Bill Burgess Tutorial: A Toolbox of Posting Tools

[Bill Burgess]

I would like to conduct a tutorial, for all the members, on how to improve your postings. So many have indicated that they lack many of the tools, or awareness of some basic procedures. I hope this exercise will assist many to save time, and learn some new skills.

[Bill Burgess]

Posting Photos:

In case you want to post photos, here is the normal sequence.

1. Click, 'Post Reply.'

2. Click, 'Manage attachments', in the additional options beneath.

3. Click, 'Browse'.

4. Click onto the photo you want to select for posting.

5. Click upload.

6. Click 'close window'.

7. Click onto, 'Submit Reply'.

And Erik Bedard just reminded us all of this in post #12. And to post a photo that you found on the internet (like through Google), simply copy the URL (that is the code that appears in the top toolbar, in the internet address window) and paste it in the window that comes up when you click on the picture symbol (that is the image that looks like a mountain, in your top posting toolbar).

And to post a photo that you found on the internet (like through Google), simply copy the URL and paste it in the window that comes up when you click on the picture symbol.

[Bill Burgess]

Copy/Paste:

1. Take your mouse and move your cursor arrow just to the left of whatever you want to copy.

2. Now, while holding down the left side of your mouse, move the cursor arrow to the right and downward, covering the text you wish to select in blue. Only blue out the material you wish to select. Now release your finger off of the mouse.

3. Now, while your selected text is still in blue, hit your Control (Ctrl) key (the bottom left key, or bottom right key, on the keyboard), while at the same time, hitting the letter c. You must depress them at the same time. Now release your fingers off the keys. (This will 'capture' the text you wish to transfer.)

4. Now, go to where you wish to paste the text you've saved. When you get to the place that you wish to release this captured text, hit the Ctrl button again, while at the same time depressing the letter V. Again, you must depress both keys at the same time. This will release the captured text in the new location.

If you don't succeed at your first try, practice this procedure. It will eventually work. This is how we transfer text to where we want.

[Bill Burgess]

Create a chart, encapsulating your material in that box.

Put [ code] in front of the material you want to encapsulate, and [/code] after the material you wish to encapsulate and capture in your chart.

But you can NOT have ANY spaces or it will not work. I had to leave a space in the first code to show it.

If you do it right, it will encapsulate your material in a box, and also line them up in very neat columns. But be aware. The columns will normally require some adjusting. So you will have to use your backspace key (located on your top, right of your keyboard, and also your space key. Your space key is the long key located on the bottom, middle of your keyboard.

So, using all those keys, that is how we set up a chart. If you follow my instructions to the letter, you should be able to create a chart, even if it takes a long time to adjust the columns. It always takes me a long time too, so don't despair.

There is also a [code] button in the advanced posting mode that looks like a number sign (#) that performs the chart function as well.

A couple things, though: There is also a [CODE] button in the advanced posting mode that looks like a number sign (#) that performs the chart function as well.

Ignore this post. I'm going to see if I can create a chart.

Name               Hits
Some Guy           3000
Someone else       2999

Looks like I got it! Thanks a lot, I've been trying to figure this out for a long time.

[Bill Burgess]

Spell checker:

We have installed a spell checker here on Fever, in case some of you didn't notice it. It is the small check-mark in the upper, right-hand corner, just before you hit the 'submit reply' button. It will assist you to appear more professional in your work.

http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=34236

Pop-up Blocker:

Until recently, I was plagued with popups on Fever. But then a friend installed on my computer a free popup blocker that is phenomenal.

Works beyond belief. Here is the link.

http://www.southbaypc.com/NoAds/

It's called noads. Here's how it works. Whenever a popup pops up on your screen, you click onto the little noads icon on your bottom toolbar. It pops up its control panel. It will have the address of the offending popup listed on its screen. You click onto the address, and it then registers that popup on its registry. That popup will never pop up again. It's zapped as soon as it tries to rear its obnoxious little self.

I use it for all sites, not just Fever, and I'm now popup-free for free. It's SO refreshing!

[Bill Burgess]

Polls:

If you want to start a new thread, with a poll, here is the procedure.

1. Go to the first page of the forum you wish to post the poll in.

2. Look for the icon at the top of the page that says, 'New Thread'. Click onto it.

3. State the name you wish to call your thread, and then post the theme of the thread in your first post.

4. But before you click onto the 'Post reply' button to post your new thread, go to the bottom of othe page, and you will notice some buttons.

5. Some will ask you if you wish to post a poll with that thread. Put a check mark into that box.

Also look for the boxes that ask how many options you wish the poll to have. Put in the appropriate numer that you will need.

