Suggestions: WYSIWYG, Syntax/code blocks and fixed summaries.

I have a few feature requests.

Editor / WYSIWYG

The pop-up or "alert box" that's presented when clicking a button in the post editor (e.g. HEADLINE, BOLD ) is fairly old fashioned. Alert boxes died out about six years ago. Those partial to them have at least switched to modal windows despite forcing the user to temporarily leave a page being considered as bad practice.

Most modern editors entail the formatting syntax being applied to highlighted text in the main text area. By comparison the current set-up is cumbersome.

A preview button is provided but why not just provide a live dynamic WYSIWG editor that's interchangeable between syntax and rendered syntax? Credible websites like stackoverflow.com... offer both at the same time.

imageshack.us...

Finally, YouTube embedding is a daily issue. Again, look at the stackoverflow.com editor. They provide instructions on each option of the editor with a nifty drop-down. Problem solved.

imageshack.us...

Syntax/code posting

No option exists to post code. In HTML it's achieved using the pre element.

www.w3schools.com...

A free and popular JavaScript syntax highlighter can be found here:

www.w3schools.com...

Why do we need to post syntax? Firstly for posting forum specific syntax. This could be for showing a new member how to use a formatting option. Secondly and more importantly we need it for pasting excerpts of code from web pages. Various "suspicious" or "mysterious" websites have been the topic of conversation on ATS whereby the source is put under scrutiny. As it stands, we have no means of pasting these excerpts.

Fixed summaries

The closure of threads of the closure of an aspect of a thread is far too often ignored. The same points are reiterated and argued in a loop because members are understandably not prepared to read through up 16 pages of prior information.

As an example, consider any of the threads on the "itanimulli" threads. Members will often loop "This is bizare" or "Who's responsible for this?". In both cases, each loop has been addressed perhaps four pages prior.

My suggestion is to add a footer post to each thread or a footer to the OP that firmly established universally accepted facts. In this case it would read as:

Established facts:
- Please note that redirecting one website to another is something that can be achieved with very little technical knowledge. Effectively, anyone with remedial knowledge of web coding could have applied this redirect. A domain titled www.megalizardbankersofdeath.com could be purchased and set to redirect to ATS just as easily. It would be equally (in)significant.
- The WHOIS information has already established the author/owner of this website and can be found at the following link: some link

In the absence of this feature we have members posting summaries every three to four pages that are generally ignored.

The fixed summary option would negate contextual looping in threads though this in itself represents less posts which naturally isn't favorable for anyone on the ATS staff concerned with revenue driven post metrics. It represents a choice between a more efficient presentation of the truth and revenue.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

Is this not the right place for suggestions/feedback?

Is there a moderator or staff member capable of responding to these suggestions?