Replies

1. 
   bob_barnett | Jan 24, 2010 09:14pm | #1

   Good suggestion

2. 
   flairwoodworks | Jan 24, 2010 10:05pm | #2

   Or maybe just add a letter or number at the end - "01/24/10" seems a bit long winded. Plus, that requires me to know the date. How about "N" for new, or "10" for the year?

3. 
   forestgirl | Jan 25, 2010 02:55am | #3

   Ralph, the whole title thing is a bit frustrating, I agree. However, I'm finding I'm already bug-eyed trying to visually pick out the important parts of the page from the statistics that are plastered all over the place (see below), and I fear that yet another bunch of numbers will just make it worse. What I would suggest is that members write titles that are specific, not general, in nature. It seems we have quite a few more character-spaces than in the old platform, makes titling easier.

   I'm referring to things such as:

   Topics Posts Last Post

   16895 193306 12 hours 53 minutes ago

   104 new

   and look up top at the title of your discussion. The first thing I want to know when I click on a thread is "Who?" as in who posted it. That blue type is barely discernable from the black that surrounds it, my eyes (yes, they're aged) do not zap right to the name, it always takes more time than it should.

   I would think the software could be adjusted such that it would append a number to duplicate posts as they arise -- the same way my scanner software appends numbers to the title of multi-page scans. Heaven only knows how much is involved in changing that part of it though!

1. 
   RalphBarker | Jan 25, 2010 12:45pm | #4

   "I would think the software could be adjusted such that it would append a number to duplicate posts as they arise "

   The usual database strategy is for the system to assign a "serial" number identifier to each record (post) as it is made, thus creating a unique element upon which to index in combination with other fields.

   My suggestion of appending the current date to the thread title is probably overkill, not to mention the fact that many members probably wouldn't do so, anyway. And, I agree that the majority of thread titles are usually too general to enable folks to identify the actual question/comment being posed.

   . . . Heaven only knows how much is involved in changing that part of it though!"

   Changing the core strategy of a database is a huge issue (programmers like to call this "not insignificant" ;-) ). But, since this is a "beta" version, it may actually be necessary to re-import all of the old data into a "final" version of the forum and underlying database once the kinks are worked out.