# Suggested Forum Tweaks



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

I have several suggestions that, if implemented, would make my life just perfect, if I had a life in the first place:

1. It seems there are an ever-increasing number of "reply with quote" posts which tend to clutter up a thread and irritate me no end. Many times I have seen a full quote immediately following the subject post, which is redundant and unnecessary. I believe the problem is the small "Reply" button at the bottom-right of each message frame which does not adequately identify its function.¹ It should read [Reply w/quote] or the like, in order to give the poster a clue as to what he is doing. Also, maybe move the regular "Reply" to the right, just below the 'reply w/quote' button, and rename it as [Reply, no quote]. This should be the default option anyway. For example:


```
Button in post frame: [B][Reply with quote][/B]
Button right below:   [B][Reply, no quote][/B]
```
2. Archives vs. "Related Threads" - Recently, we have have seen a number of two-year old threads resurrected by "mistake". Per board rules, users cannot post to archived threads, but through what I consider to be a bug, users can post to 'related threads' pulled up out of archives. This makes no sense to me. Having related threads shown below is fine, especially for research, but do not permit posting to an archived thread after it is accessed. If the poster want to discuss an archived topic, he can start a new thread.

3. When typing a post that extends beyond the bottom of the text box, if formatting is done, such as underline, *bold* or _italic_, in each instance the text box defaults to the top after each 'format' is invoked. This is a real bother because then I have to go find the cursor. In this paragraph, I had to go in search of my cursor three times, which turned me into a curser of a different type!

If you can do anything about these pesky little irritants, my so-called life would be virtually perfect! :grin:

Thanks a bunch,

Nick

¹ As I have mentioned before, those tiny little icons are cryptic and their purpose obscure without identifying pop-up labels, .


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Great suggestions Nick.

1. Before making any changes to the buttons, I'm waiting for the final graphic set for VB3. Along with the gold release of the forum software will come a complete photoshop graphic set which will enable me to easily make changes. This will also keep them looking uniform. No release date has been set but when you see me announce that the forum software is now final, remind me to change the "reply" buttons.

2. The original reason for the archive was to save space. What would happen is that we would move threads there after a certain amount of time and then prune them after a few months. Since we moved to the the new server, there was no reason to remove old threads. I also like to keep the old posts in their original forums to allow easier searching. I know it can be frustrating having old thread resurrected but it really doesn't happen that often. However, when it does happen, we will close them and ask a new thread be started. 

3. The "Jump to the top" formatting bug is being worked on and should be fixed in the final software. In the meantime though you could use WYSIWYG which doesn't have this problem

I hope I have answered the questions to your satisfaction. Thanks for the suggestions.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Nick said:


> 1. It seems there are an ever-increasing number of "reply with quote" posts which tend to clutter up a thread and irritate me no end. Many times I have seen a full quote immediately following the subject post, which is redundant and unnecessary. I believe the problem is the small "Reply" button at the bottom-right of each message frame which does not adequately identify its function.¹ It should read [Reply w/quote] or the like, in order to give the poster a clue as to what he is doing. Also, maybe move the regular "Reply" to the right, just below the 'reply w/quote' button, and rename it as [Reply, no quote]. This should be the default option anyway. For example:
> 
> 
> ```
> ...


Bet you thought I forgot about this didn't you Nick? Let me know what you think. I've decided to keep the "Post Reply No Quote" button on the left.


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

Chris Blount said:


> 2. The original reason for the archive was to save space. What would happen is that we would move threads there after a certain amount of time and then prune them after a few months. Since we moved to the the new server, there was no reason to remove old threads. I also like to keep the old posts in their original forums to allow easier searching. I know it can be frustrating having old thread resurrected but it really doesn't happen that often. However, when it does happen, we will close them and ask a new thread be started.


Is it possible to set the forum software up so that if there are no posts after 3-6 months, the thread is automatically locked?

Also, I've been adding to the calendar, and it seems to fall back to the year 2000 after I make some entries.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Mark Holtz said:


> Is it possible to set the forum software up so that if there are no posts after 3-6 months, the thread is automatically locked?


Yes but that will take a little hacking. Give me some time on that one. 



Mark Holtz said:


> Also, I've been adding to the calendar, and it seems to fall back to the year 2000 after I make some entries.


Fixed! The calendar now starts at 2004. I've also made some other adjustments you might like. First, up to 10 events will show per day. Also, there is no limit to how many characters are in the event title before it's truncated. What that means is that the full titles will now show on the calendar.

Hope this helps.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

Also - can you make it so that threads can't be deleted except by administrators ?


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

scooper said:


> Also - can you make it so that threads can't be deleted except by administrators ?


At present, only mods and admins can delete threads. Registered users can only delete their own posts.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Chris Blount said:


> Bet you thought I forgot about this didn't you Nick? Let me know what you think. I've decided to keep the "Post Reply No Quote" button on the left.


No, Actually, I knew you would get to it when you got to it. I have great confidence in your abilities.

Now, If only there were a forum 'Jump' menu at the top-right of every thread page, life would be even more perfect than it almost is! :sure:


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## n0qcu (Mar 23, 2002)

Nick,
look at the row near the top that starts: User CP FAQ *Forum Jump* ....


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Nick said:


> Now, If only there were a forum 'Jump' menu at the top-right of every thread page, life would be even more perfect than it almost is! :sure:


Dang Nick. You've been falling asleep in class again. :lol:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=25388


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

One thing that disappeared when the board went through an upgrade was that there was a "New Thread" button on the bottom right next to "Post Reply". Perhaps it can be restored. 

Also, in the quick reply box, whats with grey-ed out "Quote message in reply?" box? I can understand the reasoning behind the "Show your signature".

One last thing, Chris... keep up the good work. :up:


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Mark Holtz said:


> One thing that disappeared when the board went through an upgrade was that there was a "New Thread" button on the bottom right next to "Post Reply". Perhaps it can be restored.


Not quite sure what you are talking about on that one.



Mark Holtz said:


> Also, in the quick reply box, whats with grey-ed out "Quote message in reply?" box? I can understand the reasoning behind the "Show your signature".


If you click on the pen and paper icon in any post, it jumps you down to the quick reply box. You will then find that the box is no longer greyed out.


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

I'm using "Professional" scheme.

There was a button next to "Post Reply" that was called "New Thread" that would create a new thread in the forum.

Also, the pen-and-paper edits your own posts. However, I see a button to the right of "quote", and it does what you describe.


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