5. Now you can click 'Submit new thread'.

6. This will take you to the next page where you must fill in the options that you wish everyone to have.

7. After you finish filling in the options, scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will notice it will ask you if you want everyone to see how everyone else voted. If you want the public to see how people voted, put a check into that box. If not, don't check that box. You have a choice. I always put a check into that box.

It's terribly disappointing to not see how others voted.

It will also ask you how long you want the poll to run. If you wish to have it run indefinitely, put a zero into that box.

8. It will also have a box to see if you wish the poll to be 'multiple choice'. It is important to put a check into that box if you want the members to be able to check more than one option on your poll.

If you forget to check that box, it cannot be adjusted later to be made 'multiple choice'. You would have to restart the entire thread to do that.

Good job, Bill. This should clear up a lot of the new members asking "how do I post a poll? I know this is stupid, but I just can't figure it out".

[Bill Burgess]

Photo Websites:

It's great to know how to post photos, but without knowing some of the places where great photos are, it won't do you much good.

In case anyone would like to know where some of great photos were found, here are some fruitful websites to find good photos.

Google Image Search---Yahoo Image Search---Corbis/Betteman (If you register, the watermark disappears)---Getty Images---Sports Illustrated---Spalding Collection---Bain Collection---Transcendental Graphics---Chicago Daily News Photos, 1902-1933---Detroit News newspaper photo collection---Library of Congress (Includes the Bain Collection, and a lot more)---Lelands Auctions.com---Heritage Auctions---Boston Public Library---Life---Legendary Auctions---Associated Press (AP) Images---You must register, but it is free.---UPI.com---Heritage Auctions---The Conlon Collection
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If one is new to Fever, here are some of the links to many of our photo tributes.

Historical, Archival Photographs---Pre-1900---Negro L.---Vintage Panoramic Pictures---Members' Gallery---Runningshoes Presents: Photo Op---Meet The Sports Writers

Photos of the following individual players---Hank Aaron---Pete Alexander---Ty Cobb---Eddie Collins---Sam Crawford---Jimmy Foxx---Lou Gehrig---Rickey Henderson---Rogers Hornsby---Joe Jackson---Walter Johnson---Nap Lajoie---Connie Mack---John McGraw---Mickey Mantle---Christy Mathewson---Willie Mays---Mel Ott---Babe Ruth---George Sisler---Tris Speaker---Pie Traynor---Rube Waddell--- Honus Wagner---Ted Williams---Zack Wheat---Rare Ty Cobb ---Rare Babe Ruth---Bill's Babe Ruth---Rare Ted Williams---Bill's Rare Finds ---Babefan's Fantastic Vintage Baseball photos---GaryL's Boston Public Library Baseball Photo Project

We also have some very nice, attractive team photo collections---New York Yankees---New York Giants---Detroit Tigers---Pittsburgh Pirates---Brooklyn Dodgers

[Bill Burgess]

Dating your Baseball Photos:

Would you like to know how to date your photos in your baseball books?

I date all my baseball photos using the following book. (Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century: The Official ML BB Guide, Researched, Illustrated & Written by Marc Okkonen, 1991, 1993)

Also, the following website, hostd by the Hall of Fame, mainly using the same book above, but also using images after 1993, has assisted me in dating some of the photos.

http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.o...e.htm#database

On my photographic galleries, I have attempted, using the book above, to date all the photos. If I caption a photo with the following, John Smith, Cubs OF, 1910-13, that means that the photo was taken sometime between 1910-13, when the player was on the Cubs. It does NOT mean that the player was only on the Cubs in that time frame. He might have been on the Cubs from 1900-18, but the photo was only taken between 1910-13.

[Bill Burgess]

Online Treasures:

There are resources that everyone should make use of. For anyone to not avail themselves of these resources is inexcusable.

The first one is The Sporting News. Its entire run, 1886-2003, is now available online, and all can access it from the comfort of their own home. It has 189,416 pages.

Paperofrecord also carries the Baltimore Afro-American, 1902-1978. 103,093 pages. It has the obituaries of many Negro L. players, including that of Santop Loftin. And also many Negro L. articles. It's a great baseball resource.

http://www.paperofrecord.com/

All one need do is register, which is free, and then conduct their searches.

The second online treasure is the full archives of the New York Times, which they have now made available, for free.

http://www.nytimes.com/

Look for the small window, centered in the middle of the page. It will say, 'NYT Archive since 1981'. Simply drop down the drop-down menu, and click onto 'NYT Archive 1851-1980'.

