News - Forum changes, and your thoughts please!

[AdminFred]

Great forum and great news you’re working to keep improving.

I agree with gasgas and mickjaguar re the latest replies first please when we click on a post. I’ve just scrolled through 38 now on this post to get to the latest reply is a good example.

Keep up the good work. Brilliant forum with brilliant people!

Thank you very much indeed for those remarks, you're very kind..

The scrolling issue is a troubling one: putting the latest, first, sounds like a great solution, but in practice is difficult because it goes against our fundamental expectation that the latest thing is below what went before. We'll work on that, in the knowledge that there's clear benefit in finding a solution. If anyone has examples of a forum where there is a good <latest, first> presentation, please link here, or DM me.

[AdminFred]

Whilst I agree eith the sentiment, stopping sponsors being blatant is likely to be only done with moderation rather than automated.

Maybe at least insisting sponsors and companies should be clear in their signature that they are a company will mean we can differentiate between a fellow contributor recommending something and a company promoting their product

Thanks for that very sensible suggestion. My concern, and it's not restricted to your remarks, is that there is an undercurrent here which might revolve around thinking that professional contributors do/would come here only to push their commercial agendas. Would it not be good to have dealers, technicians, and others who will share their experience and expertise, which sometimes will reflect their business practice, but will often simply add value?

[scm]

I agree with gasgas and mickjaguar re the latest replies first please when we click on a post. I’ve just scrolled through 38 now on this post to get to the latest reply is a good example.

If you click the red icon at the left of the thread subject it takes you staight to the first unread post! Or click the icon next to the last poster's name on the thread page to take you to the last post.

[AdminFred]

I agree with gasgas and mickjaguar re the latest replies first please when we click on a post. I’ve just scrolled through 38 now on this post to get to the latest reply is a good example.

If you click the red icon at the left of the thread subject it takes you staight to the first unread post! Or click the icon next to the last poster's name on the thread page to take you to the last post.

I think this thread suggests that while that functionality is certainly there at present, it isn't user-friendly enough to be a solution. The mere act of clicking, may be too much to ask, and presenting the latest first would be a better solution, if we can make it work... Conversely it occurs to me that for those who dip in and out infrequently, it may be better to read back in to a discussion rather than just seeing the very latest material? Hmmm...

[Moss]

I agree with gasgas and mickjaguar re the latest replies first please when we click on a post. I’ve just scrolled through 38 now on this post to get to the latest reply is a good example.

If you click the red icon at the left of the thread subject it takes you staight to the first unread post! Or click the icon next to the last poster's name on the thread page to take you to the last post.

I think this thread suggests that while that functionality is certainly there at present, it isn't user-friendly enough to be a solution. The mere act of clicking, may be too much to ask, and presenting the latest first would be a better solution, if we can make it work... Conversely it occurs to me that for those who dip in and out infrequently, it may be better to read back in to a discussion rather than just seeing the very latest material? Hmmm...

You need posts in chronological descending order (most recent post at the end) for them to make any sense, IMHO.
That’s the way most peoples brains work?
The prospect of some readers not reading through a series of posts, for whatever reason, shouldn’t mean bringing disorder to the natural flow of a thread’s posts.
IIRC the American “jaguarforums” reads “backwards”, and it’s dreadful.

[scm]

Conversely it occurs to me that for those who dip in and out infrequently, it may be better to read back in to a discussion rather than just seeing the very latest material? Hmmm...

Yeah, latest material should be based on individual users, so they can catch up on what they've missed, in chronological order. Like this one provides now.

And a bit of clicking is sensible - you see the main page, you click on the section you want to read (seeing which have new posts), click on each thread of interest (using the icon to take you to your first unread one), and read away!

[MArtyn Veg]

I agree with gasgas and mickjaguar re the latest replies first please when we click on a post. I’ve just scrolled through 38 now on this post to get to the latest reply is a good example.

If you click the red icon at the left of the thread subject it takes you staight to the first unread post! Or click the icon next to the last poster's name on the thread page to take you to the last post.

Yes that works. Thanks scm. I now have a choice, start at the beginning of a thread or catch up with the latest reply if I’ve already contributed to the thread.
Still think the default should be the latest reply first though!

[NavigatorNI]

I think the way it works at the moment, ie. the red icon taking you to the first unread post, actually works well. The issue for me was that I didn't know about the feature until someone kindly pointed it out. So maybe having a "hints & tips for forum users" section somewhere might be beneficial, especially for those who aren't very tech savvy.

[AdminFred]

I think the way it works at the moment, ie. the red icon taking you to the first unread post, actually works well. The issue for me was that I didn't know about the feature until someone kindly pointed it out. So maybe having a "hints & tips for forum users" section somewhere might be beneficial, especially for those who aren't very tech savvy.

Thank you for that excellent suggestion. We'll definitely incorporate it, with prominence.

[NavigatorNI]

Btw, in case it wasn't clear, like Moss & Scm I prefer the posts in chronological order too. Looks like we've got a divergence of opinion already