Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

[russlar]

I know there's an option to return to the topic after posting a reply, but it really should default to this, instead of taking you to the parent forum.

[Ole Juul]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

I agree, it's an odd choice from a user's perspective.

[Open Source]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

I can't help but ask, once you have read a topic and replied to it, why would you want to return to it? Why not return to the parent forum to read additional topics?

[DeathKitten]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

I personally like to take a second look at my post after I submit it, to make sure that I didn't miss any typos while previewing, or giving me a chance to proof read it if I shot my wad too quickly and posted without re-reading what I had to say. It also gives me a moment to reconsider what I've just posted to decide if it was useful enough to the thread or if there might be something else I need to add.

[Ole Juul]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

Usually the "parent forum" is not where I started, so after I hit the submit button I always get taken to a different place than where I came from. That is confusing to me.

[wizard10000]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

I can't help but ask, once you have read a topic and replied to it, why would you want to return to it? Why not return to the parent forum to read additional topics?

Because I don't always read the entire topic before responding to a post?

The behavior OP mentions is an SMF default and can be changed in your profile - if you look at Profile --> Look and Layout preferences there's a box you can tick that says "Return to topics after posting by default." It can also be changed globally if the Powers That Be see fit.

[Ole Juul]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

Thanks wizard10000, I hadn't explored that option.
To me the problem is that there are at least 4 other places that you could have come from before posting. In most cases after posting you will have to navigate back to where you were. If you came from the "Show unread posts since last visit" entry point, then there is no going back. The same goes for starting from "Questions with no replies". In the evenings, I usually start from the Forum page list of recent postings so it would be nice if I could go right back there without having to move the cursor so far and having to do quite so much scrolling.

Edit: OK, having set my options as suggested. It actually works quite well, because I just have to hold the Alt key and hit the left arrow 3 times. That's easy to remember and puts me back where I came from. It should also work if I came from "Show unread posts" because the browser will be reading cache.

[wizard10000]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

Yeah, I'm a little familiar with SMF's quirks as although I prefer vBulletin for my own boards I've stood up a fair number of SMF boards for folks who didn't want to spend the coinage or didn't have the server resources to run vBulletin.

All in all I like SMF although I do agree the UI is a little convoluted at times and the mixed-case filenames make me a little crazy (all SMF files have the first letter of the filename capitalized) but it's a good package and the support community works pretty well.

[Detonate]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

When I visit the forum, I usually start with the "Show unread topics since last visit" selection. If I see topic I want to read and post a reply to, I always open that topic in a new tab. After posting the reply, I can then merely close the tab and I'm back to the new topics list. If I wish to check my reply before posting, I use the preview button.

[Snowhog]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

...I just have to hold the Alt key and hit the left arrow 3 times. ...the browser will be reading cache.

This is one of the things I really like about this forum - you discover little gems like this. Thanks Ole Juul!

[Ole Juul]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

I think the oddest quirk of SMF, or at least this implementation, is that it has no chronological list of recent posts. Yes, it has the one at the end of the "Forum" page but it only shows a few posts and new ones can drop off the end in a matter of minutes.

I wonder if the "Show unread posts since last visit" link couldn't be altered to not delete the ones you've visited. After all, no software could know if you've read something, let alone know if you remember it, so it is a rather absurd design concept in the first place!

[Snowhog]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

After all, no software could know if you've read something, let alone know if you remember it, so it is a rather absurd design concept in the first place!

That is of course, not true. Many programs do just that. How do you think email programs distinguish between Unread and Read in your inbox?

If you click on New posts, you will see posts/replies that you have not read (clicked on) since your last visit. This listing is different for each logged on KFN user, and, updated for each logged on KFN user. Once you click on one of the listed items - which takes you to the post - you have 'read' it, and it won't appear the next time you go back to New posts unless a new reply (since your last visit to the post) has been made.

OS has opted to limit the number of 'recent posts' on the main page of KFN to five. Some limitation has to be set.

[Ole Juul]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

After all, no software could know if you've read something, let alone know if you remember it, so it is a rather absurd design concept in the first place!

That is of course, not true. Many programs do just that. How do you think email programs distinguish between Unread and Read in your inbox?

I understand your point, and you're right. I was thinking more abstractly, meaning that whether I've read something or not is more than just having clicked on it. Sometimes I like to go back because I didn't "really" read it or had some further thoughts on the subject and, for whatever personal reason, I would like to see it again some time later. The software doesn't offer me an obvious way to see a list of (or including) the ones that it thinks I've read.

In fact, I often read through a number of posts and then later go back to write a comment to one of them. Surely, there must be other "slow thinkers" like me who cannot easily remember what sub-forum and thread a posting came from. Detonate's system sounds like a good one, but it is still a workaround.

Regarding e-mail programs, it is indeed handy that it remembers which ones that I have "read". The way it uses that information is only by changing the highlighting, and not by changing the actual list, which remains static. I don't have to "remember" the ones that I have clicked on because they are still in the list. I think that it would be more troublesome for most people if the inbox list changed and you had to mentally or otherwise keep track of the ones which you have read. Isn't that what is happening here?

PS: I know that there are program and related economic restraints. In the end, I am happy that this forum exists, regardless of the interface.

[Snowhog]

Re: Posting a reply takes you back to the parent forum

Good points and observations. While the utilities used by KFN don't do what you desire, you can specify, via Personal CP > Notifications and Email, what actions should generate email notices to you. Not perfect, but ...