[suggestion]topic starter "bring to first post" tool


Recommended Posts

when a thread gets very long, good information tends to be buried deep inside many pages and you often have to search the thread for specific keywords etc to get to the information

assuming that the topic starter keeps track of the progress of the thread, it would be nice if there was a button next to each post available to the topic starter, which would be abit like the normal 'reply' button, except instead of adding a new post, it edits the first post, with the selected post incorporated into the first post...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, the first post can change during the replies of the thread (I understand this may be somewhat your point)

Consider a new thread that starts off: I can't install Windows, and eventually is solved by Hard Drive replace

Although the original problem may look as if software related, it eventually turns to hardware, which can even suggest the original thread was posted in the wrong forum.

The replies are like a book, where through community response the original issue may change or be added to (whilst still on topic) through tangible information, that concludes (or follows on) from the original issue

Your suggestion would break this process of information on how it progressed, and make the original post confusing. This is one reason why Edits are removed after a certain time from posting, to keep the flow.

I also note that a reply is always 1. On topic 2. In response (addition) to the last reply of the thread

Anyway, that's just my thoughts on the suggestion ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your suggestion would break this process of information on how it progressed, and make the original post confusing. This is one reason why Edits are removed after a certain time from posting, to keep the flow.

the thing is, the flow will still be there for those who want to wade through page after page to see it... the posts arent getting deleted just because they are added to the first post... its just that not alot of people want to read through more than maybe 5 pages or something to find what they want... and it is up to the topic starter to choose which posts go into the first post, its kind of like a mod stickying threads...

and if something depends on the flow, like a reply in the context of another post, the topic starter may edit the post appropriately... or maybe just include the post that was replied to, and in turn the earlier posts which led to that post, and track the conversation that way... just like a quote, there will be a 'trackback' button on each incorporated message, so the flow is pretty much preserved...

which can even suggest the original thread was posted in the wrong forum.

for trivial and unimportant issues, like a chance happening of a dead hard drive to the topic starter, i dont think that they will take the trouble to highlight their chosen answer... they'll probably just say thanks in one final post or something after their problem has been solved

I also note that a reply is always 1. On topic 2. In response (addition) to the last reply of the thread

huh? are you really sure about a reply always being on topic? if you go over to the thread about the missing post counts , you will see that isnt the sentiment over there, it is claimed that people tend to post things just to bolster their post count

in fact by highlighting useful posts right in the first post, off-topic posts would become less significant...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wanted to edit above and say 2. In response (or addition) to the last reply of the thread only

As for off topic. Having off topic (post count) posts is a Moderator decision. Normally they should be removed

After reading many threads, I believe the many replies, leading to the last post should remain intact

Although I agree having the relevant answers provided for ease of viewing the thread will help, it will also cause confusion during the thread progress (ie clean it up a year later would help) but not at the time

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wanted to edit above and say 2. In response (or addition) to the last reply of the thread only

As for off topic. Having off topic (post count) posts is a Moderator decision. Normally they should be removed

After reading many threads, I believe the many replies, leading to the last post should remain intact

Although I agree having the relevant answers provided for ease of viewing the thread will help, it will also cause confusion during the thread progress (ie clean it up a year later would help) but not at the time

just curious, are you viewing the forum in linear view or something else? for as long as i have used forums, i have used the linear view... if there are forums which defaulted to a branching view (dunnoe the exact name) i always switch it back to linear because i can just keep scrolling down and i usually memorize who replied to who...

the confusion you talk about can be abated if people properly quote and reply to comments, and that usually is the case because people want to make themselves seem as clear as possible...

Edited by carmatic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh I hate how the TechNet forums default to each reply has a new page to open

I tend to leave most things as default view (except sigs here obviously :D)

So its 20 posts to a page or something (I haven't counted them) with the first post way up there

Do you agree that the thread progress should be left untouched

Although it would be nice that they were cleaned up in the future (I note this can't happen either, as the results can change as technology changes

Anyway, just left as they are

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyway, just left as they are

if i had my way, that would be exactly how the majority of threads will end up, left as they are now... im suggesting an optional feature, not some new mandatory rule or something

or how about your example of the hard disk failure causing windows to not install... assuming that the topic starter has taken the trouble to use the feature, wouldnt it be nice to see , at a glance, that the problem has been solved? most people, if they want to read a book, they will go read a book... and for those people who want to see the forums like reading a book, they can still scroll down...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.