Secret Revealed: How To Edit A Post In TPJC.net

Written by azhar.

All right, I have to confess: I kind of intentionally sensationalized this post (a bit) with a catchy title. It is not really a secret.

Anyway, it has come to my attention that some of the JC1 forum regulars are complaining that they are unable to edit or delete their posts.

One particular incident is regarding Nurshahiylia Erdina Bte Sidin from 09A02 who wrote 'Also, you may also be thinking: Why this girl ah, just never edit her first post instead of posting in her own thread all the time?And that's because there is no edit button. So this is the only way I can tell people about which books are taken and whatnot...' in her forum thread which she used to sell her romance novels.

And just recently, Jonathan Wong Weng Keat from 09S29 wrote 'I think that the forum, no matter is school or class forum. We should have a edit and delete functions. There are some threads in my class that has been dead for ages and it kinda waste space and confuse people, so it would be better to have the edit and delete functions for all fourms in tpjc.net...' in another forum thread known as 'How can the college improve itself? Your views.'.

After reading the posts above, I feel that it is my responsibility (chey...like real) to share with you guys how to edit and delete your forum posts.

So what is the secret?


CHANGE THE SKIN!


(ok yeah, so how in the world do I change my skin, azhar?)


On the top right corner of the screen, select the function 'ChangeSkin'.


(uh uh, then?)


Then you are done. Now you can edit and delete your posts any time!


(hmmm...can I see how it looks like?)


There you go!

Microblogging Has Reached TPJC.net

Microblogging is not something new to our college bloggers, especially those who have been utilizing Twitter or Plurk for a long period of time. For those who are unfamiliar with the thirteen-word term, it is simply a form of blogging that allows users to send short text updates.














TPJC.net's microblogging service is known as 'Say What You Want'. Yes, you read it right...you can say whatever you want (at least for now). Students are also able subscribe to the feeds of other users by clicking on their avatars. It follows a similar format with that of Twitter, which -in this case- enables users to follow other members. Students can also view their subscriptions and subscribers (who are either their friends or stalkers) on the right hand panel of its main page.

I have yet to use the service but I was definitely entertained by some of the messages published. Initially, students were confused by the whole thing. Nonetheless, they soon figured everything out and can now be seen using the service expertly. In fact, I think the service has managed to earn its first few regular users already.
















Although the idea is great, I am still struggling to figure out the objective behind it. TPJC.net already has an active online forum and a useful 'Ask A Question' platform (which is similar to Yahoo! answers). Somehow it seems like our student portal is becoming more like a venue for students to socialize. Perhaps that is the whole purpose of TPJC.net since we also have the AsknLearn platform (the not-so-popular educational workspace for students).

It is good to innovate new features but I fear our beloved student portal may look terribly messy at the end of the day.

Joshua A Clear Favourite To Replace Ami

As the world anticipates the next president of the United States of America, our online community looks set to welcome the successor to Ami Yousoff's throne as TPJC's forum king (or joker). He is none other than forum thread tycoon, Joshua Loi, who is believed to have own more threads than any other student or teacher in the college student portal.

Joshua is definitely different from Ami Yousoff. The former is against spamming and consistently encourages online discussions. Joshua has a hobby of initiating new threads which never fails to create a buzz in the college online community.













Like every other popular figures out there, Joshua has his own critics. A few forum regulars often denounced him the second he clicked the 'submit' button. Nevertheless, the hate spears thrown at him never did manage to slow him down. Instead, he found new friends such as Bangar Rachit and Beatrice Tan who publicly protested against any personal attacks on him.

We hope he continues to spread his forum thread empire and create new threads which could spur on a debate or discussion. TPJC has a vibrant online community and it is important not to let it die down.

All the best, Joshua!

Internet Explorer Most Used Among TPJCians, Followed By Firefox

We had just received statistics on the browser usage by our readers. The data below is provided by StatCounter. Take a look below:
















[Click image to enlarge]

As you can see, most of our readers are Internet Explorer (6.0 and 7.0 combined) users, followed by Firefox (2.0.0 and 3.0.3 combined). I think what is more important is the difference between the number of users for these two browsers. The number of Internet Explorer (IE) users is almost 30% more than that of Firefox.

This data can be used as a random sampling to find which browser is popular among TPJCians. Most of our traffic is directed from TPJC.net forums with an insignificant percentage from other blogs or websites. I guess this explains the high percentage of IE users since our college student portal is best viewed using the browser.

