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Request for extra MB functionality
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Message 1.Â
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Friday, 26th January 2007
Dear Keri,
I have a request for an extra facility on the MB that I hope would be really easy to implement and that I would find very useful - no, it's not smileys!
On the "My discussions" page, each thread subscribed to has the facility to be read from the 1st post (by clicking on the title of the thread), or from my own last contribution (by clicking on the "Last contribution" link) or from the most recent page (by clicking on the "Latest post" link).
At the moment I often find that there are, for example, 83 posts in a thread, there have been 27 new posts since the last time I read the thread, but my last contribution was post number 18. I can therefore jump to the first page (my message 18) or the last page with only 3 posts on it, and it then takes a bit of navigating to find the last post I read, and therefore where I want to start reading from.
What I would find really helpful would be the facility to read from the first post since the last time I read the thread - ie from where I left off last time. I hope that it will be simple to implement this, as the system obviously keeps count of the last place I read to already, as it counts the New posts.
Would it therefore be possible to make the number next to "New posts" clickable, to link to the first message posted since the last time I read that thread? E.g. if there are 83 posts and 27 new posts, clicking on the number next to "New posts" would take me straight to message number 57 (I think).
Hope this would be simple to do and you'd be happy to add it to the board.
Thanks for considering it - sorry this is a bit of a ramble.
'Ö' -
Message 2
Posted by welshteddy (U3680635) on Friday, 26th January 2007
YES! YES! YES! BRILLIANT IDEA.
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Message 3
Posted by RosieT (U2224719) on Friday, 26th January 2007
Bring Back Time Order first.
Please. -
Message 4
Posted by greenwichmark (U6529212) on Friday, 26th January 2007
Fri, 26 Jan 2007 15:46 GMT, in reply to RosieT in message 3
Rosie,
Sorry for being thick - perhaps as I have only been a visitor to these boards since October - but what is Time Order?! -
Message 5
Posted by RosieT (U2224719) on Friday, 26th January 2007
This, from the {one day in the future to be updated} Messageboard FAQ:
"See Latest Messages will display all the posts in the order that they were posted - newest at the top. The only clue to where they fall in the discussion is their title, so you need to have a reasonable memory (or switch between views occassionally) to fully comprehend what's going on. This view is best if you're a regular visitor and want to catch up on what's been said in the half an hour since you were last in
or for once you've caught up and just want to see who's around and chat with everybody on a variety of topics. This view really comes into its own at the end of month parties (on the last saturday of every month) in the Bull, and also if you've just listened to the latest episode and want to hear what everyone else has to say on the Current Storylines board. "
Dead and gorn, alas. Spoilt a good deal of the fun. -
Message 6
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Friday, 26th January 2007
Fri, 26 Jan 2007 18:37 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 1
I'm pretty sure that Achilles' Watcher script (see here: gives you this very feature, Badger.
You will, of course, need to be running Firefox+Greasemonkey (or Opera, maybe) for the script to run (as described here:
(Note: if using Firefox 2 (and hence the latest Greasemonkey) then you need to left-click on the script to install it, not right-click as described on the Watcher instructions. Must get round to amending them).
hth
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 7
Posted by Keri Davies (U2219620) on Friday, 26th January 2007
Indeed I would find such a facility most useful, LB, and I will recommend it to the techies.
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Message 8
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Friday, 26th January 2007
Ooh, great, thanks Keri.
Jont - thanks for your message. I run Firefox (now v2) and have been using your excellent script for some months now. However I tend not to use the watcher script as it lists all watched threads with new messages at the top of the screen, which I find a bit confusing and cluttered - sorry! No offence taken, I hope, because many of the features of your script are indispensable. I'm hoping that it might be possible to build this 'catch up' feature into DNA, so that the feature would be built into each thread listing rather than at the top of the page. Otherwise I'll revert to using Watcher.
Thanks again, both of you.
Leap -
Message 9
Posted by Dragonfly (U2223700) on Saturday, 27th January 2007
Come now, how I would keep my mental arithmetic up to scratch without this glitch?
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Message 10
Posted by jane c (U2234970) on Saturday, 27th January 2007
serious attack of the giggles!!
