About the Chronocentric Discussion Forums
Welcome to the Chronocentric Discussion Forums (as updated, May 20, 2008)! We currently have five forums -- four are discussion forums (covering Omega watches, vintage Heuer chronographs, Tool watches and counterfeit watches), and the fifth is "ChronoTrader", a classified postings board, where you can buy, sell and trade watches.
Our Philosophy. The Chronocentric Discussion Forums and ChronoTrader marketplace are specialized forums, focusing on specific subjects within the world of watch collecting. We seek to promote the exchange of information about the watches that are the subjects of the Forums and to provide a place where enthusiasts with common interests can share their passion for collecting. As an independent, non-commercial website, we are less interested in traffic, clicks, hits, views and visits, and far more interested in the quality of the discussions and information that is presented through our Forums. In short, we are not seeking quantity, we are seeking quality.
Open Forums.There is no log-in or password required to read any of the Chronocentric Forums, and you may also post messages without any log-in or password. In this sense, the Forums are "Open" to the public, without any sign-in or registraton.
Profiles. We encourage our readers and writers to create "Profiles", and there are many benefits for those who create a Profile. When you create a profile, - you protect against anyone else using your name to post messages, and receive a Password,
- you will be able use HTML in your messages, and quickly include Links to websites in your messages, and
- you will be able to see the e-mail addresses of other members who have created Profiles.
You can also use your Profile to tell the community about yourself and your watch-collecting interests, to post a list of watches you might want to buy or sell, and to provide contact information. In short, having a Profile provides you with additional privileges on the Forums, and helps us create a sense of community in the Forums.
Formatting. The Forums have formatting icons, which allow you to easily add color and style to your messages. With the formatting, you can create headlines, change the size and color of what you are writing, add photographs, highlight with yellow, and create other special effects. Generally, to use the formatting, you would: - type your message in the usual manner
- "left click" to select the words that you want to treat with the special formatting,
- while the words are selected, click on the icon for the formatting that you want to add for those words,
- click the "Preview" button, to be certain that you got the formatting that you had intended,
- post your beautiful message, for everyone to enjoy!!
Jeff Stein
May 20, 2008
Including Photos in Your Messages
You can brighten your messages, and show off your beautiful watches, by adding photos to your messages on the Forums. There are several different techniques that you can use to add photos to your messages, and we will describe all those approaches right here.
Step 1: Put Your Photos On The Internet
Regardless of which method you use to add photos to your messages on our Forums, the first step is to have your photos posted on the Internet. In brief -- before you can include a photo with your message, that photo must be placed in the INternet. Many Internet access accounts provide basic hosting for your photos or 'personal web space' that you can use for your photos. There are other websites and services -- such as PhotoBucket, ImageShack and Flickr -- that are set up specifically to host your photos on the Internet.
If you don't know how to find a photo host or to upload images to the web, a simple web search for photo hosting should get you to the info you need.
Step 2: Find the Internet URL of Your Uploaded Photo
After you have placed your photos on the Internet, or found a photograph that you would like to use in your message, including the photo in your messages will be easy. In order to include your photo, you will need to use the unique URL of your photo [think of it as the unique address of your photo, on the Internet].
The URL of an photograph must start with http:// and end with an image file extension like .bmp, .jpgor .jpeg.For example, a typical URL / Internet address for your photo might look like this -- http://mydomain.com/photos/OmegaSpeedmaster321A.jpg.
Please notice that If the URL that you are trying to use ends with .htm or .html, or any similar extension, then you will NOT be able to use this URL in your message. Those are addresses for Web pages, not for specific photos -- the URL must point directly to an image (so that it will usually end with .bmp, .jpg or .jpeg), and not merely a Web page that contains the image.
With many web browsers, you can right-click on an image and select Properties from the pop-up menu to let you see the Internet URL that points direct to the image. You will need to copy that URL in order to add the photo to your message.
Please keep in mind that you cannot point to an image file on your local computer (your C-drive, thumb-drive, etc.). The photo must must be uploaded to the Internet if it is going to appear in your message on the Discussion Forum.
Step 3: Adding the Photo's URL to Your Message.
Now that your photo is on the Internet and you have the URL for the photo, it will be quick and easy to include the photo in your message. In fact, there are several ways that you can do this.