This resource is beyond invaluable. It is a priceless repository of baseball information. Just beyond calculating its sports wealth.

Other resources that are available online are www.ancestry.com and the Pro-Quest digitalized newspapers. Both of these are available on a paid-for subscription basis. One must pay for these online tools.
As an online researcher, I use them every single day. I wouldn't know how to get my results without them. A researcher is only as good as his tools. And sadly, sometimes we must pay for our better tools. But its well-worth the modest investments.

[Bill Burgess]

Useful Reference Resources:

Looking for used Baseball Books? Here are some leads.
www.Bookfinder.com Massive website includes other massive databases. Half.com, abebooks, amazon, Alibris, viabiblio, bookavenue, countless others.
www.half.com go to Ebay, then click onto the icon for half.com in the column on the left, then click onto books,
Bobby Plapinger P.O. Box 1062, Ashland, OR 97520, 541-488-1220 baseballbooks@opendoor.com
Wayne Greene PO Box 479, Cathedral Station, NY, NY 10025 212-662-2104 greensparks@worldnet.att.net
Archer's Used & Rare Books 330 North Willow St., Kent, Ohio, 44240-2564 330-346-0926 archers@core.com www.archersbooks.com
Georgetown Bookshop 4710 Bethhesda Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814 301-907-6923 andym108@yahoo.com To sell ONLY, call 1-800-225,6150
Willis Monie Books 139 Main St., Cooperstown, NY 13326 800-322-2995 mail@wilmonie.com www.wilmonie.com alternate tel. # 607-547-7128

Extremely Useful Reference Resources
1. Social Security Death Index, 1937-present, only really good from 1970 on. It's free online at roots.com and ancestry.com
2. New York Times Obituaries Index; There are 2 volumes, 1851-1969 and 1970-79. These 2 reference books are sometimes hard to acquire. All libraries have them.
3. Biography and Genealogy Master Index; This is an online index, created by Gale. You can usually access it through a city library. This is one amazing database. Gale company has indexed 12.7 million biographical sketches in more than 3,400 reference books, such as Who's Who, Biographical Dictionaries, Biographical Encyclopedias, etc.
4. Biography Resource Center, - Similar to above. Access through library.
5. Ancestry.com, Has many dozens of useful databases, such as all census' up through 1930.
6. Google.com; In addition to its search engine, which is the best to use, try its Google Answers. They have hired hundreds of independent contractors to personally search for your requests, at any price from $1. to $100. You set the price.
7. SABR Bulletin's Research Needs, as well as their National Pastime, and Baseball Research Journal
8. The Sporting News online, available via Paper of Record, for $99./yr.; SABR makes this database available to it's members for $49./yr.
9. Proquest; Has packaged into one database, NY Times (1851-2001), Washington Post (1877-1988), LA Times (1881-1984), Chicago Tribune (1847-1984), Boston Globe (1872-?), Atlanta Constitution (1868-?) with an excellent & fast search engine.

SABR has made available to it's members the Proquest Database, for free, as a benefit of membership, which now is $50./yr.

Various BB Books; some of the most usuful have been:
Reference
Total Baseball; various editors have been: John Thorn, Pete Paler (stats), Michael Gershman, David Pietrusza, Phil Birnbaum Bill Deane; This must be the most important, comprehensive must-have reference book on one's baseball bookshelf. While the 8th ed. was a major disappointment, it still is a must have item. An encyclpedia, full statistical record book, and is chock full of biographical data. 1st. Ed. 1989, published by Warner Books, Hardcover, D/J, over 2,200 pp., ISBN: 0-446-51389-X, 11 x 8.25, priced $49.95.
1st. ed. Is particularly useful, in that it includes for pitchers: SO/g., BB/g., H/g., and gives home/away breakdowns for 27 famous hitters (pp. 2200-2213); Aaron, Clemente, Cobb, E. Collins, Crawford, DiMaggio, Foxx, Gehrig, Hornsby, R. Jackson, Kaline, Killebrew, Klein, Lajoie, Mantle, Mays, Morgan, Musial, Ott, F. Robinson, Rose, Ruth, Schmidt, Speaker, Wagner, T. Williams, Yastrzemski.

