For at least a couple of days now, when I try to incorporate a URL into a sentence, the software changes it to the title of the linked article or phrase.
Attempted example:
Let’s say I want to [url=" Can trackers be attached to a device? "]link to this thread[/url], without showing the title of the thread. But I can’t.
What’s going on?
Seems to work OK.
Whatever format you’re using isn’t what Discourse prefers. Looks like some BBCode abomination learned someplace (or sometime) else.
Here’s what the “link” button in the editor inserts:
[Like this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-trackers-be-attached-to-a-device/1031503)
That said, there’s nothing wrong with just pasting the URL directly in: Can trackers be attached to a device?
If you post the url on its own line, it gets a nice preview, which is always appreciated here.
Without knowing your specific workflow, device, browser, and whether you’re using the Discourse post editor in traditional Markdown mode or the newish WYSIWYG mode, not much can be said.
Also, are you specifically interested in links to other SDMB threads / posts, or is this a more general issue / question?
The bottom line is you can still achieve whatever result you want for a URL. Just a matter of knowing how to do it given whatever raw materials you have.
The weird thing is that for years on the Dope, posting [url=“the actual URL”]I want a phrase to show up without it being the link title[/url] has worked just fine. Now it doesn’t.
Ah. I thought you were complaining that the URL turned into a title even in your post. I’ll check and see if your exact syntax (sans spaces ofc) causes me a problem.
Trying again with [url=“Trump is dying”]another thread[/url].
Nope.
Ah, okay. Let’s see what happens if I’m using the rich text editor.
Yeah, that was garbage.
Still, make sure you’re using the Markdown editor, not the “new rich text” one if you’re going to be pasting in URLs. The Rich text editor handles URL pasting weirdly.
Or use the link button on top, of course. Then you can paste the URL and the text you want it to change to.
It looks like that post was probably typed in WYSIWYG mode. If you’re the sort of old fogey (like me) who prefers to type in the tags manually, you want to turn that off. It’s the switch in the upper-left corner of the input box.
There are also extra spaces in between the URL and the quote marks, but I don’t know if that was your doing or the WYSIWYG editor’s.
What switch? What’s an “input box”?
And how does one change to Markdown text editor on the SDMB?
The input box is the area where you type your reply, with the line of “buttons”
at the top.
The switch in question is the first one that looks a bit like this M+| A
That one functions like a slider switch; click it to toggle between “rich text
editor” and “standard markdown editor”.
Okay, let’s test this. Does this link work?
ETA: Yes, it seems to. I made the link the same way I’d have done it back in the old VBulletin days:
[url=https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ]Does this link work?[/url]