Forum Bugs: Fixing Apostrophe & Greek Letter Issues

  • Thread starter Hurkyl
  • Start date
In summary, there are two bugs that have been reported in the forum: 1. In the LaTeX source for an image, an apostrophe can cause javascript errors when trying to click on the image.2. The forum code is too liberal with escaping characters, making it difficult to type superscript letters. This has been an ongoing issue, but there has been no indication of plans to fix it. Additionally, HTML entity names were disabled in version 3.5 of the forum. Old threads in s.p.r./s.p.s. are messy, but new ones seem to be fine.
  • #1
Hurkyl
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Bug #1: If the LaTeX source to an image contains an apostrophe, you cannot click the image to see the source. (I imagine the apostrophe is causing javascript errors by closing a string literal)

Example: [itex]f'(x) = 0[/itex]

Bug #2: The forum code is too liberal with escaping characters: in particular, you cannot print a Greek letter with α because the forum software happily escapes the ampersand. Fixing this bug would be nice because it's quicker to type α than [itex]\alpha[/itex], and would reduce the number of LaTeX images in posts.


I know these have been around for a while; are there plans to fix them, or was it decided that it's not worth the effort?
 
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  • #2
I was wandering how do you type superscript letters in you post, because at the moment I'm using latex which slows things down a little?

~H
 
  • #3
[ sup ] ... [ /sup ]
 
  • #4
Hurkyl said:
[ sup ] ... [ /sup ]

Thanks for that Hurkyl, seem obvious now...:blushing:

~H
 
  • #5
HTML entity names were disabled in 3.5

You can use &# 913; for alpha and such Α
 
  • #6
Old threads in s.p.r./s.p.s. are a mess. New ones seem to be OK.

Example: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=23683
 

1. Why do apostrophes and Greek letters show up as strange characters on forums?

This is usually due to a mismatch in character encoding between the user's device and the server hosting the forum. Different encoding systems use different codes for special characters like apostrophes and Greek letters, leading to garbled text when they are not compatible.

2. How can I fix these issues on my own forum posts?

One option is to switch to a different character encoding system that is compatible with the forum's server. You can also try manually typing the special characters using their corresponding HTML codes, or using a character conversion tool to fix the text.

3. Can these issues be fixed on the forum's end?

Yes, the forum administrator can adjust the character encoding settings to ensure compatibility with a wider range of devices. They can also use plugins or scripts to automatically convert special characters to their correct forms.

4. Will fixing these issues affect previously posted forum content?

It depends on how the fix is implemented. If the character encoding settings are changed, it may affect all previously posted content. However, if a conversion tool is used, only the affected characters will be corrected while leaving the rest of the text unchanged.

5. Are there any other common text display issues on forums?

Yes, there are other common issues such as missing line breaks, strange spacing, and incorrect font sizes. These can also be caused by character encoding problems or other formatting errors in the original post. It's important for forum users to double-check their posts before submitting to ensure proper display.

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