# Weird message box sizes. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 18, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655 "2002-05-18T02:18:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/1 "2002-05-18T02:18:19Z")
I was curious why, occasionally, do the text boxes end up different sizes on threads? Sometimes to the point to where you have to shift the screen horizontally to read the posts. When it happens once on a thread, it is likely to happen more on that thread. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/2 "2002-05-18T02:30:38Z")
Just guessing that what you’re talking about is when somebody posts a post that has coding in it that the Word Wrap function of VBulletin can’t handle, so that particular post will be all the way over to the right, and you’ll have to scroll right to see it. Is that what you’re talking about? If so, be thankful for this version of VBulletin–previous versions would screw up the entire thread so that each post would be like that, and you’d have to e-mail a mod to fix whatever it was in your post that was screwing up the thread for everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/3 "2002-05-18T02:36:44Z")
Example? Link? ---
**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:** [May 18, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/4 "2002-05-18T03:04:28Z")
How about this thread? Scroll down about 2/3 to Sua’s post of 3:55 p.m. Is that what you’re talking about, RR? [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=115418](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=115418) ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/5 "2002-05-18T03:14:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*How about this thread? Scroll down about 2/3 to Sua’s post of 3:55 p.m. Is that what you’re talking about, RR? > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=115418](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=115418) \*\* Exactly. Although the one I saw is repaired: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=115079](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=115079) Check my last post on that thread. When I posted it, most of the bottom half were all different widths. Although they are uniform now. ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/6 "2002-05-18T03:17:07Z")
Tried it again. It is all goofy again. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/7 "2002-05-18T03:29:05Z")
The threads mentioned by Duck Duck Goose and Road Rash do not have variable size post display cells w/iCab 2.7.1 on MacOS, even when I shrink the horizontal width of the window, unless I shrink the browser window to about half the width of my monitor. I believe this is caused by the use of the [quote] tag. Road Rash, what browser/OS are you using? ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/8 "2002-05-18T17:00:19Z")
Actually, I think it’s cause by the URL. Because **Sua** uses a URL that does not have an acceptble place for a line break, it forces the box wider. Just to test my theory, here is her URL line as is: [http://www.time.com/time/searchresu](http://www.time.com/time/searchresu)…&venue=timemags|magazine&x2.x=7&x2.y=10 ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/9 "2002-05-18T17:01:22Z")
And here is the same URL with a word space added to allow wrapping: [http://www.time.com/time/searchresu](http://www.time.com/time/searchresu)…&venue=timemags |magazine&x2.x=7&x2.y=10 ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/10 "2002-05-18T17:05:30Z")
My apoligies **Sua** , I assumed a second x-chromsone on your part with out knowing your genetic code. If I was incorrect, no offense intended. I wish user profiles cotained a gender field so that I could use gender-specific pronouns comfortably. – **Nouveau Bozo** , the new clown in town ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/11 "2002-05-18T17:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nouveau Bozo \* > \*\*Actually, I think it’s cause by the URL. Because **Sua** uses a URL that does not have an acceptble place for a line break, it forces the box wider. Just to test my theory, here is her URL line as is: > [http://www.time.com/time/searchresu](http://www.time.com/time/searchresu)…&venue=timemags|magazine&x2.x=7&x2.y=10 \*\* This above post is just a tad wider that the other posts to me.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/12 "2002-05-18T17:22:50Z")
And my reply to your post above is even wider. To the point of having to move the page horizontally. ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/13 "2002-05-18T17:54:06Z")
**Road Rash** , If I’m stating the obvious here, please feel free to slap me :o. Your post of 1:21 PM (Eastern Time) is wider because you copied the URL (which is causing the slightly wider box) into a quote. Since quotes are already left indented, the URL pushes the right edge of the box even farther out. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/14 "2002-05-18T22:57:11Z")
Yeah, you are. I kind of felt it would happen. The reply being even wider. Strange that some browsers read it differently. I don’t know the exact model number, but I use Microsoft Internet Explorer on a windows 98. Now get ready for a slappin’:eek: ---
**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:** [May 19, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/15 "2002-05-19T02:32:29Z")
The previous version of VBulletin would invariably disable the word wrap function if you included an URL that was too long, screwing up not only your post but also every post in the thread. This version of VBulletin now has a thingie whereby it’ll automatically shorten an overlong, word-wrap-disabling URL so that it doesn’t disable the word wrap, putting those “dots” in the middle of the really long URL, which is really nice–when it works. However, for some reason, sometimes that function doesn’t function on certain URLs. Such as the ones in this thread. Windows ME here with IE 5.5. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/16 "2002-05-19T08:12:09Z")
Again you’ve lost me. When I look at the URLs in this thread I see … in the middle of the URL, but Duck Duck Goose seems to be saying that she doesn’t? 😕 If I look at the first post by “Nouveau Bozo” in this thread, I see for the URL [http://www.time.com/time/searchresu](http://www.time.com/time/searchresu)…&venue=timemags|magazine&x2.x=7&x2.y=10 with iCab 2.9 on MacOS 9.2 ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/17 "2002-05-19T13:10:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > \*\*Again you’ve lost me. When I look at the URLs in this thread I see … in the middle of the URL, but Duck Duck Goose seems to be saying that she doesn’t? 😕 If I look at the first post by “Nouveau Bozo” in this thread, I see for the URL > [http://www.time.com/time/searchresu](http://www.time.com/time/searchresu)…&venue=timemags|magazine&x2.x=7&x2.y=10 > with iCab 2.9 on MacOS 9.2 \*\* The link supplied does not wrap around. It is the link size that is causing the box to widen even more. This box should be even wider because the quote in this reply is in bold text. Thus wider. Let me try this: [http://www.time.com/time/searchresu](http://www.time.com/time/searchresu)…&venue=timemags|magazine&x2.x=7&x2.y=10. oobergooberdoodoofoofoo This should make it even longer. I will test this later, but when I open threads through the “search” fields, this does not appear to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/18 "2002-05-19T13:12:49Z")
If I had added the gibberish onto the link as intended, creating an incredibly silly, yet fictitous link, I could have made the box about as wide as I wished. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/19 "2002-05-20T02:41:12Z")
The link word wraps for me in the browser I’m currently using. So it must depend on the browser. In any case I think we’ve found the answer to your question. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655/20 "2002-05-20T06:31:40Z")
I would say that there’s something wrong with your browser, **Arnold**. HTML specifications state that in Western scripts, text should wrap only at whitespace. So if the URL is split up at any non-whitespace character, including / . & , = or |, your browser is rendering it incorrectly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-message-box-sizes/109655.md?page=2)