Minor things that bother you

[tchafe1978]

Poiponen13. He makes the forum downright infuriating to read.

Simple solution, ignore any topics started by said user or any others you find annoying or uninteresting.

[Roadgeekteen]

Poiponen13. He makes the forum downright infuriating to read.

Simple solution, ignore any topics started by said user or any others you find annoying or uninteresting.

Many people don't know this, but I believe you can hide a specific user's posts.

[kphoger]

Many people don't know this, but I believe you can hide a specific user's posts.

Profile > Buddies/Ignore List > Edit Ignore List > Add To Ignore List

[JayhawkCO]

You still see new threads and quotes though. It doesn't work great.

[ethanhopkin14]

I want to know when MMM will institute the sniper law, where each DOT will position snipers at every exit so if a driver crosses from the left-hand lane all the way to the exit in 200 feet, a sniper will take them out.  Failing that, at least a running chainsaw there to cut off their heads. 

[roadman65]

What about a sniper who shoots at road raged drivers?
That would be another thing our 23 year old troll would be interested in for his weird mind.

[MultiMillionMiler]

I did have a sniper idea for my runaway truck helicopter assistance plan. If they resorted to only rescuing the cab part of the vehicle because they couldn't get a good grip on the trailer section, a sniper would take position half outside the helicopter and attempt to take out the cables connecting the two.

[hbelkins]

Many people don't know this, but I believe you can hide a specific user's posts.

Profile > Buddies/Ignore List > Edit Ignore List > Add To Ignore List

You still see new threads and quotes though. It doesn't work great.

True. You actually get a notification that there is a post by a user you've hidden, and you get the option to click to see the post. It's not like Usenet, where if you killfile someone, you don't even know they have posted anything. (Except, of course, for quoted replies, the same as here.)

[J N Winkler]

True. You actually get a notification that there is a post by a user you've hidden, and you get the option to click to see the post. It's not like Usenet, where if you killfile someone, you don't even know they have posted anything. (Except, of course, for quoted replies, the same as here.)

Replies with quotes from the killfiled person go away with filtering on the message body.  Unfortunately, Thunderbird (which I used as a newsreader in the dying days of MTR) did not have this capability.

I tried using the ignore function on another Web forum (not part of the broader road community) and felt it was basically a waste of time because it would not keep the other person's activity completely out of view.  That is actually a pretty formidable programming problem for forum software if you take into account thread listings (which show the last person to post in each thread), the "Recent Posts" box, threads where the targeted user is the OP, and so on.

[Scott5114]

I don't think it's really all that technically formidable. The real problem is that the amount of content that each person wants blocked is going to vary. You could, e.g., kill entire threads that a blocked user has started, but some people would find that objectionable because the replies may still be of interest to them. Other people may not care, and still others might feel differently about it depending on the specific user they're blocking. To do it right would require a large number of configuration switches.

[jakeroot]

I would think it's easy enough to just, well, not read posts by users you don't like.

For as many posts as I've read, I've maybe touched 1% of the entire forum. Just put the user you don't like into that 99%. Done.

[WillWeaverRVA]

You still see new threads and quotes though. It doesn't work great.

This. You still see the threads and quotes, and even posts (the content is just hidden). It's really annoying to read a thread and see tons of "you are ignoring this user" posts.

[J N Winkler]

I would think it's easy enough to just, well, not read posts by users you don't like.

For as many posts as I've read, I've maybe touched 1% of the entire forum. Just put the user you don't like into that 99%. Done.

It's nice when things work out that way.  Unfortunately, sometimes the "foe" (as the ignored person is called in some Web forum software) has interests that align with yours and so is a constant presence in threads you are interested in.  People are also different, and while some can just pass over posts they don't want to read, others need the irritating stimulus to be completely absent from their sight.

[Roadgeekteen]

If you can't handle people being annoying you shouldn't be on the internet

[Scott5114]

If you can't handle people being annoying you shouldn't be on the internet

Consider that on some forums (not ours hopefully, and if so I'd like to know about it) people may have a reason to block someone that goes beyond them being merely annoying.

[Roadgeekteen]

If you can't handle people being annoying you shouldn't be on the internet

Consider that on some forums (not ours hopefully, and if so I'd like to know about it) people may have a reason to block someone that goes beyond them being merely annoying.

If it gets to be that bad where thats an issue, the offending user should honestly just get banned at that point.

