Excel Zone Expert Discussion, Number 10

Kevin/Brad/Wayne,

Need your zape assistance over this:-

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/Applications/Q_24268386.html#a23993359

Duplicate one.

Saurabh...

Don't know if this has been mentioned before but it is the first time I have seen mention on if but the seminal Professional Excel Development is due to be released as a second edition, updated for xl2007 in May 2009:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Excel-Development-Applications-Addison-Wesley/dp/0321508793/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238188277&sr=1-8

I am really excited about it!

Richard

I love the fact that under 'frequently bought together' it's listed with VBA for Dummies. Really??? :)

Unless that's due to customers being maybe a little overly optimistic about their likely future progression after they've digested the Dummies book ;)

Richard,

Thanks for pointing that out.  I have a copy of the original version on my bookshelf, and I consult it from time to
time.  I'm really keen to see what they make of the ribbon :)

Just put in my preorder on the US site...

Regards,

Patrick

Can someone confirm if the following happens to them or is it just me:

Whenever I copy and paste text into the reply window I lose any text I have already typed into the window!  This is now driving me absolutely nuts.  I'm currently using the web interface (I can't seem to use QuickEE without the program crashing, altho this may well be user error rather than anything inherently wrong with the program!).

Thanks

Richard

It seems ok to me - This is some text I copied.
(Firefox on a Mac, if that makes a difference)
Using the Rich Text window, there is a definite flicker and all the text seems to almost be re-entered; the plain text window doesn't seem to flicker.

Richard,

What you describe is a known bug with the Rich Text feature. Try switching to Plain Text.

What's the error you get with QEE?

Wayne

Richard - someone else with the same RTF problem -> http:/Q_24273730.html

Hi Wayne - I'll turn off the Rich Text straight away - thank you!

When I select MS Excel from the List dropdown and then hit the Reload Question list I get the following error returned:

"QuickkEE has stopped working   ==== this is I presume a standard Windows notification

A problem caused the program to stop working correctly.  Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available"

with two buttons: Debug and Close Program.

Richard

Hmm. You shouldn't need to click the "Reload Question List" unless you wish to check if any new questions have been asked since you last loaded the list.

That said, the list should automatically populate when when selecting a zone. But it appears to not be working at the moment. Seems there was yet *another* change made to the html of the site which is causing the parsing routine to fail. I'll work on it tomorrow and publish an update.

Wayne

All,

Before you start reading this post, let me be the first to admit that it absolutely applies to me!

I have a suggestion that I would like all of us to try.  I have found that the instances of "naked" responses from
the Experts has been trending upward.

Before anyone gets too excited (?!?), by "naked" I mean posting a formula, VBA code, or sample file without
explanation or context, or just a perfunctory "here you go" or "see attached".  As above, I have been guilty of
doing that myself, probably because I am feeling caught up in the friendly competition we have between us.

So, I propose that we try to bring up the quality of our responses by avoiding the temptation to just post
perfunctory solutions.  When we provide a formula, add a sentence or two that describes the functions used
and/or why the Asker's original formula was wrong.  When we provide a sample file, post the relevant code
in the code snippet box, so that people can see what you were getting at without opening the file.  (That will
also help EE, as the code in the snippet would then get exposed for searches.)

Granted, on follow-ups, as the Asker and Experts are just tweaking solutions already offered to get a better
fit, then the more perfunctory approach is fine, but we should try to avoid it for the first comment(s).

I am going to try this for myself starting today and at least through the month of April.  If any of you see me
failing to do it, I invite you to call me on it.  I would ask that all of you try to do the same for yourselves.  It
will mean that sometimes we put a little more time into our responses, but I think the result will be, on
average, better solutions for the Askers and better PAQs for the database.

What do you all think?  Is this something we can commit to trying?

Regards,

Patrick

Patrick,

I completely agree to this, Lately when im in a hurry.I stop doing this but again thats no execuse to stop doing what you are talking about as that will for sure increase the content posted out here for future reference as well from the asker understanding.

