How to post "unfurling links"

I've noticed that lots of posters are not using the "unfurling links" (AKA unfurling URL's) feature when posting links. I don't know whether this is a deliberate choice or simply ignorance of how to post unfurling links. Only Xenforo has the unfurling links feature. So, I highly prefer them because it gives this site a more sophisticated and modern look than all other paddling sites, and I sometimes edit posts to make the links unfurl.

Here's a brief tutorial on how to post unfurling links. It's the easiest way to post a link. All you do is copy the address of the link you are posting and then paste it on its own line in the reply box. It will unfurl into a snippet and look like this:


You DO NOT click the Insert Link icon and paste the link address into that pop-up box. If you do, it will not unfurl and look like this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20000903...ecanoeing.com/sportcanoeing/solomystique.html

Again, to unfurl, the link must be put on its own line. It can't unfurl if it's in the middle of another line's sentence or appended to the end of another line. Some links won't unfurl no matter what you do, but most will.

The same procedure applies to posting links to other threads on this site. Just copy the address of the thread and paste it on a new line and it will unfurl like this:


If you want to link directly to a particular post in a thread, click the post # in the upper right corner of the post you want to link—say, #9—and then copy the address that appears in the address bar. Paste that address on a new line and you will get an unfurled link that takes the reader directly to that post #9:


Sometimes you may not want a link to be unfurled on a separate line, but would rather have it integrated into a sentence you are writing. In that case, use the Insert Link icon and give the link a name, in the pop-up link box, that will fit grammatically into your sentence. Or just write your sentence, highlight the words you want to be a link, click the Insert Link icon, and paste the address of the link into the pop-up link box. For example, your sentence will look like this with regular links (not unfurled) that are intelligible, English language links:

On CTN you can find Mike Galt's famous article on the mystique of paddling solo canoes and you can also find pictures of Robin in the Quebec wilderness.

I hope members will use unfurling links and the other features of Xenforo. Again, it makes our site look modern and distinctive and our threads more attractive to read, especially for the social media generations, which comprise the future lifeblood of this site.

I like the link integrated in the sentence when it makes sense to do so. I think that makes the post more readable. Your brain can just read the sentence without unnecessary stops to digest the link and the explanation of the link. However, if you were to just want to list some links apart from the text, I like the look of the unfurling feature because it gives a bit of a preview of what you'll get if you click through. That's a nice feature and I didn't know about it. Thanks for the brief tutorial (and all the rest you do for CT!)

What did he say?

If you are going to be the teacher, you should remember that a lot of us might be in pre-school.
Or in my case to dumb to learn new tricks, as in old dog. If the ship starts to sink we will turn on the captain or abandon the ship like rats.

Creating hyperlinks in text has been a standard feature of all traditional internet discussion platforms, blogs, newspapers and magazines for at least 20 years, and now of all social media platforms. Xenforo's unfurling links are even easier to create than traditional hyperlinks because all you have to do is this:

Copy the address of the page you are linking and paste it on a new line in the reply box.

I can't think of a simpler instruction.