[J N Winkler]

Today's minor thing is mojibake:

20230216,42119,traffic+safety+facilities,兰州至海口国家高速公路（G75）渭源至武都建设项目交通安全设施施工WWJA9标段及机电工程施工WWJD11－15标段招标招标公告
20230216,42120,traffic+safety+facilities,兰州至海口国家高速公路（G75）渭源至武都建设项目交通安全设施WWJAJL3标段施工监理及机电工程WWJDJL2标段施工监理招标招标公告
20230113,41341,traffic+safety+facilities,G213线元山子至白庄子段升级改造项目交通安全设施及绿化施工招标招标公告
20230113,41861,traffic+safety+facilities,甘肃省G331线丹东至阿勒泰公路大红山至霍勒扎德盖段公路交通安全设施DHJA-1、DHJA-2标段施工招标招标公告
20221214,39984,traffic+safety+facilities,G312线清水驿至傅家窑公路交通安全设施工程施工更正公告
20221212,41546,traffic+safety+facilities,G244线打扮梁（陕甘界）至庆城段公路工程PPP项目路面工程、交通安全设施、机电工程建筑工程一切险、第三者责任险以及安全生产责任险项目招标招标公告
20221114,39744,traffic+safety+facilities,S44康县至略阳高速公路望关至白河沟段交通安全设施工程施工更正公告
20220922,40129,traffic+safety+facilities,S36临洮è"¡Â³Ã¥ÂºÂ·ä¹è"¡Â³Ã¥Â¹Â¿Ã¦Â²Â³é«˜é€Å¸Ã¥...¬è·¯äº¤é€Å¡Ã¥Â®"°Ã¥...¨è®¾æ—½å·¥ç¨"¹Ã¯Â¼Ë†Ã¥ÂÂ«ç»Â¿Ã¥Å'—å·¥ç¨"¹Ã¯Â¼"°Ã¦—½å·¥æ"¹"ºÃ¦ "¡Ã¥...Œ"˜Å 
20220915,39697,traffic+safety+facilities,G312线å"š...家çª"˜Ã¨"¡Â³Ã¨"¹Â¦Ã¦Â°Â´Ã¥...¬è·¯äº¤é€Å¡Ã¥Â®"°Ã¥...¨è®¾æ—½å·¥ç¨"¹Ã¦—½å·¥æ"¹"ºÃ¦ "¡Ã¦"ºÂ´Ã¦Â­Â£Ã¥...Œ"˜Å 
20230220,41716,expressway,S44康县至略阳高速公路望关至白河沟段康县火车站出入口及连接线房建（含绿化）工程施工招标公告
20230217,42151,expressway,G1816乌海至玛沁国家高速公路合作至赛尔龙（甘青界）段地震安全性评价报告招标公告

[Scott5114]

If you can't handle people being annoying you shouldn't be on the internet

Consider that on some forums (not ours hopefully, and if so I'd like to know about it) people may have a reason to block someone that goes beyond them being merely annoying.

If it gets to be that bad where thats an issue, the offending user should honestly just get banned at that point.

Yes, and if that were to happen here the user probably would be.

We are not the only forum who uses SMF, however.

[hbelkins]

If you can't handle people being annoying you shouldn't be on the internet

Consider that on some forums (not ours hopefully, and if so I'd like to know about it) people may have a reason to block someone that goes beyond them being merely annoying.

Roadgeekteen never had to deal with Randy Hersh.

[Roadgeekteen]

If you can't handle people being annoying you shouldn't be on the internet

Consider that on some forums (not ours hopefully, and if so I'd like to know about it) people may have a reason to block someone that goes beyond them being merely annoying.

Roadgeekteen never had to deal with Randy Hersh.

Isn't he banned though?

[J N Winkler]

Roadgeekteen never had to deal with Randy Hersh.

Isn't he banned though?

Nope.  He was on this forum and did not come to moderators' notice when he was living.

[Roadgeekteen]

Roadgeekteen never had to deal with Randy Hersh.

Isn't he banned though?

Nope.  He was on this forum and did not come to moderators' notice when he was living.

Oh I forgot. Didn't he pass away?

Edit: apparently he's from the pre AAroads MTR days. I was still in preschool during those days.

[J N Winkler]

Oh I forgot. Didn't he pass away?

Yes, on August 15, 2012.

It was occasionally said he would be banned on sight if he was found on this forum, but neither ever happened, though he had an account and posted occasionally.

[Roadgeekteen]

Oh I forgot. Didn't he pass away?

Yes, on August 15, 2012.

It was occasionally said he would be banned on sight if he was found on this forum, but neither ever happened, though he had an account and posted occasionally.

Over 10 years ago, wow. It's hard to believe that this forum has been around for 14 years!

[hbelkins]

Icebreakers/group activities at conferences, meetings, or trainings.

Had a meeting today that involved one of those, and I found it to be a waste of time. If introductions are necessary, just go around the room and let people announce their names, titles, etc. Don't play some silly game before the gist of the event gets started.