Condensation of 'latest posts'

[Nazgul]

Hi,

due to the (relative) frequency of people bumping their threads, and due to the fact that many roleplayers use a multitude of request threads (even counting a maximum of 2 threads per section, this makes a total of 10 threads, not counting group roleplay coordination, which naturally moves more rapidly with multiple people posting), the 'latest post' section becomes congested with 1 person bumping their threads all at once.

I am not complaining about the people doing this because:

a) they are doing nothing wrong;​

b) you're sort of encouraged to bump them all at once due to the 24h limit on bumping -- logistically it just makes sense to synchronize these times;​

c) they can't help it that it becomes congested and in a way this is also sort of encouraged because it gives your thread some visibility, which is hard to come by in congested forum sections.​

Instead I'd want to suggest changing the functionality of the 'latest posts' section. I am not sure how customizable it is. I get the impression that BMR is a largely PnP forum, so maybe this is impossible, but if I don't shoot I'll always miss.

The current situation just throws all recent posts into the latest posts section.

The situation I'd suggest is that the section should instead tally all the 'new posts' 1 user makes, and add them together. So instead of having 4 entries that put my avatar next to 4 (or more) separate threads, it'd condense it to 1 entry that says 'Nazgul replied to 4 threads'. If I then want to see what threads, I can click it and it it will show me all the threads that user replied to in the last hour(s).

This unfortunately would reduce visibility for some threads, since not many people are going to be clicking to unfold the threads, but at the same time it'll also reduce the fact that there are times where 1 person is all that is visible in the latest posts tab.

If it's not possible and it just 'is what it is', I'll take that as an answer obviously, but I just wanted to throw it out there.

Cya!

 

[Dr Bellwright]

Maybe if this is too hard to implement, we could ignore certain sub-forums from "Latest Posts" section. Such as Request subforums and maybe forum games.

Or split the "Latest Posts" section into latest RTs updates and the rest of the sub-forums.

The problem is legitimate, I agree.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

I mean, we still can't hide request threads from people we aren't interested in roleplaying with like other sites can and I suggested that years ago. To be clear, I find the latest posts section pretty pointless in the first place but I can certainly understand how people that do like using it would be bothered by having it flooded by a user bumping all their threads at the same time. Some kind of solution would be nice but I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

[Nazgul]

Or split the "Latest Posts" section into latest RTs updates and the rest of the sub-forums.

This is honestly not a bad idea either, since I do like seeing when new RT's are posted.

I mean, we still can't hide request threads from people we aren't interested in roleplaying with like other sites can and I suggested that years ago.

There's the ignore function, which I have started using, but it's not ideal.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

There's the ignore function, which I have started using, but it's not ideal.

The ignore limit is 1,000 members. I know because I'm constantly at it.

Regardless, my point wasn't so much to hijack the thread but to effectively state that coding progress is slow to nonexistent on this site and I doubt tweaking the latest posts section would be as simple as toggling an option on the backend. I'd love to see more tweaks and changes made to boost user-friendliness even if they don't directly impact me.

 

[Nazgul]

Oh. Then yeah, that's even less ideal, lol.

And yeah, dev time seems to be slow for most roleplaying forums, which is why I don't expect much, but saying nothing just because I don't expect much is also not my vibe.

 

[A.Storey]

I mean, we still can't hide request threads from people we aren't interested in roleplaying with like other sites can and I suggested that years ago. To be clear, I find the latest posts section pretty pointless in the first place but I can certainly understand how people that do like using it would be bothered by having it flooded by a user bumping all their threads at the same time. Some kind of solution would be nice but I wouldn't hold your breath.

If you had the option in your settings and preferences - would you rather:

(A) Keep the Latest Posts section as it is?

(B) Turn it off/remove it entirely?

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

If you had the option in your settings and preferences - would you rather:

(A) Keep the Latest Posts section as it is?

(B) Turn it off/remove it entirely?

