There are Times...
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...when I really hate the CP forum style. I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file, and every time I want to post additional info (in the asp.net forum), I have to scroll five or more pages to get back to my original message. That's not the worst part, though... The problem is that nobody will know that a new reply has been posted because message threads with new entries don't bubble back to the top. Therefore, it's a complete waste of time to update a thread that's not still in the latest 25 new threads because nobody will see it. Starting a new thread is a) redundant, and b) even more time consuming because you have to start all over again with all of the info from the old thread. THIS is the primary reason I've started searching google for answers long before asking on CP. I've spent three days in google, and posted two messages here on CP (for the reasons cited above), and I still don't have an answer, so I'm just a bit annoyed - nay - pissed off - about CP's completely useless forum threading model. I know Chris et al are working on something new, and I truly appreciate the effort they put into CP, but that doesn't help me *now*. I keep saying it, but a number of the regulars here keep poo-pooing it, but we need a forum module that provides features similar to phpBB. I'm seriously considering creating an article that describes the problem and request feedback via the article's forum, even though I consider that to be an abuse of the article submission system.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
...when I really hate the CP forum style. I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file, and every time I want to post additional info (in the asp.net forum), I have to scroll five or more pages to get back to my original message. That's not the worst part, though... The problem is that nobody will know that a new reply has been posted because message threads with new entries don't bubble back to the top. Therefore, it's a complete waste of time to update a thread that's not still in the latest 25 new threads because nobody will see it. Starting a new thread is a) redundant, and b) even more time consuming because you have to start all over again with all of the info from the old thread. THIS is the primary reason I've started searching google for answers long before asking on CP. I've spent three days in google, and posted two messages here on CP (for the reasons cited above), and I still don't have an answer, so I'm just a bit annoyed - nay - pissed off - about CP's completely useless forum threading model. I know Chris et al are working on something new, and I truly appreciate the effort they put into CP, but that doesn't help me *now*. I keep saying it, but a number of the regulars here keep poo-pooing it, but we need a forum module that provides features similar to phpBB. I'm seriously considering creating an article that describes the problem and request feedback via the article's forum, even though I consider that to be an abuse of the article submission system.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001I'd agree that at times a system that 'bumps' based on new replies may be nice, but I think a better solution would be if the 'show unanswered questions' link could show questions that had not been marked as answered, instead of questions with no replies at all. The main problem, IMO, is that there's a constant flood of easy questions, and then a lot of those get tons of replies, all basically saying the same thing, which fills the forum. Perhaps we need a feature aside from post voting that says 'this was the right answer', which then disallows responses. Trouble is, no-one would use it, and a lot of the time, people get answers that work, but create bad code, I often respond to questions and have to fight to get the OP to listen to me because they are drawn to an option that seems easier than what I am saying, but results in bad code.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )
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...when I really hate the CP forum style. I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file, and every time I want to post additional info (in the asp.net forum), I have to scroll five or more pages to get back to my original message. That's not the worst part, though... The problem is that nobody will know that a new reply has been posted because message threads with new entries don't bubble back to the top. Therefore, it's a complete waste of time to update a thread that's not still in the latest 25 new threads because nobody will see it. Starting a new thread is a) redundant, and b) even more time consuming because you have to start all over again with all of the info from the old thread. THIS is the primary reason I've started searching google for answers long before asking on CP. I've spent three days in google, and posted two messages here on CP (for the reasons cited above), and I still don't have an answer, so I'm just a bit annoyed - nay - pissed off - about CP's completely useless forum threading model. I know Chris et al are working on something new, and I truly appreciate the effort they put into CP, but that doesn't help me *now*. I keep saying it, but a number of the regulars here keep poo-pooing it, but we need a forum module that provides features similar to phpBB. I'm seriously considering creating an article that describes the problem and request feedback via the article's forum, even though I consider that to be an abuse of the article submission system.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file,
I replied for that. Was that helpful ?
