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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

I would like a reply to the "Reply" issue

309 replies

DappledThings · 03/11/2023 09:07

Just thought I'd start another thread to get more attention on this again as there has been no answer as to whether it is even being looked at.

A few comments on MNHQ's recent thread about the new feature pointing out nobody asked for that but a lot of us have asked you to fix this.

To summarise: The button marked Reply does not do what it says. It adds a post, it does not do a reply. MN has no reply feature but, bizarrely, chooses to have a button that pretends it does. This leads to threads full of "replies" that have no context and are impossible to follow. Plus posts saying "sorry, not sure why my reply didn't work, I clicked reply"

OP posts:
Thread gallery
32
TheShellBeach · 09/12/2023 00:39

WatchOutMissMarpleIsAbout · 08/12/2023 14:45

And while we are at it can we have a like button that everyons can use instead of people doing 👏 all the time in another post

We've kind of got one in the THANKS button, which seems to have caused all this chaos in the first place.

LittleBearPad · 09/12/2023 08:28

TheShellBeach · 09/12/2023 00:39

We've kind of got one in the THANKS button, which seems to have caused all this chaos in the first place.

Show quote history

Yes but only the poster who gets ‘thanked’ can see it. So it’s neither one thing nor the other.

WatchOutMissMarpleIsAbout · 09/12/2023 08:34

Exactly! It works so well on a cruise ship forum I’m on.

Original poster
DappledThings · 09/12/2023 09:07

WatchOutMissMarpleIsAbout · 09/12/2023 08:34

Exactly! It works so well on a cruise ship forum I’m on.

Is this, ironically, an attempt at replying using the reply button and demonstrating it doesn't work?

OP posts:
WatchOutMissMarpleIsAbout · 09/12/2023 09:09

🤣🤣🤣

HamstersAreMyLife · 09/12/2023 09:32

I don't really understand the need for the thanks button tbh. I don't know what save does either and would love someone to explain.

Only jumping on to add my echo that the reply button either needs to switch to quote or be renamed reply to OP or add post as it makes no sense at the moment. I'd prefer quote to be at the bottom. It has always puzzled me until this post why MN couldn't fix what I assumed was a broken reply function!

TheShellBeach · 09/12/2023 09:42

LittleBearPad · 09/12/2023 08:28

Yes but only the poster who gets ‘thanked’ can see it. So it’s neither one thing nor the other.

Show quote history

Oh I agree.
I'd rather the Thanks were obvious to everyone, or the button is pointless.
But that seems to be contentious, too.

Whinge · 09/12/2023 10:09

It has always puzzled me until this post why MN couldn't fix what I assumed was a broken reply function!

@HamstersAreMyLife And now I bet you're even more puzzled that it's not actually broken, but intentially designed to work the way it does. 🤣

TheShellBeach · 09/12/2023 11:42

Yes, it does seem odd that they've deliberately stuck a button which does precisely nothing on their site.

UnremarkableBeasts · 09/12/2023 12:02

I do think it would be helpful if MNHQ were more transparent about their approach to evidence-based service design here.

Other websites manage to engage with their user bases far more effectively and transparently - and even in ways that cultivate a sense of participation and even elements of co-design to meet user needs (across the whole user base).

Stack overflow, for example, has much better engagement and communication between their research and design teams and their users. And their user base is much trickier to deal with than MNs! They have c. 10k extremely opinionated super users who have strong - and not consistent - opinions on everything.

UnremarkableBeasts · 09/12/2023 12:07

The main point is that it feels to many users that ‘it’s complicated’ is the fob off for ‘we for care’.

And there are better ways to engage with users who care about site functionality.

LittleBearPad · 09/12/2023 20:31

MNHQ spend far too much time pretending that all the Tech stuff is too hard. Time to be a bit more professional. This is literally their business

Whinge · 09/12/2023 20:54

LittleBearPad · 09/12/2023 20:31

MNHQ spend far too much time pretending that all the Tech stuff is too hard. Time to be a bit more professional. This is literally their business

Edited

Too hard? Nah all problems* can easily be solved by asking What device are you using and have you tried clearing your cache...

