Sorting out pointers and tracking Options

[Wazoo]

root post

[Wazoo]

root post

Use of the Quoted-Reply button - Post #1

[Wazoo]

Use of the Add-Replu button - Post #2

[Wazoo]

Use of the Fast-Reply button - Post #3

[Wazoo]

Multi-Quote - Post $4 includes Root and posts 1-3

root post

Use of the Quoted-Reply button - Post #1

Use of the Add-Replu button - Post #2

Use of the Fast-Reply button - Post #3

[turetzsr]

Multi-Quote - Post $4 includes Root and posts 1-3

...Hey, how'd you do this?

[Wazoo]

Multi-Quote - Post #5 includes Root & Post 1

root post

Use of the Quoted-Reply button - Post #1

[Wazoo]

Multi-Quote - Post #6 .. includes posts 2 & 3

Use of the Add-Replu button - Post #2

Use of the Fast-Reply button - Post #3

[Wazoo]

Quoted-Reply used - timewise, much later in discussion

...Hey, how'd you do this?

Thanks for helping <g>
Using the Quote with the "+" in front of it .... click that button on all posts you want to include in your response (button will turn red) ... when all selected, hit the "Add Reply" button ... new screen has all selected posts showing ...

[turetzsr]

...Hey, how'd you do this?

Thanks for helping <g>
Using the Quote with the "+" in front of it .... click that button on all posts you want to include in your response (button will turn red) ... when all selected, hit the "Add Reply" button ... new screen has all selected posts showing ...

...Yep, figured that out by trying precisely that process in the Test forum! Thanks, this is going to make it a lot easier for me to fashion replies -- I was doing it by copying/pasting first into Windows Notepad, then back into the forum "Enter your post" box. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) <g>

[Wazoo]

Trying to sort out the tracking mechanism in response to the user talking about "threaded view" .... near as I can figure, he must be talking about "Outline" ...

Database used both Topic-ID and Post-ID ... just seeing if I can come up with the sorting/connecting numbers for that view.

[Jank1887]

near as I can figure, he must be talking about "Outline" ...

Yup. that's what I had meant. Sorry for the confusion. Why can't everyone just use the same darn terminology. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Jeff G.]

Jank1887, why do you feel that the Outline/threaded viewing mode gives you a better experence than the Standard/linear viewing mode? I just don't see the attraction.

As a reminder, if any of you see a thread diverging too much from a Topic, please mention that to an Admin or Moderator and we'll probably split that thread off into its own Topic.

Thanks!

[Jank1887]

I never said it was better, or that I use it. In the other conversation ( http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3522 ) where the reply functionality was being discussed, I was commenting on the function of reply buttons under each post and the reply buttons at the bottom of the page. It seems to be IPB's way of being the bastard child of newsgroups and message boards. the per-post reply's seem to maintain the discussion/thread structure like a newsgroup (as the Outline tree will show), while the other reply options simply add the reply to the 'root' of the discussion, effecting a purely chronological listing of replies, and looking like a standard bulletin board. For that reason, the multi-quote becomes necessary, because you lose the thread context of the conversation you were replying to. (i.e., the thread context becomes transparent, and rarely used, but it's still there, and that's why the buttons and option are what they are.)

This post has been edited by Jank1887: Apr 29 2005, 11:51 AM

[Wazoo]

I think I said somewhere (and some have noticed) that I just have this issue with not knowing the answer <g> I can recall Ellen asking eons ago if anyone knew how to use the "threading" here ... no response and it never came up again. The "threaded view" just came up again, I still didn't know what they were talking about, so .. admitting that it took me a while, unfortunately using a multi-screen Topic starter/first post to change "views" which didn't change the display, finally scrolling down far enough to see the 'different' display under the "Outline" mode ...

Rarity of use it must be, as searches for postings over in the IPB support Forums came back with nothing, thus suspecting that asking for input there is going to simply bump me up to eight queries (out of 170+ posts) that garner no answers ... (actually still trying to come up with what I need to ask ... in this bit of testing, the data I was hoping to stumble across isn't showing, thus thinking that I'm back to needing to see the actual run-time file to find the 'threading' convention/link-points involved.) Not that I'm even thinking of trying to change anything, just that it's something I haven't a clue about.

