Organising Talkback

MonkeyNuts

MonkeyNuts

Ok, I probably should be getting on with my work but I wondered if WN were open to suggestions for improving Talkback?

*SA*

in what way? you got any ideas in particular?

Carol

If you run the suggestions past all of us, you'd get feedback first, then could make the suggestions to the Editor with reasoned arguements.

MonkeyNuts

One idea was to do with the page numbers and historic posts. I wondered if it would be better to organise the posts by month/year order. So, for example, instead of clicking on page 103 and finding out it is a post from April 2006, could there not be a link that gives you all the posts for April. (Displayed a bit like the individual profile section when you click on your name.)

Jan

When you wish to check content of a thread to which you are responding, just click the back button (top left) then click forward to carry on typing.

As for topics organised by month/year, I do not understand the relevance. It is topic or subject content that would, most likely, be of interest when searching archives.

Carol

What does irritate me when I'm typing a thread is when it's taken a while to compose, you press submit and it won't(because you've timed out.) Then you have to copy it, go out the system , come back and log in again, go to the thread, hit reply, paste then submit- it does it.
Not all answers are short.

Carol

I'd never considered that aspect before amboline.
Since Webbo got his promotion he probably hasn't had much time to fiddle with the system.
It seems to be the name changing that creates the most problem, and as you say security is compromised.
Who's going to e-mail Webbo?

sooz48

I agree on that one. It is a problem when someone else can log in in your name and look up all your details. I don't like the idea of other people being able to see my full address without my permission. I really do think that it's important that this is sorted out as quickly as possible.

Carol

I do agree Dorothy, we have to be careful what info we let people access where the web is concerned. As I found, even the most innocuous stuff can be mis-used and cause problems.

SallyQ

I've been lucky so far and never logged in as anyone else (and as far as I know, no one has logged in as me), but I can imagine it's a bit worrying that someone may get access to private details. I wonder if it might be better for Webbo to use one of the many free forums, like php.

The current set up isn't very user friendly. For example, when replying it only ever shows the first post, which is awkward if you want to respond to one of the later posts, and need to remember what's been said (as in a story round robin for example).

MonkeyNuts

Jan, I just thought the date idea would be a good selection field under the categories. So, when you clicked on Writers and Readers, for example, you would have a page of the current posts and instead of having links to pages and pages listed at the bottom of the screen, you would have something that organised the historic posts. I just find seeing page after page a bit 'off-putting' and it makes it very hard to find specific historic posts under a category.

Also, I noticed people post quite topical things. So, if you wanted to look at something that you knew happened in Dec 2006, you could click on that month and look at the specific posts for that time. (Otherwise, you would have to go through lots of different pages in order to try and find that post!)

Carol

Earlier today I contacted Webbo via the Editor to find out what was happening, and had an answer.
So, there have been some difficulties and they hope to get the site back in line soon.
Time is an issue at the moment, so some sections have been removed because they demand a lot of time to keep them updated.
Some things will go, and may come back later.
There will be someone to deal with things we contact Webbo with.
So we obviously need to be patient.

Jan

SallyQ,
Regarding your point about viewing thread content whilst replying, Claudia raised the same concern. See my suggestion, earlier in this thread.

Monkeynuts,
Yes I understand but it would only work for topics that one remembered the time of posting. Topic listing provides means of finding posts about all subjects, not just seasonal events (e.g. Taxation) but the search option already exists albeit less precise.

Hippo

Errr, can anyone tell me if there's a quick way to get to a member's name to email them.  The only way I can find to do it is to go to Members' Profiles and click through each page until I get to their name - of course anyone I've ever wanted to email has been at the back end of the alpahabet and it's taken ages!  Is there a way to, say, search on an initial, at least, to get you in the right ballpark?  Thanks.

Carol

The members profile list comes up in an order of who posted the last message on the system, so if you know that they've posted a message that day it should help you limit down how far back you need to go.

josiehenley

Carol, to get around the problem of timing out when composing replies, I compose my replies in Word first (also helps with the spelling and typos, what you thought this was me?) and then copy and paste in.

Hippo, if I want to see a person’s profile, I click on their name (or right-click and select ‘open link in new window’ so I don’t lose the thread – always losing the thread, me) and then it comes up with a list of all their posts with a ‘view profile’ link at the top. I’ve never even tried to navigate through the pages of member profiles at all.

Organising Talkback would be good, it’s obviously been going for long enough to make this necessary. And there’s some good stuff there as well. Maybe it would be good to have a ‘popular threads’ link, or something where they could be flagged so you’d know.

Jay Mandal

Hippo - if you look at the 'address' (URL???) in the box on your screen, you'll probably find a page number. If 'A' is on page one, and you want someone whose name begins with a 'T', try amending '1' to '20' and see where you end up. (You might need to do right arrow and delete to remove only the number 1 rather than the whole address.) If I've confused you, let me know, and I'll try to explain it better.

Howard

Hippo, could you do a search for the person and from there get the date of their last posting and from there go to the list of talkbackers and from there go to the relevant date and from there start your mission impossible.....

Jan

I just click on the name in the left column of that persons posting/message.

As for popular threads. We are so disorganised that many threads become sidetracked or contain more than one deviation due to one comment provoking thought in another mind.

Jenny

Jay - would you care to change "disorganised" to "amazingly imaginative"??!!

Carol

divergent!

Island Girl

I'd like to make a suggestion for organising Talkback if I could.
When we add a message reply, the first thread is seen on the screen just below the Submit Reply button. It's in its own little section with the heading, "In Response To". I'd ideally like to see the User Name of the person who posted the original thread, shown somewhere on that screen. I may have altzheimers or something but I very often have to hit the BACK button to remember just who it is I am replying to.

Island Girl

And, while I think of it, perhaps we could have not only the original message below the Submit button BUT what if we could also see the last entry too? How much easier would THAT make replying to things!

Jay Mandal

Jenny - what??? You've confused me!

Jenny

Sorry Jay - that should have been addressed to Jan.

Hippo

Thanks for the tips, chaps, but for those of you who suggested simply clicking on the person's name, I thought you had to go to the actual profile list to access the 'contact' column you need to email them? 

Jay, I understand what you're saying and will give it a go - thanks. 

Dohh, mid-typing this, I've just checked the Members' Profiles and realised that I've always had the alphabetical listing by default before, instead of the listing by last posting - aha, it all becomes clear and so much easier to navigate...  I think I need a lie down, it's been a hard week.

Jan

Morning Jenny (and Dorothyd, and Carol),

I thought I might have escaped the ribaldry (poor Jay must have been suffering a complex) not that any harm was intended.

One might also suggest we are guilty of digression, megalomania (we all suffer passion and are guilty of) disarrangement, misplacement. Hence thread themes often become inverted which intrigues and entices me to read through all the jumble and muddle of friends contributions.

It's Friday. Some view it as foretelling the end of the working week, to others it is merely another day of toil. This week it is giving me a feeling of elation, even though much awaits my attention some arduous tasks have been completed.

Tessa Tangent

Hurrah Jan, I shall celebrate, too.  I'm on a slight high of achievement with you.