HTML Tab in Reply Editor MIA Again

[berserkerplanet]

Is the intention to permanently do away with HTML editing capability in posts here?

HTML tab disappeared quite a while back for a period of time, came back, and was there until last night or so. Now it's gone again in Firefox 31.

I *need* it to deal with the subpar quoting capabilities here (break one huge mono block of quoted material into sections for targeted replies to specific points and trimming) and for cleaning up formatting messes the RTF editor makes at times.

(in Firefox 3.6.24 where I do most of my posting next to nothing works so I just post in (partial) HTML there, but here in FF31 I need the HTML editor for fixing posts often)

[chrysylys]

Yeah, that's the only way I can Paste anything.  Ctrl-V and Right Click, Paste don't work in the Rich Text tab.  I have to keep switching back and forth between tabs to construct posts so that they're readable.

I don't have that problem on real, functional boards.

[berserkerplanet]

Pasting issue:
I mentioned this a while back in your older thread, and it isn't exactly the sequence you're seeing, but if there is a dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled setting (or similar) in your SeaMonkey config you might want to try toggling it and see if that fixes the problem. (if it does you'd then need to figure out what else that breaks - if anything - and if it does, which is the lesser evil.)

I leave it toggled to on to be able to paste in the forums (because Lithium chose to require that functionality), but when on, it breaks pasting elsewhere on eBay (item notes input boxes, etc). I use a bookmarklet to pop open the FireFox about:config dialog to that setting when I need to do so A kludge, but about the only way because security considerations in browser code.

  ( about:config?filter=clipboardevents )

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Community-Platform-Feedback/Wow/m-p/27571629/highlight/true#M4765

[chrysylys]

Trying it out.  Working so far, but not sure of side-effects.

[berserkerplanet]

For me, the only noticeable side effect was pasting being broken some other places on ebay, but that particular browser is mostly only used on eBay, PayPal, USPS, FedEx, and a few other places regularly, along with some random visits to sites that fail in FF2, then FF3, then FF11. I haven't used that browser on other forums or sites where I need to do a lot of pasting so just don't know.

That's why I do the toggle thing. The newer Firefoxen added that capability and defaulted it to on (IIRC), so I leave it on except when I need it off. Turns out I need it on for the forums more than the times when I'm relisting/listing and need it off to paste repetitive listing date notes in my listing notes as I relist them as that is only an issue when I'm relisting a bunch (when it's one or two relists, I just type the "R1/22/18 $↓" note in manually and don't worry about pasting)

To recap on the bookmark thing (for FireFox, don't know if SeaMonkey settings interface is same): A bookmark with about:config?filter=clipboardevents as the location brings up the settings dialog filtered down to that setting. I just double click it, that toggles it, pop over to tab where I'm doing pasting work, pop back to settings tab when done with paste work, double click to toggle back, and close the tab. (I'd write a GreaseMonkey script to automate the process for certain pages, but as I mentioned, there are major issues with granting access to the settings dialog, I don't think GreaseMonkey can get access, and I'm not up to writing an extension/addon to do it (and still not certain it can be done that way) Too much work and would be useless to everyone else anyway since would likely only work in older Firefox versions.

[doug@ebay · Accepted solution]

Based on Lithium recommendations and internal eBay IT security requirements, we've disabled HTML in the Community.

@Members can still @ mention, post links, and post images.

If you cut and paste into the rich text editor from a website, like eBay, you'll potentially get an HTML error message. If you need to format text, I recommend cutting and pasting as plain text, using the rich text options that are available.

If you're using an alternative browser (i.e. SeaMonkey) that's not compatible with the Lithium platform, you may experience compatibility issues.

The Lithium Community is designed to operate on most web browsers that support modern web standards. For the best possible experience, we recommend using of one of the following browsers:

Desktop Browsers
Windows (Version 7+)

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer 11

Microsoft Edge

Mac (Version 10.11+)

Safari
Chrome
Firefox

Mobile Browsers
Android (Version 4.4+)

Chrome
iOS (Version 10+)

Safari

Here's a link to a list of Lithium customer success stories, including multiple large companies who find Lithium to be very functional discussion board solution: https://www.lithium.com/customer-success/all/

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@berserkerplanet wrote:

Is the intention to permanently do away with HTML editing capability in posts here?

HTML tab disappeared quite a while back for a period of time, came back, and was there until last night or so. Now it's gone again in Firefox 31.

I *need* it to deal with the subpar quoting capabilities here (break one huge mono block of quoted material into sections for targeted replies to specific points and trimming) and for cleaning up formatting messes the RTF editor makes at times.

(in Firefox 3.6.24 where I do most of my posting next to nothing works so I just post in (partial) HTML there, but here in FF31 I need the HTML editor for fixing posts often)

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[berserkerplanet]

Thanks for the reply Doug.