Hallo, M!°
jx
[where's the flea-killer? pass it over here] -
Message 11
Posted by Spartacus (U38364) on Sunday, 28th January 2007
I know this may sound obvious, but aren't you just asking for a link to the post immediately after your own last contribution? Surely going to your last contribution and scrolling down one post achieves the same thing?
Or are you wanting a link to the post after the last post you /read/? That would only work if *every* thread you ever visited was remembered in a "cookie", and would be impractical if you read more than a few dozen threads. -
Message 12
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Sunday, 28th January 2007
Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:17 GMT, in reply to P126) in message 11
Peet, the "Your discussions" list's "New posts" shows the number of "new posts" since you last fetched/read/looked-at that thread and so the information required is already available.
Indeed, Achilles' "Watcher" script makes use of that information to generate a link to the relevant place in the thread. The "AllInOne"'s [subscribe] feature makes this even more useful as you don't actually have to contribute to the thread for this to work.
I guess I could copy that specific functionality into the AllInOne script.. but I'm not sure how Achilles would take to that.
hth
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 13
Posted by Land Rover (U6216118) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Agree LB's idea would be great, I also miss the back to top button at the bottom of the page. My scrolling finger works hard enough.
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Message 14
Posted by RosieT (U2224719) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
At the risk of 'grandmother' and 'eggs' being hurled at me, the 'Home' button on your keypad/board takes you to the top, and the 'End' button takes you to the foot of the page.
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Message 15
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:09 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 8
Badger (et al).. I /think/ you will find the feature (close to what) you want by following the "My Discussions" link from an h2g2 page. In your case that would take you here:
The "nn new posts" is a clickable link which should take you to the correct page.. but fails to take you to the exact post (because the #anchor-target part of the URL does not have a match on the target page.. in fact it is quoted as a message number in the form "#pi267" where the 267 is the exact post.. so you can look in the resulting URL to tell which post was the intended target).
I've only briefly looked at this.. so may be wrong about its functionality.
See this (apparently obsolete) page for an explanation of the other links and what they do:
hth
Back to DIY for me.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 16
Posted by Land Rover (U6216118) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Thank you for that. Unfortunately am on Spanish keyboard stuck in English at the moment. Bit tricky as have no idea what English keyboard looks like. Have found button called Re Pag though which takes me back up but have to hold it down not instant so not much different from the scroll button.
Not at all worried about being taught to suck eggs! Love that saying and have always wondered where on earth it came from. -
Message 17
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:22 GMT, in reply to studioj in message 15
Sorry.. that should read:
It's the one in the navigation menu on the left edge of an h2g2 page.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 18
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:25 GMT, in reply to Land Rover in message 16
You'll normally find the [home] and [end] keys in the cluster of six navigation keys along with [ins], [del], [page-up] & [page-down].. usually above the arrow-cursor keys.
hth
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 19
Posted by Land Rover (U6216118) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Oh wow, thank you. It's called Inicio and on the Re Pag button in blue so should have worked it out found it on main keyboard upstairs now can use it on lap top by holding down a blue one called Fn.
Can anyone remind me where the at symbol and question mark is on English keyboard while you are all being so helpful. I have a feeling keyboard may be stuck in English setting for the weekend and may need to ask a question or send an E mail by then. It was all right until I persuaded the spell check to work in English. I know there is a way to have Office in English and keyboard in Spanish but it always take me a while to sort it after reinstalling windows. -
Message 20
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:53 GMT, in reply to Land Rover in message 19
Depending on layouts you might find @ above the "2" or a shifted prime (single quote) near the return key.
It's difficult for me to tell 'cos I'm typing from a keyboard like this: (except the older model).
Suggest you open Notepad (or equivalent) and play with all the keys and combinations.
hth
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 21
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Hi Land Rover,
It depends which system you use.
On a Mac, @ is found by pressing Shift+2; on a PC, it is by pressing Shift+' (apostrophe, 2 keys to the right of the L)
Question mark is, at least usually, found by pressing Shift+/ (the key to the left of the right-hand Shift key)
I'm sure someone else can explain this more clearly than me, but hope it helps.
