A real Forum for D

Vladimir Panteleev vladimir at thecybershadow.net
Tue Nov 29 15:29:24 PST 2011


On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:27:12 +0200, Unknown W. Brackets  
<usefirstnameinstead-newsgroup at unknownbrackets.org> wrote:

> Well, that's all I mean by self moderation.  If users are making a  
> conscious effort to clarify (just like a "forward" button in email),  
> then problem solved.
>
> I find subthreads undesirable because humans think and experience the  
> conversation linearly.  They're not unlikely to cross reference, and in  
> newsgroups it's common to read "as X posted in his other reply" and  
> such.  So, then you have to go hunt that down.

I find cross-referencing to occur quite rarely.

> It also seems like providing links to other posts can't be done ideally.  
>   It's rarely done, sometimes it uses a proprietary link, sometimes it  
> uses news://, and in most readers this seems to break threading (e.g.  
> pretty sure Thunderbird just opens the post in a new tab without  
> context.)  So, solving the multi-parent/cross-referencing issue oneself  
> isn't trivial.

This is an implementation problem (albeit a rather real and unfortunate  
one).

> Sure, and choice is wonderful.  But conflicting choice is the problem.  
> For example, on a web based forum I typically will reply, quoting  
> multiple people who talked about similar things, and addressing their  
> points or concerns together.
>
> I may make multiple posts in a row (depending on the forum, some  
> consider this bad manners) if there are many posts to reply to with  
> slightly varying sub-subjects.
>
> This usually works well, and allows people to skim in ways that make  
> sense.
>
> Now, if I have the choice to do that, how does it mesh with a newsgroup  
> style?  Now I have a single post with multiple parents.  Where does it  
> go?  This is the question that "hybrid mode" fails to answer, and when  
> you see it enabled, it's obvious who does and who doesn't use the  
> threading.
>
> So, in that case at least, choice makes everyone lose, basically.

I think you're over-exaggerating the problem (especially considering the  
trade-offs). Just put a "Reply" button next to each post, and remove the  
reply facilities that are not visually tied to specific posts.

-- 
Best regards,
  Vladimir                            mailto:vladimir at thecybershadow.net


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