Help

This page is for questions about the mechanics of this blog, including the comment system.
  1. Q: I have an older/unusual browser or weak computer/mobile browser, and the blog is not displaying properly. What can I do?

    A: This blog works well with most modern browsers on computers/mobile devices that were new technology four years ago. It does not work with Internet Explorer 6 — which is over a decade old — or Internet Explorer 7, 8, or even 9. Consider upgrading to a modern browser (including later versions of Internet Explorer such as IE11 or Windows 10 Edge).
    https://www.turning-japanese.info/?m=1
    mobile version

    You might also consider using the "classic view" for the dynamic view theme, as this is a little more lightweight than the standard "magazine view".

    If you are using a really older tablet computer and the desktop version is loading too slowly, you may want to force it to use the lighter mobile version of the site and bookmark it.
  2. Q: Are there any other ways to view this blog other than the default "news" like layout?

    A: The Dynamic View theme used by this blog can be viewed in six different ways:
    1. Mosaic
    2. Timeslide
    3. Classic
    4. Sidebar
    5. Magazine (the default)
    6. Snapshot

  3. Q: What if page isn't loading correctly and parts of the page look incomplete or missing?

    A: Sometimes it happens, especially with dynamic views (which is what this site uses), where parts of the page are cached and loaded on demand. Causing your browser to reload the page (either F5, Ctrl R, or ⌘ R) will probably fix your problem.

  4. Q: How do I make those horizontal lines on top of the vowels in the Japanese written with alphabet?

    A: It depends on the computer or mobile phone. Above the text area where you type your comment there will be a selection of Japanese symbols and letters with macrons over them. You can copy & paste them into your comment if you're unable to input them any other way.

  5. Q: Why are some characters not displaying or displayed as dots or empty boxes?

    A: Most computers and software from the 21st century can handle our encoding (Unicode's UTF-8) and render Japanese glyphs without needing any installation/configuration of additional fonts or software.

    However, there are still mobile devices, due to memory limitations, that can't display some of the glyphs we use due to font or encoding limitations.

  6. Q: How do I make the ruby (the small letters above the Japanese) larger or easier to read?

    A: Ruby display is still a fairly new XHTML 1.1 / HTML 5 technology, so not all browsers render it appropriately yet. If you increase the overall text size on the page (for example, with Ctrl + or ⌘ + on Chrome or Firefox), the ruby should increase in size as well.

  7. Q: This site took me to a site that's all in Japanese. Also, there are some words on this site that are not translated. What can I do?

    A: There are many free machine-based language translation systems out there. While these translations will be far from perfect (or even adequate for presentation), they will help you get the gist of the content. They can be classified into these categories:
    • Don't want to install anything;

      Copy either the Japanese text or the web address of the Japanese page into Google Translate: translate.google.com
    • Want a solution that's integrated into the browser:


  8. Q: How do I open those "ODF" word processing file (.odt files) links in the blog posts and the Documents / Form page? How are they different from MS Word ".doc" files and why do you use them?

    A: We use the OpenDocument Format because it's supported by many different word processors. Unlike ".doc" files, both people with Microsoft Word and those that don't have Microsoft Word can use the documents.

    All modern and updated versions of Microsoft Office — those with at least 2007 Microsoft Office system Service Pack 2 (SP2) applied — can open and use these files.

    If you need a free solution that reads and writes ODF files, consider the following:

    • Don't want to install anything;

      Use Google Docs with your web browser: docs.google.com

    • Want or need to keep using an old and/or non-updated version of Office;

      Download and install a free Office Add-in: odf-converter.sourceforge.net

    • Want to install and use an entire Office-like productivity suite for free; then download LibreOffice: libreoffice.org
  9. I get "mixed content" warnings when I view some pages. Should I be concerned?
  10. This site switched from using insecure unencrypted pages to using https protocol to serve pages. Every page is a combination of main content and followup content. In the case where the main content is secured but the followup content has yet to be encrypted and secured, you may see a warning. Seeing the warning does not affect the actual content of the site (unless you tell your browser to not load insecure or mixed security content.

    We will be fixing these errors over time, and we thank you for your patience.

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