Jont, thanks for the link to the h2g2. It's not quite what I want because it only goes to the top of the page, but it's a step in the right direction and hopefully with a combination of that and Achilles's watcher script as guidelines, the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú techs can incorporate the function into ML to prevent us from having to hop around DNA.
Thanks for taking the time to hunt this down and point it out; I think it will help.
'Ö' -
Message 22
Posted by Land Rover (U6216118) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
I can now @ and ? with ease. Thank you both sorry to distract from the original thread.
Cheers, LR -
Message 23
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Saturday, 3rd February 2007
Sat, 03 Feb 2007 18:44 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 21
Badger.. the links I pointed you to are exactly the feature you are wanting.. including the bit about taking you to the precise post.. so the DNA team do know what is required and have already implemented it.. except that the #target bit itself isn't present on the target pages we are dealing with.. but at least the URL tells you the exact "Message no" (within the thread) which to scroll down to.
I guess it would be possible for the all-in-one script to insert those target anchors so it all works as expected (without recourse to the Watcher script).. but of course I'm somewhat tied up with DIY.
ps: fyi, the different places where the @ can be found aren't just the difference between PC & Mac.. it really depends on what layout you tell the computer you want. Before I had this blank keyboard the keycap layout had the @ above the apostrophe and the apostrophe somewhere else.. but I told my PC it was otherwise ('cos that's what I was more comfortable with).
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 24
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Wednesday, 14th February 2007
Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:46 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 21
Hello Badger.
DIY hasn't been going well so I have distracted myself for a little while (though I must get on with the DIY)..
I have created a new version of the AllInOne script (v1.23 beta).. this inserts the correct target anchors on the thread-view such that the links from the h2g2 "My Conversations" page should now take you to the exact post (and highlight it, if you have "auto highlight target post on page arrival" enabled).
Would you care to try this out (in combination with the h2g2 page, for now) and let me know if it functions as you wish? If it does I can then consider putting the relevant "Catch up" links on the normal message board's "Your discussions" page.. so long as Achilles has no objections, that is. We might also be able to modify the Watcher script to make use of these new links.
This is a beta release only.. (and not considered the 'current' release).. and you will find the link to it only at the bottom of my site (in the "Version history" bit).
You will also need to enable the link insertion feature in the [Config] screen.. it's labelled "insert 'Catch-up' anchor targets" under the popUpPost feature.
Oughta get on with some DIY now.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 25
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Wednesday, 14th February 2007
Thanks Jont. A star you are indeed!
Have installed and will try it out tomorrow.
Sorry to hear of DIY trauma. Hope you get back on top of it soon.
'Ö' -
Message 26
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Wednesday, 14th February 2007
Wed, 14 Feb 2007 22:24 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 25
Hope it does what you want, Badger.. if it does then I'll look at putting the links on the std discussion page.
Frankly, I needed the distraction (and even more frankly, a slight rest) from the DIY. Thanks for your good wishes.
Keep well.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 27
Posted by Andrew-R (U7174566) on Friday, 16th February 2007
In reply to message 7:
Yes! please can we have most recent at the top.
It always struck me as odd that the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's "Have Your Say" messages on the News website are in that order, but The Archers is in the opposite order - perhaps you could liaise with the news techies to see the plusses and minuses that they've found. -
Message 28
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Friday, 16th February 2007
Hi jont,
Have been using v1.23 beta for a couple of days now, and the phrase "jam packed with added features" doesn't do it justice.
The relevant post on a thread is ringed in solid blue; "parent" posts are highlighted in one way and "daughter" posts in another, and each post has a symbol top left which gives details of the number of parents, siblings and daughters of that post on the page, and another (three horizontal lines) which give details of the number of posts by that poster on the page. Have I missed anything out?
And yes, when I click on the "new posts" from the h2g2 page, it does exactly what I hoped, jumping straight to the first new post since I last looked at the thread.
It's a marvel! Thanks so much for putting this together. Well, I suppose you should be thanking me for giving you a distraction from DIY.
Have an oil tanker full of your favourite (Grolsch, if I remember correctly) on me.
