Why.

[immortalknight]

Why is it, if I'm writing something in a page, leave the page, then return, that everything is gone? it shouldn't be gone. it should have stayed put.

[Michael]

Hi,

First off, while I understand you might be frustrated, that language isn't acceptable here.

Second, are you talking about writing a post? Have you enabled drafts in your profile?

[immortalknight]

first off, I should be allowed to use whatever damn language I want I'm pissed. 3 hours of work GONE. second yes, obviously, I have drafts enabled, which didn't load. because the site is archaic. shouldn't even have to need drafts to begin with. because the site shouldn't delete stuff when you refresh. 

edit: also excuse *you* Mr "Michael stone" for censoring me.

[Michael]

Hi,

Unfortunately there isn't anything I can do about that, though you have my sympathy for the fact that the draft feature didn't work in the expected manner. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

[immortalknight]

sure what you can do to help is explain to me exactly why the content on the page gets deleted when you refresh said page? especially troublesome since I'm able to login to the site from multiple sources, and get the damned token error because of that. so I follow what the site says, refresh the page, and the work is gone. also I apologize for my rude behavior, was miffed from the lost work I now have to recreate

[Michael]

When you login from a new source you're issued a new token which validates "this is where I am and where I'm working from" and prevents issues like making a change in one place then moving to a different device and making a change that contradicts the first one. There is always one location (your phone or your laptop) that is currently "in control" of your account essentially. The token error is to tell you that the second device you've used is no longer in control, and that if you want to switch you'll need to refresh.

Again, I'm sorry this happened to you. I've lost posts myself before to accidents (and then you can never rewrite it as good as the first time, or at least it seems that way).

[bigballofyarn]

Hi there.

I'm sorry this happened to you. I can empathize with your situation. I've lost posts a few times. I've gotten into the habit of copying my entire message every so often. Then, if I accidentally navigate away from the page and lose my message, all I have to do is paste! I do this everywhere, even outside of Proboards. I know that you're going to say that no one should HAVE to do that, but it puts my mind at ease. After a few times, you do it without thinking about it, and it's not really a conscious effort.

Best of luck to you.

[immortalknight]

that's a fair point and I agree with it. gonna have to try that from now on lol.

[Kami]

I think overall this is best practice for any type of writing you intend to upload / post online. I've lost things that are supposed to auto-save too, eg: one time I was writing a really long email and gmail servers conked out and didn't save anything in drafts. Big feelsbad moment.

I'm  not saying that drafts on PB can't be improved or that the language describing the feature can't be clearer on how it functions, but rather since technology is reliant on a lot of moving parts, sometimes it's beneficial to have multiple places to keep works in progress.