Baseball: A Comprehensive Bibliography, Compiled by Myron J. Smith, Jr., 1986, published by McFarland. This covers from 1980 - Jan. 31, 1985. HC, Green cloth, 915 pp., ISBN: 0-89950-222-9. All text, 9.25 x 6.25,
The 1st supplement covers from 1985 - May, 1992.
The 2nd supplement (Apr.1 1998) covers June, 1992 - Dec., 1997. 310 pp., ISBN: 0-7864-9531-7, all text, 9.25 x 6.25,


Biographical
Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia, editors of Total Baseball, 2000; Total Sports Publishing, HB, 1298 pp., ISBN: 1-892129-34-5. 11 x 8.75, originally priced $49.94, 2,000 biographies, from brief to 4.5 pp.

The Ballplayers, ed. Mike Shatzkin, 1990, Published William Morrow & Co.,Inc, HB, 1,230 pp., ISBN: 0-87795-984-6, 11 x 8.5, original price: $39.95, 6,000 entries, over-whelmingly on people. b/w photos

New Biographical History of Baseball, Donald Dewey & Nicholas Acocella, 2002, Published Triumph Books, HC, 474 pp., ISBN: 1-57243-470-8, b/w photos, 9.25 x 7.25, originally $28.95. Over 1,500 entries, prominent BB figures, no personal data.

Who's Who in Professional Baseball, Gene Karst & Martin J. Jones, Jr., 1973, Published Arlington House, HC, 919 pp., ISBN: 0-87000-220-1, no photos, all text, 9.5 x 6.5, originally $12.95. Over 1,500 brief bios, brief peraonnal data.

The Baseball Necrology, by Bill Lee, 2003, Published McFarland, HC, 517 pp., ISBN: 0-7864-1539-8. All text, 10.5 x 7.25, Post-BB lives & deaths of over 7,600 ML players and other BB figures.

Baseball's Best: The Hall of Fame Gallery, by Martin Appel (text) and Burt Goldblatt (photos), 1980 updated, Published McGraw-Hill Book Co., HB, 439 pp., INSB:0-07-0021-48-1, b/w photos, originally $24.95. One of the best biographical books ever. Chronological review of each Hall of Famer's career, and brief notes on post-career. Not overblown hero-worship.

Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train, by Henry W. Thomas, 1995, Phenon Press, HB, D/C, 458 pp., ISBN: 0-9645439-07. b/w photos, 4.25 x 6.25, originally $24.95. One of the most comprehensive and best sports biographies ever written. This bio has everything. It has an acknowledgments, Introduction, Foreword, 3 Appendixs, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Includes all the colorful players of the era. Cobb, Jackson, Ruth, Speaker, Collins, Griffith, Milan, etc. Author is Walter's grandson, who took many years to lovingly and laboriously, using the 30 family scrapbooks, brought this story to fruition. Enriched with delicious period flavor. Works at all levels. Must-have. A book worthy of it's world-class subject.

My Life in Baseball - the True Record, Ty Cobb with Al Stump, Sept., 1961, Doubleday & Co., HB, 283 pp., INSB: b/w photos, 8.5 x 5.5, Originally $4.50, Ty Cobb gives his side of the many fights/conflicts with which he was involved. Great photos, priceless BB tips, with which one could improve their game. Unapolagetic, tough portrait of a one-of-a-kind performer. Must read by Ty fans.

Cobb, by Al Stump, 1994, Algonquin Books, HB, 436 pp., ISBN: 0-945575-64-5, b/w photos, 9.25 x 6.25, Originally $24.95. 33 yrs. Earlier Stump had felt, that since Cobb had had a guarantee final say from Doubleday, the book was strictly Cobb's, and had been too self-serving for his taste. This book had all the deleted material Stump had hoped to put in the original. This IS a blood & thunder hell-raiser book. But still it was true to its subject. No white-wash here, as Stump had feared his 1st pass had ended up as. Must-read for Cobb fans as I am. Doesn't stab Cobb in back. But movie based on this book was worthless as garbage. Oozes cool period flavor.

Ty Cobb, by Charles Comer Alexander, 1984, Oxford University Press, PB, 272 pp., ISBN: 0-19-503414-7, b/w photos, 8 x 5.25, Originaly $7.95. Most neutral, even-handed, impartial, and academicly scholarly, and best researched of all the Cobb books. It took a professor to accomplish it. Began his research Sept., 1980, began writing Lavor day, 1982, and finished writing Feb., 1983. Must-have for Cobb fans. Charts a faultless course by avoiding golly-gee hero-worshiping or anti-Cobb bashing of his "dark side." Totally factual.

Historical:
The History of Baseball: It's great players, teams and managers, ed. by Allison Danzig & Joe Reichler, 1959, Published Prentice-Hall, INC., HC, 412, lots b/w photos, 11 x 8, Covered many, various aspects of BB. Quotes by Granny Rice abound.

