Message to Danny re those long, looooong threads...

[Wiley]

Danny, I know you use proprietary software as the basis of this site. Would it be possible to have a chat to the software creators to see if they can't come up with some settings (or whatever the correct technospeak term is) to default the opening page of a multi page thread to the last (most current) page?

I don't mean reversing the order of posts. (I know that's been suggested and rejected before.) All I mean is when you open a multi page thread, it opens at the most current page rather than at page 1. Then, if the reader wants/needs to look back to earlier posts, he can do so as required.

I’ve posted this on the public forum rather than e-mailing you to see if anyone else out there agrees that it is a good idea. I know you’ll move it to Aircrew Notices or somewhere else as it’s certainly not a rumour, but thought it might bet a better airing on the main Rumours page if you leave a copy of this original post behind when you move it.

[Tartan Gannet]

This is the Old CV argument, isnt it? some,like myself, like to read a person's history chronologically thus seeing the sense of how they progressed say from trainee techician to Director of Servicing. Others want to read the latest sitrep and fill the history in afterwards. I prefer the present system as latest posts bring the subject to the top of the pile but one can read through the thread to get the feel of the topic developing and the arguments and counter arguments.Its no big deal to click on say Page 8 if you want the latest posting. Also having the posts in chronological order reduces repetition of information or a point already posted. So, to quotethe 1st Law of all service engineers, "if it aint broke dont fix it!"

[Whirlybird*]

Sounds like a good idea to me. If it's a thread you're following regularly you just want to see the latest posts. Not a big deal - but the present system can be annoying at peak times when the Internet is slow.

[Thrush]

I tend to agree with the Gannet. You can always just click on the last page where it gives the number of pages.

[Up in arms]

Good idea. Even better would be to default to the page with the earliest message since the users last visit.

[Capt PPRuNe]

The idea of showing last post first and the rest in reverse chronological order has been tried and was a dismal failure. I will not be brought back so please don't bother asking for it. The vast majority of people hated it, including me so it ain't gonna happen.

As for taking you to the last page of a multi page post, unfortunately that can't be done as the software doesn't allow it so you will just have to click on the last page number as the page loads and that should take you to the last page without having to wait for the whole first page to load.

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Capt PPRuNe
aka Danny Fyne
The Professional Pilots RUmour NEtwork

[OzExpat]

I sometimes find the current arrangement tedious, but only sometimes. If it's a thread I'm following regularly, I just go to the latest page ... and flick back to the previous page whenever necessary to pick up things said since my last posting.

If the topic is especially large before I get to it, it's a pain to read thru. But I have to say that I find it best to read all the posts, to see how the topic got to its current situation.

Then (and only then), I feel that I have all the replies and can post accordingly. The times when its really tedious is either when the net is slow, or if someone has posted the very thing I was going to say!

But, hey, ya gotta take the bad with the good on any BBS. And this is one of the better ones! Take a bow Danny!!
:)

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Once a king, always a king.
But once a nite's enough!

[MTOW]

Have to agree with Wiley, Danny. Maybe it's my server, but I frequently have to spend forever waiting for page 1 of a multi page thread to load just so I can click over to the current page of a long thread I've been following.
Wouldn't it be possible to drop a line to the software people who wrote this program to ask them if this option could be made available as a patch or as part of a future version?
I'm sure the vast majority of people following a multipage thread have read the earlier pages and just want to see the new posts. If someone is a latecomer to the thread, he can do the multi clicking we all have to go through now to check earlier posts.
Note I'm not asking for a reversal in the order of posts, just that the first page that is displayed when the thread reaches two or more pages is the page with the last posts on it.

[Capt PPRuNe]

All suggestions are passed on to the writers of the software but please remember that some of your suggestions are not possible, at least for now and possibly never will be.

The request for the last page in a multi page thread to open first will probably never happen. I have the option of having long threads broken down into multiple pages. At the moment I have the option set at every 25 replies a new page is generated. I could turn that option off and instead you would get one long page that might take a lot longer to open but you wouldn't have to click on other pages to get to the page with the newest replies on them. You might have to wait a loooong time for the page to load and then have to scroll allllll the wayyyy down though.

There are only a few threads that are more than a few pages long and it only takes the time to load the first page instead of waiting for all the pages to load. If you have a slow connection then there is nothing I can do for you. I have set the number of replies to 25 before a page is split into further pages as in my experience of running this bulletin board it is the best compromise between a large file loading and too many pages being generated.

I don't know what browser you are using but usually when a multi page thread starts to load the header of the page loads first, the bit with the This topic is 2 pages long: 1 2, and all you have to do is either click on the 'stop' button on your browser and then click on the page number you want to go diectly to.


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Capt PPRuNe
aka Danny Fyne
The Professional Pilots RUmour NEtwork