I'll try to follow it myself, Lets see how much i can adhere to it.

Saurabh...

Rory,

Thanks, smart aleck :)

Regards,

Patrick

We live to entertain you Eric.

I don't get VBA  jokes, Rory, can we have a formula-based one next time?

Patrick,

I agree entirely, I normally try to include some basic comments, instructions or reasons why the approach I'm suggesting would work, or might work better than some other approach.

Also, if Saurabh's joining you I guess I've got a chance of posting before him without a one word reply..........!

regards, barry

People have always said I was funny. Not comic, necessarily, just a bit funny...

barry,

I would be greatly amused to see an array formula that reproduced Rory's messages :)  The numbers are just
ANSI character values...

(To see the messages, just paste the one line of code into the Immediate window and hit Enter.  Just think,
in the time Rory spent on his joke, he probably could have written a better plan for bailing out the American
banks, cured cancer, and had time left over to make supper :)

Regards,

Patrick

Not really - I have a piece of code that uses an inputbox and outputs the actual line to the Immediate Window for me (yup, I am that sad)...

Oh Rory! <head bang on desk>

"20,000 comedians out of work......"

Is that what they call the comic crunch?

Seems there's comedians everywhere at the mo: http:Q_24277619.html#a24024736

(hopefully I finally managed to get a link right!)

Could one of you badgers take a look at the attachments here: http:Q_24278961.html#a24024280

They appear to contain real data!

Ta,

Rory

>Is that what they call the comic crunch?

Love your work Barry. Kevin would be proud of that one.

I'm on it Rory.

Thanks, Wayne.

Is it OK to ask a question here?  -  Sorry - I'm a bit new and don't know all the protocol yet...

I installed QuickEE this morning and none of the lists / table have anything in them.  I selected my filters for Excel and Pivot Tables but still nothing.  The box at the bottom that says Checking Questions seems to be slowly incrementing but I am not sure if there is something else I should be doing.

If it is loading an initial database file of questions then maybe I just need to be patient.  Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,
Jerry

Post your QuickEE questions and bugs here:

   http://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/Input/Q_23807331.html

>Is it OK to ask a question here?

Yes and no. We do ask questions here, even Excel questions, but if they are technical questions that can be placed in one of the many technical zones for points then they really should be asked there. What works here are discussion topics about some quirky Excel behavior or philosophical discussions about technique.

Kevin

zorvek said:
>>What works here are discussion topics about some quirky Excel behavior or philosophical discussions about technique.

Teasing Kevin also works here :)

And statements like "Excel can do anything Access can do only better."

OK - thanks guys  -  Since it was QuickEE I was not sure.  I will post the question in the support area.

"Excel can do anything Access can do only better."

When something is a hard and fast fact...  Does it even need to be stated?     :)

Thanks,
Jerry

>> "philosophical discussions about technique."
probably best to limit that to Excel technique...

I like you.

Rory, is your mind always in the gutter?

Erm, no, but apparently yours is... ;)

http:Q_23509410.html#a21851394

Yet another perfectly innocuous comment...

This is a new one.. http:Q_24282601.html

What do we get if he wins the prize? Also is that ethical? :)

Someone from the office has a sense of humor also (check out the Premium skin)

I like the uniforms. Office Badger, sir!

That should read Officer Badger, sir! :)

Ah, it is April 1st.

The likeness is uncanny!

Can someone who knows more about disposing of VBA than me objects chime in here -> http:/Q_24283833.html

Ardhendu:

I entered my submission to win the prize.  Does anyone have a better idea to select unique random cells within a range?  I would be curious to see it.  My way only works with the given range although if I thought about it enough I bet I could figure out how to make it work for any range.

Kindest Regards,

Jaes

Patrick Matthews and/or Dave Brett,

I believe this question is your speciality - if you have the time and/or inclination:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_24286376.html#a24048230

Regards

Patrick

Did somebody mention Access?  A most powerful add-in for Excel ;-)

Do we have any Access MVPs who post into the these Excel threads?