'Ö'
ps: just one further thing you might know: is there a way of setting the default view to show a different number of posts from the usual 20? I know I can type "&show=n" at the end of the URL to show me n posts, but just wondered if there's a way of setting a different number as default. Not trying to add work, just picking your brains.
all the best -
Message 29
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Friday, 16th February 2007
Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:07 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 28
Hiya Badger.
Thanks for the testing and the feedback. Appreciated.
You make a point of mentioning some features (post highlight and 'thread navigation widgets') which have been there since v1.21 - were you on an earlier version? If you're unfamiliar with these features then you may benefit from rechecking the instructions (or at least the relevant release notes). Anyway, hope they are useful to you - and glad they seem to work fine for the 'catch-up' targets.
Pleased that the 'catch-up' works as you want.. I need now to put catch-up links on the standard message-board discussion list. I didn't want to do this without consulting Achilles.. 'cos it is a feature that he implemented in his Watcher script and I was worried that it might seem that I was encroaching on Watcher territory. I emailed him about this the other day but have had no response.. anyone seen him about?
Well.. it is easy for the script to do this and indeed I have been asked before to implement this. I have resisted because:
a) I didn't want the script to be seen (by the DNA team) as putting extra load on the servers because they (the team) might then deliberately try to stop the script working (and we'd lose /all/ the features).. or, at least, we'd enter a cycle of DNA break the script, jont fix it, DNA break the script, jont fix it etc etc
b) Displaying the max amount (200) wouldn't always be convenient or desirable.
Having said that, as from v1.22, I do make it easier for you to change the 20-->200 for threads arrived at from links from the mayo and the "Your discussions" pages. (See the last part of the release notes for v1.22).
Of course there's nothing I (or the DNA team) can do to stop you editing your copy of the script to change it (hint: search for "&skip=0&show=20"). The file is called "bbc_dna_mb_allinone.user.js". Use Notepad or Wordpad to edit
There are slight extra difficulties for setting the "&show" value for the catch-up links because if the post-count value isn't a modulus of the target post (or top post of the page of the target post) then you can end up with negative page numbers if you use the [previous] link. You can see this effect by going to the second (20post) page of a thread, changing the "&show=20" --> "&show=40" (return) and then using the [previous] link.
Thanks for the Grolsch.. much appreciated.
All the best backatcha.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 30
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Friday, 16th February 2007
Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:39 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 28
ps: forgot to say: "Thanks for the distraction"
pps: did you know you can click on the navigation widgets? Of course, you'll find that out if/when you read the instructions
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 31
Posted by Achilles Grytpype-Thynne (U2328687) on Saturday, 17th February 2007
Sat, 17 Feb 2007 12:44 GMT, in reply to studioj in message 29
I emailed [Achilles] about this the other day but have had no response.. anyone seen him about?Â
Sorry Ossifer I was er, um, busy. I've now replied to your email basically to say that it sounds like a great idea to me and of course you can steal - I mean, reuse - any code that looks worthwhile.
I'm sorry Badger doesn't like the Watcher script listing the threads with new messages at the top, since this is its very raison d'etre ...
Best wishes
Achilles -
Message 32
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Sunday, 18th February 2007
Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:23 GMT, in reply to Achilles Grytpype-Thynne in message 31
Cheers, Achilles.
Will maybe tamper with the script over the week. Been too tired (due to yesterday's excitement) to do anything much today.
Best wishes backatcha.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 33
Posted by Achilles Grytpype-Thynne (U2328687) on Monday, 19th February 2007
Mon, 19 Feb 2007 01:10 GMT, in reply to studioj in message 32
(due to yesterday's excitement)Â
Should I know about this?
Cheers
Achilles -
Message 34
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Monday, 19th February 2007
Mon, 19 Feb 2007 02:03 GMT, in reply to Achilles Grytpype-Thynne in message 33
Just having a post (Tate) modernist moment, Achilles.
Suffice to say I met some very lovely people.
Keep well.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 35
Posted by Achilles Grytpype-Thynne (U2328687) on Monday, 19th February 2007
Mon, 19 Feb 2007 02:13 GMT, in reply to studioj in message 34
Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself, at least by the sound of it.
