Simpler is Better

It has been gratifying to see interest grow for AstroCartoGraphy.Net. But there are a couple of common problems that occur when people start using the site. First, the sign-up process has a few pitfalls which I think most people can avoid if they are careful. Then there a a couple of issues regarding the discussion board that we have tried to improve.

Joining

Our registration process is called "joining". It has two steps, mainly to defeat spammers. First, you have to fill out a form with your name and email address. Then you follow a link in an email we send you to finish the registration and complete your account by setting up a login password. The most important issue is the email. You have to get it to complete the process! So be sure that you type in the address accurately. Next, be sure that your email spam protection will allow an email from astrocartography.net !

Once you get the email, the rest is fairly straightforward, and we don't see many people  having trouble.  But if you do have a problem, don't hesitate to click the "feedback" button.

Submitting a Comment on the Discussion Board

We have simplified the Discussion Board so that there is just one way to make a comment: use the "Quick Reply" editor box at the bottom of the page.  All new comments appear at the end of the discussion, so if you are specifically responding to a comment further up in the conversation, you might want to give a little context for readers of what you are replying to.

Formerly every entry in the discussion had its own "reply to this" button.  But since this seemed to be confusing since all comments went onto the end, we eliminated this button.

Using the Kupu Editor

The Kupu editor (which most of you use to add comments, articles, blogs, etc) does have some quirks.  In general, it is best to enter your text first, then apply formatting touches (bold, italic, headings, etc) as a second step.  Sometimes the editor gets confused when you change formatting while you are first entering text.

We will be upgrading to a newer version of this editor as soon as we can.

Our Google Connection

We have been very pleased with the way AstroCartoGraphy.Net has been picked up by Google.  Often new posts can be found on Google searches within a day or two.