The relatively huge gap between the number of IE users and its runner-up, Firefox, also proves that our college administrator need not spend time or money to improve TPJC.net compatibility with other browsers within this short period of time.

Who Will Be Ami Yousoff's Successor?

TPJC's favourite teddy bear, Ami, is fast losing his steam updating our online forum. He is now busy preparing his 'A' level examination which begins in about 30 days. His virtual charisma is fast depleting into thin air and there seems to be no one who stands out among the cyber crowd now. In short, our forum joker is missing.

Well, not really actually. A few Tpjcians have pointed out to me the potential forum jokers that will entertain us in the future. He needs to be -of course- funny, open and creative. Writing jokes (although sometimes lame) is only part of his job; he must also contribute in our online discussions.

Joshua, Leonard and Chin Wei Hao. These are some names which top our list as the future forum jokers in TPJC. Joshua is very much well-known for intiating new threads which covers almost everything - from Project Work to his famous 'You know you are in TP when...' thread. Leonard, on the other hand, has slowly but certainly shined with his trademark 'TS' comments. And finally Chin Wei Hao, the guy who is the epitome of a useful spammer (although he spams quite a lot, no one can deny the fact that he has contributed a lot in various threads).

If you ask me, I think it is no longer a one-man job for the next forum joker. Leonard and Wei Hao seem to be gelling well with each other. You can view them commenting each other and they are definitely having fun together. They are both very active online. Wherever there is Leonard, there will be Wei Hao. As for Joshua, the recent spate of criticisms has certainly 'quietened' him down. Nonetheless, I am predicting new and creative threads by him soon.

Forum jokers are important. It is just like how class jokers help make class interesting. Without them, lessons are a bore. In fact, I am pretty confident that the forum jokers are the ones responsible to get Tpjcians talking about the forums. From there, Tpjcians themselves may start to participate in the online discussions.

So who will it be? Let the elections begin.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Why TPJC.net Needs Ami Yousoff

Our college website, or to be more specific our online forum, is in a mess. A huge one. It has turned into a 'playground' for students to attack each other online. The battle parameters have extended beyond personal threads and have leaked into general feedback threads.

Nonetheless, hidden below the dark cloud is one man who is working hard, although subtly, to clean up the mess. He is none other that TPJC.net's most friendly user, Ami Yousoff. Ami is concerned with the recent development of events. For one, he is certainly displeased with how certain parties are 'politicizing' the forum.

Our forum is almost synonymous to Ami. He was the one who popularized the phrase 'well said', which eventually began an online cult among TPJCians almost everywhere - in the forum, Photoshare as well as podcast. He brings humour in our lives, sharing hilarious jokes and pictures in our college website occasionally.

Ami has been instrumental in keeping almost every thread in our forum alive. It is almost impossible to not find his name in any of the forum threads, except for the CCA threads of course.

Referring to Ami's latest forum post which read, 'you know you are from tp when u see ppl being super mean to someone on a certain thread. :(', it is pretty clear that he is not contented with the recent spate of personal attacks lying all over the forum. We believe he is not the only one; there are many 'lurkers' out there who are viewing the updates with a capsized smile.

We are on Ami's side and we hope peace returns to our forum. We miss the old forum whereby we share funny, informative and fresh posts among users. It is very mean to insult your fellow schoolmates online, in front of the God-knows-how-many viewers. If you are unhappy with a user, you should inform him or her politely, via online message.

It is just not right to perceive personal attacks on almost every thread everyday. We need a friendly environment in TPJC.net. We need a fun space for students. In other words, we need Ami.

Is Our Student Forum Underused?

Written by Aw Jia Hao Willie (08S06).

Our forum is equipped with the basic and sophisticated functions which may not be available in forums elsewhere. What we lack however, is the vibrant community where everyone can share their opinions freely in the forum. Our forum is thus being underused. Now, the majority of TPJC forum regulars are just reading threads. We need them to come out and volunteer their views and comments.

For example, those who are good in art or photoshop can help out in setting up signature stands in the respective sub-forums. It would be a good chance for them to hone their photoshop/mspaint skills. This in turn will allow forum regulars to have their very own cool and customized signatures.

















The report function in our forum is abused too easily. I feel that this function should be disabled first as threads created by newbies are easily shot down by the veterans there. We should try to promote a cohesive community where we all help one another out, post suggestive comments with the occasional smart remarks.