- The form for posting either New messages or Replying to previous messages includes a field marked, "Optional Image URL". Simply paste the URL for your photo into this box, and the photo will appear in your message. Be careful when pasting the URL into the box that you don't accidentally repeat the http:// as http://http:// or it won't display the image.
- A second method of adding a photo to a message is to simply paste the URL into the field of the message, then highlight / select the entire URL (usually, by left-clicking and dragging the highlight across the URL), and then click the Image Icon [the green and brown frame] in the formatting bar, above the field where you are writing your message. Presto, the photo will appear in your message!!
- A third technique for adding a photo is to (a) type the characters [img] into your message, (b) insert the URL for your photo immadiately after the characters [img], and (c) then, immediately after the end of the URL, type the code [/img]. Once again, your photo will appear in your message.
- The final method of adding photos to your messages is through the use of HTML tags. You can get the step-by-step tutorial in using HTML tags, below on this page. As we have stated above, you must create a Profile for the Chronocentric forums, in order to be able to use HTML in your messages.
The Next Big Thing -- Using Formatting to Add Multiple Photos In A Single Posting
There are two processes that you can use to add multiple photographs to a single message, that you are posting on any of the Chronocentric Discussion Forums: you can use the formatting feature that is built into the Discussion Forums or you can use HTML tags. Below in this message, Steve Waddington has provided instructions on how to do it in HTML. Here are step-by-step instructions on using the Formatting feature of the Discussion Forums to add multiple photgraphs to a single message:
- put the multiple URL's (Internet addresses) into the text box (where you write the messages), with one URL on each line; this will look like this:
http://www.onthedash.com/thumbs/Carrera2447NS.jpg
http://www.onthedash.com/thumbs/FordSplitLapUnit77.jpg
http://www.onthedash.com/thumbs/Mon73633G.jpg
- Then, one-by-one, you will highlight and add formatting code to each of the three URLs that are sitting in the message field. Here is what it looks like, when you have highlighted the first URL:
- While the URL is highlighted, as shown above, go to the Formatting Menu Bar
- With the first URL (and only the first URL) still highlighted, click the Image Icon
 (the one showing the brown picture frame and the green scenery)
- After you click the Image Icon, in the Text box of your message, you will see that two small pieces of bracketed code have appeared immediately before and after the URL; be certain that there are no extra spaces, between the URL and these tags; with these tags inserted, your Text box should look like this
- When you use the Preview button, here is how it looks after the first photo has been formatted / inserted into your message:
http://www.onthedash.com/thumbs/FordSplitLapUnit77.jpg
http://www.onthedash.com/thumbs/Mon73633G.jpg
- Repeat this exact same process for the second URL: highlight the URL; while the URL is highlighted, click the Image Icon; hit the Preview button; and this is how your message will look, with the second image inserted:
http://www.onthedash.com/thumbs/Mon73633G.jpg
- Repeat this same process for the third photo; and this is how your message will look after the third repetition:
Presto!! You have inserted three beautiful photos into your message!!
- Now you can go back, and add captions or tell your story, adding words between the photos.
- Use the Preview button as you are working, and then Press the "Post" button, when you are finished.
There are some simple short-cuts that you can use along the way, but I hope that this method will work for you!!
Using HTML and Photos in Your Messages
Lesson One --
HTML Basics
Hi Guys,
presented here is the first of my "tutorials" on how to use HTML
in your posts on the Zowie Omega Forum.
This tutorial will cover how to spice up your text a bit. To do
this you'll need to use to basic HTML commands.
HTML is not just something that only "Computer Geeks" can use.
Anyone can do it. Housewives, pensioners, watch collectors, anyone
!
**************************************************************************************
So what do you want to do with your
text ?
- Make something Bold
?
You have to simply put
<B> before the text
& </B> after the
text ( if you don't "close" the command.. ALL subsequent text will be
Bold. )
eg
I like <B>Omegas</B>
-> I like
Omegas
Simple Eh !
- Underline is done with
<U> ... </U>
- Italics is done with
<I> ... </I>
- Crossed out is done
with <S> ... </S>
**************************************************************************************
- You
want to change the colour of your text ? eg make it blue ?
simply put <FONT
COLOR="BLUE"> before your text
& </FONT> after
your text. IMPORTANT here is to spell COLOR without the U (
Even if you are English ! ) AND the ONLY space in that command
is between the words FONT & COLOR.
There are a large number of colours
available, RED, BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN etc etc but you can also use
"DARKBLUE" or "LIGHTBLUE" etc etc
just try it !
