Hecatoncheires
un jour je serai de retour près de toi
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OR: HOW TO STOP LOSING YOUR POSTS LIKE A TIT
If I had a pound for every occasion I've witnessed someone bitch and moan that their browser crashed/the site went down/updates kicked in/a cat sat on their laptop and they lost the post they were typing up, I would be a rich motherfucker indeed.
And being rich might ease some of the frustrations that come from reading these complaints and wondering just why people keep making the same bloody mistake, time and time again. Yes, Iwaku does have the ability to save the progress of posts saved in the browser text editor. This is handy, but it still doesn't change the fact that you're one site crash/browser shutdown away from losing what you've potentially spent ages writing. Compounding matters is the fact that there's a really fucking easy way to avoid this issue entirely.
You might have heard of them. They're called "word processors".
Barry Shitpeas (aka. You) said:B-B-BUT GRUMPY WURD PROCESSORS R EXPENSIVE AND I AM THE IMPOVERISHED STOP MOCKIN ME FOR BEIN POOR D;D;D;D;D;
NOT SO, STRAWMAN/VISUALISATION OF HOW I SEE MOST IWAKU MEMBERS. Whilst there certainly are plenty of premium word processors and editors out there that you need to shell out cash-moneys in order to acquire, there's plenty of open source, completely free alternatives out there. In this wee post, I'm gonna line some of these out for you so you can start actually keeping ahold of your posts and stop losing them because you are a fucking numpty.
OpenOffice
This would be the one I use the vast majority of the time for typing documents and writing stuff up: I jumped on the OpenOffice bandwagon way back in my undergraduate when I decided I didn't want to pay Microsoft more money for another fucking Word update, and I've not looked back since. An open source development by a team called Apache, OpenOffice comes with a full suite of free office software to match the stuff you'd expect to buy from Microsoft at a high price (or a monthly subscription, or however the fuck they're trying to fleece people now).
It's not as pretty and shiny as Microsoft Word, granted, and there will be some features missing/not as easy to access as a system you might be more used to. But if you're needing a place to type up posts before posting them so you don't lose it, it doesn't come much better than this. If you're one of those
LibreOffice
Originally an offshoot of OpenOffice, LibreOffice has grown arms and legs to become another big name when it comes to open source word processors. Like the program it originally forked from, Libre comes with the full office suite including word processing, presentations and spreadsheet editing. Of the two, this is probably the more aesthetically pleasing piece of software, and it comes packed with a lot of really handy and cunning features if that's the sort of thing you're looking for. I can't speak from personal experience, but I know loads of folk who use Libre as their main word processor and have nothing but praise for it.
Google Docs
Aka: what I'm writing this post with right now.
Barry Shitpeas (aka. You) said:B-B-BUT GRUMPY U JUS SPENT THE HOLE START UF THIS POST SHITTIN ON US 4 USIN BROWSER BASED TEXT EDITORS D;D;D;D;D;
I totally did, and I totally stand by that shit. Google Docs is a far safer choice for processing your words online because of how regularly it backs up your posts onto Google Drive. It also comes with the added bonus of allowing you to write your posts basically anywhere. Start one on your PC at home, keep working on it on your phone during a commute, then finish it up on your lunchbreak at work. It doesn't come with nearly as many features as the previous two processors mentioned, but for typing up your posts you don't really need them. ALL HAIL OUR GOOGLE OVERLORDS.
AbiWord
Whilst we're talking lean, cut-down word processors I'd be loathe not to mention this bad boy.
AbiWord is probably older than a whole bunch of you gobshites, given that it's been developed over 18 years. It's simple, it's punchy, it does what it says on the tin and not much else. But if you're looking for something lean and lightweight to type your stuff up on, do consider giving this program a shot.
BONUS ROUND: OmmWriter
THIS ONE ISN'T FREE BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT IT ANYWAYS COS IT'S FUCKING COOL.
Getting knuckled down and focused on writing stuff up can be difficult. I think we all accept that: in an age where information, entertainment and stimulation is available literally at the click of a button it can be really tough to push distractions aside and work on posts (or other forms of writing). I could go off on a whole tangent about how distractions are probably harming your RP/literary output (cos fuck knows they harm mine), but instead of subjecting you to that I'll just offer this fun little piece of software that helps to cut distractions and keep you on track.
OmmWriter is built on simplicity and engagement. It fills your whole screen and prevents you from easily tabbing away to Facebook/Reddit/4chan/Buzzfeed (if you are scum)/whatever your internet poison is. Slap on some headphones and it intones some nice, easy listening music to keep your head focused on the task at hand. What's more, OmmWriter comes at a really, really low price if you want it to, as the devs have given it a 'name your price' pricing model. If you find it hard to stay concentrated when writing, you really might want to consider looking this software up.
That's your lot, proles. If you're one of those people who finds themselves losing posts to the void that is your browser, here's a simple and free solution to your woes. The programs listed above are largely Windows-based so if any based Linux users/filthy Mac users have any suggestions of their own, feel free to share them too.
Now get the fuck off my property.