’t clean your apartment. Support entropy!
FWIW, I’m seeing it also, in Opera 6.
Now that’s curious. In my experience, Opera’s usually been fairly good at adhering to standards, though their Javascript implementation was spotty. Does Opera still have the ability to configure it’s identification…? What I mean is, it used to be able to identify itself as IE, or Netscape, if you wanted it to.
Office, not desk. Don’t worry, I’m still doing my part to contribute to the Heat Death of the Universe.
Incidentally, I’m back at my own computer (did you miss me, Cassandra?), and I am again not seeing the pulldown. Also incidentally, I did try using it, while on the other machine, and it didn’t seem to do anything. So TubaDiva, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.