How do moderators discuss change?

[davesimmons]

Hi all,

Found your forum a good couple of months ago and have never looked back. Is really a great community of people and have had some excellent advice and really appreciate it.

Just wondered whether any changes were in the pipelines? The only thing that slightly irks me is that popular posts do not get placed at the top of the forum every time someone posts anew. Does this bother anyone else or am I alone? Sometimes you have to go through pages of posts to find threads which have ongoing comments that are up to date and very interesting.

Only a thought and do not want to cause uproar with the regulars!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[ari]

You are absolutely right and I've mentioned this several times.

The stock answer is that it is "user selectable" so you can set it up that way.

However that's even more useless as you now have different users using the forum is totally different ways.

This is the only forum I've found on the net that doesn't put a replied to post back to the top as default setting and it is so frustrating.

It mean that if you're away a couple of days and then spot a thread you can contribute to, if it's off the front page there's no point cos most people see it.

And it means that if someone wants to refer back to a previous topic they have to start a new thread so people will see it so you can end up with one topic spread over three or four threads.

Just doesn't work properly but no one seems willing to change it.

 

[gandy]

In your "User Options", goto "Display Preferences" and you can set it to sort by last post date instead of creation date. That should do what you want. Of course it only works when you're logged in.

 

[ari]

And most people don't have it selected so if he does reply to a three day old post only a tiny number of people will see it.

 

[davesimmons]

I wonder how hard it would be to change or whether there is any particular reason for not doing so? i.e. wanting new subjects all the time rather than old ones cluttering up the first page?

 

[Lakesailor]

You post about this a lot.
I can't see what the problem is. It's a once only choice to make.
I've never had to do it again. I have booked-marked the main page and when I choose it I am logged in as my cookies recognise me.

 

[ari]

I do post about this a lot you're right, because it is so frustrating that it's user selectable but does not default to that as stanndard.

Sure, you can (and have) changed it. But you go and add an update a post you made a fortnight ago (say for example you'd asked for help with an overheat problem and were posting the result of suggestions you'd tried a fortnight later) and you'll see it back at the top, as will others who've changed their preferences.

But hardly anyone will see it as the majority of people won't have this setting active (or even know it exists!).

So the only way you can be sure that people see it is to post another thread on exactly the subject of an existing thread (which then of course will have non of the original posts in to reference to). Which is what everyone does of course.

It's daft and it stops the flow of information dead.

 

[ari]

In fact, try it. Find a post you made a fortnight ago and add to it, see how many responses you get. It'll be very few if any as the majority of people simply will never see it.

 

[rickp]

I bet IPC could tell us how many of the registered users have the option turned on. Be interesting to know....

Rick

 

[davesimmons]

IMO I have to agree with Ari - I have been on the forum for 6 months now and this is the first I have heard of this option. I have now turned it on however for a new user this is not an option I would actively look for.

Again only a small point from my perspective but surely anything to make the forum a more fun and lively place of discussion would be a benefit to everybody.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Well I prefer it the way it is. I'm not quite sure why you should want popular threads to remain at the top because that means you might miss less popular ones which you might have replied to

 

[davesimmons]

True - but the name "popular" implies that more people have taken an interest in it and would be equally interested in monitoring that thread.

Anyway only an idea /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Oooh, you can't say that sort of thing in the UK these days. My minority interest, however stupid, is just as valid as the majority's interest and should receive equal priority or my human rights are being infringed /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[l'escargot]

[ QUOTE ]
And most people don't have it selected ...

[/ QUOTE ]
How do you know that then?

I woud think "most" people on here belong to other forums and if those "most " people prefer dateslip on, like on those other forums, they would have changed their settings on this forum to their preference. So it is more probabable that "most" people do have it selected. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Lakesailor]

How difficult is it?

 

[Lakesailor]

Anyone tried messaging Dan about this?

 

[ari]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
And most people don't have it selected ...

[/ QUOTE ]
How do you know that then?

I woud think "most" people on here belong to other forums and if those "most " people prefer dateslip on, like on those other forums, they would have changed their settings on this forum to their preference. So it is more probabable that "most" people do have it selected. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree that most users are experts or necessarily use other forums.

And I know simply by judging the response to older posts. Anything off the first or second page, forget it, no point responding because no one will see it (easily witnessed by the complete lack of replies compared to responses made to posts on the first page).

And I'll bet you anything the majority of people don't have it selected (be interesting to see if a Mod could tell us this).

 

[ari]

[ QUOTE ]
How difficult is it?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's dead easy if you know it's there and how it works.

Look at the first post in this thread, do you think he did..? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Most people have no idea of options or seek to change them. They just want it to work and assume it'll have been configured to optimum usage from the off, which is fair enough.

 

[ari]

[ QUOTE ]
Well I prefer it the way it is. I'm not quite sure why you should want popular threads to remain at the top because that means you might miss less popular ones which you might have replied to

[/ QUOTE ]

But if you've replied to it, it'll be at the top won't it?

And if someone else then replies to your post back to the top it goes. If they don't then there's nothing to read anyway.

There is the beauty of it. Active posts stay where you can see them, and inactive ones (maybe a question quickly answered with no more needing to be said) quickly sink.

And when you log on, all of the posts answered since you were last here are neatly stacked for you, rather than having to search through ten pages in case someone replied to something nine pages back.

 

[Lakesailor]

So. Have you PM'd Dan for his opinion?