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...when I really hate the CP forum style. I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file, and every time I want to post additional info (in the asp.net forum), I have to scroll five or more pages to get back to my original message. That's not the worst part, though... The problem is that nobody will know that a new reply has been posted because message threads with new entries don't bubble back to the top. Therefore, it's a complete waste of time to update a thread that's not still in the latest 25 new threads because nobody will see it. Starting a new thread is a) redundant, and b) even more time consuming because you have to start all over again with all of the info from the old thread. THIS is the primary reason I've started searching google for answers long before asking on CP. I've spent three days in google, and posted two messages here on CP (for the reasons cited above), and I still don't have an answer, so I'm just a bit annoyed - nay - pissed off - about CP's completely useless forum threading model. I know Chris et al are working on something new, and I truly appreciate the effort they put into CP, but that doesn't help me *now*. I keep saying it, but a number of the regulars here keep poo-pooing it, but we need a forum module that provides features similar to phpBB. I'm seriously considering creating an article that describes the problem and request feedback via the article's forum, even though I consider that to be an abuse of the article submission system.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001In http://forums.asp.net/[^], I think, when a new thread is posted to a discussion, it automatically bubbles up to the top. Perhaps something similar to that should be addressing this problem. Isn't it? But can a CP Admin move these discussion threads ("
There are Times...
") to Suggestions/Bug Reports forum? That way, it would be easier for Chris and Co. also to keep track of the reports.Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips
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In http://forums.asp.net/[^], I think, when a new thread is posted to a discussion, it automatically bubbles up to the top. Perhaps something similar to that should be addressing this problem. Isn't it? But can a CP Admin move these discussion threads ("
There are Times...
") to Suggestions/Bug Reports forum? That way, it would be easier for Chris and Co. also to keep track of the reports.Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips
This has been an issue that has been subjected to discussion before. And the opinions of the CPians were shared. Some liked the current behavior of the forums others didn't, suggestions for made for mixed ones, that could be configurable, but this isn't something that can be done on the fly and takes time.
Cheers, Mircea "Pay people peanuts and you get monkeys" - David Ogilvy
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I'd agree that at times a system that 'bumps' based on new replies may be nice, but I think a better solution would be if the 'show unanswered questions' link could show questions that had not been marked as answered, instead of questions with no replies at all. The main problem, IMO, is that there's a constant flood of easy questions, and then a lot of those get tons of replies, all basically saying the same thing, which fills the forum. Perhaps we need a feature aside from post voting that says 'this was the right answer', which then disallows responses. Trouble is, no-one would use it, and a lot of the time, people get answers that work, but create bad code, I often respond to questions and have to fight to get the OP to listen to me because they are drawn to an option that seems easier than what I am saying, but results in bad code.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )
Christian Graus wrote:
but I think a better solution would be if the 'show unanswered questions' link could show questions that had not been marked as answered
Just try getting people to use something like that. I think it should be up to the original poster to keep his unanswered question at the top of the pile. There could be a button labeled "Bump" (only visible to the original poster) that would put the message back at the top of the message pile. This button could also be made to only be visible to the OP 24 hours after the message was posted (or after the most recent "bump"), and if there are no replies after say, 2 weeks, completely disabled. This would allow the thread to die a natural death. The functionality I just described would a) allow a thread to be visible for a longer period, b) prevent abuse by non-OPs (not allowing them to bump threads they don't own), c) prevent abuse by the OP (not allowing hourly bumps), d) require the OP to keep the thread at the top (requiring the OP to make the effort to stay at the top instead of requiring the site itself to manage the thread's status), and d) allow the thread to remain active, but not be bumpable after a given time frame. Also having a button to mark the thread as "solved" would be a nice touch, and even having the site email someone when a thread attains a certain age and that has replies, but is not marked as "solved", to remind them to do their part and help keep the thread up to date as to its status. If the thread reaches a certain age after that notification to the OP, it is locked and can no longer be responded to, and none of the messages associated with that thread can be edited.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file,
I replied for that. Was that helpful ?
If it was, I would have voted your message a five. Besides, just responding to you five or more pages below the newest message would have been pointless because it's no longer on EVERYONE's radar. The more people that read it, the more likely it is someone will have an answer. This is not to mean that your help is worthless, I just want everyone to see the thread. More eyes = more ideas.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
In http://forums.asp.net/[^], I think, when a new thread is posted to a discussion, it automatically bubbles up to the top. Perhaps something similar to that should be addressing this problem. Isn't it? But can a CP Admin move these discussion threads ("
There are Times...
") to Suggestions/Bug Reports forum? That way, it would be easier for Chris and Co. also to keep track of the reports.Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar wrote:
But can a CP Admin move these discussion threads ("There are Times...") to Suggestions/Bug Reports forum? That way, it would be easier for Chris and Co. also to keep track of the reports.