You answered my question. And it's fully what I expected to hear 😞

Going to have to continue doing it the hard way I guess.

(Might even go the lazy route and just quit trimming quoted material since it's a PITA to do so, and not doing so appears to be de rigueur here.)

[chrysylys]

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doug@ebay wrote:

If you're using an alternative browser (i.e. SeaMonkey) that's not compatible with the Lithium platform, you may experience compatibility issues.

The Lithium Community is designed to operate on most web browsers that support modern web standards. For the best possible experience, we recommend using of one of the following browsers:

Desktop Browsers
Windows (Version 7+)

Chrome

Firefox

Internet Explorer 11

Microsoft Edge

Mac (Version 10.11+)

Safari
Chrome
Firefox

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You realize that SM is the more advanced and secure grandfather of FF and is written by the same people, right?

[doug@ebay]

I thought Sea Monkeys were brine shrimp.

SeaMonkey as a web browser is not on Lithium's approved list, so I wouldn't recommend using it while browsing the eBay Community. FireFox is on the list, so I'd recommend that, even though I prefer Chrome.

I was not familiar with SeaMonkey until today. 

https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

"SeaMonkey uses much of the same Mozilla source code which powers such successful siblings as Firefox and Thunderbird. " 

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You realize that SM is the more advanced and secure grandfather of FF and is written by the same people, right?

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[doug@ebay]

I remember Mozilla>Netscape>Firefox.

In the late 90s I used Netscape, then Internet Explorer, then FireFox. I think somewhere in there I tried Opera for a bit. Once I changed to Chrome, I've stuck with Chrome.

Usability used to be much more of a design issue when I was a web designer way back. 

Now I test in latest versions of Chrome, IE, FireFox, IOS and Android.

[chrysylys]

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doug@ebay wrote:

I was not familiar with SeaMonkey until today. 

https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

"SeaMonkey uses much of the same Mozilla source code which powers such successful siblings as Firefox and Thunderbird. "  

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That's not even quite accurate.  SM has been around since long before FF, though at the time it was still referred to as Mozilla Suite which was the offshoot of Netscape, the original competition for IE when people started to break away.  Thunderbird may be a sibling in ways, but FF is a runaway cousin.

If it wasn't for the people who wrote Mozilla and SeaMonkey, there mighty never have been an FF.  It was started as an abbreviated version of Mozilla that stripped out the email and composer clients.

To imply that SM is a less advanced, less secure browser than FF makes no sense.  It's considerably more rubust than FF, just not as 'trendy'.  To me, the fact that FF can be 'hacked' by so many people as far as writing extensions to modify the performance and apperance makes it less secure and trustworthy.

If this site would embrace SM as the 'preferred' browser, you wouldn't be having the problems you are tryhing to please the Chrome authors.

[chrysylys]

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doug@ebay wrote:

I think somewhere in there I tried Opera for a bit.

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The old Opera was far better than any of the others besides SM  I still use Opera 10 for a lot of sites where it works.  Opera 11 changed the core to a different engine, same as Chrome I think.  I really wish they hadn't done that and continued developing the original version.  The creators in Oslo ran into money problems I guess and had to change course.  I don't remember the full story now.

I won't use Chrome at all.  I refuse to submit to the will of G.

[doug@ebay]

@chrysylys I will download SeaMonkey and learn more about it.

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@chrysylys wrote:

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doug@ebay wrote:

I was not familiar with SeaMonkey until today. 

https://www.seamonkey-project.org/

"SeaMonkey uses much of the same Mozilla source code which powers such successful siblings as Firefox and Thunderbird. "  

---

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That's not even quite accurate.  SM has been around since long before FF, though at the time it was still referred to as Mozilla Suite which was the offshoot of Netscape, the original competition for IE when people started to break away.  Thunderbird may be a sibling in ways, but FF is a runaway cousin.

If it wasn't for the people who wrote Mozilla and SeaMonkey, there mighty never have been an FF.  It was started as an abbreviated version of Mozilla that stripped out the email and composer clients.

To imply that SM is a less advanced, less secure browser than FF makes no sense.  It's considerably more rubust than FF, just not as 'trendy'.  To me, the fact that FF can be 'hacked' by so many people as far as writing extensions to modify the performance and apperance makes it less secure and trustworthy.

If this site would embrace SM as the 'preferred' browser, you wouldn't be having the problems you are tryhing to please the Chrome authors.

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[doug@ebay]

I submitted to the will of Google long ago, thus my Chrome and phone loyalty. 

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@chrysylys wrote:
 

I won't use Chrome at all.  I refuse to submit to the will of G.

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[berserkerplanet]

Everyone knows that unsupported, abandoned, annoying Windows 10 Phone is the one true path to success 🙂

(that's what my, uh, friend says. Yeah my friend. Certainly not me.....)