I typed a long message, hit post, and was notified that topic lead is mandatory. I hit the indicated arrow to return to prev page (not the IE back button) and found the long post erased.

Forget it, too much trouble to repeat.

Garry, I know how you feel. Sometimes I write The Great American Novel and lose it due to a combination of big fingers and palsy.

Now, I try to type long things in Word, or at least Wordpad. That way, not only is it saved from incorrect keystrokes, but also from computer hiccups or power interruptions. In addition, it corrects a lot of spelling and even grammar, to a certain degree.

Whenever that happens to me, I usually DO retype my message... but its a much shorter version. Amazing how brief one can be when frustration sets in.

Yep, Me too. When Towerguy was looking i wrote a LOOOONG new topic conerning our expectations when either buying OR selling. Man, it was a masterpiece. Hit the send button and it was GONE! Someday when i get the courage and my memory comes back I'll try and post it again.
Done that several times.

It happened to me many times too. Now, when I post a long reply, I make sure I copy it before I hit the send button. If anything goes wrong, I then repost simply by pasting it in a new reply form.

Just what is topic lead, anyways? It does not show on my screen. Dave, can it's mandatory status be set to optional in the admin area??