Lack of interest Quick Thread form as an overlay

[Ludachris]

I'd like to make it quicker for people to post content on the forum. One of the ways I think we can do this is to create an overlay for the quick thread functionality, so that it works similar to some of the widely adopted social apps.

Here's what I am picturing - when you click the Post Thread button from the index page (or any page you display the button on) an overlay comes up with a form similar to this:



Notice the forum selection step becomes a select menu option.

I would take this a step further and add a node setting for all nodes called "quick threads allowed" in order to limit where quick threads can be created, for those forums that have a crazy long list of forums/nodes. Quick threads might result in more duplicate content, and admins might want to limit forums where that content can be posted. Another idea to address duplicate threads would be to display similar threads via a jquery div to show the user some threads that might be worth reading, in the event they're posting a question to be answered.

This overlay could be an option for admins to use. It wouldn't have to be the default. Some might prefer the current functionality.

 

[Ludachris]

Attachment fixed.

 

[Ludachris]

@Kirby - here's that mock-up I said I'd create. Thoughts?

 

[Kirby]

Thanks for the Mock-Up

That's pretty much what I expected and unfortunately I somewhat doubt that it would be a major step forward:
As said before, it does require more clicks (3 clicks - Open Overlay, Open Forum <select>, Select foum) than existing functionality (2
Clicks - Open Forum Selection Overlay, Click on target forum).

That might not be too bad though, but the main issue I see still remains:
The user has to think where he wants to post the content.

This increases the entry barrier and is not what people nowadays expect from Facebook & Twitter:
To just write some content, maybe add media, click "Publish Content" and be done without having to think where exactly this content will be published.

 

[Ludachris]

Thanks for the Mock-Up

That's pretty much what I expected and unfortunately I somewhat doubt that it would be a major step forward:
As said before, it does require more clicks (3 clicks - Open Overlay, Open Forum <select>, Select foum) than existing functionality (2
Clicks - Open Forum Selection Overlay, Click on target forum).

Clicking on a select menu in a form to make a selection is far different than having to click through to other pages to get to where you need to be. The current overlay page that gets loaded to display all of the forums is a pretty big disconnect from the normal UX people are used to outside of XF. Most forms on websites and in apps use select menus to achieve this step. Loading that page makes it look like the user is going to be taken to a new page when they click on one of those forum links. Then, when they choose the forum, they are taken to another page. The form removes that extra page load and keeps it all contained in a single step - just like other platforms, such as FB.

That might not be too bad though, but the main issue I see still remains:
The user has to think where he wants to
post the content.

This increases the entry barrier and is not what people nowadays expect from Facebook & Twitter:
To just write some content, maybe add media, click "Publish Content" and be done without having to think where exactly this content will be published.

A simple solution to this would be to have a default forum selected in the form where you want posts to go in the event they don't choose a more relevant forum. They wouldn't be forced to choose a different one. You will be able to see how the form gets used over time and change the default forum if necessary. This would cut down on two clicks.