*well err some problems but if that doesn't fix it then could you just screen record it for us because even though a lot of users are having the same problem we can't actually replicate the problem

This is meant as a lighthearted comment, but it's true that MNHQ seem a bit clueless when it comes to tech problems.

UnremarkableBeasts · 09/12/2023 21:57

To be fair to MNHQ, it may well not be straightforward. Good, consistent service design that meets user needs and consistently adds value is not simple.

But there are better ways to approach it and much better ways to work and communicate with your users. Especially the ones who care enough to raise their frustrations on site stuff rather than just buggering off to another website.

LittleBearPad · 10/12/2023 09:17

But the redesign to add the Thanks button moved matters backward.

Quote needs to be in the options below posts. Reply confuses so swap them.

TheShellBeach · 14/12/2023 12:03

Taken from another thread, where I pointed out to the OP that she wasn't quoting people, even though she thought she was:

Misscbu17 · Today 09:08

@TheShellBeach oh I didn’t realise - I thought replying on the actual message did that! I did wonder why it looked the way it did 🤦🏻‍♀️

UnremarkableBeasts · 14/12/2023 19:04

LittleBearPad · 10/12/2023 09:17

But the redesign to add the Thanks button moved matters backward.

Quote needs to be in the options below posts. Reply confuses so swap them.

There must be some reason MNHQ haven’t just done that. But we have no way of knowing beyond vague hand waving and saying ‘it’s complicated’.

It’s always complicated. Users always disagree. Everyone thinks they have the solution (they’re usually right about the problem but not the solution). That is digital design.

And sometimes changes do make things worse. Especially without consistent end-to-end service design across channels, which MN clearly does not do.

Original poster
DappledThings · 31/12/2023 10:12

Another year ends and still we have pointless threads like this one - https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4974019-to-feel-let-down-by-family-at-christmas?page=2.

26 "replies" from the OP and not a one that is actually a reply. A 10 page thread entirely incoherent.

Can you please at least acknowledge you can see why this is so bloody annoying?

Page 2 | To feel let down by family at Christmas | Mumsnet

I had arranged for myself and DC to spend Christmas with my parents as have been unwell this past year with a rare soft tissue infection requiring num...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4974019-to-feel-let-down-by-family-at-christmas?page=2

OP posts:
YourNameGoesHere · 31/12/2023 10:30

I honestly gave up reading it. I still don't understand why MNHQ think this is such an arduous task which will take months of consultations and work to change. I fully anticipate that we will still be seeing such pointless threads this time next year although I'd love to be proven wrong.

UnremarkableBeasts · 31/12/2023 10:49

They can’t be arsed is the answer. Or they simply don’t want to open the Pandora’s box of trying to fix things.

MN is not a big or complex thing in the scale of things. It’s not some highly regulated industry trying to balance all kinds of checks while producing competitive and desirable products. It’s not the government trying to digitise the shit show that is PIP claims. It’s not NHS digital services. It’s an online chat forum. With a confusing and poorly designed reply function that they can’t be bothered to fix.

A vaguely competent design team could turn round a couple of rounds of user research and testing of design options very quickly. It is probably more complex technically than it appears, but it’s not some complex web of interdependencies and complex concerns. It’s pretty routine digital design work.

I suspect MNHQ can coast along on a pretty mediocre user experience because they are confident enough that people will keep using the site anyway. We are still here, even if we are complaining after all. So I wouldn’t hold my breath for anything beyond being fobbed off with claims of the Byzantine complexity of any changes.

Bobtheamazinggingerdog · 31/12/2023 11:06

Here is another example...

Please can you just...switch the buttons? It's really not that complicated!

I would like a reply to the "Reply" issue
MediumWell · 31/12/2023 22:55

I’ve been around for years and actually do know this, but I still go on autopilot and make a mistake with ‘reply’ vs ‘quote’ sometimes. It’s so annoying - ‘reply’ is so seemingly obvious that it even overrides habit at times!

EmpressaurusOfCats · 05/01/2024 19:30

This is still going on and it’s still a mess.