I posted this in the lounge because I'm annoyed. It's not meant to be a suggestion thread, and I don't want it moved. Chris is already aware of my feelings regarding the forum structure and functionality. I see no need to harp on him about it - it would just annoy everyone involved. I'm just venting, mostly because there doesn't appear to be an answer to my problem, and secondly because it brings to the forefront the problems I have with CPs forum functionality.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
Christian Graus wrote:
but I think a better solution would be if the 'show unanswered questions' link could show questions that had not been marked as answered
Just try getting people to use something like that. I think it should be up to the original poster to keep his unanswered question at the top of the pile. There could be a button labeled "Bump" (only visible to the original poster) that would put the message back at the top of the message pile. This button could also be made to only be visible to the OP 24 hours after the message was posted (or after the most recent "bump"), and if there are no replies after say, 2 weeks, completely disabled. This would allow the thread to die a natural death. The functionality I just described would a) allow a thread to be visible for a longer period, b) prevent abuse by non-OPs (not allowing them to bump threads they don't own), c) prevent abuse by the OP (not allowing hourly bumps), d) require the OP to keep the thread at the top (requiring the OP to make the effort to stay at the top instead of requiring the site itself to manage the thread's status), and d) allow the thread to remain active, but not be bumpable after a given time frame. Also having a button to mark the thread as "solved" would be a nice touch, and even having the site email someone when a thread attains a certain age and that has replies, but is not marked as "solved", to remind them to do their part and help keep the thread up to date as to its status. If the thread reaches a certain age after that notification to the OP, it is locked and can no longer be responded to, and none of the messages associated with that thread can be edited.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
I think it should be up to the original poster to keep his unanswered question at the top of the pile. There could be a button labeled "Bump" (only visible to the original poster) that would put the message back at the top of the message pile.
And how this would be abused with the pointless postings as well as the valuable ones. Sometimes these threads are being allowed to die for a reason.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
I think it should be up to the original poster to keep his unanswered question at the top of the pile. There could be a button labeled "Bump" (only visible to the original poster) that would put the message back at the top of the message pile.
And how this would be abused with the pointless postings as well as the valuable ones. Sometimes these threads are being allowed to die for a reason.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
This "bump" system would not be active for the lounge or soapbox (and forums of that ilk), and could also only be available if the thread falls below the 25 newest thread, regardless of the thread's age. No matter what's implemented, it will probably be abused to a point, but providing the limits I suggested would mitigate the problem yet make the forums 1000% more usable for developers with a programming question. I don't understand why more people can't seem to make the mental leap.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
Christian Graus wrote:
but I think a better solution would be if the 'show unanswered questions' link could show questions that had not been marked as answered
Just try getting people to use something like that. I think it should be up to the original poster to keep his unanswered question at the top of the pile. There could be a button labeled "Bump" (only visible to the original poster) that would put the message back at the top of the message pile. This button could also be made to only be visible to the OP 24 hours after the message was posted (or after the most recent "bump"), and if there are no replies after say, 2 weeks, completely disabled. This would allow the thread to die a natural death. The functionality I just described would a) allow a thread to be visible for a longer period, b) prevent abuse by non-OPs (not allowing them to bump threads they don't own), c) prevent abuse by the OP (not allowing hourly bumps), d) require the OP to keep the thread at the top (requiring the OP to make the effort to stay at the top instead of requiring the site itself to manage the thread's status), and d) allow the thread to remain active, but not be bumpable after a given time frame. Also having a button to mark the thread as "solved" would be a nice touch, and even having the site email someone when a thread attains a certain age and that has replies, but is not marked as "solved", to remind them to do their part and help keep the thread up to date as to its status. If the thread reaches a certain age after that notification to the OP, it is locked and can no longer be responded to, and none of the messages associated with that thread can be edited.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Just try getting people to use something like that.
Yes, I agree.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
that would put the message back at the top of the message pile.
Do you visit the forums much ? How often do people post a question within 20 minutes, and htere's only 3 questions above the last tme they asked ? Such a system would be abused and no-one would be able to find any thread, they would change everytime you loaded the page.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
This button could also be made to only be visible to the OP 24 hours after the message was posted
OK, that may work.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
that has replies, but is not marked as "solved", to remind them to do their part and help keep the thread up to date as to its status.
