# Weak guys.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [May 23, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087 "2013-05-23T03:17:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 14\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/101 "2013-05-25T02:04:03Z")

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> [@Anonymous User](#):
>
> That’s the basic principle of a message board - to offer a _free_ place for various people to engage in discourse. The idea is that you advertise to get revenue.

That’s one business model, but not the only or necessarily the best one. I’m happy to pay to avoid advertizing; it’s much more in line with my interests in a message board.

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/102 "2013-05-25T04:09:23Z")

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> [@samclem](#):
>
> Hi, Nemo. Enjoyed Rochester.
> 
> Since you’re here since 1999, you remember the bad old days. Post, go make a sandwich, take a piss, read the front page of the newspaper, come back and read your post.
> 
> It’s not perfect, but I think they ARE maintaining some decent standards. We may disagree as to whether it’s a level 7 or 8 out of 10, but it ain’t bad.

Yes, and like I said it was free back then.

As for delays, I still take those into account. My normal routine is to go to this board, start a search for threads I’ve posted in. And then go to AOL and call up my email while the search is running. If I don’t have a lot of mail, I’ll read a few webcomics before checking back here to see if my search has been completed.

Now that’s the normal delay I’m used to. These last couple of weeks, it’s been a lot worse than that. So I think it’s reasonable to ask if this is the new normal and, if so, what happened? And if this isn’t normal, why not tell us what the problem is?

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**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/103 "2013-05-26T01:05:16Z")

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New show on Fox. “Mods”.

[begin theme song]  
_Weak guys, weak guys, what you gonna do when they come for you?_[/end TS]

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**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/104 "2013-05-26T01:56:53Z")

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I’m just glad I’m back on the boards at all. I was unceremoniously dumped on Monday the 20th and would check back every few hours just to get the “regular maintenance” BS. Five minutes ago, I decided to check this address: \*\* [boards.straightdope.com/sdmb\*\*](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb**). Thank goodness this worked because I would have had to call my mom up and talk to her (shudder).

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**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/105 "2013-05-26T02:47:59Z")

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> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> As for delays, I still take those into account. My normal routine is to go to this board, start a search for threads I’ve posted in. And then go to AOL and call up my email while the search is running. If I don’t have a lot of mail, I’ll read a few webcomics before checking back here to see if my search has been completed.

It’s rather strange this board doesn’t have the vbull mod for **View your posts or threads** ( /View all threads started by you, and /View all your posts ), but that is their business. But it is perverse that the little envelopes on the thread list pages don’t have the little arrows vbull provides to show that it is a thread you have posted within.

They must have actually taken this _out_.

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**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/106 "2013-05-26T04:50:26Z")

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> [@Claverhouse](#):
>
> But it is perverse that the little envelopes on the thread list pages don’t have the little arrows vbull provides to show that it is a thread you have posted within.
> 
> They must have actually taken this _out_.

They were too much for the poor little hamsters.

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/107 "2013-05-26T05:39:43Z")

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> [@Claverhouse](#):
>
> It’s rather strange this board doesn’t have the vbull mod for **View your posts or threads** ( /View all threads started by you, and /View all your posts ), but that is their business.

Click on a username, select “Find all posts by username” or select “View Public Profile,” then select the Statistics tab, then Click on “Find all posts by username” or “Find all threads started by username” to get the same results as your “/View” commands.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/108 "2013-05-26T06:38:46Z")

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> [@tomndebb](#):
>
> Click on a username, select “Find all posts by username” or select “View Public Profile,” then **select the Statistics tab, then Click on “Find all posts by username” or “Find all threads started by username”** to get the same results as your “/View” commands.

And, for yourself, that includes the user name in the top right corner. Though I’ve never had to click the “View Public Profile” part, just the part I bolded above.

I do this any time I can’t remember the name of a thread I commented in and didn’t want to subscribe to. (I’d subscribe to more threads if I’d only be alerted to responses to my posts. As it is, it makes me often come off as not ever coming back to a thread where I asked a question.)

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**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/109 "2013-05-26T06:58:35Z")

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> [@tomndebb](#):
>
> Click on a username, select “Find all posts by username” or select “View Public Profile,” then select the Statistics tab, then Click on “Find all posts by username” or “Find all threads started by username” to get the same results as your “/View” commands.

I own a vBulletin forum. I am fairly aware of the nature of the thing.  
And I usually prefer the shortest way home rather than going around the woods thrice.

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**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/110 "2013-05-27T03:27:29Z")

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> [@bobot](#):
>
> For fuck’s sake, the comment was along the lines of “For what we pay for this service, blah de blah-de-blahde-bla…”  
> And Twickster reminded the guest that guests aren’t necessarily paying for shit.

Except the actual post was:

> [@AaronX](#):
>
> So is anyone else wondering, “Surely there’s more reliable hosting for what we’re paying?”

Now I suppose one _could_ read that as “for what we, the viewing audience, are paying you The Straight Dope”. That seems to be how **twickster** read it. But that seems weird, coming from a non-paying guest. One could instead read it as “for what we, The Straight Dope, are paying for hosting services.” That reading makes more sense given the context, and is how I (and several others) read the comment. Which happens to be what **AaronX** meant, as posted in post 68.

But hey, never miss a chance to snark another poster.

> [@Claverhouse](#):
>
> It’s rather strange this board doesn’t have the vbull mod for **View your posts or threads** ( /View all threads started by you, and /View all your posts ), but that is their business. But it is perverse that the little envelopes on the thread list pages don’t have the little arrows vbull provides to show that it is a thread you have posted within.
> 
> They must have actually taken this _out_.

You mean the check marks that show you posted in a thread? Mine are showing. Are you sure you’re logged in?

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**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/111 "2013-05-27T05:14:38Z")

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Pretty sure. Otherwise I couldn’t post this post.

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**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/112 "2013-05-27T17:15:04Z")

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So are you talking about the check marks out to the right? Or are you saying the icons change depending on if you have posted in the thread?

That has never happened here. If that occurs on other message boards, it may be in a newer version of vB.

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**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/113 "2013-05-27T18:34:42Z")

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I have checkmarks next to threads I’m subscribed to. Since I subscribe automatically when I post, it generally works out o the same thing.

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**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weak-guys/659087/114 "2013-05-27T23:49:41Z")

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It’s lame one can’t put images up, but if you really want to know they are little bent arrows over the little envelopes at the start of the line. The threads in which one has posted show them.  
SD sans:

[URL=‘[http://qikr.co/g9rff](http://qikr.co/g9rff)’]

[http://qikr.co/files/pics/v/vbullsd35953.png](http://qikr.co/files/pics/v/vbullsd35953.png)

Random forum with: link

[URL=‘[http://qikr.co/wpee7](http://qikr.co/wpee7)’]

[http://qikr.co/files/pics/v/vbullif21418.png](http://qikr.co/files/pics/v/vbullif21418.png)

And they are quite standard, the SD is 3.7.3, whereas this other is 3.8.5. And there’s sometimes too much risk, and not enough gain involved in upgrading software, so the SD is right not to do so. Plus vBulletin has flowered and gone to seed with the upcoming 5.x version; so I am not criticizing them for running old software.

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