The Baseball Story, by Fred Lieb, 1950, Published Van Rees Press, HB, 335 pp., Wonderful, fantastic b/w photos, 8.25 x 5.75, Very excellent exploration of BB's pre -1900 era, as well as all the others.

Balldom, by George Leonard Moreland, 1914, published Balldom Publishing Co., HB, 304 pp., ISBN: on re-publishing in 1989 by Horton Publishing Co., 0-944786-46-4, all text, 7.5 x 5, originally $1.00. Wonderful early history of baseball.

Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, by Bill James, 1985,1988, Oct., 2001, Villard Books, PB, 723 pp. in '88 revised, and 998 in his new revised Abstract, ISBN of his revised abstract: 0-684-80697-5. Some b/w photos, not oodles. 9.5 x 7.75, originally $45. Has a few flaws. Bill has a huge personal problem with Ty Cobb, which causes him to under-rate him to only 5th greatest. But despite this, is a must-have book on your shelf. Rates all positions to 100th best, plus top 100 Greatest, in order.

Unique, One of a Kind Items:
Baseball's Golden Age: The Photographs of Charles M. Conlon, by Neal McCabe and Constance McCabe, 1993, Published by The Sporting News, HB, 198 pp., INSB: 0-8109-3130-3. Originally $35. Book of the greatest photos ever taken from 1905-43. Series of photos of most of famous players of that day, often of them young, then as vet player. As if taken today. Glorious b/w.

Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century: The Official Major League Baseball Guide, Researched, Illustrated & Written by Marc Okkonen, 1991,1993, Published Sterling, PB, 278 pp., ISBN: 0-8069-8490-2, 12 x 9, originally $19.95. Color drawing of all ML uniforms of the century. I've spent countless hours of pleasure, going through my BB books, dating photos using the uniforms in this book to guide me. Wonderful, unique addition.

Who's Who in Major League Baseball, 1933, compiled by editor-in-chief Harold (Speed) Johnson, and Associate Editor Harry Neily, Published Buxton Publishing Co., HC, Red cloth cover, 544 pp., b/w photos, 11.5 x 8.75. This amazing book contains the most amazing, dignified photos of famous players like Wagner, Ruth, plus umpires, manager, coaches, trainers, owners, statisticians, radio announcers, and team officials, and most rareof all, sports writers. It gives wallet photos & brief bios of 95 of the most prominent sports writers, with dates of birth, newspaper chronology of the careers. Extremely rare! Usually priced today from $250-500.

Baseball Extra: A newpaper history of the glorious game from its beginnings to the present. From the Eric C. Caren Collection, 2000, Published Castle books, HB, 438 pp., ISBN: 0-7858-1188-5. 15 x 11. Originally $29.95. Large coffee table style book. It contains the 1st page sports pages of various of the great newspapers, from 1857-1999.

Those books which are indispensible for the bookshelf must include:
Total Baseball,
Bill James Historical Abstracts,
Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia,
Baseball's Best: The Hall of Fame Gallery, by Martin Appel (text)

Other resources which are indispensible must include membership in SABR, and subscriptions to both Proquest and Sporting News, online. SABR's old publications, such as The National Pastime and SABR Research Journal are highly invaluable. Baseball Reference is another website which is an invaluable resource statistically.

Some Useful Baseball Websites:
1. Baseball Index
2. Baseball Reference
3. Deadball Era (Frank Russo)

[Bill Burgess]

Viewing Excel Files, for free:

If one wishes to view Microsoft Excel files, but doesn't have Microsoft's Office installed on their hard drive, they will probably not be able to open those Excel spreadsheet files. So, one may have to go to the following website to correct this situation.

If one goes to this site, you can then download a program for free, Excel Viewer 2003, which will allow one to then open and view Excel files ever after. Here it is. Then, for the very first time, others can see my work. (Microsoft Office would have taken 191 MB of space on one's hard drive, while Excel Viewer 2003 takes 30.96 MB of space.)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=EN
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Another website that might be useful is one called Wiki. It allows one to store their information on their site for free.

http://pbworks.com/

[The Kid]

Great tips, Bill.

[2Chance]

originally posted by william_burgess
Would anyone like to share the explaining for how to use the [img] feature for posting photos?

It's gotten awfully quiet in here, so I will take a whack at it.

This [img] tag is for posting photos that appear on another website, rather than the preferred method of uploading photos using the "Manage Attachments" button in the "Additional Options" area beneath the message box (where you type your reply).

