How to register
On the menu at the top right-hand site of the page, click Register. The registration page will open. Enter your desired username, password and email address. You can also enter a display name, if you want something other than your username to be displayed with your comments. When you hit Submit a confirmation email will be sent to your email address. Please click on the link in the email to complete registration. Some users have reported that the email has gone to their spam folder – be sure to check. When you click on the URL in your confirmation message, you will be invited to log in.
You cannot add an avatar when you register but once you are registered, you can upload your avatar using My Account in the top menu. Login, Select My Account, and then select Profile Details. Under Upload Your Profile Image click on Browse, and select the avatar you wish to upload from your computer. Click on save details, and you should receive a message Your Profile Successfully Updated.
Commenting tips
Anyone can comment on any blog or page open to comments, but we prefer that people register for the site first, see above. You can comment either by using the box at the bottom of each blog post, or clicking the “Reply” link to reply to an existing comment. Replies to replies to comments are nested, up to a maximum of 10 comments deep.
Times for The Times welcomes civilised discourse. Please do not use insulting language towards the setter, the blogger, or your fellow commenters. It is better to avoid religion and politics – don’t assume that anyone smart enough to complete these puzzles will necessarily agree with you on these matters!
Please also avoid any mention of the answers to any active puzzle other than the one other discussion. Your fellow commenters may not have done that puzzle yet! In particular, never refer to the answers to any prize puzzles where competition has not yet ended, whether from The Times or any other publication.
The administrators do read the comments, and will take appropriate action. Repeat offenders can be suspended or have their accounts revoked.
Default WordPress behaviour doesn’t allow comments to be changed once entered. Our site however, uses a commenting plug-in called Simple Comment Editing. It is configured to allow comments to be edited or deleted by the commenter for up to 12 hours after creating them, so you can fix any typos or mistakes in your comments. We ask that this facility not be abused, especially if there are replies criticising or correcting what you wrote.
It is possible to make use of some standard HTML tags to modify text:
- Use <b> to make the following text Bold, ending with </b>. Like this.
- Use <i> to make the following text italicised, ending with </i>. Like this.
- Use <s> to make text struck through, ending in </s>, Like this.
- You can use these tags in any combination, e.g. Like this.
- Note that the underline tag, <u> does not work (unless you have admin privileges). This is, I think, to avoid confusion with hyperlinks.
- Use the anchor tag <a> to include a hyperlink, e.g: <a href=”timesforthetimes.co.uk”> Times for The Times</a> or: <a href=”timesforthetimes.co.uk” target= _blank> Times for The Times</a> to open the link in a new browser tab. Like this: Times for The Times. Note that to prevent spam, adding multiple links to your comments will cause them to be referred to an administrator for moderation. You can add emojis to your text, e.g. 😊, by cutting and pasting from elsewhere. In Windows 11 you can open a palette to do so, using the Windows key and . (full stop/period).
Comment Reply Notifications
By default, you will receive an email whenever someone replies to a comment you have made. If you don’t wish to receive these emails, register your preference to opt out using the Comment Notification page.
Dark Mode
You can switch to/from dark mode by typing Ctrl-Alt-D or using the switch here or at the bottom of the sidebar below “Contact Us.”