Any views on the poor formatting of the date and time in the list of Question Awaiting Answers? It looks awful on my machine and makes the list much longer, however I will concede that it allows those questions with a long title to be displayed in full.

This looked self explanatory to me.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/Applications/Q_24294864.html?cid=295

Regarding the Question Awaiting Answers view, is the problem that the date wraps when the browser window width is reduced? If so this can easily be fixed by tweaking the HTML. Let me know and I'll pass it on.

>Regarding the Question Awaiting Answers view, is the problem that the date wraps when the browser window width is reduced? If so this can easily be fixed by tweaking the HTML. Let me know and I'll pass it on.

Yep, that's the problem. Although I have the list of questions and the 'My Account', 'My favourites' and the 'HoF' visible at the same time - as I believe they were meant to be viewed alongside the list of questions.

They have for some inexplicable reason used the 12hour clock 00:00 to 11:59 and used AM and PM - which is surely totally unnecessary. Why can't they just use the 24hr clock. Isn't that universally understood?

>Yep, that's the problem.

I'll get it fixed. The problem is simply the minimum width value for that column.

>Why can't they just use the 24hr clock. Isn't that universally understood?

No. Most people in the US are used to the 12 hour clock.

>Most people in the US are used to the 12 hour clock.

And they represent less than 5% of the world's population. Oh well, it is a USA based website...

>And they represent less than 5% of the world's population.

When did Experts Exchange's membership become equally divided across all of the world's countries and cultures? Did I miss something somewhere? ;-)

zorvek said:
>>When did Experts Exchange's membership become equally divided across all of the world's countries and
>>cultures? Did I miss something somewhere? ;-)

I don't know anything about equally divided, or even proportionally divided, but it was my impression that while
the US has a plurality of Members and of Experts, the majority of Members and Experts reside outside the US...

Patrick

While there is an increasing amount of traffic coming from Europe and Asia, I don't think one can conclude that, at least today, there is anywhere close to only a 5% representation from the United States.

Well guys...One quick thing..me here and im Asian. I tell you whats the problem out here, we guys dont surf much and if we do then we dont like paying so thats why u find less of asians here but if you go to mrexcel.com . You will find definately lot of asians there.

>...so there's probably going to be a bit of a US-centric cast to EE for the foreseeable future.

I suppose it all depends on the corporate outlook.

I'm in the US but would definitely go for the 24 hour clock.  A lot of trips to the UK   :)  

Any chance it could be an option in the user profile and display 12 or 24 depending on what the user wants to see?

>  20 per cent is Oz --

Tha's quite remarkable for a 20M population

C'mon Dave! You and I both know that's not remarkable at all. We're a pretty smart bunch down here :)

There are a lot of things that should be member defined preferences. We're trying to get some basic stuff fixed first and we are definitely working with folks having a rather myopic perspective of the world from the perspective of being an actual member using the site.

Things are looking better every day and they are a lot better than they were in October, 2007.

>C'mon Dave! You and I both know that's not remarkable at all. We're a pretty smart bunch down here :)

Now that is correct.

>There are a lot of things that should be member defined preferences. We're trying to get some basic stuff fixed first and we are definitely working with folks having a rather myopic perspective of the world from the perspective of being an actual member using the site.

Very corporate we'ish these days.

> C'mon Dave! You and I both know that's not remarkable at all. We're a pretty smart bunch down here

Especially given we have to work upside down - that takes some time getting used to!

Or is it us that's working upside down?

Only for 12 hours a day :)

That sounds like a good compromise !

I personally prefer the 24 hour clock and use that as a default whenever possible.  My preference stems from a job I had where we used the 24 hour clock for scheduling.  I like it because there is never any confusion between am and pm.  Doesn't the US military use the 24 hour clock?

Every international airline in the world uses the 24 hour clock. It avoids misunderstandings by both operators and customers. Still why not try and force the world to conform to the ways of the minority - seems a reasonable way forward for a democratic country.

Mmm, not much happening here for a while......