The MSDN site emails/messages me all the time. I hate it. I ask a WPF question four or five times ( in the course of a week or two ) before I get a response. Bumping threads doesn't work, once there are replies, less people look at it, even if it's not marked answered. I hate being prompted to mark an answer on threads that I got only nonsense replies to. Some of what you're saying has merit, I guess the thing is, more than anything, you're suggesting a fair amount of work to make things move in a particular direction that probably sounds good, but may raise as many issues as it solves. I mean, nothing can change the flood of questions we get, or the fact that more complex questions tend to get easily lost nowadays. I don't mind reposting a question, I can find my questions from my message history quick enough, and just paste them back in and then add a comment or two.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Just try getting people to use something like that.
Yes, I agree.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
that would put the message back at the top of the message pile.
Do you visit the forums much ? How often do people post a question within 20 minutes, and htere's only 3 questions above the last tme they asked ? Such a system would be abused and no-one would be able to find any thread, they would change everytime you loaded the page.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
This button could also be made to only be visible to the OP 24 hours after the message was posted
OK, that may work.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
that has replies, but is not marked as "solved", to remind them to do their part and help keep the thread up to date as to its status.
The MSDN site emails/messages me all the time. I hate it. I ask a WPF question four or five times ( in the course of a week or two ) before I get a response. Bumping threads doesn't work, once there are replies, less people look at it, even if it's not marked answered. I hate being prompted to mark an answer on threads that I got only nonsense replies to. Some of what you're saying has merit, I guess the thing is, more than anything, you're suggesting a fair amount of work to make things move in a particular direction that probably sounds good, but may raise as many issues as it solves. I mean, nothing can change the flood of questions we get, or the fact that more complex questions tend to get easily lost nowadays. I don't mind reposting a question, I can find my questions from my message history quick enough, and just paste them back in and then add a comment or two.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )
Well, I still think posting the question *again* artificially (and needlessly) causes more space to be used up by the database, causes message searches to take just that much longer, and essentially looses all of the previous replies, thereby causing duplications of those wrong replies by others that didnt' see/participate in the old thread. The current system is chock full of inefficiency in almost every conceivable way. Adding some functionality that eliminates some of this inefficiency would go a long way towards usability.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
This "bump" system would not be active for the lounge or soapbox (and forums of that ilk), and could also only be available if the thread falls below the 25 newest thread, regardless of the thread's age. No matter what's implemented, it will probably be abused to a point, but providing the limits I suggested would mitigate the problem yet make the forums 1000% more usable for developers with a programming question. I don't understand why more people can't seem to make the mental leap.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001I understand the concept, I just think that idiots will abuse it. That's not to say I don't think it has merit, just that it would need to be monitored carefully. Possibly an administrator might need to be able to mark a thread as "none-bumpable".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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I understand the concept, I just think that idiots will abuse it. That's not to say I don't think it has merit, just that it would need to be monitored carefully. Possibly an administrator might need to be able to mark a thread as "none-bumpable".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
That's what the age restrictions are for - no need to bother a human about it. If it's been 24 hours since the thread was started (or last bumped) AND (new) the thread is not one of the 25 most recent posted messages, the OP can bump it. This can happen for x number of days (up to the site admin, and seven days may be a good starting point). I guess if the OP then starts posting "bump" replies, a platinum member or the site admin could lock the thread so that no further replies can be made, thereby keeping the message from further bubbling to the top. Coupled with a decently thought-out abuse prevent module, a user could be suspended from posting messages for a given amount of time.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
That's what the age restrictions are for - no need to bother a human about it. If it's been 24 hours since the thread was started (or last bumped) AND (new) the thread is not one of the 25 most recent posted messages, the OP can bump it. This can happen for x number of days (up to the site admin, and seven days may be a good starting point). I guess if the OP then starts posting "bump" replies, a platinum member or the site admin could lock the thread so that no further replies can be made, thereby keeping the message from further bubbling to the top. Coupled with a decently thought-out abuse prevent module, a user could be suspended from posting messages for a given amount of time.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
I guess if the OP then starts posting "bump" replies, a platinum member or the site admin could lock the thread so that no further replies can be made
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Coupled with a decently thought-out abuse prevent module, a user could be suspended from posting messages for a given amount of time.
