A better way to deal with mega threads

Welcome & Info Intro, Rules & Feedback
1

Apart from that, maybe cap each thread to 300 posts? I think that’s a fair conservative number, but maybe someone has a better number.

I’ve noticed that after a while, the discussion is no longer relevent and branches off into obscure, unrelated tangents that are better served as separate threads.

And even though I practically live inside a browser window, I find it exhaustive to doom scroll through a few hundred posts to get caught up in a discussion. I can’t imagine how overwhelming that would be for members who visit less frequently, or even new members.

And if there’s more to be said, creating a linked topic with discourse is ridiculously easy.

  • Yes, limit the number of posts in a thread
  • No, I have big huge finger muscles
0 voters
2

I personally think, pagination in previous forum softwares, allowed you to remember the page numbers and keep the discussion for as long as needed.

I hope discourse does add a pagination like xenforo and stuff, atleast give the user that option

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3

For build logs of any kind, sometimes thread updates are yearly, auto close here is detrimental.

Sometime people ask queries under those threads when they find it or are linked to.

On these types of threads we can avoid auto close.

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4

Or maybe just enforce a post limit for threads in the social category?

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5

No to auto close

Let them learn

A counter example here is the washing machine thread.

Instead of having 50 individual ones all asking the same question…

I don’t want that thread ever locking itself

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6

Discourse also remembers how far you have read the topic, when you open the thread it takes you exactly where you left off.

but lets say if you went straight to the end by skipping everything, then that data gets overwritten, now you have to scroll back up and read the conversation in reverse.

Ideally this not really a problem, just never skip to the end, on topics you care about.

1 Like
7

TBH, this is the only thing which is of big issue with discourse.. I do not have issues with infinite scrolling but yes, going through a long thread and jump to same again, kind of forgets where you last left.

8

I don’t understand. How?

9

When i get the same thread back in search results.. problem arises where to click ?
there are multiple places

On thread title/link
On total number of replies (takes to first post)
On latest activity (takes to last post)

Click on thread title/link should instead take to last left position, which somehow should work properly.. but does not works on very long topics..

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10

Yes it absolutely should. That’s how it works at least for me, unless you found a bug.

11

I also explained how to take advantage of shortcut keys, to avoid hitting the scroll wheel again and again. It’s just J and K key to go up and down.

12

That’s not really user friendly or accessible.

Q&A threads, feedback threads may have a reason to be long-running — but they only serve the person asking the question, how do those threads help the masses looking for answers?

Thread titles are SEO friendly for people looking for answers, post text isn’t.

That washing machine thread is better off as a wiki instead of a mega thread, I think.

Maybe it’s just Social that needs post limits. But then again, there’s no real information there to be digests8, every thread there is like it’s own soap opera, complete with villains and betrayals.

13

Just have to use search and the entire thread is accessible

And who’s going to maintain that wiki?

That thread is fine as is without any more fiddling

14

My only worry is the interesting ofshoot of discussions which arise due to responses some times even a bit off topic will reduce drastically. That serves as a great learning resource, atleast for me it does.

Also it’s a valid contention that posts become daunting to read if you are not regular visitor.

15

Probably. But Social also has movie reviews, daily memes threads.

Every post under one thread removes clutter.

Many threads in the Grey Zone section would be better off as single threads. Big threads in the retailers section also end up proving the seller’s credibility, so can’t restrict there.

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16

Why?

Usually these get branched off though it isn’t necessary