Belated Happy Easter everbody.......now I have a couple of points issues for a Zone Advisor. First here where jppinto should have had his contribution recognised, and then this one where I think the asker mistakenly awarded the points to the wrong expert - obviously it should have been me! [head explodes].

Thanks in advance, barry

I seem to be having a problem with the web interface in that when i log in I see the Excel zone (seeing as this has the questions I am most able to answer!) - this works fine, but when I post a comment to a thread, it seems to automatically be removed from the list of open questions in that zone (that I can see) - I can still get to it if I go to my own profile and look at the Open Questions section, but I don't see it in the specific zone (these questions haven't been awarded points yet - they are still open).

Now this isn't a disaster for me (I can still get to the questions) but I am worried that the act of me posting to the questions is potentially removing the question from view of others who might post to the question.  This only seems to be happening to me fairly recently.

Two of the question threads are below:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_24324908.html

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_24321015.html

Richard,

Both those questions are flagged as "Neglected" ( http:/help.jsp?hi=425 ). Is this the case for the other questions that disappear? Were they at the top of the list before you posted? If so, once an expert posts to a neglected question, it is moved back to it's original position down the list (in the order they were asked).

FWIW, I can see the first of the above questions. It's in position 49 on this page -> http:/viewOpenZoneQuestions.jsp?taid=604

Wayne

Ah I didn't know about there being 'neglected' questions - that would explain it.  I was worrying some kind of corruption in my account was messing things up.  Glad to hear it's not!

Thanks Wayne :-)

Barry,

It happens to all of us, and some get crankier than others (I do *try* to stay calm!). But as Brad and Kevin will probably say, it evens itself out at the end of the day, no matter how frustrating it may be at the time.

Regarding these 2 questions though, the first one I'd let go. The asker probably doesn't know about differing regional settings, so probably assumed jppinto's formula was faulty.

The second one does appear to be incorrectly closed, so I have posted.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne,

My "Head explodes" comment was meant to refer to my own big-headedness, not any frustration.......

I don't want to spend any more time at EE arguing over points than I absolutely need to, I'd rather be answering questions, but I did feel I needed to back up jppinto, and it was only because I was flagging that one up that I included the second one.......

Thanks also Netminder, I'd somehow got it into my head that the "Request Attention" button was only for the asker, I'll try that route next time.....

"Keep on Excelling.......!"

regards, barry

Hi Experts,

Anyone feel like looking in on this question of mine:

"Question for VBA aficionados - is there an Ifexist function":

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Office_Suites/MS_Office/Excel/Q_24331202.html#a24166430

Patrick

Is anyone able to give a sneak preview of the intent of the new member ranking tool - or is this still hush hush?

Cheers

Dave

Do you mean the one that was removed the other week? http://www.experts-exchange.com/experts.jsp?etIndex=4

If so, I thought it was only to "fix" it, and reduce the load on the servers....

Thx Eric

When I read Wayne's comment I figured that I had got the purpose of the update wrong. But on reading your follow-up Is something more meaningful in terms of look and feel being developed?

Cheers

Dave

Is it particularly quiet at the moment (and indeed has been for the last 2 to 3 weeks)?  I habitually have the Excel Zone on display but all I see are posts that have been posted from at least 12 hours ago (I believe these are the ones that get moved up the Board after 12 hours).  I am currently seeing absolutely no new posts and this is the complete reverse of March when there were new posts coming all the time.

Is it some setting I have inadvertantly switched on?

Thanks

Richard

Richard,

It's related to you being a Designated Expert, so you can either bribe someone to remove Excel from your Zones, or you can create a filter....

http://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp?hi=418

Wayne

Thanks NetMinder :)

Richard

If you have taken the mantle of designated expert then either scroll the page down till the end of the neglected questions and you will see the new questions appear or
edit profile | for experts | question alerts tab and select the zone.

Chris

Thanks Guys - I see what I was doing wrong.  I use the web interface when at work (which is when I lurk on the Board for the most part) and I hadn't extended my view of the Open Questions - so only saw the first 10 and all of them were taken up by 'neglected' threads.