Choose a picture from the other website. Click it while holding your Control (CTRL) key. You get an option saying "Open image in new window" (in FireFox it says "View Image"); select that. Copy the web address from the top of that window by selecting it and then selecting CTRL-C. Go back to the message box and paste the address in place using one of these two methods:

a) type [img], then paste the address by selecting CTRL-V, then type [/img];

b) click the "picture" icon and paste the address in the box that pops up.
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Bill expresses his appreciation:
Thank you, 2Chance. Nice, simple, clear explanation. I appreciate your help.

I hope some of our members practice this simple technique.

Bill

[Bill Burgess]

If one wishes to improve their posting style, one may wish to limit their use of the 'quote' button.

Whenever one uses the quote button, the software will duplicate ALL of the other post.

But if you are only addressing a part of it, please use your backspace key to delete all but the 'referred to' portion.

This will improve your post's readability, make your post so much cleaner and clearer to understand. You will find that others will read your posts much more often.

The long-winded posts often get passed over.

------Thx!

[Erik Bedard]

Bill: When using the "Quick Reply" method, something that I do with nearly all of my posts, and checking the "Quote Message in Reply?" box, the entire post is automatically quoted. In that case, I like to press the "Go Advanced" button in order to edit the quoted portion.

At the bottom of every post there are buttons.

Quote, the piece of paper with " +, and the piece of paper with the pencil or whatever it is

The second icon activates the quick reply box with the post you are quoting, and the third icon activiates an empty quick reply box

It just means you can reply by posting on the same page as the thread instead of loading a new page to do the full reply. Nothing big.

I like it because it means that I don't have to wait for two pages to load.

[Bill Burgess]

Graphics:

In case any members are not familiar with some of the standard posting features, here are some.

1. Bold-Face - It is the large blackened B above your posting window. It will enlarge/blacken your text. Simply use your mouse to place your cursor arrow to the left of whatever text you wish to select for bold-face, and move your cursor to the right, covering the text selected in blue. Release your finger from your mouse, and hit the large, black B above your posting window. That will make that particular text larger/darkened.

2. Italics - That is the large, blackened I just to the right of the B, above your posting window. Again, simply use your mouse to place your cursor arrow to the left of whatever text you wish to select for italicizing, and move your cursor to the right, covering the text selected in blue. Release your finger from your mouse, and hit the large, black, italicized I above your posting window. That will make that particular text italicized.

3. The same principle holds true for the Underline feature, just to the right of the Italicize letter.

4. Sizing - This is the feature above your posting window, that says, 'Sizes'.
This will allow you to make your text larger/smaller. Simply click onto the small down arrow to its right. If you click onto 1, it will make your text smallest size. Our text is normally set at 2. So, if you click onto the 3 number, you will increase the size of your text, for whatever amount of text you selected.

To select the text you wish to alter, use the same principle as above for bold-face or italicize. Simply use your mouse to put the cursor arrow to the left of whatever you wish to select, and move your arrow to the right. It will blue out the text selected.

Whenever using these graphics tools, always remember that they are here to help you communicate better with your fellow members. Whenever you wish to 'inflect your voice tone', simply using the italicize feature will accomplish that for you.

If you use the sizing feature, along with the bold-face, that is considered to be raising your voice, and is often taken as rude to whomever you are addressing. And could cause a predictable result. We always try to maintain a 'civil tone', and reserve these posting features for times we wish to have a pronounced effect, for appropriate moments.

There might be some exceptions to this general rule. For example, in the photo threads, I use the bold-face for all text. The reason for this is that the photos are so emphatic, that using normal text 'washes out', the text.

Another posting tool are the 'smiley faces' . These can be annoying if over-done. But, used sparingly, in context, can let your readers know your 'tone', or 'attitude'. Posting a smiley face, or applauding hands, or laughing heads, can add to your posts intentions, if your meaning is unclear. But be careful of the laughing heads, as they might convey ridicule, or mocking, if not used carefully.

Yet another very useful tool, is the color feature. The color feature is represented above your posting window, by the large, blackened A, with the heavy black line underneath it.

Just click onto the small downward arrow to its right, and it will present you with the assorted colors you can select. I often use the bright red color, to designate names, both in my rankings posts, or my photos, or if I want to caption a post, for reference, as in this post.

[Bill Burgess]

NO Cussing/No Personal Attacks:

A Fever policy is that we all must be civil to each other. There are no personal attacks allowed on Fever. If one breaks this rule, they will be disciplined. They will be warned at first, and if they continue to break this rule, they could be banned from Fever.

