Rhaomi
11-04-2007, 20:47
If you're like me, then you check this forum pretty often. Maybe too often. Your reasons may vary -- perhaps you want to post devastatingly quick and witty arguments in the debate-of-the-week, or keep up with the chatter in a social topic, or tell off a troll before the thread is deleted. Or maybe you just want to procrastinate. I know I do...
Anyway, if you're a Firefox user, there's a great way to help you break the cycle and focus on other things while still keeping up with what's going on here.
It's called Forum Additive. FA is a Firefox extension that lets you track threads on any number of profiles in real time. By simply double-clicking on a thread title, you'll subscribe to it. From then on, whenever someone replies to the thread, you will be notified -- either through a mini-pop-up, a sound, or a status bar message (you choose which). Clicking the alert will take you directly to the latest response in a new tab.
You can also set up certain filters: you can tell FA to ignore comments you make, automatically unsubscribe from threads that are too old or too far down the pages, and manage threads from multiple forums at once. You can even change the look & feel -- mine is a Jolt-ish grey and white.
The only downside to this app is that it's a bit of a hassle to acquire, compared to other extensions. Although it works great, it is still in the Firefox Add-on "Sandbox", where new extensions languish until they are approved. If you want to get this extension, here's what to do:
* Go to the Extensions home page at addons.mozilla.org (http://addons.mozilla.org) and register an account
* Once registered, sign in at the add-ons homepage and then go to the Forum Additive download page (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4667) (it's not accessible unless you're signed in)
* Download the extension
Here are the settings that I find most useful:
* Check threads every 10 seconds (to keep up with debates and such)
* Notify replies only
* Notify with sound only (this one's a bit misleading; it in fact enables the mini-pop-up)
* Pop-up theme: light-opaque
And here's what it looks like in action:
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1831/forumml9.png
I hope it helps you as much as it helps me...
*goes off to another site... with an eye on the lower-right corner...*
Anyway, if you're a Firefox user, there's a great way to help you break the cycle and focus on other things while still keeping up with what's going on here.
It's called Forum Additive. FA is a Firefox extension that lets you track threads on any number of profiles in real time. By simply double-clicking on a thread title, you'll subscribe to it. From then on, whenever someone replies to the thread, you will be notified -- either through a mini-pop-up, a sound, or a status bar message (you choose which). Clicking the alert will take you directly to the latest response in a new tab.
You can also set up certain filters: you can tell FA to ignore comments you make, automatically unsubscribe from threads that are too old or too far down the pages, and manage threads from multiple forums at once. You can even change the look & feel -- mine is a Jolt-ish grey and white.
The only downside to this app is that it's a bit of a hassle to acquire, compared to other extensions. Although it works great, it is still in the Firefox Add-on "Sandbox", where new extensions languish until they are approved. If you want to get this extension, here's what to do:
* Go to the Extensions home page at addons.mozilla.org (http://addons.mozilla.org) and register an account
* Once registered, sign in at the add-ons homepage and then go to the Forum Additive download page (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4667) (it's not accessible unless you're signed in)
* Download the extension
Here are the settings that I find most useful:
* Check threads every 10 seconds (to keep up with debates and such)
* Notify replies only
* Notify with sound only (this one's a bit misleading; it in fact enables the mini-pop-up)
* Pop-up theme: light-opaque
And here's what it looks like in action:
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1831/forumml9.png
I hope it helps you as much as it helps me...
*goes off to another site... with an eye on the lower-right corner...*