Forum format: Which do you prefer -- threaded or simplified?

@brad-ott?ÿ

Yeah, if you watch the Non-Surveying category forums (General Chit-Chat, Sports, etc.), they are already setup in simplified format, so you can experience it in real-time.

@wendell?ÿ

• Actually my profile had the correct time zone, but then I went into settings and found another place to set my time zone.

Still seeing UTC.?ÿ After changing timezone and clearing cache.?ÿ It doesn't really bother me and I don't feel like searching right now.

@holy-cow?ÿ

Yeah, threaded is a neat way of displaying the threads, but can be cumbersome when returning to longer threads later on.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. There's definitely pros and cons either way.

I accidentally clicked threaded for my vote, when I meant to click simplified.?ÿ

I prefer simplified.

@hi-staker?ÿ

I'll see if I can fix it for you.

Edit: Fixed it! 🙂

It took me some time to get familiar with this format so I prefer it to stay as it is. I won't speculate on the reasons why threads often bifurcate or trifurcate, but the threaded format allows for all of those sub-discussions to stay connected. Yes, I know that one can always use the quote function to make sure everyone knows what the reply is in reference to, but why clutter up a thread with multiple quotes of the same post. I'm not particularly interested in reading the old post ad nauseam.

Thanks for asking, but this is your forum so please don't listen too long at this bunch of old gray-hairs.

Wendell, It sounds to me that those who want to go back to the old style are mainly saying that because of the difficulty in finding the "new" posts in a thread. Can you increase the number of new replies from two to a larger number?

@gene-kooper?ÿ

I can. However, I went with two when I set this all up after extensive testing. Each line that appears under each topic creates a few more database calls. So the more lines that you add, you have exponentially more database calls. This not only slows the site down, but puts more pressure on the system hardware.

Even if I did add more, any replies older than four (or whatever number is chosen) would essentially be lost unless people went digging for them like they do now.

That said, I'm not trying to talk you or anyone else out of the threaded format. I actually like the threaded format a lot, but I do recognize the difficulty in keeping up with unread posts, especially as threads get longer. The simplified format has its cons as well, as the "simplified" name implies. There's definitely a lot more detail in various places with the threaded format.

Simplified is better, the threaded thing is only good when things are really popping like chatroom style but that does not happen anymore.

Kent was big on threaded, but has forsaken us and so we can forget his preference.

Of course, we will ask W to switch back again in a couple years. ?ÿKeeps him out of the bars.

@party-chef?ÿ

I have also been thinking about adding some kind of live chat system too but don't tell anyone I told you that. ????

@brad-ott?ÿ

Whatever it takes, man. ????

@wendell ƒ??whatever it takesƒ??ÿ

I voted simple threaded only so it's easier to find new posts but think the nested is better for following conversations within a topic. So that's a dollar each way but wanting not to miss posts wins out for me.

@lukenz?ÿ

That's pretty much an exact quote about how I feel about it. I think the nested stuff is super cool and I'd hate to see it go. But it's true that the vast majority of visitors go straight to the Recent Posts page, and then have two choices which often take them to two totally different places within the thread. Beyond those two, you have to just go back and re-read the entire thread. Ain't nobody got time for that.

@wendell - thread and subtopics above are a perfect example of threaded replies courtesy of Bob and Wendell 🙂

@ric-moore?ÿ

You're welcome. 😉 ???œ?ÿ

How about we leave it some simple and some threaded for several weeks and see how that goes?

@brad-ott?ÿ

Yeah, I don't know how soon I would make the change (assuming the votes remain at such a huge margin in favor of the Simplified format). But I don't intend on switching the Non-Surveying category back, so it will continue on as Simplified either way.