Starship Asterisk*

Your APOD titles and dates are given in the APOD archive Orin mentioned above ([url]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html[/url]). Notice the dates are in the format you (and I) prefer, YYYY month dd (I prefer the 3 letter month abbr). It's also a convenient place to get the proper link, just [b]right click[/b] and [b]copy shortcut[/b]. I strongly support placing this link in the post (it's so convenient). I was just pointing out that the link is easily reproduced if the date of the apod is known.

BTW: The International Date Format as proposed by ISO is [b]YYYY-MM-DD[/b] ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601]ISO 8601[/url]).

[quote="bystander"]If the date of the apod is given, the link is easily constructed and it can [be] confirmed with the title.[/quote]

That's fine for us APOD regulars. Agreed, the suggestion is only a convenience for us (nothing wrong with a little convenience), but an available link gives equal access to non-APOD-regulars. We are so nice.

This is not my idea. I noticed several respected contributors doing it, and asked myself for a while what the purpose was before concluding it was a good idea. The reasons are minor but multiple, and they added up to my jumping on the bandwagon.

[quote="bystander"]The apod link for any date is always of the form ap[b]yymmdd[/b].[/quote]

This is my favorite way of encoding a date. It has the advantage of numerical order and chronological order being the same (except for the glitch from 991231 to 000101 which we got over quickly). I like the order [b]yymmdd[/b] (or [b]yyyymmdd[/b]) so much that I would use this form (which also appears above the APOD picture and would be consistent with the encoding in the URL) in my New Topic titles:

"A Dark Sky Over Death Valley (APOD 2008 July 13)"

But instead I use the [b]ddmmyyyy[/b] form most popular among contributors:

"A Dark Sky Over Death Valley (APOD 13 July 2008)"

To match the time stamp on the posts, I would have to use the twisted but familiar [b]mmddyyyy[/b]:

"A Dark Sky Over Death Valley (APOD July 13 2008)"

I have no hope for any consensus or solution for this inconsistency, so I have just rolled with it until this opportunity to express myself. I do not expect compliance or even interest from anyone else - I'm the nerd here, remember.

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Personally, I would be happy being constrained to pick my New Topic title from a list of APOD titles and dates for "Discuss an APOD" posts, and be directed to the underused "Asterisk Cafe" for any other topic I wanted to start. But the administrators are quite well off using the phpBB software straight out of the can without enhancements (if enhancements are even possible), so this pick-list will not happen. So I create the topic title manually and just try to set a good example within the limits of my understanding of what's good.

[quote="apodman"]RECOMMENDATION for when you post (especially if you start a new topic):

[b]Include a link back to the APOD being discussed.[/b]

Just the name and date in the title isn't enough.[/quote]
Although I agree with the recommendation, as a matter of convenience. I don't agree it's absolutely necessary. If the date of the apod is given, the link is easily constructed and it can confirmed with the title. If only the title is given, in can be found using apod search. The apod link for any date is always of the form ap[b][i]yymmdd[/i][/b]. For July 3, 1998, the link would be [url]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap980703.html[/url].

It would be nice if you could cut and paste the topic listed in the archive you wanted to write about in your subject line and go fron there.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

Orin

One more reason to include a link to the APOD being discussed:

It lets the moderator know that this discussion really is about (or at least was spawned by) a specific APOD, and may help prevent your topic from being moved. (Naming the specific APOD in your "Subject" may also help identify your topic in a way that tends to keep it from moving.)

And don't forget to use the specific dated link:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080607.html

NOT the general daily link:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

(You can easily get the specific dated link to appear in your browser's Address line through the [u]<[/u] link and then the [u]>[/u] link at the bottom of the APOD.)

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080607.html

RECOMMENDATION for when you post (especially if you start a new topic):

[b]Include a link back to the APOD being discussed.[/b]

Just the name and date in the title isn't enough.

Why?

(1) Because there is no direct link built into the discussion page to take a reader back to APOD or to a particular APOD. You have to provide your own link.

(2) Links in discussions regularly give APOD-literate readers the opportunity to expand their horizons. They can also be used to let readers from over the horizon expand into APOD. (Not everyone enters the discussion via APOD.) For example, a researcher looking for "moon's horns" might find the reference (via a search engine) in http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=14100 and read the discussion. Without the link at the start of the topic back to the APOD being discussed, a potential audience member could not see the picture and would be left out of APOD.