Posts

We're always open to suggestions for improving the site. I have updated the author pane to include the following:

• Online/Offline status
• Join date
• Number of posts

As for the homeport, is this a User profile page, or a My Account Dashboard? I have added a new Dropdown menu on the top right hand corner of the page. The submenu items are Dashboard, Messages, View/Edit, & Logout. Click on Dashboard to view the new Dashboard. I built some views blocks in there to show... well, to show items that I thought would be useful on a dashboard. I also changed the redirect destination upon successful login. When you log in from the Home Page, you will now be taken directly to your dashboard. If you log in from any other page, you will be redirected back to the page you were viewing prior to logging in.

I'll also provide a link here to the Dashboard, it is http://www.blackfinforums.net/dashboard . The link to view your PMs is http://www.blackfinforums.net/messages .

For a Profile page, the other day I allowed for adding some additional user information, such as web addresses, real name, and a biography. If you fill these out, they will appear on your profile page.

I'm gonna transfer my 1800+ posts from www.blackfinowners.com this site here. www.blackfinforums.net is the best blackfin boat owners site ever. So anyone needing information about a blackfin boat needs to be on www.blackfinforums.net. One stop for all your blackfin boat wiring diagrams, blackfin parts, blackfin rondevous, and blackfin mikey. Google This

Google what?????

Well Keith he just tied you again

SeaSon Ticket wrote:

I noticed something else today. If you quote someone in a thread, it moves your post to the area of the thread where it was quoted from. In other words, let's say a thread is six pages long and you never responded to it. Now,you read the thread and quote the poster on the third page, your post will appear appear on the third page , not at the end, kinda weird.

For example,look here:  http://www.blackfinforums.net/content/blackfin-threads-tht

Look at Post #5 and notice the date: Tue, 08/30/2011 - 18:36

Now look at Post #6 and notice the date: Sat, 08/20/2011 - 21:53

I just think if you respond half way thru a topic, your comment may never get read.

IDK about you, but I usually check the end of a thread for new responses.

 

Just my $0.02

This is there by design. The forum uses message threading. You will notice how comments in response to comments are indented. You can either use the "Quick Reply" button, or the "Add new comment" form to reply to the topic as a whole. Otherwise, you can reply to an individual comment by clicking on the "reply" button or "quote" link on that individual comment. Keep in mind that you may also use the BBCode quote syntax. Note: I have changed the "reply" button on comments to "reply to this", to help make sense of the difference.

The basic structure of threaded messages are as follows

Topic

• Comment A ( response to Topic )
• Comment B ( response to Topic )
  • Comment C ( response to Comment B )
  • Comment D ( response to Comment B )
  • Comment E ( response to Comment B )
    • Comment F ( response to Comment E )
      • Comment G ( response to Comment F )
    • Comment H ( response to Comment E )
  • Comment I ( response to Comment B )
  • Comment J ( response to Comment B )
• Comment K ( response to Topic )

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using this style of thread. You have already pointed out the greatest disadvantage.

Advantages

1. The reader can easily understand the structure of the conversation, such as who is replying to whom.
2. Since responses are made to specific posts, they are also seen as being a reply to an individual. This makes long conversations or debates much easier to follow. Without this feature, it becomes increasingly difficult to follow a conversation.
3. It can, in most cases, eliminate the need for the "quote" method. Since we already know who you are replying to. The only need for quote is if you only want to address a limited excerpt of another's post.

Disadvantages

1. Comments will not be listed in chronological order. Newest posts will not always appear last. This was already pointed out.
2. Some argue that since messages can be replied to individually, it can lead to more confrontational style debating.

The site can use either threaded comments or traditional flat comments. I'd like to get more input from the members before we make a change. I can make the switch for you guys to preview if you would like.

I prefer the threaded list, but you guys already know that. I got a voicemail from Mike, who prefers the flat messages. He said that no other forums use threaded lists. vBulletin, which the blackfinowners web site ran on, does have threading, but the admin must have turned it off. I thought I would provide some examples.

Threaded:

• Disqus commenting software, which is used by the following:
  • CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/31/libya.war/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
  • Time Magazine: http://swampland.time.com/2011/08/31/department-of-im-an-idiot-a-solar-company-goes-bust/
  • Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/31/hospital-admits-mistake-after-teen-left-paralyzed/?test=latestnews#comment
  • Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/31/htc-pushes-a-windows-phone-through-fcc-mango-launch-close-at-ha/
  • HollywoodReporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-seagal-arrives-police-bust-170626
• Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/k083x/us_files_antitrust_suit_to_block_the_atttmobile/
• Slashdot: http://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/08/31/1445203/Sixteen-Years-Later-GNU-Still-Needs-An-Extension-Language
• Digg: http://digg.com/news/business/us_government_files_to_block_proposed_at_t_t_mobile_merger

Comment threading is somewhat new, and some software, such as phpBB, do not support it yet.

For now, I have turned of the threaded comment view, in favor of the flat list.

Familiararity is a comforting thing sometimes...