Opinion about Recent Posts/Thread Widgets

[DJ XtAzY]

What's your take on widgets that brings up those post/threads on the sidebar (or on top/bottom of forum if you're using an addon), such as these:



or


or




Do you think it'll actually help user find new content or is it too convenient that users get lazier to browse around the forums to look for new content? I think there are pros and cons.

Pros are that it'll make those recent post/thread more accessible and maybe get users to engage in those threads quickly.

At the same time I feel like only those recent ones gets the most attention and leave other threads left to dust. Or when visitors visit the site, post something, come back an hour later and noticed those recent posts/threads are still sitting at the same position, they'll just come back some other time, hoping they'll be updated later or might think your forum is dead and quiet.

 

[FredC]

I have a love hate relationship with those types of widgets.. I believe widgets like these are better suited for sites with a CMS attached to them and then you can share activity across multiple pages, sub domains, etc.. But when its just a forum IMO its overkill.. That being said the members love these things...

 

[Optic]

At the same time I feel like only those recent ones gets the most attention and leave other threads left to dust. Or when visitors visit the site, post something, come back an hour later and noticed those recent posts/threads are still sitting at the same position, they'll just come back some other time, hoping they'll be updated later or might think your forum is dead and quiet.

I really like them, but if activity is stale it can be one extra indicator of expressing less activity on top of looking at the last posts from the forum index or the Recent Posts page..

Though you could argue that those widgets aren't overly necessary due to Xenforo's notification alerts as by default topics are watched after you reply to a topic.