Display Mode: To Thread or Not to Thread?

[Dr. Fireater]

To Thread or not to Thread?

Threading the Messages will make it clear to visitors which messages is an reply to which.. the Hierarchy will be plain and easy to understand.. the context of the messages can be found easily by referring to their parent messages..

I personally feel that Threaded Mode of Display must be an option.

Please vote to let your opinion be known.

Thank you.

Dr. Fireater

[Jeff Lewis]

Now...I'm just curious...if you like threaded mode a lot, and you visit that Scoop place, what makes you decide to NOT use that instead?

[Greg Robson]

As much as I think threaded discussions are nice, they are always used incorrectly and people post in the wrong places.

It's not too difficult to follow discussions here.

It would making HTML and PHP coding a lot more difficult.

We're popular at the moment - I rather add features  

[Joseph Fung]

Sorry to toss a spanner in the works but the threaded discussion is easy.  I've already modded a yabb se install to do it, but didn't bother using it because it was ugly.

I like the flatform better and frankly - it's the coders who get to decide  

[Greg Robson]

I've already modded a yabb se install to do it, but didn't bother using it because it was ugly.

Wow - cool. I knew it wouldn't be too difficult to code - it's the presentation that would be tricky.

[Dr. Fireater]

what makes you decide to NOT use that instead?

Jeff, Scoop needs root access.. thats keep away many who host on virtual servers.

Anyway, the moot point is that: while threaded forums can look ugly, the functionality that threaded display offers is necessary for some particular Discussion sites that heavily depend on very active and heated Debates on controversial and difficult subjects.

Lets consider running a forum on creation vs evolution.. similiar to the talk.origins http://www.talkorigins.org newsgroup... it would be difficult to hold meaningful debate on a flat mode. Atleast a nestled display mode can be better since it will lend a sense of direction and continuity.

If visitor A posts an Opinion and visitor B posts an reply to A's article, the rebuttal by A or somebody else should be a thread of B's reply instead of being common to both which is the case in Flat mode.

In my Humble opinion, adding such a option of choosing flat/nestled/threaded display would be just a matter of versality and scalability of Yabb. (Agreed to the point that it will require quite an amount of effort and coding.. but would be equally challenging... and rewarding too!!)

I am just hoping the Admins might reconsider their views on this matter.

Dr. Fireater

[Joseph Fung]

It uses a layout system *similar* to that at http://www.uwstudent.org

[Jeff Lewis]

I still don't care for it and 98% of the people that have commented on this type of display argue against it.

[alexrolko]

the only thing that i can see good about a threaded system is you can go off-topic while still keeping the main debate, conversation, whatever it maybe intact and alive. its where a sub topic develops in a thread and thrives.

however i find that in a flatboard you can't really go off-topic just cause someone mentioned something thats worth while talking about. maybe to you and someone else. though it doesn't matter really cause nothing around here is ever worth talking about except the behind the scenes stuff.

and really threaded BBS's only look good as a single featureless board. post and reply thats all.

[Michael]

Since it's so easy to do, I think it would be a worthwhile feature to have it so that the viewer can decide how to view the thread.

[Hypocrite]

I personally hate the threaded view. You have to go back and forward all the time in the browser to keep up with the different directions the corversation is going. It's easier to read threads in the flat mode. Although I have no objections if someone wants to implement it to YaBB. Probably will just make YaBB better if users can choose which one they use.

[TheJkWhoSaysNi]

I agree with Hypoctire, too much jumping around your browser, when you have a topic with over 10 or so replies each to different replies and everyone is quoting each other from other routes (I'm confusing myself, i'll stop here) it just gets confusing and makes it difficult to read things in the correct order for it to make sense.

(Hope that was clear because it certainly confused me)

[klumy]

I think the current solution is very good.
I don't need threaded view.
In my opinion they are not so clear.

[Dr. Fireater]

Many just can't stand threaded mode.. but what about nestling?

Why some people like myself need threaded modes is that our discussions run to pages.
If I am answering a point raised in the 2nd post of a 5 paged discussion and my answer is on the sixth page, the person reading my answer will have to go back to the first page to read the original post in order to understand what I talking about..

Imagine that a discussion runs to about 10 pages.
Now I need to quote from multiple posts, each of which are in different pages. In order to make sense, the visitor would also like to read the whole post from which I am quoting..

How do you visualise this scenario?

If not Threaded Mode, can you atleast think of a viable alternative?
Isn't it a bit adamantness on the part of the Authors of YaBB NOT to implement an extra feature just becoz they think its ugly/unnecessary/outdated/user-unfriendly?

On the other hand, Nestled Mode can be considered.. what do you think? Won't it be an compromise between Flat and Threaded modes?

And If the Admins are particular that Flat Mode is the Only way YaBB should look like, Its OK.. They are doing a great Job and the appreciation and gratitude is always there.

[Greg Robson]

One of the founding features of YaBB is that it isn't threaded.

If someone was prepared to make a mod and it worked well and was optional I'm sure we'd include it.

However I doubt you will get the developers working on it!