A response to Danfoley re forum update.

[William_H]

Hi Dan. The forum is greatly appreciate by us so thank you for any efforts to improve reliability . It seems I can't respond to your post so here is a new post.

I for one use the search facility almost exclusively to look for what I have posted. it is a convenient way to check for responses (arguments) which may appear days after the original post or my response. I fear that without a quick easy means of checking poster's responses threads will just last a matter of hours rather than days at the moment.

So I don't know what your proposed search system is going to be like but i would urge you not to change it. olewill

 

[BrendanS]

Click on show all user posts.
http://www.ybw.com/forums/dosearch.php?C...&fromprof=1

Thought if that faclity goes with forums searches then you are pretty much buggered.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't you use email alerts for all responses to your favourite threads? That way, you get an email including the text (but not image) the instant there is a new post to a thread you are following or contributing to. I don't see how a regular poster can keep track without email alerts. You don't need search for that.

The only problem comes when someone changes the title. For example, this thread is called "Re: A response to Danfoley re forum update." and if someone decides to change the title to "I think that's a good idea..." (pretty typical) then when the email arrives you have a gobbledygook message starting "I think that's a good idea......" and you have no idea what it's about unless you click on the email link, which opens up a completely new ybw browser window, which messes up your cookies so you don't know which threads have posts you've read.

Dan, if you are reading this, and your people are working on the forum, can you get them to stop people from changing the thread title - once the title has been put in by the OP it ought to be fixed (other than by the moderator for any special reason).

 

[pvb]

When you look at the forum index, new responses since your last visit are identified by a number in red in the replies column. Can't you track responses that way? A regular visitor (and I know you are) should have no problem doing that. Or are you only interested in responses to your own posts?

As for changing titles, it seems to be a sensible thing to do as a thread develops and "thread drift" sets in. There's a small enough number of threads here - surely you can keep track?

 

[Anonymous]

Do you use email alerts? If not, you won't really see what I am talking about.

 

[pvb]

Yes, I have used them in the past. I found them rather tiresome. I'm much more interested in what people might have to say in response to others' posts than in response to my own.

 

[ianc1200]

The search facility is very useful. Either for looking something up or ensuring you are not posing a query which was only asked last week (I did this in November-ish re battery storage).

IanC

 

[Anonymous]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, I have used them in the past. I found them rather tiresome. I'm much more interested in what people might have to say in response to others' posts than in response to my own.

[/ QUOTE ]You've misunderstood how they work. If you enable email alerts you get an email every time there is a new post to a thread that is currently one of your 'favourites'. Not just replies to your posts - any new post to that thread.

Maybe they changed it since you last tried it - and I really suggest that you try it now, as a regular user. It makes using the forum very, very much easier.

 

[scarlett]

I would like threads to go in strict time/date order.

I don't mind if someone wants to change the subject.

I would also like a spell checker as I have never seen my own faults.

 

[BrendanS]

You can set that up in your user options (change whether threads are shown by last post or date of original post)


If you want a spell checker, then iespell or google toolbar etc provide that option

 

[scarlett]

Thanks Brendan. I have tried to change my option three times but each time it takes no notice and the spot unchecks itself. Please what am I doing wrong?

But the Google spell checker works well.. Thanks.

 

[BrendanS]

Click on user options at top left. Scroll down and click on the 'edit' button to the right of display preferences.


Scroll down again,
you have the option of Sort threads by: creation date last post date


Click on the button next to last post date.

If you ever enter this area again, it resets, so you have to click last post date each time.

 

[scarlett]

I have followed your advice four times now to no effect. I click submit on the bottom after checking one of the buttons and there is no sorting whichever button I check.

I assume the effect is immediate?

 

[BrendanS]

Yes, it's immediate. If it's really not having any effect whatsoever, hit the notify moderator button, or pm Dan Foley, and let his techies take a look at what is going on behind the scenes

 

[scarlett]

Hi Brendan. I am back in the land of the living. Before I get in touch with DF do I understand the possible edits correctly?

I have two choices ' creation date' which I understand to be the top post is the first post and all subsequent posts to follow.

The other is 'last post date' which I understand puts the last person's post at the top.

What I would like to receive is one or the other but the posts sorted in date and time order so that when I go to a thread I see the last one at the top or the bottom and the previous post above or below it etc. etc.

What I get now is a jumble because people reply to individual posts on the thread so things are all over the place. When one first goes to a post the latest are highlighted in pink but if you leave for some reason and go back all this is lost.

If people want to reply to an individual post in the middle they just need to be specific at the start of their post. This will avoid the situation of having to go back to the post to which they are replying to find out the point the want to support or contradict.

This is it, if not in a nutshell, it. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

What you are looking for is 'flat' and not 'threaded'

 

[scarlett]

Do you mean in the user options 'flat' or 'threaded' option because that doesn't work retrospectively?

 

[Anonymous]

Go to 'display preferences' in the user section and select 'flat mode' and 'collapsed topics' from the drop-down menus. That's how mine is set and it does what I think you are looking for.

 

[scarlett]

Sorry - that doesnt work either.

I have to go to London now [A cheap ticket advance booked train awaits] for a few days now so have to give up for now.

Thanks for your advice and to Brendan.

I'll drop a line to Dan.