[edit: This post and its replies originally appeared in the sandbox thread, moving it to a new thread of its own for better exposure.]
floplot wrote:
Hi
Page 4 is from post 31 to 40 for me.
"Pages" of a thread can be a confusing issue because of the features that EACH USER can set for themselves on their own profiles.
Click "My Profile" (two lines above the search box in the top left) and then select the preferences tab.
[Most users have the forum default of 'Linear Format' selected, so here I will limit the discussion to Linear Format (as opposed to threaded format), however linear vs threaded can also be changed in the "Display Settings" section on the same page.]
Locate the section called "Linear Format Settings":
Linear Format Message Sorting Order within Threads --- The default here is Oldest to Newest / Date Ascending which makes the Oldest message in a thread appear on the page first followed by replies. This is most logical for new users that are unfamiliar, however many of the seasoned veterans will want to switch to Newest to Oldest / Date Descending which is what I call "Email mode" (and is my personal favorite as a regular) in this mode the latest message is on the top and as you scroll down things get older with the original message found at the very end. (hint: if you quickly recognize threads based just on the title then Newest to Oldest / Date Descending is the one for you!) This one messes up the "pages" AS WELL AS the "post 5 of XX" numbering system, because it reverses the display order of the thread.
Messages Per Thread Page in Linear Format --- this one defaults to 10, but I have mine set at 50 because I have a really speedy connection. This one messes up the "pages" because my "pages" have 50 posts on them, so a thread with 100 posts will actually only be 2 pages to me, but to most users still on 10 per thread that same 100 post thread will be 10 pages.
The absolute BEST way to refer to a specific post in a thread is to use the Options menu in the upper right hand corner of the specific message you want to refer to and pick "Highlight this message". This will cause the page to be re-loaded but TWO important things happen: First the message in question receives 'Focus' which means it will get a gray background in the screen. Second (and more importantly) the URL in the browser bar will change. If you copy and paste THAT URL as a link then eveyone clicking it will be clicking into a thread EXACTLY as you are seeing it... with the same post highlighted. For example, click here (which is really this long URL http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=forum_feedback&message.id=3117#M3117 consolidated down into a nice tidy hyperlink) and you will be back in this thread, but with floplot's post highlighted.
Hope that helps!
[edit: typos.]