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Author Topic:   New Feature: Message Index
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1 of 17 (10924)
06-03-2002 11:07 PM


From now on, when you click on a thread title in any thread list, whether for a specific forum or for the "All Topics" thread list, your browser will display a message index for the thread. Clicking on the thread title used to bring you to the first page of the thread, and you can still access this page by its page number.
The message index is a summary table of all messages in the thread, including reply information. Replies to a message are marked with either a red or green dot. A green dot indicates that the author of the original message has answered the reply, while a red dot indicates no answer has yet been provided.
Please send suggestions and bug information to admin@.
--Percy
   EvC Forum Administrator

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Minnemooseus, posted 06-04-2002 12:54 AM Percy has not replied
 Message 3 by Quetzal, posted 06-04-2002 9:17 AM Percy has not replied
 Message 14 by Brad McFall, posted 08-05-2002 11:53 AM Percy has not replied

  
Minnemooseus
Member
Posts: 3941
From: Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. (West end of Lake Superior)
Joined: 11-11-2001
Member Rating: 10.0


Message 2 of 17 (10931)
06-04-2002 12:54 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
06-03-2002 11:07 PM


Very nice, make that, a wonderful feature!
Having, however, the oldest messages at the bottom gives me a vertigo feeling. I'm serious. When I look at the page, I get the feeling that my mind is trying to reverse the order on the page.
Does it have that effect on anyone else?
Moose

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 06-03-2002 11:07 PM Percy has not replied

  
Quetzal
Member (Idle past 5872 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 01-09-2002


Message 3 of 17 (10956)
06-04-2002 9:17 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
06-03-2002 11:07 PM


Yeah, Percy. It's okay, although a bit disconcerting when I first stumbled across it without reading this thread. OTOH, I have to go with moose: the reverse-order threading is really confusing. Maybe because I'm used to reading top-down oldest-newest. Just take some getting used to, I guess.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 06-03-2002 11:07 PM Percy has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 4 of 17 (10959)
06-04-2002 10:13 AM


The advantage of reverse order is that the most recent messages, usually the ones you're interested in, are at the top, sort of like geological layers. The disadvantage for some is message vertigo.
The advantage of forward order is that it's the same order as message display, but the disadvantage is that the most recent messages will be at the bottom. That could be some number of scroll clicks away for long threads.
Whatever the order, the feature is intended to make it easy to find posts buried somewhere in a thread, and to make it easy to see if you've answered replies, and in turn to see if your own messages have been answered. I'd appreciate hearing about any ideas for making navigating through message threads even easier.
I will change the order if there is sufficient demand, which I'll evaluate by posts to this thread. Please post your opinion either way, I can't assess silence.
--Percy
   EvC Forum Administrator

Replies to this message:
 Message 5 by Minnemooseus, posted 06-04-2002 10:47 AM Percy has not replied

  
Minnemooseus
Member
Posts: 3941
From: Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. (West end of Lake Superior)
Joined: 11-11-2001
Member Rating: 10.0


Message 5 of 17 (10961)
06-04-2002 10:47 AM
Reply to: Message 4 by Percy
06-04-2002 10:13 AM


1 vote,
for oldest at top,
newest at the bottom.
Moose

This message is a reply to:
 Message 4 by Percy, posted 06-04-2002 10:13 AM Percy has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 6 by Joe Meert, posted 06-04-2002 12:31 PM Minnemooseus has not replied

  
Joe Meert
Member (Idle past 5680 days)
Posts: 913
From: Gainesville
Joined: 03-02-2002


Message 6 of 17 (10963)
06-04-2002 12:31 PM
Reply to: Message 5 by Minnemooseus
06-04-2002 10:47 AM


quote:
Originally posted by minnemooseus:
1 vote,
for oldest at top,
newest at the bottom.
Moose

1 vote for a totally random ordering of messages (especially for the global flood threads
Actually, I like the young top idea, but don't feel strongly enough to argue against those who don't like it.
Cheers
Joe Meert

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5 by Minnemooseus, posted 06-04-2002 10:47 AM Minnemooseus has not replied

Replies to this message:
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Quetzal
Member (Idle past 5872 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 01-09-2002


Message 7 of 17 (10995)
06-05-2002 5:16 AM
Reply to: Message 6 by Joe Meert
06-04-2002 12:31 PM


No sweat Percy, I'm not adamant about it. It'll just take some getting used to. Geo layering is okay. Wonder what TB will think about it? Rapid message layering vs uniformitarian layering.