We may, of course, criticize another's opinion, or their content. That is fair game. But even there, one will find that to do so in a mild, civil manner, will go a long way towards ensuring cordial relations among the membership.

Others may take a scolding worse than we anticipate, so we might well go easy on our fellow members, as we would like them to go easy on us.

Another rule we have is that we must not cuss, curse, swear, or otherwise use bad, profane language.

If you'd hesitate saying something if your parents, spouse, kids were standing right there, it probably would raise hackles for some members here. After all, if you would not offend your own parents, spouse or kids with bad language, why would you choose to offend someone else's parents, spouse or kids? Because that's what you're doing if you do.

When I first arrived here, I also allowed myself a teensy bit of cussing. For example; "So what if Wagner/Cobb played in a sh__ league?" Later, I came to see that as unacceptable, and I used the search mode to go back and edited out all my past cussing. I changed the sh word to crap.

I also feel that WTF is going too far, because we all know what that means. I sometimes use, "What the . . . ?", because I intended it to mean, "What the hell?" "Mofo" also crosses the line for the same reason. I now feel it shows a lack of imagination to rely on profanity.

Sports chat in not male-only bonding. We're so much broader than that here. Baseball-fever is not, has never been, nor will ever be a men's locker room. We can assume we have many women on-site, as well as very young kids, whether they feel comfortable identifying themselves as such or not. We need to respect that and post accordingly.

We are indeed a family rating. Only takes a moment's thought, and some kind consideration for the sensitivities of those who might be trying to hold themselves to a nicer standard. Just a thought, my brothers & sisters.

[Bill Burgess]

Make Your Posts As Professional As Possible:

Many people use our content as references. So, it is always a good idea, that if you catch any errors in your postings, to go back and edit them to ferret out the glitches and the gaffes. And we all make them! Or just to make your meaning more clear.

I also delete a huge number of my own posts. Sometimes, there is just no reason for them to continue to take up cyber-space. Or sometimes, I decide I was too rough on a member. In the past, I lost my temper far too often, and later, went back and corrected myself. Or apologized for being ignorant.

I edit my own posts constantly. For spelling, grammar, errors, or improve my expression of an idea. I also keep a small list of my most common spelling errors in my desk, to improve my spelling vocabulary.

Try to write for the time capsule. Imagine the future looking back at your posts. Are they as correct, professional & clean as they could be?

If they are, fine. If not, see how clean, how readable, you can make them. If you are expressing yourself as well as possible, your posts will not only be likely to be read, but enjoyed. A mild amount of gracious humor can also add some spice to your posts, and make someone else's day. Like anything else, posting online is a skill that is subject to improvement with practice. And never be afraid of looking stupid by asking about a feature that you don't understand, or would like to learn. Asking questions is a sign of intelligence. Most of the time. See? There was an example of humor!

ChatSpeak: INTERNET SHORTHAND

I find that sometimes, using abbreviated stuff is helpful, but sometimes am annoyed when others do it. As usual, when I do it, it feels advanced. When others do it, it feels primitive and sloppy. You will probably find that others will both appreciate/read your posts if you keep it as simple, direct, clean and readable as possible. (You do not want others to stop and wonder what your 'chatspeak' means. Your 'color' should not compete with your 'content'. The more it does, the less seriously you will be taken.

I also often use misspellings deliberately, to conjure the flavor of sports speak. Some of my oft-used lingo includes: dunno, wanna, gotta, 'scuse me, cuz.

It used to bother me a lot when certain members posted using only capital letters, but then one member explained why and it was legitimate.

I also was able to figure out most of the online abbreviations, such as:

IMO - In my opinion.
IMHO - In my humble opinion.
IOW - In other words.
FYI - For your information.
OTOH - On the other hand.
BTW - By the way.
LMAO - Laughing my ass off.


These 2 I just learned now!

LOL=Laugh(ing) Out Loud
IIRC=If I Remember Correctly

I thought LOL was Lots of Luck! Sheesh. Gotta get my colorful street language together.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Bill, here's something to assist members who get nagging pop-ups/in-page ads.

If you're using Mozilla Firefox on either PC or a Mac:

1) Go to google.com and look up "AdBlock Plus Firefox"
2) Click on the link leading to the Mozilla Firefox Addon site.
3) Once the page loads, read and agree to the terms and press "download"
4) Inside your Firefox browser, the Addon box will pop up prompting you to accept or cancel the installation of this addon, click accept.
5) In the another box that will pop-up automatically, you'll see the progress of the install (less than a megabyte) and once completed within a few seconds, click on the button prompting you to restart Firefox.
6) Once restarted, AdBlock Plus will load another box for the first time user.
Select the US subscription provided, and AdBlock Plus will take care of the rest.
7) View Baseball-Fever in its pure state, ad and popup free.

