Hot Topics and Pinned Topics

[Grand Maester]

Who decides what constitutes a hot topic and what should be pinned to the top of a forum page?

[gigapixels Veteran]

Hot topics are automatically determined by the number of replies in the thread.

Topics may be pinned by staff members. They are only used for important or very popular topics that should stay in view all the time.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Dude, seriously, read the FAQ & Community Rules

[+shift. MVC]

Speaking of which on the new Finity theme, the point at which the newest topic is shown, and where the pinned topics are located could be more obvious and pronounced.

[Green_Eye]

Speaking of which on the new Finity theme, the point at which the newest topic is shown, and where the pinned topics are located could be more obvious and pronounced.

Agreed.

Back to how it was before plzkthxbai! :p

[Joel]

Speaking of which on the new Finity theme, the point at which the newest topic is shown, and where the pinned topics are located could be more obvious and pronounced.

You mean besides the text that says PINNED and the icon that indicates it's pinned, you need more?

[+shift. MVC]

Here's what I mean.

Shift:

Versus...

Finity:

Notice how the titles for "Important Topics" and "Forum Topics" are gone.

Not that I need more necessarily, but it's the fact that it was there on Shift, and seems to have disappeared on Finity.

[Joel]

I know what's gone. I'm saying with all the other indicators, why do anyone need that header?

[.KICK]

I know what's gone. I'm saying with all the other indicators, why do anyone need that header?

This is because even with the indicators its still not easy to determine which is which. The way it was before was much better.

[Ironman273]

I agree it should be more pronounced.

[Wannes]

I know what's gone. I'm saying with all the other indicators, why do anyone need that header?

I understand that the current situation is more elegant but it just doesn't jump to the eye while the other header did. On the other hand, this is just a recent change and most of us still have to get used to it.

[.KICK]

Any chance of this happening or not? I am still finding it annoying and not practical.

[what]

Any chance of this happening or not? I am still finding it annoying and not practical.

No chance. When I argued it in the announcement thread I was told they were going to leave it in the current, less usable format, and for some reason a number of regular members agreed with it.

[.KICK]

No chance. When I argued it in the announcement thread I was told they were going to leave it in the current, less usable format, and for some reason a number of regular members agreed with it.

That's a shame. I am all for a new design but literally gutting out tiny things that do make viewing the forums easier usability wise doesn't make sense. :(

[Joel]

No chance. When I argued it in the announcement thread I was told they were going to leave it in the current, less usable format, and for some reason a number of regular members agreed with it.

What makes it "less usable"? By definition, that would mean that some functionality that previously existed that made the board easier to use is no longer there. It doesn't really count if you KNOW something is there, but choose to ignore it in favour of complaining.

And have you ever been to a vBulletin forum?

[i_was_here]

"what" posted an example of a vBulletin forum that does have a divider:

http://www.totalgamingnetwork.com/main/for...splay.php?f=554

Its not labeled but it much more obvious than just looking at the tiny icon or the word "pinned".

[Joel]

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=149

Standard skin.

[i_was_here]

Yes I know. But Neowin uses IPB not vBulletin, and IPB (default) does use the headers.

[.KICK]

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=149

Standard skin.

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /forum/forumdisplay.php on this server.

IPB by default has those dividers, your point doesn't seem to making any point at all :s

[Joel]

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /forum/forumdisplay.php on this server.

IPB by default has those dividers, your point doesn't seem to making any point at all :s

My point is that people who don't visit Neowin seem to be able to handle the signals from their brain that process pinned icons and indicator text when they visit other boards, without having yet another visual cue as to where pinned threads stop and other threads begin. Are you saying we're incapable of doing that?

[Grand Maester]

This is because even with the indicators its still not easy to determine which is which. The way it was before was much better.

I don't know, I guess maybe it was better before, but I think it's fine, if Neobond & Co. want to do it, I don't see the big deal.

[what]

If there are vBulletin forums out there that are purposefully adding the dividing bars then there must be a good reason for it. It's just easier. I don't understand why, if a number of people think that a simple change could make such a huge improvement, you're so against going ahead with it. Precisely what was wrong with having the bars on the old themes? Did anyone complain about it wasting 15 pixels? You mentioned in the old thread that it makes people read the pinned threads. It doesn't, instead people are looking around the screen more than they should have to to find the threads they are interested in. You only need to read the stickies once, no need to make them more difficult to see past quickly. Nothing on the Finity forum theme is any more functional than Shift so it can only be seen as a downgrade so far.

[Joel]

You mentioned in the old thread that it makes people read the pinned threads.

No, I said it makes people NOTICE the stickies. And it obviously does, because you're saying you can't see past them.

[+shift. MVC]

Maybe instead of adding headers then is it possible to make the "Pinned" text bolded? Or maybe in a bigger size or even all in capitalized letters; anything to make it stand out just a bit more.

Funny thing is, when I look at that vBulletin example, it's perfectly fine; but when I come back to Neowin, the transition doesn't seem to be as clear.

[Matrix XII]

This is because even with the indicators its still not easy to determine which is which. The way it was before was much better.

+1

It also makes the forum look more organized.