**************************************************************************************
- You want to make your text
Bigger
?
put <FONT
SIZE="+3"> before your text &
</FONT> after your
text.
You can use other sizes +1 , +2, +3 etc
etc.
*************************************************************************************
You want to center the text in the
middle of the screen ?
use ....
<CENTER> before your
text & </CENTER>
after your text.
**************************************************************************************
You may combine any /all of the
previous commands....
I offer this only as an example ... I
don't suggest you try this in your first post !!
so ....
<CENTER><B>I have<S>too
many</S> <U>NOT ENOUGH</U> <FONT
COLOR="RED" SIZE="+3"> Omegas
</FONT></B></CENTER>
will appear as
I have too many NOT ENOUGH
Omegas
**************************************************************************************
That's the end of the 1st
Tutorial.
Steve Waddington
December 15, 2005
Lesson Two -- Posting
Photos
Hi Guys,
presented here is the second of my
"tutorials" on how to use HTML in your posts on the Zowie Omega
Forum.
This tutorial will cover how to post
pictures, multiple pictures, change the sizes, postioning &
borders around them.
**************************************************************************************
So, lets start with some
basics. SIZE.
Most people nowadays surf with a highspeed internet connection.
BUT, it is still common decency to make your pictures a reasonable
size. Some people still surf with modems, a webpage overloaded with
graphics or a single large graphic is not fun for these guys.
As a rule of thumb. I try not to make my pics more than 70KB in
size.
The example pic for this page
is 56KB.
How did I do that ? Here's
the basic command.
<IMG
SRC="http://www.old-omegas.com/zowie/buzz.jpg">
& that's it.
What does that mean ? Well,
there is basically two parts.
1, the command show a
picture
2, which picture
The command starts with this
<IMG SRC="
and ends with this ">
The picture is this bit
http://www.old-omegas.com/zowie/buzz.jpg
The basic command is very
simple. You just use it like that, there should NOT be any spaces
between the quote symbols
The picture needs to be
hosted somewhere on the internet. ie the name should start with
http://www....
If you can see a picture, (
eg in eBay ) that you'd like to post in the forum,
right-click on the picture,
go down to the properties option,
click on it & you'll see the name that starts with something like
http://www.
I should mention copyright
here. I don't think eBay has a problem with people/forums using their
pics, for educational purposes, but some other site owners DO have
problems with this.
If the seller doesn't state
his copyright, it's permissable to use the photo's for educational
use.
It's always worth asking a
site owner FIRST, BEFORE you use their pictures.
**************************************************************************************
You want to post 2 pics ?
just repeat the command & put a different picture in the 2nd
command
Here's the command
<IMG SRC="http://www.old-omegas.com/zowie/buzz.jpg">
<IMG
SRC="http://www.old-omegas.com/pics/schuey/yelldial.jpg">
This looks like
You can put blank lines or
text between the pics
You can combine this with the
<CENTER>
command to centralize the pics.
<CENTER>
<IMG
SRC="http://www.old-omegas.com/zowie/buzz.jpg">
There is some text between the pics
<IMG
SRC="http://www.old-omegas.com/pics/schuey/yelldial.jpg">
</CENTER>
Does this
There is some text between the pics
**************************************************************************************
Want to put a border around
the pic ? then the command looks like this
<IMG SRC="http://www.old-omegas.com/zowie/buzz.jpg"
BORDER=10>
You can change the
"thickness" of the border by using a number other than 10. Keith
Downing uses this to great effect in most of his picture
posts.
**************************************************************************************
It is possible to modify the
DISPLAYED size of a picture.
Believe it or not, the
picture below is exactly the same as above, I just made it
APPEAR smaller
<IMG SRC="http://www.old-omegas.com/zowie/buzz.jpg"
BORDER=10 WIDTH=100>
Compare the last 2 pics. The
ONLY difference is the addition of the WIDTH=100
part in the HTML
command.
IMHO, I have ruined the
picture now, so use this extension with care.
You should also know that
this addition, ONLY reduces the displayed size of the picture. it is
still 56KB in size.
**************************************************************************************
Lastly, please excuse my
pics. I am not a good photographer :-(
That's the end of the 2nd
Tutorial.
If you'd like me to try to
explain how to do something with HTML, either post here or send me an
E-mail.
All the Best
Steve Waddington
March 1, 2006
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