Anyone out there using Netscape? I use Internet Explorer for the most part, but when I make major changes I bring up Netscape just to make sure they work there, too. Turns out the part of the new message numbers feature that displays the message posted or edited in the browser window (instead of displaying the beginning of the thread) didn't work on Netscape. I was completely mystified until a search of the web found a brief mention that some browsers don't respond to null anchors. So I modified the code so the anchors are no longer null, and Netscape now works.
Netscape seems to be a bit stupid about what pages are already loaded (make that a lot stupid). For example, if a thread is long enough to have two pages and you're reading a message in page 1, then click for a message on page 2, the browser has to load page 2, so there's a short delay. Now, if you click for the message back in page 1 Internet Explorer knows that page 1 is already loaded and you're there instantly. Netscape seems unaware of this fact and loads page 1 again from scratch.
Netscape also draws the club's pages in an abrupt and jagged fashion, the page bouncing up and down as the pictures are displayed, then finally disappearing completely before being redrawn one last time. What a strain on the eyes!
Are there Netscape browser settings that might fix this? This is terrible.
Those of you of a technical bent are probably wondering what null anchors are (everyone else has passed out on the keyboard). A complete URL has two parts, and either or both can be present. The first is a web address of an HTML page or program, the second is a target address beginning with the "#" character. When I want to create a link to a particular message number like 4 I write this (actually, the software writes it, but you get the idea):
Reply to message 4 from Thmsberry, posted 1-19-2001 12:31 PM
Then I put an anchor around Thmsberry's name down at his actual message like this:
Thmsberry
Simple!
--Percy