Tiny, but useful new forum feature - YouLookFab Forum

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Tiny, but useful new forum feature

Greg

This falls under the heading of things I should have done a long time ago. I know that it is sometimes a hassle to get to the end of the thread where the new posts are, so now if you click on the time of the latest post it will take you directly to that post (i.e. to the end of the thread).

So if you look at the list of conversations on the front page, in the "Latest" column, just below the name of the latest poster, it will say something like "9 minutes ago".

Click this to go directly to that latest post.

Of course, ideally there would be an easy way to see *only* the posts you haven't read yet, but I'm still looking into that one.

General

24 replies

Latest reply was from Greg

Louise

Veteran

Cool great idea thanks x

Anonymous

Thanks Greg, great idea.

I would also like one tiny change if it is not a real hassle. I would like a "back to the top" button added here at the bottom of the posts, and in the member directory.
Thanks,
San

Queen Mum

Veteran

oh, that is helpful! Thanks Greg!

cciele

Veteran

It's a start. Thanks Greg!

JennyK (NC)

Thanks Greg, it's great to have a shortcut!

The "go directly to posts new to me" is absolutely, positively my #1 priority request. Not being able to do that is really my only complaint about this whole site. I have every confidence that it is a feature you'll find a wonderful, new, innovative way to implement!

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

Love this feature! Thanks.

Debora

Veteran

Love it! Thanks Greg!

marianna

Veteran

Helplful, thanks!

I was wondering -- have you ever considering enabling instant messaging on the forum? When I see the list of online members I often wish I could send an instant message, instead of only being able to send a private message through email.

Greg

@Jenny, I promise to think about this one. If you have a moment, could you explain what you mean by "go directly to posts new to me". Do you have a specific idea of what that would look like? Would we just highlight topics on the front page where you have unread items, and then take you directly to the first unread item when you click that topic? Or something different.

@Marianna, yes, that would be nice. We haven't thought about it a whole lot though. I'll add it to my ever growing list. At some point we might come back to the forum for some input on priorities, because the list is getting quite long.

MNsara

Veteran

Hi, Greg -

I like the idea of getting to the end quickly, but prefer getting to my first unread post. . .

TPF (The Purse Forum) is one I know that has the feature Jenny referred to.
Somehow they keep track of your userid and where you have been in a thread, so if you are logged in, selecting the "go to first new post" button takes you to the first post you haven't read yet!! Very handy.

TPF can also keep you logged in until you choose to logout or if you clean up your internet files/cookies. I have found YLF logs me out every time I close the browser I'm using

AJ

Veteran

Great new shortcut! Thanks for all your hard work!

Greg

Hi MNsara, thanks for the pointer -- I'll check out TPF. I actually experimented with an "unread posts" feature in the very early days of YLF, but it was too much of an impact on performance. I'll revisit now though.

Regarding staying logged in... that should work and I need to look into the fact that it doesn't in your case. Can you tell me what browser you are using, and on what OS (Windows or Mac)?

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Ah, I was wondering what that new link was all about. Thanks for the helpful addition, Greg.
For what it's worth, I have the same issue as MNSara, i.e. I get logged out if I close the browser window Ylf is in.

Inge

(website)

Works like a charm, thanks Greg, very, very helpful!!

April

Veteran

Very useful, and much appreciated! Thank you.

If you're taking suggestions, Greg, here is mine. On the blog, when you click on a "32 comments" link under Angie's post, you get sent back to the top of the blog post. Any chance that link could take you to the top of the comments instead? I've always just read the blog post when I click on the comments link.

Greg

April, yes and done. That's an easy fix and another thing that I've been meaning to do for ages.

Debora

Veteran

Wow Greg! You act fast! I'm already using the click on the latest reply option and love it. I also appreciate the new feature that April suggested. It's so much more streamlined. Thanks, you're the greatest!

MNsara

Veteran

I'm on Windows and use IE (I guess I'm stubborn that way!) - hope that adds some clues. I don't think YLF always logged me out - I believe that began a month or two ago -- maybe. (I've only been logging in for a few months total.)

JennyK (NC)

Greg - The City-Data forum has a system for showing which threads have unread posts and the ability to either click on the thread to start at the start or click a little icon to take you to the first unread post. It is super helpful!

It shows you all the threads, but it's easy to see at a glance which threads are new and which threads aren't new but do have new posts. I have NO idea how easy/difficult it is to implement something like this in an existing program.

You will likely have to register for a forum account to see it in action, but I've been a member there for years with no spam issues or anything.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/

eta: I've been a member of literally hundreds of forums over the years, and city-data has one of the best all-around systems I've seen (from a user's pov), but it's not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as this forum is!

Greg

Wow, that's a big forum. Thanks Jenny, I'll check it out.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I also have the same thing with being logged out if I close the browser, I believe it started when I switched from IE7 to IE8, this is not the only place where I have password problems since the switch, is it the same for you Sara and Michelle?

April

Veteran

Oh my goodness, Greg -- that was fast! Thank you so much for making that modification. I will smile every time I click on a comments link.

hanna

(website)

awesome changes greg. one more suggestion... would it be possible to set external links to open automatically in new tabs/windows? i know we can do that ourselves, but sometimes i forget and accidentally open links in the same window, and then navigate back, etc. not a super big deal, but i figured it might be possible...maybe? thanks!

Greg

Hanna, this is possible. Opening new windows is tricky from a usability perspective though. Most of the usability experts I track agree that this can be disorienting for people.

It can be useful in some specific cases though. For example, you may be referring to external links in forum posts only (which often go to photo services) and maybe here the benefits may outweigh the potential confusion. We'll give it some thought.

Let me know if there are specific places/situations where you would like a new window to open.