This message is a reply to:
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Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 8 of 17 (11001)
06-05-2002 7:37 AM


Hi Mr. Administrator,
I've got to say that this message index feature is the greatest thing since sex. I often forget which threads I've posted to, and this really helps find them, plus now I can easily find replies I didn't answer.
But I do have one itsy-bitsy complaint. I just can't get used to clicking on the thread title and getting the message index instead of the thread's first page. Can you restore the title to its original behavior and put the message index link somewhere else?
I vote for most recent message first, but I think it would be even better if members could specify the order they prefer in their preferences.
There's another feature I'd like that would be even more useful. I'd like the Member's names to be links that when you click on them you get a list of messages they've posted.
By the way, you're the greatest moderator in the history of moderators, but I do think you're a bit biased against Creationists. Evolutionists aren't always well-behaved, either.
--Percy
[This message has been edited by Percipient, 06-05-2002]

Replies to this message:
 Message 9 by Percy, posted 06-05-2002 8:55 AM Percy has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 9 of 17 (11004)
06-05-2002 8:55 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by Percy
06-05-2002 7:37 AM


Funny you should mention sex. I guess I should take suggestions from someone who pillow talks with the big boss seriously, so...
I've restored the thread title to its original function, a link to page one of the thread.
The message index link has been moved to the thread icon that appears to the left of the thread title. If you click on that icon the message index for the thread will appear.
When reading messages, the message icon that appears at the top of each message is also now a link to the message index.
About your request for a list of messages by member, your wish is my command. This feature should be available soon.
About making the index message order user selectable, this is a bit tougher and will have to wait.
--Percy
   EvC Forum Administrator

This message is a reply to:
 Message 8 by Percy, posted 06-05-2002 7:37 AM Percy has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 10 of 17 (11196)
06-08-2002 10:02 PM


Those of you with perfect memories, stop reading now.
For the rest of you who, like me, sometimes have trouble keeping track of what threads you've posted to, the new features will be a big help.
As already mentioned earlier in this thread, the message icon in the left hand column of thread lists is now a link to an index for the thread that also indicates whether replies to a message have been answered. And new features just added today turn every member's name, wherever it appears, into a link to an index of their latest messages across all threads where they've posted. This message index is also available while perusing the Member List, and from members' profile page. Enjoy!
Please post bugs, comments, suggestions to this thread, or send email to admin@.
--Percy
   EvC Forum Administrator

Replies to this message:
 Message 11 by TrueCreation, posted 06-09-2002 1:28 AM Percy has replied

  
TrueCreation
Inactive Member


Message 11 of 17 (11201)
06-09-2002 1:28 AM
Reply to: Message 10 by Percy
06-08-2002 10:02 PM


--Very neat!
I have actually been pondering on whether I should ask if something similar would be a possibility to be made, but I never thought it all that significant. It will be nice to see when a person has responded or such statistics on these types of things. Cheers percy
------------------

This message is a reply to:
 Message 10 by Percy, posted 06-08-2002 10:02 PM Percy has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 12 by Percy, posted 06-09-2002 12:28 PM TrueCreation has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 12 of 17 (11209)
06-09-2002 12:28 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by TrueCreation
06-09-2002 1:28 AM


TrueCreation writes:

Very neat! I have actually been pondering on whether I should ask if something similar would be a possibility to be made, but I never thought it all that significant. It will be nice to see when a person has responded or such statistics on these types of things.
I've added a "Replies Await" column on the right side of the table of the members message list. When this column says "Yes" it means that replies to the message have been posted, but they haven't been answered yet. (I hope everyone realizes that not all replies need be answered. For example, you wouldn't normally reply to a message that says, for example, "Okay, we're in agreement now.")
I wasn't sure if you were also requesting email notification of a reply. This would be relatively easy to do, but not everyone would want this feature enabled, so a setting for it would have to be added to the preferences. I'll put this on my list.
--Percy
   EvC Forum Administrator
[This message has been edited by Percipient, 06-09-2002]

This message is a reply to:
 Message 11 by TrueCreation, posted 06-09-2002 1:28 AM TrueCreation has not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 13 of 17 (11266)
06-10-2002 1:39 PM


^ bump ^

  
Brad McFall
Member (Idle past 5032 days)
Posts: 3428
From: Ithaca,NY, USA
Joined: 12-20-2001


Message 14 of 17 (14858)
08-05-2002 11:53 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
06-03-2002 11:07 PM


P, this only worked for me on one day. I am unvariably "returned" to the first in the thread. I t wa nice to have the "birds eye view" that day. Do I need to make an extra click some where else on the page? to see the stop and go lights?

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
 Message 15 by Admin, posted 08-05-2002 3:04 PM Brad McFall has replied

  
Admin
Director
Posts: 12998
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 15 of 17 (14867)
08-05-2002 3:04 PM
Reply to: Message 14 by Brad McFall
08-05-2002 11:53 AM


The Message Index feature took a mid-course change. The link to the Message Index was originally attached to the thread title, but was moved to the thread and message icons a few days later.
If you click on the icon for a thread (in the left hand column of topic lists), or on the message icon of any message of the thread (top of message just to the left of the message number), then you'll be taken to the Message Index for that thread.
------------------
--EvC Forum Administrator

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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