I had been reading the trollish threads but that's a different kind of excitement.
Sleep well when you do.
Best wishes
Achilles -
Message 36
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Tuesday, 20th February 2007
Cheers, boys,
The scripts are excellent, and I've benefited from the extra features since upgrading to the beta version. (I thought I was on v1.22 before that; perhaps I hadn't checked some of the options on the config page.)
Achilles; your watcher script does exactly what I'd like (although, to be picky, I prefer to be able to jump to the first new post but still be able to see what posts were before it, as v1.23b enables me to do, rather than have the target post at the top of the page). I agree that listing all updated threads at the top of the page is a good idea and probably suits most users; I simply find it a bit confusing to have more text on the page. I'm hoping that Keri can get the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú to build it in to the fabric of the page. Failing that, it seems Jont has cracked it for what I want. Please don't take it personally! Had you been there on Saturday I would certainly have bought you a drink to, for your excellent work, patience in explaining things and generally being a good egg.
Cheers, both of you!
'Ö' -
Message 37
Posted by Achilles Grytpype-Thynne (U2328687) on Tuesday, 20th February 2007
Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:37 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 36
still be able to see what posts were before itÂ
Well, the Watcher does show you the two previous posts, precisely to give some context. The "two", alas, is not configurable, I admit. And it expands a bit if there are <10 posts. But given the lack of feedback on it, I have not upgraded it at all (apart from for myself -- I can configure how far it goes forward).
BTW, that's not a whinge in there -- it's just that, had issues been voiced, I would have addressed them; but they weren't, so I didn't.
Cheers
Achilles -
Message 38
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Tuesday, 20th February 2007
Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:25 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 36
I rather suspect that that happens only by accident and it won't happen whenever the catch-up post is at the top of a 20post-per-page-boundary.. and this will always be the case if there are many pages of posts to catch up on you've just caught up with the first of those pages. (And at any other time that the last post you read was the last post on a page - and there are more to follow).
This is how it works using the existing h2g2 "new posts" links.. but of course I intend to generate those catch-up links on the std mb discussion page.. so I have the option of making it work differently. Maybe, just maybe, I can make it a configurable option (and maybe also make the number of posts-per-page configurable (catch-up links only, though)).. but there'll be a little bit of whacky bistromaths to be performed there for it to work correctly/usefully.
ps: cheers again for the beer the other day.. and great to meet you, btw.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 39
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Tuesday, 20th February 2007
Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:24 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 36
Mr Badger sir, I have a question, if I may.
If I were to offer you the option of choosing the number of posts per page (from the catch-up links only, you understand) and also to allow you to choose the (minimum) number of prior posts (to show context) then this is where the bistromathics comes into play and I'd appreciate your input.
A given: In order for the [Previous] link on the thread view to work properly the current page's "skip" value needs to be an exact multiple of the posts-per-page value.
Now, if, for example, you chose posts-per-page=20 and prior-context-posts=2 then:
If the "new" post was Message 20 or 21, in order to show you the requested 2 prior-context-posts, should I:
a) double the posts-per-page value and show you posts 1-40.. (and, as a consequence, the Previous/Next would be in chunks of 40).. but still jumping to the exact post(*)
b) stick to the requested 20 posts-per-page and forgo showing (all) the requested prior context posts
c) do something else?
I hope you understand what I mean.
Of course, if the "new" post was Message 2 then there's no way I can show you the requested 2 context-posts 'cos they simply don't exist. So maybe we should be consistent with this scenario.
(* or should the page attempt to jump to the earliest of the context-posts rather than the precise catch-up-post?)
Input welcome. Am coding right now (and not DIYing)
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 40
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Tuesday, 20th February 2007
Hi Jont!
Thanks to you and Achilles for responses etc.
Actually I'm quite happy with it showing the default spread of 20 messages per page. This means it will occasionally show the first new post at the top of the page, if it is message 21, 41 and so on.
If it's easy enough to put 2 or 3 previous posts before it on the same page, no matter which number post is the first new one, that could be a help. However it's fairly easy to click on the 'This is a reply to this message' link on the odd occasions when the first new post falls at the top of a page in the default listing mode.
