Subject length limit

[GMan]

Can/should the length of the subject line be increased?

It seems to be limited to about 60 characters, including special marks translated to HTML (the double quote character appears to be translated to "&" then subject to the 60 character limit, for an example see my immediatly prior post entitled "Confusing to beginners"...)

I am admittedly someone who prefers specific/precise subject lines, and I would like to see the length limit increase to maybe about 120-180 characters. This would also permit the ability to change subject lines, i.e. "Mintek 1600 code file (was: Re: how do I find codes for unsupported manufacturers' devices)"

Regards,

Greg

[Mark Pierson]

Can/should the length of the subject line be increased?

It appears to be fixed at a max of 60 characters and is not adjustable.

... permit the ability to change subject lines, i.e. "Mintek 1600 code file (was: Re: how do I find codes for unsupported manufacturers' devices)"

You cannot edit the main title of a thread unless you created it (moderators can also edit thread titles). So the original subject will still appear in the list of threads even if you change the subject line in a response.

Keep in mind that there are limits to the customization allowed by the phpBB software. As this JP1 forum is new, and still a work-in-progress, if we find ways around some of these restrictions, we'll certainly look into implementing them.

[The Robman]

Personally, I've never liked subject lines that are almost a paragraph long. I think it's totally possible to provide a very basic outline for the subject within 60 characters and then provide the detail in the message itself.

As fot the "xxx (was: YYY)" thing, I don't think that applies in a web based forum as much as it did in the yahoo email forum. If you are about to change the direction of a thread, I would suggest that you start a new thread and maybe provide a link to the old thread in the new one. If you really wanted to cover all the bases, you could also include a link to the new thread in the old one, if you think it's relevant.

One of the tools that moderators have in these new forums is the abilty to split threads, which I have used once already. This is a great tool, in my opinion. Over at Remote Central we see people hi-jacking threads all the time with posts totally un-related to the pre-existing subject.

Rob

[GMan]

Good points. I think we will agree to disagree on the value of lengthy subject lines (which by the way I think should not be referred to in the body of the message as in: "see subject line and please answer the question therein"). I'll defer to your judgement and preference (but if it ever comes to a vote, you'll know which way I'll vote!).

I understand the approach used for thread redirection and hijacking. Makes sense!

Thanks for your hard work!

Regards,

Greg