Can someone please help ? I could not find the answer in the FAQ section.

I am new to Fodor's and I enjoy it so much. I don't have time to read everything and I don't wish to save everything to jam my computer.

Anyone know how long will a thread stay ?

Under what circustances will they(administrators) delete it ?

Hello chinesefan, there are threads here on Fodors going back to 2001 at least.

Threads are only deleted when someone gets very nasty and rude, and sometimes not even then, unfortunatly.

The search box here on Fodor's does not work as well as most of it would like it to and evidently right now it only goes up to May 2005. But if you know the posters name and see their name on any post here on Fodor's if you click on their name (usually it is good to doubleclick their name) you will usually find all their post including the latest ones.

BTW, I noticed on another thread you asked what gelato is. Gelato is the name for the icecream in Italy which everyone who likes icecream really loves. It is a bit different then other icecream. I believ you will be going to Italy. When you do you must stop at a gelato shop and buy yourself some! Best wishes.

As far as I can tell, since registration began (several years ago) threads will stay 'forever'. The Search function doesn't operate well (they're working on it) but older threads CAN be found. If it's recent, the quickest way to find it is to click on the name of someone you know posted to the thread. If it's yourself, click on your own name as it appears on the Fodor's colored banner at the top of the page. If you recall that someone else posted to the thread you're looking for, find another recent thread containing that person's name, click on the name, and all threads will come up, though you may have to keep scrolling in the left column for the Next 50 messages.

However, when I find a thread that I think will interest me for a future trip, I use the option to Email the Thread to myself. You get a link to it, not the whole thread, and then I save the link in my email folders.

There are threads on here from long before registration. Every day or so someone tops a thread from 1999 - usually w/o noticing the OP dates . . . . . .

Thanks Loveitaly and Elaine,

I don't quite get it. I tried to email to myself but the link will lead me back to the whole thread. So no different in saving it direct to a computer file. Did I get you wrong ? How do I just save a single message ?

chinesefan, I'm no computer expert, but if you save an entire thread on your computer you're taking up a lot of space as you know. But if you email yourself a link, you're only taking up the space of that one line! Later when you want to see the thread and you click on it or paste and enter it in your browser, then it will go to Fodors.com and open that thread -- that's where it is being stored, not on your computer.

A slightly related question: What does it mean when you can find a thread, but the ability to reply to it has vanished? I have only one example, but the bar that offers the option to "post a reply:, "email this thread" or "jump to top" is not there? It's not deleted, but is it closed?

That happens when the editors decide a thread is still useful but it has gone off course. they shut the thread off instead of just deleting it. It will then sink out of sight but is still available by search . . . .

I just copy the message I want onto a word document. I have several documents set up for each country/city that is of interest to me. When I am ready to travel, I will e-mail these to myself to have access wherever I may be.

Well I do as Patrickk does, I just email the thread to myself. I am not a computer expert by any strech of the imagination but I am sure this sure saves space on your computer. It has worked very well for me.

Chinafan, I think I understand your question. You have to email the entire thread to yourself. You cannot mail just one post. But if you keep the email then when you want to read that post just click on the thread and scroll down to the post you want to read. Best regards.

Hi janis
yes, you're right of course, there are some pre-registration threads to be found. But, for example, most of the wonderful elvira and the Loons travel threads are gone.

You can also save a link to a thread without e-mailing it.

Right-click the thread's title at the top, and select "Bookmark" or "Add to Favorites" or some such language. Then you can jump directly to it from your browser.

Thanks Love, Patrick and Rob, you people are all so lovely and helpful that I come in everyday.
I got it BUT just worried that I may not get the thread back in future if the webmaster delete it.
I am spending so much time here that I wonder if by the time I get to Europe, will all my time spent here be worthy enough for the money and time I could save in the trip. Haha.
Still, Its fun to plan ! "Europe ! Europe !"

Hello chinesefan, whether you bookmark the thread or email it to yourself you can print out the thread (if you have a printer) and then that way if the thread is deleted by the editors at Fodors you will have the threads you wanted. Have a good day, and enjoy planning your trip to Europe.

Prior to registration, posters on Fodors were required to provide e-mail addresses, which appeared beside your name. The e-mail address did not have to be real, and many posters used fakes. After registration, these addresses no longer appeared on these pre-registration posts. But, interestingly, to this day, these invisible addresses can still be used as a search term. I can find my posts back to July 1999 this way.

If there is some thread that you really want to retain the information from, I think you should copy it and save the text somewhere. Some threads disappear for no particular reason at all that I can tell, although that is rare.

Saving a couple paragraphs of text is of no importance in regards to amount of storage on any current computer. It takes up a miniscule amount in comparison to the common size of hard drives nowadays. Furthermore, if one was really concerned about that or concerned about saving it in general from drives crashing or being erased, one would copy it to a diskette or CDRom.

As long as we're talking about this, does anyone have a technique for copying a thread to a Word document that eliminates the bars and formatting? I know it's petty, but it drives me crazy. I have resorted to copying only the answer portions, but that's way too tedious!

rsb99:

Try doing a "paste special" and selecting the unformatted text option.

It still spaces but removes the blue lines and bordering.

Highlight the text you want to save:

Place mouse at beginning.
Hold down left button.
Drag to end.
Release.

Right-click on the selected text.
Select "Copy".

Select "Paste" on the Word toolbar.

Thanks memejw, "paste special" is the answer. I don't mind the spaces-- it's the HTML stuff that is annoying.

To clarify, if anyone else cares, do everything Robespierre says in the message above, but instead of just pasting the text, go into the Edit menu, and select Paste Special, and Unformatted Text. Worked like a charm!