As a point of interest, how do I get rid of being a 'designated expert'?

edit profile | for experts | question alerts tab and select the zone.

Chris

Chris,

I believe that only modifies whether or not you receive the Neglected Question alerts, not whether you are a DE or not.

AFAIK, only badger types can alter a members DE status.

Wayne

I assumed too much then ... I haven't tried to 'remove' it but assumed that was it's function ...

Sorry Richard!

Guys,

We have one more excel MVP here...Nate Oliver...

http://www.experts-exchange.com/M_4882382.html

Anyone knew him...or heard of him earlier..?

Saurabh...

Oh yeah - he's infamous in some circles! :)
Rory

>We have one more excel MVP here...Nate Oliver...

And how do you know he's an MVP?

>>And how do you know he's an MVP?

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Q_24347241.html

Tks

The number of "lazy" expert posts (outside the Excel TA) seem to be getting worse.

In one TA I keep on seeing,

"sample code at xyz"
no matter what the detailed question may have asked for.

And this isn't just newbiews, at times it's experts with 1 M plus points. Is this in the Mods/PE's remit to police, and if no, why not? :)

Dave

I'm with you Dave. I have noticed an increasing trend to give a link to another site where a 'sort' of answer can be found. More often than not it's a generic answer that needs work to apply it to the specific circumstances of the question. That sort of answer used to be rare unless there was clearly a good reference like for example Contexture's linked dropdown explanations.

I dislike the 'here's a link' type of response as it('s):

- lazy

- leads people to other forums and so away from Experts Exchange

- fails to provide the specific help that we have given and still give here on EE

I believe that when we see such comments we should be asking for 'assistance'. If the link is a lazy type of conribution, I believe the so called contributor should be encouraged to provide a proper full answer - or perhaps even risk having their 'lazy' answer deleted if they fail to improve on just a link. However we need to be careful not to be too hasty in judgement as in some instances a link is the most logical response to give.

Patrick

In the example I'm pointing at this is even worse

ie "sample scripts @  site zyz, and @ site 123"

which translates roughly to "newbie -  I can't believe you gave me a detailed explanation of your problem at EE when you could have typed three words into google and found this other whizz bang site that would have taught you advanced VBA in 3 minutes flat"

In such an instance, I believe that contribution should be deleted. It's no better than a new member who I found telling a questioner not to bother to make any changes to his code as clearly he couln't be bothered to return to the question to provide some feedback. I tell that story as I believe that even if we can't get appropriate action from a Mod or whoever, we can at least attempt to shame such contributors into doing a proper job here.

Meantime, where did you say that site was that "...would have taught you advanced VBA in 3 minutes flat" ?

I didn't state it in the actual Q :)

Just being sarcastic here as to the "help" on offer in the other TA

Would this be the "I have a problem with Excel/Outlook" question where the answer was a link to outlookCode.com by any chance? I couldn't believe that when I saw it!

Thats the one Rory .... bizarre isn't it.

Guys,

Can i know which one you are refering to..??? As in the link of the question...

Saurabh...

I'll stop being coy as he's a repeat offender

<FONT id=linkPlaceHolder></FONT>

Sharath

This one: http:Q_24348084.html

the first respondent might just as well have posted a link to Google! ;)

Ah, different posts, same offender!!

And the first q that Rory had seen .... with what looks like a bolier template paste as it is identical to the above.  I suggest the member concerned presented himself in a negative light - I just shone the torch :)

here

And here - with a points jackpot for the post

here #2

You might like to have a look at my rather outspoken contribution, which is in response to peakpeak's habit of giving just links - it's here:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Groupware/Outlook/Q_24325024.html#a24214466

If you disagree with what I've written, please say so here and I will either argue my case or I will amend my comments.

Patrick

My only comment would be "hear, hear"! :)

While I do concur completely with your comments  I  should have raised this directly myself .... as opposed to flagging my surprise/concern here.  

Dave,

I am sometimes perhaps a little more outspoken here than most. My livelihood does not depend on my use of EE so I can afford to get nearer the leaves on the thinner branches.