I like having more posts per page than the standard 20, simply because on long threads there are a lot of page fwd/page back jumps needed to catch up. However, one of the major benefits of more posts per page (40 or 50, say) is that when there are 30 or more new posts, it is easier to jump to the page containing the first new post since last reading the thread. If your add-on will jump direct to the first new post, as it does currently from the h2g2 page, this need is bypassed.
If you're thinking of building this catch-up feature into the All-in-one script, I'd suggest leaving it as it works currently in the beta version from the h2g2 page, which I think is your option (b):
that is, the posts-per-page view is set to 20, and the link will jump direct to the first new post. If that first new post is number 21, 41, 61 etc, it will appear at the top of the page; on these rare occasions, it will be easy enough to jump back to the previous page to remind yourself of the posts immediately prior. (If the first new post is 21, say, and the page comes up with the first posts being 18, 19 and 20, I suspect you'll get a lot of users contacting you saying "What's going wrong with ML?" - i.e. it might cause more confusion than it's worth. Best alter the appearance of this as little as possible to achieve the desired results, say I.)
(Another benefit of having the script jump you directly to the first new post is that when you have reminded yourself of the prior posts on the previous page and press the Back button on the browser, the browser will again jump down to the first new post (if it is not at the top of the page). At least, my copy of Firefox will do this.
So, I think what I'm saying is that if you keep things as they are in the v1.23b version, this is the most likely to please the punters.
I did see your helpful reply about jigging the script to change the default page view to a higher number of posts per page, but I won't tackle this until I feel a bit more compos mentis. It might be that I'll no longer hanker after longer pages when I can easily jump to the first post I want to catch up on.
Hope this all makes some form of sense. I do tend to get rather verbose especially when I'm tired, so if there's any confusion, reply and I'll read and respond in the morning.
Happy coding, always happy to give you a distraction from DIY; hope you have a good night, and speak soon.
cheers
'Ö'
Good grief - have just read this through, talk about spaghetti prose! I guess I'll be clarifying it in the morning, then.
Off to bed.
Boing! -
Message 41
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Wednesday, 21st February 2007
Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:54 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 40
Hey Mr. Badger.. thanks for your extensive - and very helpful - reply. I very much appreciate the trouble you have gone to. I do hope it didn't tire you out (and I hope even more that I'm not being inept in saying that!)
So, it looks like it might be a lot simpler to achieve than I thought, if I don't try to implement the prior-context-posts bit. Thanks.
Thanks for your input regarding how confusing it could become to divert from the norm.. you are quite correct. However, I think I might still leave the posts-per-page as a configurable option - in case we find it useful - but it the default value will be the standard 20.
I hope you're feeling more compos mentis soon.. but I must say that your comprehensive post indicates to me that you're as compos mentis as it gets.
Thanks again. Hope you sleep/slept well.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 42
Posted by Le blaireau qui saute (U4363697) on Wednesday, 21st February 2007
Glad it makes sense, Jont.
Just one further pestering - I mean, thought: would it be possible to change the time stamp function so that it only inserts the time when the 'Reply' button is pressed; i.e., when someone starts a new thread, the time stamp is not inserted.
At the moment, the mayo has a lot of threads with a title and then almost all of the thread text that is visible is taken up with the time stamp. I find it really useful to be able to read a bit of the text on the mayo to decide whether I'll want to read that thread or not.
Does this make sense? Am I starting to annoy you yet?
Have another Grolsch on me.
'Ö' -
Message 43
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Wednesday, 21st February 2007
Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:28 GMT, in reply to Leppin' Badger in message 42
Hiya Badger..
I'm a bit confused as to whether your concern is the value of the timestamp or its position.
If it's the timing, see: the "shortcomings" here:
I /think/ that the problems mentioned there are now no longer with us (probably only in FF 1.0.x + GM 0.5.3) but it is still an involved bit of coding and I'm not sure I ought to allow myself the luxury of playing with the script right now while my bathroom project is so far behind (and I'm practically living out of one room as a consequence).
