I wish DU had a "save as draft" function in the posting program.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

We would have an even higher quality of posting, I think if such a function were available. I am mesmerized by some of the people here who posts long, analytical post with multiple sources and clips, and I think how exhausting it must be. I know that sometimes I get interrupted in the middle of composing a particularly brilliant and insightful post and end up losing the whole thing or posting something only half as earth shattering and paradigm changing as it might have been. :smoke:

[Ohio Joe]

1. That would be sweet

:thumbsup:

[realisticphish]

2. i think a lot of people

compose complicated posts in another program, and then c/p it onto DU

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. I know, but in the heat of the moment in making a response, sometimes you're writing on the fly

and this would be really helpful.

[madfloridian]

9. I usually make drafts in Edit Pad or Open Office...

They copy paste here easily. Sometimes I keep adding to one for days before I post it.

I always mess up if I post a long post at DU without doing it elsewhere first.

[Mike 03]

4. Perceptive post.

I agree. And it could be both good and bad. I can't think of a single post I have not edited numerous times, and usually for the better, but sometimes for the worst.

I would have no problem with the kind of protocol you are calling for. It would be honest, and honest is always best.

[MineralMan]

5. It's easy to do. Just compose your posts in something like

Notepad, and save them to your hard drive, if you wish. Then, when you're happy with the post, paste it into the DU editor. Or use Word and do the same, which will allow you to spell check, etc.

That's what I do when I'm working on a long, complex post.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

8. I know how to cut and paste thanks and how to use word and notepad

but I am speaking of efficiency and spontaneity. My email has a save as draft and I appreciate it even though I otherwise have the same abilities you speak of. I was just thinking of something that could be very helpful to many posters if they didn't have to go through those multiple steps. I don't know how hard it would be to add such a function.

[MineralMan]

16. OK. Sorry to mention it, since you already knew that.

I keep a notepad window open all the time on my desktop, and use Alt-Tab to switch between windows. I find it very useful, since I can cut and paste to it from multiple browser windows while doing whatever research I have to do, while keeping the DU thread open at all times.

That way, I can Google something, paste in the material, along with the URL, then go elsewhere to find other information I may need. Then, I can write what I want to write, revise it at will and finally, and only when I'm satisfied with the end result, I can press Ctrl-A to select the whole lot copy it to the clipboard, then Alt-Tab back to DU and, quick as you like, paste the lot into the edit screen.

If I'm interrupted, I can simply save the notepad document to a file and get back to it at my convenience. I can't see how a draft save function here would be any more functional. I'd still use my technique, as I also do in my email client.

But, you know best what works for you. Sadly for you, that function does not exist in this forum.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

20. I appreciate your response and there's so much good detail in your post.

Especially your shortcuts, very helpful. A lot of people don't know how to keep multiple windows open and work between different programs. You do, I do, but there are many people who don't. I think a draft saver would be so useful in so many circumstances.

My most major use would be to hit the "save as draft" button when my husband walks into the room and says "For God's sake! We're ready to go!" when some major issue has just hit DU and I have just had an epiphany. No time then to cut, paste, save into another program, etc.

[Lars39]

6. Use the notepad feature on your computer.

I can't function without using it now.:)

[Skink]

7. Would this apply to drunk posting?

:beer:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. Well , it often SHOULD apply to drunk posting.

Put it in save draft and see if you would "post message" in the light of a sober dawn.

[Canuckistanian]

15. There should be a warning feature

Where the system asks you "Are you pissed to the gills?" and if you answer "yeyshjjjj", the post is put into the draft mode until 8:00 the next morning.

It then asks again if you're sure you want to post.

I could have used such a feature a few times. :think:

[jody]

11. I sometimes have problems with a "long, analytical post with multiple sources and clips" because

I can't determine what point(s) the author is trying to make and how the sources and clips relate to the point(s).

I am impressed when I find a post that is brief, coherent, and supported with facts or credible opinions from acknowledged experts.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

12. There's room for both. nt

[jody]

14. Agree but those who have served as expert witnesses before a jury discover, long-winded discourse

is anathema to the jury.

If someone has served both as an expert witness and as a jury member, that lesson is reinforced during deliberations.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

17. Same here ..........

I'm a voracious reader, and I love good writing, but, for the most part, the long, long posts, with all the links and quotes, are usually badly-written, poorly-reasoned, and lose me long before the end.

It's a message board, and there is a virtue in expressing your thoughts by exercising discipline, producing tight writing. I think the OP is onto something, in that a "draft" feature would give the writer a chance to look and edit whatever s/he wants to post.

But, self-indulgent rants, they lose me, and their length is daunting. Say it and get out - the essence of good journalism, the essence of good writing.

The narrative arc is not defined by its length ...................

[dgibby]

13. Good idea!

That would be especially helpful for those of us who are less computer literate. I'd also like to be able to post just to my journal, then to a forum later if I so desired (unless that option is available and I'm just not aware of it).

[bridgit]

18. Hm, never thought of it that way; when I feel compelled to get all wordy or snippy or...

uppity or linky or pic embed'y or serene hahahaha did I just key that or wise & uber-pithy-nice er'this & that er'whatever *I* put it all into a word file first, work it there, then drop it when it's done that way...

I have more time for my celestial pathway ~ :)

[walldude]

19. If I'm going to do something that takes time I make a txt file

and write it then just copy and paste to DU. It helps with "editing".

[Jane Austin]

21. As I go along, I "select all" and then "Command C (for copy)"

so if I lose my post mid-creation, all I have to do is "Command V (for paste)"

Depending on how recently I did that, most of my post will paste right back, should I lose it.