Does it say something that I got a bit excited last week when picking up a MCSE study Guide for Windows-95 for $1.50 USD at a Goodwill outlet? Today, more of that library appeared, so picked up some NT4 and Win-2000 Microsoft Press books for the same price .. only one of them with the included CD package having been opened ... old stuff, but ...

[Jank1887]

I understand the need. my wife often orders me to stop thinking about things (usually out loud) when there's something I haven't figured out yet. An old girlfriend and her mom (yeah, you see where that was going) used to pick on me for never answering 'i don't know' to something, either because I did, or because I would try to figure it out or hypothesize about it instead. Guess it's just the enginerd in me.

anyway, i think most web EZ-board style bulletin boards had no threading convention. So most people just see this as a bulletin board, with no need for Outline and post-specific reply's. Coming off the newsgroup (and anyone who heavily uses google groups can easily see the tree/thread structure) where the threading structure helped maintain context when viewed properly, I can see why the IPB people tried to make a catch-all solution. based on your comments about the confusion with the quoting/reply options, it seems like more harm than good. My opinion: a forum should choose one operation method or the other, as the bulletin board option pretty much renders the threaded option useless. (i.e., hiding the post-specific reply buttons would remove much confusion)

(posted with FastReply)

[Jank1887]

posted after my last fast reply, with the post-specific reply, to your post that commented on goodwill. Outline view should reflect this, while standard will show chronologically. Not sure on the linking structure (should be invisible to me). If you're in Outline mode and look at the URL for a post, or are in standard mode and look at the link (the post # link in the upper right of the post) they're different (mode linear) and not sure if it means anything. Somethings gotta be linked for it to know the list order in the outline summary. And if you click on Jeff G's post in the outline summary, it knows to display the full thread.

And what the heck is linear+ ? (seems to just show post#1 on subsequent pages. maybe works differently for deeper threads?)

finally (sorry to flood your topic) it seems that the post number (upper right #) is relative to your view, but the pid stays fixed. I.e., there are 2 4-deep threads in this topic. If you click either one in outline view, it shows Post 1-4 in each case. (have to remember to not refer to post numbers for previous posts)

This post has been edited by Jank1887: Apr 29 2005, 01:30 PM

[Jeff G.]

it seems that the post number (upper right #) is relative to your view, but the pid stays fixed. I.e., there are 2 4-deep threads in this topic.  If you click either one in outline view, it shows Post 1-4 in each case. (have to remember to not refer to post numbers for previous posts)

You can refer to them as linear post numbers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Wazoo]

Jank1887, you must have started something .... three different posters over in IPB Forum (posting into different Forum sections, I might add .... none of them quite making it to the Power Board Feature Suggestions forum for some reason) have put up a request today for a further modification of the upcoming 2.1 release ... the most 'expanded' request (in the Customer Chat category);

I would like to see a reply to feature so that in the post bar:
XXXXX post Apr 21 2005, 11:25 AM Post #26
would look like this
XXXXX RE:XXXXXXX post Apr 21 2005, 11:25 AM Post #26

Same poster in the Support Forum;

not really. In some longer threads it would be nice to have a drop down menu that lets you select which post you are replying to.

bridgeaddict post Today, 02:35 AM Post #2

so that bar would look like this

bridgeaddict RE:Gratefuljim post Today, 02:35 AM Post #2

Note: possible confusion there might be explained that in the 2.1 Alpha running over there, the "snapback" link (red arrow thing in a quoted post here) has been moved up to that top line - where you see the "Post #26" in the above ... nice in that this kills the extra line and following <BR /> after the link in the quoted portion

[Jank1887]

Jank1887, you must have started something

No doubt, I am a force to be reckoned with.

My suggestion would really be for the forum owner to 'have' to pick either to go with threads or ignore them completely. I.e., either have reply buttons on each post, or a topic reply button. Mixing the two is pointless, since one kills the other.

This post has been edited by Jank1887: May 2 2005, 08:28 AM