Is there a bug or a feature in the forum?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hurkyl
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around a potential issue in the forum regarding the display of comment tags in posts. Users note that the text "There is /* something */ hidden here." appears as intended, but it raises questions about whether this behavior is a bug or a feature. The consensus leans toward it being a mishandling of comment tags, as they are typically used for code comments and shouldn't affect visible content. There is speculation that the problem may stem from forum customizations or hacks, particularly related to the latex parser. Overall, the situation highlights a need for clarity on how comment tags are processed in the forum's code.
Hurkyl
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
14,922
Reaction score
28
Or is it a "feature"? :frown:

Code: 
There is /* something */ hidden here.

is displayed as

There is /* something */ hidden here.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I will use this next time I get the 10char thing! (Earlier I would put a bunch of spaces followed by a .)
Weird though...
 
Since / * * / are common comment tags I'm going to put forth that they're being commented out.
 
I agree with -Job-. And there doesn't seem to be any use of commenting out something in a thread where it's only visible in the source code. Since it's not entirely a bug (commenting is a feature in the language itself) I'd say it's just a mishandling of that tag by the forum.
 
Hurkyl, I thought that you were the forum bug, now that we got rid of the penguin...
 
hmmm it doesn't work with a clean vb, must be one of our hacks, maybe the latex parser is doing something weird.
 

Thread 'Thank you to mentors, advisors and members'

I want to thank those members who interacted with me a couple of years ago in two Optics Forum threads. They were @Drakkith, @hutchphd, @Gleb1964, and @KAHR-Alpha. I had something I wanted the scientific community to know and slipped a new idea in against the rules. Thank you also to @berkeman for suggesting paths to meet with academia. Anyway, I finally got a paper on the same matter as discussed in those forum threads, the fat lens model, got it peer-reviewed, and IJRAP...
View full post »

Thread 'Thank you physics forums, 20 years later'

About 20 years ago, in my mid-30s (and with a BA in economics and a master's in business), I started taking night classes in physics hoping to eventually earn the science degree I'd always wanted but never pursued. I found physics forums and used it to ask questions I was unable to get answered from my textbooks or class lectures. Unfortunately, work and life got in the way and I never got further the freshman courses. Well, here it is 20 years later. I'm in my mid-50s now, and in a...
View full post »

Similar threads

Bug Cannot comment on the Insight Blog
Replies
5
Views
2K
Bug Hon Dr Micromass: Mentor Profile Bug Fix Update
Replies
2
Views
1K
Bug Bug, or limitation in quoting?
Replies
4
Views
2K
Suggestion Problem of the week/month - Basic to intermediate level
Replies
4
Views
2K
Bug Could not post - catch-22 in prefix
Replies
6
Views
1K
Bug Displayed equation in quote not displayed
Replies
1
Views
559
Suggestion Find a Forum for Printing Personal Reminders on Login
Replies
2
Views
2K
Request help tuning new Windows 11 laptop for PF features
Replies
4
Views
2K
Suggestion Notes to Self: A Useful Forum Feature?
Replies
27
Views
2K
Bug '\epsilon < 8' renders as a "Misplaced &" error
Replies
13
Views
619

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top