XF 1.0 Quoting Multiple Posts

You may have noticed how the 'Reply' links on messages focus the quick reply editor, and pull in a quoted version of the message to which you are replying so that you can easily edit/trim your quote.

Have you also noticed however, that you are not limited to quoting a single message? You can click the 'reply' link on multiple messages and each of them will deliver their content to the quick reply box.

I say Multi-Quote (kinda) because at present this functionality is limited to messages on the same page, but I plan to allow this to operate across multiple pages in due course.

 

[Peggy]

Hopefully multi-quote will be an added feature in a future version.

 

[Kier]

Hopefully multi-quote will be an added feature in a future version.

If I can come up with a UI that is not horrible and doesn't involve cluttering up posts with lots more controls, then it will be.

 

[Brandon_R]

If I can come up with a UI that is not horrible and doesn't involve cluttering up posts with lots more controls, then it will be.

I'm sure you can

 

[Peggy]

If I can come up with a UI that is not horrible and doesn't involve cluttering up posts with lots more controls, then it will be.

I have faith in you.

 

[Erik]

If I can come up with a UI that is not horrible and doesn't involve cluttering up posts with lots more controls, then it will be.

It doesn't need a UI beyond anything we have already. If you click Reply, the contents of the post should be put into the reply box. Then if you go to another page, the software should save the contents of the Reply box and bring them along to the next page, so when the next page loads the quoted post (and anything you may have written) are already in the Reply box. Then you can simply quote the other posts you want to reply to, they will be inserted into the box, rinse and repeat.

This would at least solve the problem of quoting over multiple pages. If you want a 100% solution, when a user clicks Reply the the Reply box should appear directly beneath the post, à la vBulletin 4. If they click Reply on another post (same page or different page), the Reply box will move to underneath that post, and again it will have the saved contents of the previous reply box.

In essence, a Reply box that moves around the page(s) with you.

 

[Brandon_R]

It doesn't need a UI beyond anything we have already. If you click Reply, the contents of the post should be put into the reply box. Then if you go to another page, the software should save the contents of the Reply box and bring them along to the next page, so when the next page loads the quoted post (and anything you may have written) are already in the Reply box. Then you can simply quote the other posts you want to reply to, they will be inserted into the box, rinse and repeat.

This would at least solve the problem of quoting over multiple pages. If you want a 100% solution, when a user clicks Reply the the Reply box should appear directly beneath the post, à la vBulletin 4. If they click Reply on another post (same page or different page), the Reply box will move to underneath that post, and again it will have the saved contents of the previous reply box.

In essence, a Reply box that moves around the page(s) with you.

There is currently no way to get the cross post saving feature without a look at efficiency and performance.

I don't find that reply box follow feature in vBulletin very user friendly.

 

[Disjunto]

How about having a clipboard of posts of something along those lines. Add posts from multiple threads and pages to the clipboard (only needs an id) and then just throw them in with some funky JS.

Or would that be a bit confusing?

 

[Erik]

There is currently no way to get the cross post saving feature without a look at efficiency and performance.

You have to look at efficiency and performance for everything you add/do.

 

[Brandon_R]

You have to look at efficiency and performance for everything you add/do.

Touche

 

[Enigma]

If I can come up with a UI that is not horrible and doesn't involve cluttering up posts with lots more controls, then it will be.

How about this? I actually have a Greasemonkey script running that hacks in multi-quote support.

 

[Kier]

How about this? I actually have a Greasemonkey script running that hacks in multi-quote support.

That's not bad... perhaps we'll look at an implementation like this when we come to do it.

 

[Erik]

How about this? I actually have a Greasemonkey script running that hacks in multi-quote support.

Does it support quoting across multiple pages? Or does it just prevent the up-and-down scrolling? If you could share it that would be great.

 

[Digital Doctor]

Multiquote would be nice
As suggested, if you weren't shot down to the bottom of the page .. that would help.

 

[John Higgins]

It's very nice!

 

[Ati]

That's not bad... perhaps we'll look at an implementation like this when we come to do it.

Is this going to be included in the 1.0 stable release? It would be nice.

 

[Paul B]

Is this going to be included in the 1.0 stable release? It would be nice.

The code is pretty much locked down now so I highly suspect you won't see anything like this in the first stable release.

 

[tafreehm]

this is good and, but the downside is that each time you have to scroll back up to choose another post...

 

[Wildcat Media]

I agree a multi-quote would be very helpful, and in its present state, it does work, even if there is some scrolling.

BUT...I am going to be a bit of a devil's advocate here. Most of the time, in all the forums I've used in the past 15 or more years (even as an admin or moderator), I reply to one single post at least 95% of the time, if not more. Even in larger forums where an hour's visit may see another 20-30 replies to a thread.

The key thing here is usability: if I click reply, I hop right down to the Quick Reply box with no additional effort on my part (and for the XF system, no page reloads). I type in my reply, post it, done. If the scrolling were to be removed, that means for 95% of my quick reply posts, I'm having to scroll down to the bottom of the screen, just to accomodate the <5% of the times I have to multi-quote posts. Looking in my current forums, I find that among end users (even the prolific ones), single posts are quoted by a vast majority, a higher percentage than what I do personally.

If anything, I find myself cutting apart a longer quoted post to reply to individual sections, and trimming out the excess. Netiquette 101 (don't quote an entire large post or message).

One idea may be to have two options for Quick Reply, selectable either by the admin or the members in their preferences:

1) Keeping it as-is, with Quick Reply at the bottom of the screen;

2) Having Quick Reply as an overlay, like the post editor--you could minimize it (in some way) with a mouse click to add more posts to the reply, or finish your reply and submit it. Hard to visualize in words, but that might make sense.

Enigma's method above, having an additional link or icon to add to a reply queue, is also a good way to go. It could even function the same as the regular Reply button, pasting in the quoted text, sitting ready in the reply box for when you are ready to reply.

One final idea: under the Quick Reply box, as one of the buttons, maybe next to Post Reply, a "Continue Reading" button that saves your quoted text, but returns you to where you clicked on Reply.

Given the way it works currently, I'm happy with it. Multi-quote is nice but IMHO, not a necessity at this point.

 

[rEd86]

Very good point Rudy. Products become beasts when they are developed for the exception. I think going down to the reply area when clicking "Reply" makes sense. I think the "Continue Reading" button that shows up by the "More Options..." button (in the reply area) that takes you back to the post you just quoted works as well. Then it's easy to get back to where you were reading and continue down the page until you are ready to make your reply.

--Ed

 

[Wildcat Media]

Agreed. Based on my limited forum activity today, on my own XF forum as well as here, I've only used multi-quoting once. All the rest were single-quote replies.