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

#1 · October 2, 2021, 5:20 pm

Quote from Wendell on October 2, 2021, 5:20 pm
Several years ago, SurveyorConnect was using a simplified forum format like you would find in most forums of the day (and still popular today). The simplified format consisted of a simple list of forums, with a simple list of topics within each forum. The replies within each topic thread were listed in descending order from oldest to newest. New replies would be added to the end of the thread. When you would visit the forum, you could easily pick up where you left off and just continue reading down the list of replies.

A few years ago, after repeated requests from our members, we switched most of the forums to a threaded format. The threaded format allows replies to be made to other replies, nesting them underneath each reply. This is a pretty cool feature because it allows subconversations to be created within a parent topic. The downside is that it wreaks havoc with finding unread replies within a thread, since they are sprinkled throughout the topic. This makes it difficult to pick up where you left off on your previous visit. As of right now, the forums within the Surveying & Related category are set to the threaded format.

Now that we've been using the threaded format for a few years, it is becoming apparent that many of our members are struggling with the unread posts feature. The threaded format shows the last couple of replies for each topic on the Recent Posts page, but if more than two replies have occurred since your last visit, it's really tough to figure out what's going on. However, I don't want to make a big switch back to the simplified format without the input of our members. 🙂

I've changed the forums within the Non-Surveying category to the simplified format so you can make the comparison.

Note that the Recent Posts page will not change either way.

Here are some screenshots to demonstrate how the threaded and simplified formats differ.

Home page: threaded vs. simplified:

[attach]13010[/attach]
[attach]13009[/attach]

Subcategories: threaded vs. simplified:

[attach]13012[/attach]
[attach]13011[/attach]

?ÿTopics: threaded vs. simplified:

[attach]13014[/attach]
[attach]13013[/attach]

Now that you've seen and experienced both, which do you prefer? Threaded or Simplified?

Please use the polling options at the top of this post to vote! Feel free to provide your reasoning by replying here. All feedback is appreciated!

Several years ago, SurveyorConnect was using a simplified forum format like you would find in most forums of the day (and still popular today). The simplified format consisted of a simple list of forums, with a simple list of topics within each forum. The replies within each topic thread were listed in descending order from oldest to newest. New replies would be added to the end of the thread. When you would visit the forum, you could easily pick up where you left off and just continue reading down the list of replies.

A few years ago, after repeated requests from our members, we switched most of the forums to a threaded format. The threaded format allows replies to be made to other replies, nesting them underneath each reply. This is a pretty cool feature because it allows subconversations to be created within a parent topic. The downside is that it wreaks havoc with finding unread replies within a thread, since they are sprinkled throughout the topic. This makes it difficult to pick up where you left off on your previous visit. As of right now, the forums within the Surveying & Related category are set to the threaded format.

Now that we've been using the threaded format for a few years, it is becoming apparent that many of our members are struggling with the unread posts feature. The threaded format shows the last couple of replies for each topic on the Recent Posts page, but if more than two replies have occurred since your last visit, it's really tough to figure out what's going on. However, I don't want to make a big switch back to the simplified format without the input of our members. 🙂

I've changed the forums within the Non-Surveying category to the simplified format so you can make the comparison.

Note that the Recent Posts page will not change either way.

Here are some screenshots to demonstrate how the threaded and simplified formats differ.

Home page: threaded vs. simplified:

Subcategories: threaded vs. simplified:

Topics: threaded vs. simplified:

Now that you've seen and experienced both, which do you prefer? Threaded or Simplified?

Please use the polling options at the top of this post to vote! Feel free to provide your reasoning by replying here. All feedback is appreciated!

#2 · October 2, 2021, 6:31 pm

Count me as in favor of the simplified format. While there are certainly advantages to the threaded approach, I find the the simplified better overall.

#3 · October 2, 2021, 6:48 pm

The old threaded format could make me dizzy. This was incredibly true when we had a post-that-wouldn't-die situation.

#4 · October 2, 2021, 6:52 pm

I also like the simplified better.

Off topic. I am in the Eastern time zone.

Why am I seeing your posts coming in three hours later than my current time?

Shouldn't it show as either the same as my current, or three hours earlier.

Example: The post to which I am currently replying has a time stamp of 5:20pm. My current time is 14:50, are you posting from the future?

#5 · October 2, 2021, 6:59 pm

@holy-cow

Regardless of format, topics will still come back to the top when a new reply is posted. ????

#6 · October 2, 2021, 7:00 pm

@bobwesterman

Sounds like you need to set the timezone in your profile.

#7 · October 2, 2021, 7:02 pm

Ignore me. I now see that the timestamps I'm seeing are UTC.

#8 · October 2, 2021, 7:03 pm

@bobwesterman

No problem! ???

#9 · October 2, 2021, 7:04 pm

@bobwesterman

That's weird. The timed stamp at the upper right-hand corner corner of a post should be the time it was wherever you were when the poster clicked reply. In my case, in the Central Time Zone, it says he posted the OP at 12:20 p.m. which would have been 10:20 a.m. where Wendell lives.