Is it up to date?

Some, more than others, are anxious to be up to date. Some may avidly read their daily over breakfast each morning, thinking that somehow doing so keeps them abreast with all that is important in life. Others believing newspapers a medium from a bygone age switch on their TV. A growing number go instead for their daily massage to a desktop, perhaps place a laptop on the breakfast table. There are probably even those who do both. In the cyber-global-village they can ride their mouse to information old and new, google their way through a gamut of knowledge and disinformation, seemingly never ending. But can they be sure they are seeing the most up to date version of their chosen nugget. If they have visited a page before then they cannot.

As both Internet Explorer and Safari save, as "temporary Internet files", copies of previously viewed Internet pages to speed access and decrease Internet traffic, it may sometimes be that what you see on your screen is not the latest version of a given page, but just one surreptitiously stored on your hard drive by your browser when you saw it earlier. If you suspect that what you see is out of date try the following.

First you could simply try refreshing the page, but if this does not work:

In Internet Explorer either click on Tools on the menu bar or Tools in the options given alongside the tabs. Then, from the drop down menu, select Delete Browsing History. A box will appear, there, in Temporary Internet Files click Delete files. Close the box. Once this is complete refresh the screen.

In Safari select Empty Cache from the Edit drop down menu. Click on empty when it asks if you are sure. Again, once done, refresh the screen.

Of course if the page is out of date then there is nothing you can do except to point out its obsolescence by sending its maker a message. Something along the lines of that of Arthur Mow.

CONTACT form

An issue that has been troubling me for some time,

"does the form on the CONTACT page work"?

The first response received from the CONTACT form, I received on the 8th February this year. I am not sure when the form first appeared but the domain name was purchased in June 2008 and the website was online in some form immediately. For many months I wondered if anyone had looked at the site.

It had got back to me that some people had difficulty with the form, their computers not letting them use it. In response I had others test it, some, but not all, found no problem with it. I suspect that where it doesn't work it is being subverted by a zealous firewall. Unfortunately I am not expert enough to offer advice on how this may be overcome. Clearly Wayne, my first responder, had no problem with it. To help those whose systems lock them up tight I have included an email address for use in whatever is the normal way their emails are sent.

Today I had my second response, which read as follows:

Name=Arthur Mow
AppName=Microsoft Internet Explorer
AppVersion=4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; GTB5; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; .NET CLR 3.0.04506) Resolution=1280 X 800 Email= amow@wentamowameadow.com Query=Dear Mr Webmaster man,
Am I not too late to partake of the walk that flashes before my eyes on your home sweet home page?
Like me, I suppose you are a creature of some antiquity, who finds this new technology a bit baffling. eh!
There must be some button you can press to update the date of the next date. Am I right, or am I right?
Enough, already. I must go and water the cactus.
Yours in eager anticipation.
Arthur.

Mr. Mow's message was gratefully received. I had forgotten to change the banner headline on our HOME page and set about putting it right as soon as reminded. I cannot promise that I will attend so promptly to everything that is brought to my attention, but please, please let me know of anything else that ought to be adjusted, amended on the site. Mr. Mow hid his identity (not very well) but there was no need, I am very selective of whom I bite (Mr. Mow's head, however, is on the stake on the right).

Back to the point. The CONTACT form does work, but if not for you use the email address. Oh, and I need contact!

Webmaster ban dropped (was this a mistake)

Those who are familiar with our website, http://www.southeastbasset.org.uk/, may know me from there as the Webmaster (grand sounding title which just means: the one mad enough to spend a large amount of his time tweaking web pages). Others may know me as the slightly (somewhat) overweight, fairly quiet (self opinionated, not very sociable), bearded bloke on Basset Hound walks; has a dog called Cocoa (...she's lovely). It occurred to me that using google's blog system might be a simpler than adjusting the Webmaster's Page on our website, so here goes, lets see.

It is true to say that over the last few years my use of the Internet has increased to, what some consider, an unhealthy extent. Apart from involvement in four websites I have become entangled (following a trip to Egypt) in Facebook and latterly in Twitter.

However whilst innocently posting on various Facebook groups set up for basset hound lovers the entirely innocent message "Take a look at www.southeastbasset.org.uk for our take on life and the Basset." Facebook responded with....... (well I won't bore you with all that)