The post count function should also be disabled as it is not a well representation of how well we post, rather on how much we spam. The reputation function, which has not been included for obvious abuse reasons can be given by the would-be student forum moderators, giving credit to contributors who truly deserve it.

TPJC should also try promoting the forum as it is a good place to chill, to read up on recent news that concerns us and to comment on any college issues. As the forum slowly opens up, it will no doubt be one of the next big thing where all TPJCians would be talking about in college. Our forum has no doubt great potential. It just lack belonging and popularity.

Reader Writes About Spamming

Note: This post is written by one of our readers. TPJCian Magazine does not represent the opinions stated below.

I would like to share what I think, no matter how absurd or offensive it may be.

Firstly, I find that some of Joshua's posts, are spam. Topics like 'fruits' could be argued as to serve as a discussion about the ethics of spamming, but ironically, I find that it's just another post to boost the fruit level.

Having said that, there are other threads that serve the spamming purpose. Posts like 'spammer's corner' definitely encourage spamming, and sometimes I, myself, find guilty of doing. Sometimes one just lose control and try to attain a better 'status' and the expense of the welfare of the community. Perhaps common forum practices like locking/deleting threads be in place, thus allowing bygones be bygones.

Now, this might get rather personal. I find that Joshua compares TPJC with his school too much. I mean, we understand that his school might be better, but how he puts it seem to imply the omnipotence of his school, chucking our resentments aside. I find that rather inconsiderate. But he is doing less of that now, so it's a job well done!

Having said that, let's be objective. Treads tend to side track, it's inevitable. Though most would argue that it's a major taboo, I find that sidetracking, instead, helps us to understand the other party. (see sidetrack xD) An irrelevant report could be something as small as personal bias, difference in judgment or even be amplified by a social thing (can't remember the term). It's like a form of pressure to follow suite when you see someone doing it (and i think this is the cause of littering =\)

I think a solution would be to, allowing the fruits to remain, but removing the post counter, ranking (definitely promotes immature acts)...and I've just realized I'm talking about the spamming problem o.O

When Reporting Posts Becomes A Joke In Our Forum

Our online forum was hit by a new wave of spam attacks late last month. Irresponsible students are abusing the 'Report Post' function which enables users to effectively hide any irrelevant posts in the thread. Instead of reporting truly irrelevant comments, the immature spammers are reporting posts which genuinely adds to the thread discussion.



The proliferation of such childish habit should not be tolerated as it can be pernicious to our forums in the future. The credibility of our online forums will be lost. Students may not participate in the forums anymore as they know their opinions are buried almost immediately after they posted them. Furthermore, the forums may even be a battleground between the responsible users and spammers. Quality discussions are compromised.

Nevertheless, several forum regulars such as Chua Wei Qing and Chuah Meng Jinn had suggested a solution for this problem. They suggested that the anonymity privilege of users who reported posts should be removed. This could effectively deter potential spammers from irresponsibly reporting meaningful comments which adds to the discussion.

It is a good idea, but I think it may be unfriendly to other more responsible users who prefer their names to be hidden. Some of the reports are justifiable, that is made to bury genuine irrelevant posts. Those who reported the spam posts may prefer to remain anonymous. It is a privacy issue.

Chua Wei Qing went further by explaining that only the forum administrator can view who reported the posts. However, there seem to no rules and regulations regarding irresponsible reporting of posts. Yes, the forum administrator can catch the culprits but are there rules which highlights that such behaviour is not tolerated?

Forum Discussion - Dos & Don'ts
Please Do...

* Take a position on the question/issue.
* Make a relevant comment.
* Present evidence to support your position.
* Draw friends into the discussion.
* Make an analogy, illustrate your point.
* Ask a clarifying question if you spot contradictions or irrelevant comments.
* Accept criticism gracefully, agree to disagree.

Try Not To...

* Make inane or irrelevant comments.
* Express opinions without supporting them.
* Monopolize the discussion.
* Make personal attacks.
* Piggyback on another's response, without contributing your own ideas.

There should be another line under Don'ts which can go something like, 'Try Not To...Report posts irresponsibly.' Aw Jia Hao Willie when starting his Student Forum wrote in his forum guidelines warning users not to abuse the report function. You can view it HERE. I suggest stiffer rules and regulations for our forums. If anyone commits a crime, he or she should be banned for lets say, a week.

And oh, forum moderators may also be useful in the long run.