That's what I was talking about. Although maybe the abuse system could be used to mark the thread as unbumpable (I'm having fun with variations of the word bump here) - enough people voting the bump as abuse or the vote for the thread being below a certain threshold and the thread can't be bumped anymore.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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I'd agree that at times a system that 'bumps' based on new replies may be nice, but I think a better solution would be if the 'show unanswered questions' link could show questions that had not been marked as answered, instead of questions with no replies at all. The main problem, IMO, is that there's a constant flood of easy questions, and then a lot of those get tons of replies, all basically saying the same thing, which fills the forum. Perhaps we need a feature aside from post voting that says 'this was the right answer', which then disallows responses. Trouble is, no-one would use it, and a lot of the time, people get answers that work, but create bad code, I often respond to questions and have to fight to get the OP to listen to me because they are drawn to an option that seems easier than what I am saying, but results in bad code.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )
Maybe something better would be a feature like "My threads..." which only shows all threads that I have participated in?
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...when I really hate the CP forum style. I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file, and every time I want to post additional info (in the asp.net forum), I have to scroll five or more pages to get back to my original message. That's not the worst part, though... The problem is that nobody will know that a new reply has been posted because message threads with new entries don't bubble back to the top. Therefore, it's a complete waste of time to update a thread that's not still in the latest 25 new threads because nobody will see it. Starting a new thread is a) redundant, and b) even more time consuming because you have to start all over again with all of the info from the old thread. THIS is the primary reason I've started searching google for answers long before asking on CP. I've spent three days in google, and posted two messages here on CP (for the reasons cited above), and I still don't have an answer, so I'm just a bit annoyed - nay - pissed off - about CP's completely useless forum threading model. I know Chris et al are working on something new, and I truly appreciate the effort they put into CP, but that doesn't help me *now*. I keep saying it, but a number of the regulars here keep poo-pooing it, but we need a forum module that provides features similar to phpBB. I'm seriously considering creating an article that describes the problem and request feedback via the article's forum, even though I consider that to be an abuse of the article submission system.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
but we need a forum module that provides features similar to phpBB.
*glances around to be sure no one is watching* I agree with John.
“If we are all in agreement on the decision - then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about.”-Alfred P. Sloan
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I understand the concept, I just think that idiots will abuse it. That's not to say I don't think it has merit, just that it would need to be monitored carefully. Possibly an administrator might need to be able to mark a thread as "none-bumpable".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
You mean as opposed to the same idiots that create new and meaningless threads now?
“If we are all in agreement on the decision - then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about.”-Alfred P. Sloan
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...when I really hate the CP forum style. I'm having a running problem with loading the web.config file, and every time I want to post additional info (in the asp.net forum), I have to scroll five or more pages to get back to my original message. That's not the worst part, though... The problem is that nobody will know that a new reply has been posted because message threads with new entries don't bubble back to the top. Therefore, it's a complete waste of time to update a thread that's not still in the latest 25 new threads because nobody will see it. Starting a new thread is a) redundant, and b) even more time consuming because you have to start all over again with all of the info from the old thread. THIS is the primary reason I've started searching google for answers long before asking on CP. I've spent three days in google, and posted two messages here on CP (for the reasons cited above), and I still don't have an answer, so I'm just a bit annoyed - nay - pissed off - about CP's completely useless forum threading model. I know Chris et al are working on something new, and I truly appreciate the effort they put into CP, but that doesn't help me *now*. I keep saying it, but a number of the regulars here keep poo-pooing it, but we need a forum module that provides features similar to phpBB. I'm seriously considering creating an article that describes the problem and request feedback via the article's forum, even though I consider that to be an abuse of the article submission system.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001I really couldn't disagree more I'm afraid. The system that you described is used in many other websites, and aside from the "odious practice of bumping threads to the top" (not my own words, but I share the sentiment!), in my view it's just silly. I want to see new threads - not that someone has answered something (potentially) posted months earlier. If you need to find a thread that you've started, just look under your name and messages posted, et voila.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
THIS is the primary reason I've started searching google for answers long before asking on CP
Surely that's how you SHOULD be doing it anyway - how many times has a silly question been put up (not saying yours is!) that could easilly have been answered by the OP with a quick google?
Si je meurs ce soir. F**k la Terre - Solaar
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In http://forums.asp.net/[^], I think, when a new thread is posted to a discussion, it automatically bubbles up to the top. Perhaps something similar to that should be addressing this problem. Isn't it? But can a CP Admin move these discussion threads ("
There are Times...
") to Suggestions/Bug Reports forum? That way, it would be easier for Chris and Co. also to keep track of the reports.Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips
I would really like to see a threads view that is ordered by the date and time of the last post on each thread. Clicking on a thread would then reveal that thread's posts. That way, active threads would "bubble" to the top. This seems to be the way most forum software behaves.