Implemented Please use whole numbers instead of the K prefix

AndyB

Well-known member
I think it would be better to show whole numbers instead of the K prefix. I think most people are used to seeing whole numbers and will not know how to multiply the numbers shown by 1000, they will just assume your forum is very small or dead.

I also suggest making the number font size smaller so the all important forum title will be more of the focus as opposed to the threads and messages numbers.

189780
 
Upvote 15
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Can't agree here. Smaller numbers with K and M are much easier and faster to read.

They give you an immediate understanding of how big the forum is and that is their purpose. In most cases you simply don't want to know the exact value.
Agree. Considering the majority of the world is on the metric system, we all know what 'K' signifies immediately.
I don't think I've ever met someone who doesn't know what 'K' means when placed at the end of a number.
The number with a 'k' is an immediate visual cue to the content amount.
 
A whole number takes more time to split it and understand how big it is.

With 3.8K it simply says you: "3.~ thousands threads" (26.8K -> "26.~ thousands messages"). No need in using a calculation part of the brain :)

It is just how it works: people understand small numbers faster than large ones.

more attractive
To whom? For you, as a forum creator - of course. For others - questionable.
It is all about the purpose:
  • Whole numbers might create an impression of a BIG number. But makes it harder/slower to understand them.
  • Short numbers with endings are easier to understand, but they do not create an impression of a BIG number.
So, I would not mind having an ACP option.
 
Last edited:
We actually pre-empted a thread like this. We've actually had short number support since XF 2.0 but we only used it, I think, in the Gallery, and maybe in the RM category list too.

Since that time we had something which is ironically broken in the current version of 2.1 but we've just fixed it (not entirely sure it was working as expected in 2.0 either).

The way the short number formatting works is it takes a number, say, 1045 and turns it into a string, e.g. 1 that is then passed into a phrase called x_k and contains {number}K. {number} is replaced with 1 so the end result is we display 1K.

We were (and now are) passing in an additional parameter in the phrase called {default}. The value of default in the example above is 1,045. So if you edit the phrase text from {number}K to {default} then the end result is we display 1,045 therefore restoring the long number format behaviour.

So we'll call this implemented. And, no, we will not be using long numbers by default. It will be down to the forum admins to choose a format that they prefer and modify the three phrases (x_b, x_m and x_k) accordingly.
 
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