If it's the placement within the post then there's nothing to stop people typing in front and/or after it if they want.. though I /suppose/ that /could/ be a configurable option.
Sometimes when I /start/ a thread, I type a very short part of the post at the top (say, like a subtitle), then have the timestamp, then the main body of the post. It seems reasonable to me that others /could/ do the same themselves if they wish. The flexibility is in the hands of the users.. everybody can see what effect it has on the mayo.. and it is in the users' power to do something about it. So, I probably won't do anything about it right now. Sorry.
No, you're not starting to annoy me.
Yet
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 44
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Wednesday, 21st February 2007
Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:46 GMT, in reply to Leppin' Badger in message 42
ps: very rude of me, I forgot to say thanks for the Grolsch.. so thanks!
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 45
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Wednesday, 21st February 2007
Fair play, Jont. It was the placement within the post I was talking about, and you're absolutely right, people can place a short bit of text in front of it as you do; but they don't, and I thought rather than me asking people to do this we could do it via the back door by changing the function of the script. But if it's a pain, don't worry; I'm probably the only person who's bothered by it.
You can give people technology, but, like with mobile phones, getting them to use it sensitively is another matter entirely!
cheers
'Ö' -
Message 46
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Wednesday, 21st February 2007
Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:35 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 45
Badger, I have implemented a cheap solution to this issue.. yet still leaving the choice wholly in the users' hands.
Can you check it out for me please (again 1.23beta) and let me know whether you think it is too patronising or too annoying?
You will need to switch on the timestamp feature and go to start a new thread to see my cheap solution. If the user doesn't use the timestamp feature or is replying to a post rather than starting a thread then there is no change.
Input and suggestions to alternate text welcome (within reason, natch).
TIA
(ps: the catch-up code isn't finished but I don't think you'll lose the functionality you have right now)
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 47
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Wednesday, 21st February 2007
Sure thing, Jont; with pleasure. (And apologies if I've created unnecessary work for you.)
I'll check it in the morning as am winding down for the evening now. (With a Badger beer, natch!)
speak to you tomorrow
'Ö' -
Message 48
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Saturday, 24th February 2007
Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:15 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 47
Did you get a chance to look at it, Badger?
Subsequent to my original post (but possibly/probably before you re-downloaded the later version) I updated it to allow the user to switch off the hint message so my concern about it being too annoying may no longer apply.
Hope you are well, btw.
jont {;¬· >···{ -
Message 49
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Saturday, 24th February 2007
Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:24 GMT, in reply to studioj in message 48
Hi Jont,
(Look! Timestamp now on.)
Apologies for the delay; I made a note one evening to look at it the next morning, and duly forgot.
I think the 'script hint' very well worded, and extremely diplomatic. I don't think anyone could be annoyed by it, especially as you've now provided the facility to switch it off.
By the way, there were a couple of line breaks that on my screen appeared early in the line: between "putting a" and "brief opening" and between "display a little of the" and "context of your".
Thanks again,
Badger
Yes, still feeling pretty well (compared to past 5 months), thanks. Hope you are in good form too.
cheers -
Message 50
Posted by studioj (U1600165) on Saturday, 24th February 2007
Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:35 GMT, in reply to Leaping Badger in message 49
Hey, thanks for feedback.
As for the extra line breaks... hmmm.. I used a cheap and dirty workaround to solve a problem of the hint text widening part of the page and causing the layout of the buttons to look even worse than they normally do. My cheap solution was to expressly add some line-breaks (the ones you see).. I tested this at various text sizes and all seemed ok.. but yet you see the problem. My guess (though I could be wrong) is that you see this problem because you have deBogRoll disabled.. I hadn't considered that and didn't test or account for it. Maybe I need to find a less cheap solution. Sigh.
As for the deBogRoll, it puzzles me why anyone would have it disabled. In my opinion, if - when using it - the text is too wide for comfort, then why not just resize the browser to a size that's comfortable. It's the whole point of the deBogRoll.. so that you can set the text to be just the right width for you rather than have the width dictated by the beeb. But hey, each to their own.
Thanks again for you feedback.
Glad you're feeling ok.
jont {;¬· >···{
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