Interestingly for bsharath, he's received those two links so many times that he wanted to take action himself - so he's thankful for something having been said to peakpeak.

Patrick

Eric,

I am interested - what is involved?

Re the comments at issue, they're about as useful as a chocolate teapot. It's like someone asking a VB.Net question and me responding with a link to MSDN! (sure, the answer might be in there somewhere, but...)

Rory

All,

I was pleased to see the responses from Patrick(ab), Dave, et al, as they dind of tie in to what I posted a few
weeks ago about not posting "naked" code, formulas, or URLs, and pretending that that is a "solution".  I have
been making a conscious effort not to do that myself lately, and I think the quality of my work has gone up as
a result.

That said, when I post in the SQL Server zone, I very often do post a more or less "naked" query, but the
dynamic there is different: many of the Askers for Excel barely know how to launch the application, and we
should assume the basline knowledge/skill level is pretty low.  In SQL Server, however, very few people who
are complete n00bs would ever post there, and the habitues there can assume a much higher baseline
skill level.

BTW, if Nate is looking (I sent him a note about the thread), welcome aboard!

Regards,

Patrick

I should have saved the link, but I seem to remember a couple years ago someone getting points for suggesting the asker search google for their answer. Likely it was a case that the asker just wanted the question closed, but I still got a good laugh off of it.

Matt

Hi guys! Thanks for the welcome. :)

>And how do you know he's an MVP?

Kevin, Patrick, Brad, Matt and Richard have babysat me in Seattle. You should see me when I can't figure out the combo-lock at the Rock Bottom.... ;) (that's my best way to tip off that it really is me) <g>

Hi Patrick, thanks for the warm welcome.

>I was pleased to see the responses from Patrick(ab), Dave, et al, as they dind of tie in to what I posted >a few weeks ago about not posting "naked" code, formulas, or URLs, and pretending that that is >a "solution".

I just did this and am guilty of this, but not because I'm being lazy. So in the thread I just did it, it was an Excel/Outlook interface question, using the OnTime Method. There's 3 reasons I did this:

1) I've tested Dick's Outlook code before, it's relevent and it works
2) I don't currently use Outlook - So I'd have trouble reinventing it
3) I'm going to have trouble beating Chip Pearson's write-up on the OnTime Method - if you're going to use it - you should read that, imo.

So, I didn't give them something that's out-of-the-box perfect, however there were no responses and they did get the pieces to make it work.

I don't know - is that not cool?

Best, Nate

Nate.

..Are you the same guy in who is Mr excel.com...if yes...then you probably remember me out there as i have a same id in saurabh726 in Mrexcel.com, This goes way back when you start posting out there...I was active there....

Eric,

I'm game for ...make rory zape, that will keep him a bit busy, Its really tough to beat him these days for points, he seems to be everywhere....

Saurabh...

Nate,

Posting links to good content is perfectly fine.  The practice we try to promote is something like this:

********************
Dear <Asker>,

It looks like you need to use the OnTime method.  The following article offers a great explanation of how
to use it:

<URL>

In your particular case, you might use syntax such as:

<brief code snippet>
********************

So, as long as you post a sentence or two about what is in the link and why it is relevant, you're fine.  Too many
times, we see people post just the link.  *That* is what we are trying to stamp out.

Regards,

Patrick

Hi Saurabh,

>..Are you the same guy in who is Mr excel.com...if yes...

Indeed. I've matured, somewhat, over the years. :)

Hi Patrick,

><brief code snippet>

The thing is, though, (in this case) is that Chip's site has detailed code snippets, that are really easy to follow, in this case, e.g.,

http://www.cpearson.com/excel/OnTime.aspx

I might change it a little bit, but it's pretty spot-on. Dick's site had code that was good to go, too. I do see what you're saying, and I'm not looking to give everyone a link to Google, I try to make my links extremely relevent. And I do code, too. ;)

Best,.
Nate

Nate_Oliver,

I assume the post you are referring to is http://www.experts-exchange.com/Q_24349480.html#24219057.
If so, you have nothing to worry about.  In it, you did exactly what I am talking about: you described what
was in the linked content, you mentioned why it was relevant, and you gave a hint as to how to start
integrating the content.  Thumbs up :)

Regards,

Patrick

Trench Coat Nate!

