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URLs (was More crazy eBay Subset prices!!!)

Started by Sargeguy, November 11, 2010, 05:39:13 PM

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Sargeguy

What the heck is  with the subset prices on eBay lately???

http://tinyurl.com/2db95zj

http://tinyurl.com/23q7sxb

I know the last one wasn't labelled as well but it was in the right section.  It should've brought more.  
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

FrankC

Sargeguy, how do you capture the URL for the item for sale on ebay? I see the item number, is that the secret? Thanks, Frank (knarfc) 
Frank Conley

Dennis Markham

Frank, he used "Tinyurl" to create the link.  It shortens those lengthy url's.

http://tinyurl.com/

AE_Collector

Quote from: Dennis Markham on November 12, 2010, 08:02:55 AM
Frank, he used "Tinyurl" to create the link.  It shortens those lengthy url's.

http://tinyurl.com/

I have never used tinyurl other than to click on one provided by someone else. I have always assumed that it is just a temporary link that would expire at some time. I assume this because considering the short length of the tinyurl as compared to the number of possible web sites to link to and the number of users, they must reuse the same tinyurl on a regular basis.

That didn't appeal to me because if you save it for future it won't likely work very far into the future. I know that it probably doesn't matter for something like an ebaY auction becasue all the information eventually disappears anyway.

Does anyone know if I am anywhere near correct or way off base?

Terry

Adam

#4
No, the addresses created by url shorteners like tinyurl are permanent.  Well... that is, permanent as long as the url shortening service exists.

Because they use numbers and letters a 7 digit address can have 78,364,164,096 (78 billion!) possible combinations.  So, they'd appear to be ascending slowly, and there's lots to go around without having to reassign them.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

Dennis Markham

We had problems in the past with long URL's messing up the borders of the Forum pages.  If the desired URL isn't as wide as page it's not a problem.  But those long ones, with three lines will cause a few problems for some browsers, depending on what size the user has set. 

The problem with just listing an eBay auction by URL is that in a few weeks the topic of discussion has disappeared.  It works for immediate reference but not for future reference.

Here's a posting from the past about using shorter URL's.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1109.0

JorgeAmely

Terry:

Notice that the URL is followed by 7 digits, each capable of going from 0-9 plus a-z. So the total number of symbols per digit is 36. Since you have seven digits, you can count up to 36 raised to the 7th power minus 1 (to handle the zero).

Therefore, if my numbers are correct, you can encode 7.83641641 x 10^^10 (about 80 billion) different URLs. That is plenty of capacity before they need to repeat them again. In the worst case, adding just another digit pretty much gives you capacity your brain can't handle.  ;D ;D ;D
Jorge

Adam

#7
Jorge: Brilliant minds think alike! :)
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

Dave F

Quote from: Dennis Markham on November 12, 2010, 11:19:36 AM
We had problems in the past with long URL's messing up the borders of the Forum pages.  If the desired URL isn't as wide as page it's not a problem.  But those long ones, with three lines will cause a few problems for some browsers, depending on what size the user has set. 

The problem with just listing an eBay auction by URL is that in a few weeks the topic of discussion has disappeared.  It works for immediate reference but not for future reference.

Here's a posting from the past about using shorter URL's.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1109.0

Dennis,

I use Firefox V2.0.0.16 as my browser, and I have this problem of viewing Forum pages which contain long URLs.  I have looked at all the browser options I can locate, and still have not found a way to prevent this from happening.  Any suggestions, short of changing my browser?

Dave

Adam

#9
I just ran a quick test in Windows and on the Mac.  ALL browsers I checked, except Microsoft Internet Explorer (which I don't necessarily recommend) exhibit this problem on this forum (cutting off the page  to the right when there is long, unbreakable text in the page).  No setting I could find in Firefox, Chrome or Safari mitigates the problem.

The problem has to do with the way this forum and its CSS formats the page.  I don't think there's any solution other than the system policy, which encourages users not to post long urls.

EDIT: Correction: Firefox on the Mac does not exhibit the problem, although Firefox on Windows does.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

Dave F

Thanks, Dave.  I guess that's that.

Dave F

AE_Collector

Aahh, it's coming back to me now. Not that long ago there was a thread on here that pushed the width of the postings so wide that the responce buttons had disappeared off of the right side of the screen. And since there was no slide bar there was no way to slide to the right to get access to them. That must be what you are speaking of! Mystery solved!

Oh an thanks to the mathmaticians on the forum for weighing in on the tinyURL situation!

And now we rturn you to the regulary scheduled Crazy Subset Prices discussion!

Terry

Dave F

Quote from: ae_collector on November 12, 2010, 01:20:17 PM
Aahh, it's coming back to me now. Not that long ago there was a thread on here that pushed the width of the postings so wide that the responce buttons had disappeared off of the right side of the screen. And since there was no slide bar there was no way to slide to the right to get access to them. That must be what you are speaking of! Mystery solved!

Oh an thanks to the mathmaticians on the forum for weighing in on the tinyURL situation!

And now we rturn you to the regulary scheduled Crazy Subset Prices discussion!

Terry
Yes Terry, that's the problem.  I found that if I temporarily reduce the "text size" (one of my browser options), I can squeeze the page down so that the response buttons (sometimes) become visible.  Of course, this also makes the text so tiny that it is difficult or impossible to read.  So, it is then necessary to resize the text after clicking on the response button.  Quite a hassle.  Whoever supplied this Forum software ought to be contacted.  Maybe there is some recent fix we aren't yet aware of.

deedubya3800

eBay seems to have several different ways of generating a URL for a listing page, depending on how you access it. If you come into it from a search, it will have a long string of text in the url containing the title of the listing plus a lot of other codes. Anytime I ever post an address for an eBay listing, I always use the basic format http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=000000000000 where 000000000000 is the item number. That should be short enough not to cause anyone problems with their browser.

Dennis Markham

That's exactly how I was able to modify the post the last time this occurred, Dave.  I just "Control (-)" minus sign, and reduced the size of the page until I could get access to the modify button.  Then returned my browser to my normal viewing size.  I also use Firefox.

I update the Forum software from time to time (when they tell me our version is out of date).  I'll check it and see if it's time to do it again.