Eric-
There's a "feature" of using this site's PM function that has been really frustrating over the last couple of years.
The problem: When I am writing a PM, especially a reply to another user's PM to me, sometimes it takes a while to write all the words necessary for a comprehensive reply. I may have to consult books and manuals, or google up some stuff in another tab or window. Sometimes writing a PM may take a couple of hours.
The problem appears when I've finished writing, and push the "preview" button on the PM page. The PM page is replaced with a Log In page. NOT GOOD. If I log in, I get kicked back to the PM page, but all my writing has disappeared. If I use the back button on my browser, the same thing happens.
(I think this same problem occurs in writing a post to the board.)
In the past, I've worked around this by copying and pasting my verbiage into a Notebook or Wordpad document before I push the preview or post buttons. However, I have to remember to do this, and my internal "forgetter" works really well.
Occasionally I've been so frustrated with the problem that I simply compose my PM or post in Notebook, and then copy-and-past into the PM or posting space. But again, I have to remember to do that.
Is there some way to prevent the problem of the disappearing words? I suspect I'm just encountering a preset time limit.
If it makes any difference in this case, I work from Windows XP with Firefox and occasionally Opera.
Thanks.
--Bob