Ok, it looks like Drupal 4.7 should be released soon. I've been waiting for it to do some of the changes to the site I'd been planning. I know we've discussed the whole threaded vs unthreaded thing in the forums. Unthreaded is more standard, and makes it easier to see what's new. Threaded makes it easy to see what's a reply to what. Both have advantages. Both have disadvantages. Some sites us unthreaded (most bulletin board and forum sites). Some use threaded (Slashdot and other slashcode-based sites, kuro5hin, etc).
I was actually thinking of splitting the difference... a la Digg... in terms of the way comments (aka responses to forum topics) are displayed. So, each of the top-level comments would be a reply to the original post... but each reply to those would just be an unthreaded list.
To visualize, here's the current threaded model:
Forum Topic
- Reply 1
- Reply to Reply 1
- Reply to Reply to Reply 1
- Reply 2
- Reply to Reply 2
- Second Reply to Reply 2
... etcAnd here's an unthreaded model:
Forum Topic - Reply 1 - Reply 2 - Reply to Reply 1 - Reply to Reply 2 - Reply to Reply to Reply 1 quoting Reply 1 - Second Reply to Reply 2 ... etc
But here's the combined model:
Forum Topic - Reply 1 - Reply to Reply 1 - Reply to Reply to Reply 1 - Reply 2 - Reply to Reply 2 - Second Reply to Reply 2 ... etc
It's best to check out a site like Digg to get a feel for what I mean.
This feature isn't built into Drupal, but I've figured out a way to do it that'll work without hacking core modules. And I think it will make the forums easier to follow for a lot of folks, but I'd like other opinions as well.
Any thoughts?
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I'd vote for the combined model. I like at least some threading; but the deeper it gets the more awkward it is to read.
Too bad you won't have to hack core modules to do it, though...that actually sounds kinda fun.
I agree. The deeper it gets the page can require you to move it over with the bottom scroll bar.
I makes it difficult for frequent readers to see the new posts.
Life is about the journey not the destination!
The Kazoo Spartan
Gets my vote.
-Justin
^
Yours
Steve Lamerton
Developer Profile Sync & PortaLog
Combined. It looks to be the best of the 3 offerings.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do or say will be exaggerated or mis-quoted and used against you.
----
R McCue
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
***********************************
Deuce {The Core}{Dev Blog}
Portable Software: Just the beginning.
Deuce
Portable Software: Just the beginning.
Looks like we have a winner!!!
__________
~Lurk~
Agreed!
I kinda figured that would be the way people like it. I've become a fan of the approach as I've used Digg.
I'll post a how-to on drupal.org once I get it implemented here as well so other Drupal users can implement it. I'm hoping Drupal 4.7 will go up this coming week. So, I may implement it next weekend... or one night if I get adventurous. (There will be minor forum disruptions and a few site-wide snags as the upgrade is being done)
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I must be the only one to prefer the unthreaded model. It has a few issues... but I've gotten used to it as that's the way pretty much all the "standard" message boards (UBB, phpBB, vBulletin, etc.) do it, and it's odd to see any forum set up differently.
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fatcerberus@yahoo.com [aim: fatcerberus]
I have no witty remarks or quotes to share at the moment.