What's on your mind?

[Morrus]

I've just added a quicker way to post stuff. If you're logged in, you'll see a box at the top of every forum page. You can use that to quickly post in one of a selection of larger forums here at EN World. If you're in a forum already, the forum selection will default to that forum; otherwise you'll need to choose one.

 

[Morrus]

Anyone used this yet? I'm curious to hear if it's working as expected!

 

[Umbran]

Just tried it. Worked about as I expected.

 

[Morrus]

Just tried it. Worked about as I expected.

That could be good or it cold be ominous! How did you expect it to work?

 

[diaglo]

i was going to reply to Umbran using the box. but it only let me start a whole new thread. i didn't think my reply was worthy of a whole thread. could mean a lot of extra work connecting conversations.

 

[Umbran]

Anyone used this yet? I'm curious to hear if it's working as expected!

Just tried it. Worked about as I expected.

That could be good or it cold be ominous! How did you expect it to work?

Sorry. I sometimes like being a wiseacre by being literal

I expected it to make a new thread, as you described.

There is one small way in which it didn't act as expected. Usually, when you create or post, you are deposited at the end of the thread you just posted in. This left me here in *this* thread.

As a bit of user experience thought:

I think when a user sees this at the top of a forum, most folks will expect a new thread will be created. However, when it is it at the top of a discussion thread, I think there will be some who will think it is a quick reply *to the thread*, which it isn't.

If you can, you might want to consider limiting it to forum list pages, not to discussion thread pages, for that reason. Or, make it quick reply to the thread.

 

[Morrus]

Thanks!

I think what I'm driving - uneloquently at - is not so much whether it mechanically works (though that is important information to have) as to how the process feels.

The idea is that starting a new thread is really quick and easy. Is it inviting? Is the process quick? Do you feel starting a thread is an easier process than it used to be?

The model is Facebook/G+ and those other giga-social-networks (we're a nano-social-network). They've streamlined the posting process to a triviality, whereas a forum like this traditionally requires signing up, navigating to a forum, clicking the new thread button, filling out a title and a message and likely a prefix, then clicking submit.

In comparison, on G+ or FB, you tap in your message and press 'post' and you're done.

It'll never be as quick as those sites, but it can be a lot quicker than it had been. My hope is that starting new topics is much easier and more accessible now.

 

[Umbran]

The model is Facebook/G+ and those other giga-social-networks (we're a nano-social-network). They've streamlined the posting process to a triviality, whereas a forum like this traditionally requires signing up, navigating to a forum, clicking the new thread button, filling out a title and a message and likely a prefix, then clicking submit.

In comparison, on G+ or FB, you tap in your message and press 'post' and you're done.

Well, I note that you have to signup for Facebook or G+ too. So you've added a step on the forum side that you're not representing on the other.

It'll never be as quick as those sites, but it can be a lot quicker than it had been. My hope is that starting new topics is much easier and more accessible now.

I don't expect is was a major barrier to begin with. These are discussion forums - built to support, well, discussion. Social networks are not built for such - they're more about quick statements, not protracted discussions.

Basically, on social media, the archtypal post i s a sentence or two, takes a minute or less to write. Any time taken on top of that seems big.

Here, if you are taking 10 minutes to write a chunk of prose, the few seconds for the form are not going to seem like a big deal.

 

[Morrus]

Well, I note that you have to signup for Facebook or G+ too. So you've added a step on the forum side that you're not representing on the other.

True.

I don't expect is was a major barrier to begin with. These are discussion forums - built to support, well, discussion. Social networks are not built for such - they're more about quick statements, not protracted discussions.

Basically, on social media, the archtypal post i s a sentence or two, takes a minute or less to write. Any time taken on top of that seems big.

Here, if you are taking 10 minutes to write a chunk of prose, the few seconds for the form are not going to seem like a big deal.

Maybe you're right and it won't make a difference. I wasn't really asking for predictions, though (we have actual data we can measure it with; no need to guess at that). Though there are plenty of very detailed discussions on social media.

I was more just asking how it felt from the user side. Does it feel quicker, easier, more inviting at all?

 

[Umbran]

I wasn't really asking for predictions, though (we have actual data we can measure it with; no need to guess at that).

Oh, you have instrumentatio to tell which way a thread was created? Excellent!

Though there are plenty of very detailed discussions on social media.

I'm sure.

I was more just asking how it felt from the user side. Does it feel quicker, easier, more inviting at all?

The vast majority of my posts are replies or additions to existing threads, rather than new threads. I skim down past it when I come to a thread page, and forget it is there when I'm not looking at this thread in Meta.