Not planned Merging Threads: Option to collate threads by thread, not by post date alone

[Valhalla]

I would like to see an option when merging threads to be able to collate the posts in the destination thread by thread and first start date (thread.thread_id, thread.post_date, post.post_date). Presently, when merging threads the destination thread will have its posts ordered by individual post date indiscriminately.

If threads to be merged have a discrete relationship with one another, then this isn't a problem because they would be grouped by the very nature of this fact. If threads you wish to merge are happening continuously, then this is more of a problem when it comes to the resulting thread.

Discussions happen in chronological order within the original thread(s), but such an order would be lost if posts are ordered by post date in the destination thread. Unless it had been a requirement that posts are quoted, which is not always appropriate during forum discussions, then the destination thread may be difficult to comprehend.

This suggestion relates to this support thread: XF 1.4 - Merging Threads

 

[Martok]

This suggestion goes fundamentally against how XenForo works regarding display order of posts everywhere else.

If posts really need to be kept together as you are suggesting then the threads shouldn't be merged.

 

[Mike]

I agree with Martok -- fundamentally, we sort a thread by date only because it's a flat forum. Trying to add another unintuitive level of sorting is very likely going to create confusion. Additionally, it doesn't interact with other systems well (the last post in the thread is not the last post shown because it was in the first thread, etc).

 

[Valhalla]

Thank you for the comments - this was actually a suggestion made by the moderation team on our forum so I envisaged to play devil's adcovate to surmise the merits of the suggestion. I shall feed this back to them so they are aware what actions are possible when planning moderation tasks.

I do agree with the points raised.