Three beers, smoke, three beers, smoke...

Welcome!

Kevin

Nate,

Of course, that said, it seems to me that using an Outlook rule would be easier than having Excel ping
Outlook every n minutes :)

Patrick

You're probably correct Patrick, but I don't know Outlook that well. But by all means... I've only used Outlook for a year or so, and I agree, that event-driven programming makes more sense in this case.

Kevin, good to see you here! I get a good laugh out of Kevin, every year, at the Summit, while he's laughing at me. It was Kevin who caught me going off on an absolute tirade at the Rock Bottom bathroom lock. <g>

Hey Nate!

Good to see you here Buddy!

I seem to remember you being the very restrained early-to-bed guy at the Summit ;-)

Richard

Actually, I don't think it was me...but then all us Excel jocks start looking the same at some point during the evening.

Kevin, it was definitely you. This was two years ago, I Jagered the combination on the building's shared, combination locked-bathroom - and I wasn't too happy about it. I didn't really pay attention to whomever was in ear-shot, and flew off (coarse language-wise) that would make a sailor proud.

Nice to meet you Netminder. :) Richard, while I do prefer to play it low-key and hit the hey early, glad you like the Textbox trick - I can taste the beer already! :)

Best,
Nate

>and I wasn't too happy about it

I can imagine...

:-)

Matt, are you sure you want to use up your annual quota of posts in this stupid thread?

LOL Yeah I'm happy to post here :) And though in a couple months you probably won't be seeing me post anywhere that requires an NDA, my participation online will resume in the not too distant future.

And Nate, I seem to remember you and the combo lock last year. Still have my Rock Bottom club card from that night too!

Hey Matt, long time no see, look forward to you rejoining the site. trust all is well

Patrick

>I am sometimes perhaps a little more outspoken here than most

After my (deliberate) flaming of Jaes backfired when I mistook him for a newbie, I've put away my slingshot in favour of a more discreet approach. :)

Cheers

Dave

Good move Dave. As I know only too well, age doesn't necessarily impart wisdom. Patrick

All,

This comment should win a prize for chutzpah:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Q_24358202.html#24242043

:)

Regards,

Patrick

Time to bring back the slingshot?  :)

Some time back I asked a hardware question which drew in would be experts like moths to a flame. Unfortunately they failed to actually read, let alone understand the question and a couple of helpful bods here  popped over to try to steer the 'experts' back to the actual question

Being a glutton for punishment I have asked a printer/pdf problem. And as Yogi Berra once said, "its deja vu all over again"

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hardware/Peripherals/Printers_Scanners/Q_24358277.html

Hi Dave,

I left you a response to your printer Question. See if that helps.. :)

- Ardhendu

p.s: What time do you come online on xbox live? I haven't seen you online in a while... :)

Thx Ardhendu, I will try this when i get home tonight.

My Xbox is still in London awaiting air shipment to Melborune, so I've gone cold turkey on Halo 3 for two months. On the downside Australia is a broadband laggard, so when I do get back online I think I'll be easy prey again for 12 year olds to beat up on

Cheers

DAve

Rory,

Did you block me following you..?? because i cant see your name in my list and when i see in someone lese profile it says im following you...but in my profile your name doesnt comes up....

Saurabh...

Yep - I blocked a couple of people to see what, if anything, would happen! :) I don't really get how that whole thing works so what difference did it make?

Rory

I've unblocked you now that I know it does do something! :)

Ahh i see..Rory the difference it makes its the person who is following you can no longer track you down.... :-)

Saurabh...

I was in the living room! ;)

Rory,

You again blocked me...Man just wondering what you are upto...

Saurabh...

What are the damn mods and admins doing in our private thread...