[brewers96]

Nice job Bill. I have one question: How do I create a link in a word(s)?
Example: http://www.baseball-fever.com into like "baseball website" or something, just so that they can click a word.

like instead of having an ungly website URL such as www.brewers.com in a post, I could just put like click here and users could click 'here' to get to the website. Kinda like how you click on 'Private Messages' to get to them instead of the URL

I think I know what you're asking.

1. copy/paste the address from the top address bar at the top of the page.
2. Put [ url= before it. But leave no spaces. I had to in order to not create a link.
3. Put ] after it.
4. Then type whatever word you like, such as Here, or describe the event.
5. Then put [/url] after it.

That should result in a code that will look however you want it to look, it will be light blue and only show the wording of your choice. Plus, if you click on it, it should take one to the destination you promised, like Aladdin's Flying Carpet.

Thanks Bill. It worked! I've been wondering about that for a while. Thanks again!

[Bill Burgess]

The other day, it occurred to me that some members might not know how to work several screens at the same time.

When I conduct research, I often have 4-5 screens working all at the same time. But I remember that it took me some time before I learned how to do that. So, I want to help anyone else out who might not have caught on to how to manage this little trick. So, let's start.

Often, when one tries to do their work, they find that when they go to open a new website, the new one replaces the old one. It displaces it, and that can be very frustrating. At least it was to me.

But here is how I learned to overcome that little 'problem'.

In the history forum, I created a thread which is 'stuck' at the top of the page, entitled 'Classic, Vintage Threads'.

Here is my customary procedure before I even start to work.

1. I first click onto Classic, Vintage Threads in History Forum. That will give you one screen on your computer.

2. Next I click onto any thread in that thread. Just click onto an icon, and that will open your second screen. So now you have 2 screens that are hosted in your bottom toolbar.

3. Now, click again onto the bottom toolbar that says, "Classic, Vintage Threads', and once again click onto any thread in that post, and that will open your 3rd screen, housed again in your bottom toolbar.

4. Now just continue to click onto that bottom icon in your bottom toolbar, entitled, 'Classic, Vintage Threads', and open as many threads as you require. But be careful. If you open more than six, the software will normally then consolidate them all into one icon, which is inconvenient.
-----------------------------------------------
So, let's say you now have 4-5 threads located in your bottom toolbar. Only one at a time can be displayed on your computer screen.

So, how do you control all those threads at the bottom, and make them the websites you want? Easy as pie.

1. You put one up at a time on your screen, and when it's displayed, you then type into the address bar on the top toolbar at the top of your screen, the coded name of whatever website you wish to manage.

In my case, I will often have Sporting News in one address bar, ancestry.com in another, and proquest in a third, and have 2 different threads from Fever also.

So, that is how you manage multi-screens at the same time. If anyone is unclear as to my instructions, just ask me and I will break it down some more.

How to manipulate 2 screens online at the same time.

Just post a screen on the computer. Now, click onto the small box in the middle at the top, right of your uppermost right corner. That will allow you to then manipulate the screen at will. Use your mouse to move your cursor arrow to the borders of your screen. You can make the screen in whatever shape you need.

Now open another screen on the computer. Again, click onto the small middle box in the uppermost right corner. Again, use your cursor to move the borders into the shape you need.

You should now have 2 separate screens on your computer monitor screen at the same time. You should now be able to work with both screens at the same time. In fact, you can open and work as many screens at the same time as you need to. Why do this fancy maneuver? Because it will save you from having to continuously click on the bottom toolbar to pull up the screens you need to use. The less times you need to pull a screen up, the more time you save.

[Bill Burgess]

If anyone else has a clarification or something that would assist others, please feel free to post it here.

Or if anyone has a question concerning a feature on Fever, please ask it here, and we'll try to address it.

Bill

[Pere]

Is there a tutorial for the search feature?

[Bill Burgess]

Is there a tutorial for the search feature?

There is a search icon at the top of a thread.
There is a search icon at the top of the first page of every forum.

If you put in to search engine, "Mike Baker", you will get every reference to the word Mike, AND every reference to the word Baker.

Using quotationn marks will NOT allow you to search for an exact name or phrase. And that is the huge flaw in that function.

I must use google to get exact searches, which is not good.

[Bill Burgess]

Would all those who find this thread helpful and useful, please consider rating it? The rating feature is at the top, right. Please?