Personally I'd rather turn off the Latest Posts between those two choices but I don't even really glance at it regardless so it's not something I feel strongly about.

 

[A.Storey]

Personally I'd rather turn off the Latest Posts between those two choices but I don't even really glance at it regardless so it's not something I feel strongly about.

I'd rather more space on my screen and extend the actual forums sections. I too would prefer to have the option to turn off latest posts, profile updates, the referral code, and some of the other side sections.

Or... Make them collapsible elements.

 

[Vekseid]

Condensing it would require I actually modify the widget and I think people would prefer I get certain other coding tasks done first >_>

For now, though, I've removed the request forums from the widget.

 

[Nazgul]

Condensing it would require I actually modify the widget and I think people would prefer I get certain other coding tasks done first >_>

For now, though, I've removed the request forums from the widget.

Thanks for the swift change -- looking at the widget I think it's already a lot better!

 

[Solo]

I'm gonna disagree and say that I'm not a huge fan of the RTs being completely removed from the section. I liked using that little widget to do a quick browse of active RTs, and it now being basically only fandom games threads that I 100% don't care about is more of a hinder than a help.

If this could be something that could be personalized that would be fantastic, but as it is I find it a bit strange that this feature was removed for all users because of one person wanting it out for their own sake. Nothing against you Nazgul of course, just something I noticed.

 

[reverie.]

I'm gonna disagree and say that I'm not a huge fan of the RTs being completely removed from the section. I liked using that little widget to do a quick browse of active RTs, and it now being basically only fandom games threads that I 100% don't care about is more of a hinder than a help.

If this could be something that could be personalized that would be fantastic, but as it is I find it a bit strange that this feature was removed for all users because of one person wanting it out for their own sake. Nothing against you Nazgul of course, just something I noticed.

you can always click on the header (or on 'new posts' at the top of the page) to see a list of the latest posts (not just the 5 most recent ones), and in that list, there are also request threads listed!

 

[Solo]

you can always click on the header (or on 'new posts' at the top of the page) to see a list of the latest posts (not just the recent 5), and in that list, there are also request threads listed!

Yeah, I know. I was solely commenting on the removal from the widget, which was mainly what I used.

 

[reverie.]

Yeah, I know. I was solely commenting on the removal from the widget, which was mainly what I used.

we may be looking into a solution where this 'original issue' won't really be an issue anymore, but as for right now, i think it's only a matter of preference whether one tolerates seeing the widget 'spammed' with request threads/roleplays from the same user from time to time or not. i'll admit i pay attention to the widget, but i don't actively use it.

 

[Siph]

An Enjin community I used to frequent had two "latest posts" boxes, one for roleplays (in-forum RP was more popular there) and everything else, including RTs and discussion threads. Perhaps we can have two "latest" boxes too, one for RTs and one for everything else?

(I'd also suggest a separate "latest RPs" box, since I've seen RPs from the same person push other threads away more often than RTs, but if there's three separate widgets all labeled "latest", that might start to look messy.)

 

[Nazgul]

Siphs solution would probably be a bit more elegant than just removing the option altogether for a holdover option. I think Solo has a point in that we just saw one (or a few) points that agreed with mine and there might be people who didn't care at all that the box was full of several threads by the same person. On the other hand, if we add another widget, there will be those who hate the clutter of having multiple widgets. You can't satisfy everyone and I'd suggest Vekseid just sticks with whatever option they prefer themselves. If they'd told me no I'd have said OK and moved on haha.

That said, Vekseid also highlighted how people want other issues resolves first and this seems like, really really low on the order of prioritization.

 

[Saint Saccharine]

I think this is going to be an issue where nobody is going to be 100% satisfied. Personally, I liked seeing what RTs were updated, and while I can absolutely see them section by section, it was nice to be able to see at a glance which ones were actively being bumped. The way it sits now, it makes the site feel a little dead.

If it's something that Veks and company are capable of when the time comes, maybe the option could be passed user side, and you could decide which forums you want to see in the widget.