I think we should all block Saurabh.

Kevin,

What did i do..?? that i desreved to be blocked by everyone. I'm just hardly following 4 ppl only.Keeping my eye over them.. ;-)

Saurabh

Because you like to post in our threads with those silly ellipses all over the place.

More to the point, why are you following me...?

Hmm Kevin, You know i have been working on it lately and you agree that there is been improvement to it.

Rory, To answer i follow you guys because to be honest you guys have lot of knowledge on the subject and I'm a bit greedy to learn things from you guys as when i run short of ideas i refer to you guys post since every single day i learn something new out of it.

Rory -  you were testing that  "Block" means .......... "Block" ?   :)

Geez...we go from ellipses overload to no ellipses, commas, or periods. I think that's the longest run on sentence I've ever seen ;-)

>I think that's the longest run on sentence I've ever seen

I'd guess that if your first language was Hindi (most probable first language for New Delhi) and you weren't brought up in an English speaking familiy your sentences would be constructed in much the same way - that is without ellipses commas or periods - a bit like this sentence - and my first language is English

Keep going Saurabh - it's only points-envy !

Kevin,

It's really hard to please you man, All you look for is perfection nothing else does it for you.

Patrcik,

Yes, you are write first language at my place is Hindi but unfortunately if i start talking in that no one will understand out here and thanks for your vote of confidence.

Saurabh.

I can't type either.

Thanks to Rory, BarryHoudini and Nate Oliver for defending the honor of our site when the trolls got rambunctious!
http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1928764

Brad

I wondered if you might have seen that. Couldn't very well let that pass without comment! :)

(I was surprised by the nature of the outburst, even given my perception of the person in question!)

Rory

Looks like EE is getting more popular than ever... http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=393293&t=1339075

However I am glad to say that people are saying positive things about EE, except for a few trolls!

- Ardhendu

new thread ne1?

ne1?

hmm, I've just read the Mr Excel thread

From my time at vbaexpress I've got a lot of respect for Bob, he is a straight shooter. So while I didn't enjoy reading his comments around EE, I think that they are wearable given that his beef is with the pay-for-answers model, not the Excel quality per see. This angle has been pushed by others before, ie at Dicks Blog where I jumped in to correct a poster who claimed that payment was necessary to use EE.

And then there's poor old OzGrid geting univerally bashed mainly due to the great flamewar betwen the site owner and a large chunk of the US MVP community six or so years ago.

I don't understand why people feel the need to justify the superiority of a site , forum or site model over another, if it's helping someone somewhere then its fine

>ne1

you luddite :)

anyone.

Oh, for God's sake. What happened to plain old English that everyone understands?

I'll make a new thread...and new rules to go along with it.

I have a lot of respect for Bob's abilities, and he is entitled to his opinions of EE. I was objecting mainly to his attack on two particular members here, which I thought was totally unwarranted.
Rory

I didn't get to to see who the subject of Bob's observations were...anyone care to enlighten me?

You and Brad. Not entirely sure why he singled you guys out!

>  I was objecting mainly to his attack on two particular members here, which I thought was totally unwarranted.

I'd missed this. Will go back and re-read - unless they were the bits that have been edited out? Are these comments still there Rory?

Ha! That's funny...he just picked the top two names on the overall points list and ran with it. The problem with making assumptions is that it weakens your case when the assumptions are not true. That and his concluding what he did from an experience with a single question further erodes his credibility with regard to how this site works. Between you and me and a few others I think we painted a pretty fair picture. EE is far from perfection - I don't know what site is anywhere close to it.

Another way to look at it is we seem to get the brunt of criticism which implies they are jealous that, for some odd reason, we keep attracting new members, making existing members happy, and creating MVPs. All while charging a fee to not see ads, ask an unlimited number of questions, and use the expert skin.

Or perhaps he is just bitter that he didn't get his points. Been there, done that...probably 1,000 times by now.

They are still there...just the names have been removed.

Kevin,

This adds to your popularity for sure...and Back to Books...need to study.

Saurabh...