Walter Bright Wrote: > On 11/27/2011 5:40 PM, Jude wrote: > > //quote cause I'm lazy > > Those are all desirable properties. But the forum software I've seen > > throws out what's good about NNTP news forums: > > > > 1. Threaded view > > 2. Being able to mark messages as "read" > > 3. Being able to quickly scan read vs unread > > //end quote > > > > 1. Forums can have threaded view too, > > Generally, they suck. They just don't get what a threaded view is. > Newsreaders > solved this problem decades ago. A thread is not a topic. It's a view showing > who replied to which message.
It's not a contract, it's just a convention. I can easily imagine how to reply to two messages in one posting. Some forums even have plugins that merge consecutive posts from the same author. > Click to expand at each branching point, click to > contract, click to see a particular message. At each point, you can see which > messages you've read, and which you haven't. In forum you already have all messages before your eyes. > > 2. I thought that that was pretty standard for forums? Highlighting > > for threads you've seen and threads you haven't... not for individual > > messages, but the last number (25 or so) messages you've seen. > > Again, the forum software writers just don't get it. It has to be per > message. > Why? So in a larger thread, you can instantly see what is read and what > isn't. > This is NOT equivalent to a chronological sort. I do not read threads > linearly. In Soviet Russia... errm... I mean with linear chronological view you do. Think of it as a novel: it has a linear structure, a bunch of plot threads and they intertwine in chronological order. And it's usually not a problem to track them simultaneously. Chronological order also helps to understand people. This way posts tend to be grouped by author (remember you've posted 4 messages in a row to this topic). This way one can better understand you as your thoughts are concentrated in one place rather than scattered all over sub-threads: will all information at hands it's easier to figure out your viewpoint in all details.