Acorn Web Site FAQ
FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Question(s)
In Internet parlance, a 'FAQ' or 'FAQ List' is a list of
regularly asked questions and their answers that is compiled
and made available to users (especially new ones) to reduce
the number of occurrences of these questions.
Contents
1. "Why do the pages have a white background ?"
2. "Why do I get an error when I use one of your forms to submit feedback/newstip/etc ?"
3. "Why don't I get an opportunity to enter my Clan number and password for the private Clan pages ?"
4. "How do I find out what my password is so that I can enter the private Clan pages ?"
5. "I know my password, but I still can't get in to the private Clan pages. What do I do now ?"
6. "Why do some links fail with 'connect failed: no route to host'?"
1. "Why do the pages have a white background ?"
We'd like to say that we're being a bit avant garde and 'pushing the envelope'.
We'd like to say that - but we'd be lying. Here's the real reason:
The original design mockup submitted by Cave Rock (which was in Drawfile form)
had a white background. This was because:
- that's what Drawfiles tend to have..
- at that stage I was under the the false impression that browsers tended
to have white backgrounds. Back then I had only seen Mosaic on a monochrome
X terminal!
By the time we got the job, I knew differently, but since the graphics were
designed for a white background (light shadows etc) and looked a bit awful on
a grey one, I decided to stay with it. By the time it first started to be queried,
a large number of graphics had already been done and it would have been a
nightmare job to change them all. Anyway, it is the humble opinion of the
designer that a white background looks a little classier anyway - and after all
there's no harm in being different.
To try and ensure that the pages are displayed with a white background, the
Netscape background colour-change attribute is used to try and ensure that the
background comes up as white.
I think it is safe to say that the majority of accesses to these pages will
be made using browsers that support these colour change codes, so most
people will see the pages as they were designed to look. Hopefully, for
the unlucky remainder, they will still look at least half decent..
2. "Why do I get an error when I use one of your forms to submit feedback/newstip/etc ?"
The error you are getting is probably This server is not configured to handle POST. This
appears to be a result of the software we are using that takes the contents of the form you have
filled in and then emails it to us. The software then attempts to tell your browser which page
to display to thank you for the information. Unfortunately, some browsers appear to interpret this
as the new URL to post to, rather than the URL to get. The latest version of ArcWeb (0.27) now copes
with this problem. Mosaic and Netscape are known to work with this software, but we will be
investigating the matter further to determine whether or not we need to change our underlying
software. If anyone can recommend software to take the contents of a form and email them,
we would like to know about it.
3. "Why don't I get an opportunity to enter my Clan number and password for the private Clan pages ?"
You need to use an authentication-capable fetcher when using ArcWeb, which
currently means that you need to use ArcWebTCP, which in turn means that you
need either FreeNet or Acorn TCP/IP. Some people appear to use KA9Q for all
their news and mail etc, and then switch to FreeNet for WWW, which may work
for you.
Our thanks to Stewart Brodie for posting this response to
comp.sys.acorn.networking.
4. "How do I find out what my password is so that I can enter the private Clan pages ?"
Either send some email to clan@acorn.co.uk or use the
Clan feedback page to ask the Clan Chieftain what
your password is. Don't forget to include your Clan number so that your identity can
be verified.
5. "I know my password, but I still can't get in to the private Clan pages. What do I do now ?"
Either send some email to webmaster@acorn.co.uk or use the
comment facility to inform the Webmaster that there is a problem with getting
into the Clan private pages. Don't forget to include your Clan number so that your identity can
be verified.
Please also note that the Clan membership database is updated in batches and
it is not uncommon for Clan members to receive their membership packs before
we have had a chance to update the database. Please, therefore, check the
Private page to see which Clan number we
have got up to.
6. "Why do some links fail with 'connect failed: no route to host'?"
This server can get quite busy at certain times of the day and consequently
you may occasionally get errors from your browser stating that it was unable
to 'connect' to our server. These errors are normally due just to high
traffic and we suggest that you just try reloading the page and only email us
if you consistently get this error.
© 1995 Acorn Computer Group plc.
Design: © 1995 Cave Rock Software Ltd.