Show/hide invisible text checkbox

[Nsof]

Sometimes having to mark pages with the mouse in order to see the invisible text can be annoying.
What do you think about adding a checkbox next to each post that when checked will display the invisible text in that post?
Another checkbox can do the same for the entire thread.
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[mv*]

You will get used to it.
I would support this idea but I think there is too much clutter around each post right now.

[Lepton]

I use ctrl+a to highlight all the text on a page. Click somewhere on the page to unhighlight. Seems easier to me.

[Jack_Ian]

On the Mac, the highlighting does not provide enough contrast to see the text and I have to copy and paste it to a text editor to see it.
Now that's annoying, especially as it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish which part is the posted text and which part is signature etc.
Also smilies are replaced with curious words.
For example, the first two posts would look like this

[HyToFry]

I would sway against this for the same reasons that mv posted about. The Mac thing sucks though. . . I'll brainstorm and see what I can come up with on my Mac.
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"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again." Hi ho.

[Samadhi]

[Antrax]

The "curious words" are just the alt text, if memory serves.
I think being able to always spot invisitext without any effort would somewhat diminish the idea behind some of the "gotcha" posts. So, I'm leaning against. However, I didn't know about the Mac problem -- isn't it a browser-dependant thing, though?
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[HyToFry]

We could just have a checkbox at the top that changes the CSS tags for invistext to something orange or the like.

On the point of invisitext. . . We should re-break the tag so that it shows up in an odd color when you click preview. I liked that.
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"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again." Hi ho.

[Nsof]

[Coyote]

I think Ant's 'gotcha' remark was referring to posts where invisitext is used to insert a sly or clever aside that can accent or alter the meaning of the post. In the right hands it can really add to the impact or humor of the posts it's used in, and I think the effect would be seriously blunted if a signpost pointed out it's presence.

Of course, that's assuming the checkbox only appears in posts that have invisitext. On the other hand, if it's included on every post, then I think we need to consider mv's point (you may have missed this, since he invisitexted it):

[Antrax]

I interperted the suggestion as having a sort of global check box, either for every topic or even something in the profile, turning off invisitext for that person. If it's for every post then I'm opposed simply because it'll seriously clutter the page.
Other boards have solutions like a "spoiler" box that you have to click and then the text just normally appears. This would solve this problem, but would ruin the point behind the aforementioned "gotcha" posts (I did mean what Coyote thought I meant).
And again, is the mac problem something inherent to the fact it's a mac and not an X86? Sounds odd.
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After years of disappointment with get rich quick schemes, I know I'm gonna get rich with this scheme. And quick!

[Samadhi]

So we're agreed, everyone should set explosive charges upon their communist macs, and accept the free choice of building their own PC.
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[HyToFry]

I wouldn't even be considering the checkbox thing if it wasn't for the Mac issue. :p
_________________
"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again." Hi ho.

[Samadhi]

macs are like the borg. Sure you can have it your way, right away right out of the box....if the box is what you want. If not....tough.
_________________
And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[Verlm]

You can easily change the highlighting color on a Mac. There shouldn't be a problem if you take any color that contrasts with white. (blues work best)

[raekuul]

I got them mean ol' highlight blues!

[Nsof]

[HyToFry]

Well, the only problem I could see was the mac issue, and that's been addressed (maybe?)
_________________
"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again." Hi ho.

[MatthewV]

Yes, I do think the AIM, email, msn, Y!, ICQ buttons are useless and should be deleted. The profile button has to stay, that is all.

I can see you saying a highlight button near the the quote button would be fine. Fine for most users...but the unlucky few that have the IP, edit, delete in that area it would be annoying.
Besides, I think invisible text is a great part of this forum. Many people use it to change the meaning of a sentence by adding a few extra words. The regular smart people will get an extra laugh at the expense of the non-highlighting users?

I would honestly like to see only profile(user), edit(mods) and IP(admin) buttons attatched to each post.

[Antrax]

I disagree. I think the email and PM buttons are important. I know I use them a lot.
The AIM/MSN/ICQ ones can go, IMO, but that's a site design decision more than anything else, so it should just probably be voted on there.
_________________
After years of disappointment with get rich quick schemes, I know I'm gonna get rich with this scheme. And quick!

[Nsof]

[MatthewV]

I don't think we should make it easy :-)
too many people would just automatically highlight all the pages. where is the fun??
(oh the PM button is useful, I forgot about it)

[HyToFry]

*shrug*

I suppose we could differentiate between the [inv] and the [spoiler] tags.

That would allow the inv clever stuff to stay around, while making it possible to reveal all spoilers with a single click.
_________________
"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again." Hi ho.

[Nsof]

In a last effort to promote this feature I have tried to sum up all the reasons for not implementing it:
Reason 1
Feature is redundant since there are alternatives (which I will get used to).
My answer
That there are alternatives is not in itself a reason not to implement this feature. There are lots of applications which allow you to do the same thing in different ways – so what.

Reason 2
Feature will mess up site design since it will add clutter to posts
My answer
I think that this feature can be added in such a way as to be consistent and agreeable to the current site design.

Reason 3
Feature will make it too easy to see invisible text and therefore
a. ruin “Gotcha” posts
b. ruin the extra laugh (I’m really not sure I get this)
c. ruin the fun for users who use this feature automatically
My answer
The feature in itself does not ruin anything; rather it’s a matter of self discipline. We can’t control people and how they will use this feature just as you can’t force them not to ctrl+a the minute they view a new thread.
And any way “make it too easy to see invisible text” only proves that this feature actually is - in terms of usability – better then selecting in other ways.
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Will sell this place for beer

[HyToFry]

[HyToFry]

For the record:

I would be completely against a button on each post. One at the top/bottom which said "reveal all spoilers" would be fine.
_________________
"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again." Hi ho.

[Jack_Ian]

Just to put things in perspective regarding the Mac.

I can easily alter my highlighting to provide more contrast but choose not to, as the standard low contrast version is more aesthetically pleasing and also reduces eye-strain when selecting black text on a white background.

I program on the Mac and this involves a lot of text selection where the lighter shades of selection are perfect.

Here's what I mean: (Click for a larger image)



If I wanted, I could probably tweak the highlight colour to behave optimally in both situations.
The fact that I haven't done this yet should show you how much of a problem this is for me. Frankly, it is no more than a mild annoyance.

If someone really wants to work on fixing an invis-text problem, then their efforts would be far more beneficial, working on the bug where invis-text becomes visible in the "Topic review" panel of the posting screen.

I would even be happy if there was an option in my profile to never display signatures. That would certainly reduce the clutter when copying and pasting the text.
Also, always showing invis-text would make formatting like the following impossible when dealing with non-monospaced fonts:
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[mv*]

I actually find the light blue selection the easist to read. I use a similar color myself.