Very long threads - Give us your opinion

[tech]

Recently, some threads have been getting massive, around 1,000 messages in some cases - especially in areas like the "Ante-natal clubs" topic where people tend to start a "due in October" thread and then everyone posts on that same one. This is fine and dandy, but we we were wondering whether there would be any interest in our splitting larger threads, so that when you first click into it you see the most recent 20 or 50 messages in the thread for example, then you can click little links at the top and bottom to page forward and back within the thread.

There are two main advantages to doing this. The first is that if you are following an active thread and you are refreshing, you'd get a faster page that's quicker to load rather than having to load the whole lot every time. The second escapes me for the moment, but I'm sure there was one. Oh yes. It would put less of a strain on our tech equipment - as serving up each page is less of a burden - so the whole site would go faster.

We would probably retain a link on each page to do "all on one page" - for those times when you want to print a whole thread or read a whole thread in one go.

If people aren't sure what I mean, let me know (on this thread) and I'll put up a mock-up that you can look at to see what I mean. Maybe I'll pick a big thread and do that anyway with a copy of the thread - in the interest of informed debate.

We wondered what people thought? At the moment we're just a-ponderin' and a-wonderin', so don't fear any sudden change.....

So, do you like the idea, hate it, couldn't care less? If we did do it, how many messages per page do you think would be appropriate? 10, 20, 50, 100? Would you like to be able to choose a personal page size? Stuff like that. We'd be interested to hear your opinions over the next couple of weeks before we make any decisions.

Regards,
Tech

I like the long threads - and I find split threads less usable.
Its up to the ante-natal clubs themselves to start a new thread when they hit a given number, say 500!

I'd like the thread divided into pages, i'm used to that from other websites.

Will there be tickers soon too?

I would like everyone to be able to choose their own preference.

I've seen sites that just show one message at a time and that's horrible - lots of quoting and no flow to the conversation.

My preference is for the whole thread, as it currently is. If you must split it, don't make the links too fiddly at the bottom/top of the page (and put them top and bottom rather than one or t'other, for definite).

I read fast and I enjoy skimming long threads to get a gist of them. Would hate them fractured on my screen, but understand that people on dial-up might want to read threads that get long.

Yes, Tech, love and kisses on next message please.

Tsk.

Another thought, since I hate this on other websites.

If you return to a thread how will you know where you left off? Or if you want to re-read a single post how do you find it easily?

At the moment you can scroll easily whilst scanning for what you are looking for. Not so easy on individual pages.

Just totally loathe any way other than how it is on here and have tried it many ways (oo-er).

I'd definitely like a 100 messages per page option. But how would it work if you were coming to a long thread for the first time? Would you have to scrawl back to the first page of 100 to get the original starting post? Or am I missing something obvious?

Kissy, kissy, tech xxx

I would like to read the whole convers too

but if you want to do it then feel free but please let us opt out or to alter the length

would like 100 messages too

not a bad idea but I could you do it so the op was always there - ie you got op plus 50 most recent.

The more I think about it the more problems I can find and reasons to hate the idea.

Can we maybe just have a forced 'cap' of say 500 posts and then you have to start a new thread because you can't post on the first one? Would that work and is it even possible?

What about asking people to start another thread when they get to 500???

Or is that too easy that they then put a link on the last post and then it continues etc etc etc

I like that idea RTK. I'm on dial-up and when a thread's over 500 posts I know it's going to take me an age to load and to post on so I usually don't even bother reading it.

i don't even iopen threads that are really long unless i was on it from the start and frequented it a lot as it got longer. Would never jpoin a long one half way as takes too long to read

i'll take the everything on one page option if you ffer it, our network at home is fast enough and i have rsi recurrence to avoid so loathe fiddling for extra clicks

I think that there is a huge difference between the antenatal sorts of threads that are active for many months and the debate type threads that are active for a few days. For the over time ones I think it would be fine to paginate, for the debates, I think it would kill them not to be able to scroll quickly through, and you would have to have the OP showing all the time, which would probably be really annoying. I do have broadband so downloading not an issue - just don't like too much clicking!

Tech - thing showing last 50 or so sounds a good idea.

Just wondered if there was a chance of geting an icon/menu down the side showing who is online or is that a bad idea? Just seen it on other sites

I'd not stay logged in if we had that - hate being "seen" online. Sometimes I just want to lurk, dontcha know

Hunkerundercovermunker is it then.. hmm sneaky

Not the first time I've been called Sneaky on here

just cos you have covered your eyes, we can still see you

Bugger

wouldn't want to know who was online, but would be nice to know how many were on line - in the interest of research you understand

if you're paginating why don't you get threads to read the right way too .. you know, while you're at it

I must be getting old and set in my ways because I just don't want you to change anything!

(Perhaps because the rest of my life is chaos?)

I hate paginated things - irritates me. But then I have very fast connection. What if it were only paginated after, say, 500 posts or something? Anything less than that is unnecessary IMHO.