XF 2.2: Replies in Vote Order can be confusing

[arn]

Honestly this isn't really a bug, but it's confusing, so I thought I'd post it here.

Sorted by post vote

Best / Favorite XenForo 2.x Addons?

This is a bit of a test of the new Q&A thread type, but also a useful topic. What are your favorite or most useful Xenforo 2.x addons? One reply per add-on. Can describe why it's useful. Links to said add-on would be helpful. Upvote replies if already mentioned rather than duplicate replying...

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Replied to @Gemma -- which appeared at the bottom of the page 1 as it does. then I clicked to page 2. Go to bottom, and didn't see my post. Thought I hadn't submitted it. Weird.

So I posted again. Repeat. didn't see it. So that's why I ended up spamming the thread, trying to reproduce it.

I didn't remember I was on vote sort and there were posts with negative posts -- so those appeared at very end of thread, not my most recent reply.

 

[Mike]

I'll move this to discussion/feedback, though I don't really see an obvious alternative that doesn't necessarily have other side effects as well. I suppose we could try to force a full page refresh to jump you to your post, though in the situation in question, that may also be confusing and it would also take you to a totally different part of the thread so there are negatives there.

 

[arn]

yeah, there's no perfectly clean solution, and maybe it's not a big problem.

A few options:

1. If you didn't show negative score posts in Vote Sort, that might help cause then all the 0 rating replies would be in date order and end. But then negative score posts would have "disappeared". I don't think this is a terrible option, though.
2. Make it more obvious you are in Post Vote order mode? Leave some sort of header at top and footer at the end of the thread that makes it clearer that you are in post order.
3. Order high scores down to negative scores, and then un-rated posts in chronological order after.

#2 would be the easiest, and could be implemented by us on the template level.

 

[beerForo]

What if your post "appears" last until you refresh. Kind of like how I can reply on page 4 of of 72 page thread and I see it at the bottom as soon as I post, until I refresh, then, it has moved to page 72? Something like that?

EDIT: Or does it do that already?

 

[arn]

What if your post "appears" last until you refresh. Kind of like how I can reply on page 4 of of 72 page thread and I see it at the bottom as soon as I post, until I refresh, then, it has moved to page 72? Something like that?

EDIT: Or does it do that already?

That already happens. It's when you get to the end of 72 and you are sorted by votes, it won't be there (if there are negative posts). Yours will have inserted above all the negative posts in the thread.

 

[beerForo]

I see. That's more of a "doh!" moment... "oh yeah, I sorted by vote!"

 

[arn]

I see. That's more of a "doh!" moment... "oh yeah, I sorted by vote!"

or you post 3 identical replies before you figure out what's going on

tho to be fair, it is possible to get linked into a vote-order view

arn

 

[beerForo]

Hmm, there could be a "toggle footer" at the end (which would also serve as a reminder).

Know what I mean?

 

[beerForo]

So when you get to the end you can click it, but also you know you are sorted by the opposite.

 

[beerForo]

Or just put the normal one down there as well as at top

 

[Mr Lucky]

Another issue related to this is people replying to a post without quoting expecting your post to show in date order immediately under the post you are referring to.

This is very common practice and I suppose just something people will have to live with or train themselves to always quote in question threads

 

[Mr Lucky]

Aha, implementation of the (very popular) suggestion for nested replies would solve this I think

Allow nested replies in Q&A Threads

Context: https://xenforo.com/community/threads/forum-and-thread-types.181789/post-1436044 The Q&A thread naturally lends itself to "post comments". Now, I never thought threaded conversations really worked well in the traditional forum setting -- I recall vBulletin's attempts at it. But, when...

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