Linux-Informix Forum

Forum threads and other test feedback

Posted By: Pete Perez
Date: Thursday, 26 September 2002, at 3:00 p.m.

Thanks to all contributors for the continued testing of this product. Here are some responses to recent feedback:

Q: Why does each message have a new number? Does this mean it's starting a new thread?

A: Yes and No. Every message posted to the forum is unique and is assigned it's own message number. When using the web interface, message numbers are hidden. When posting via email, the message numbers appear on the subject line. Message numbers are used to place messages in their proper place within a thread.

When a message comes to the server via email, the message number on the subject line is the number of the message that the poster is replying to. The system removes the message number and places the message below the original message in the thread. Then a new message number is added to the subject line and the message goes out to all the forum subscribers.

For example:

John posts message 1.

Mary replies to message 1. Her message is 2 and follows the message 1 thread.

Harry replies to message 1. His message is 3 and follows the message 1 thread.

Joe replies to message 2. His message is 4 and follows the message 2 thread, which follows the message 1 thread.

Here is how these messages would appear in the "threaded" display:

-Message 1
    -Message 2
        -Message 4
    -Message 3

Q: When I go to the web interface I don't see any threads. All the messages are in date order.

A: When we brought the web forums online that was the default. Subsequently it has been changed to the threaded. The first time a user visits the forums, the default becomes their individual setting. Fortunately, it's easy to change and in fact, is very flexible. Here are the steps to change to a threaded display:

1. Click "Set Preferences"
2. Set "List Style" to "Threaded List"
3. Set "Sort Order" to "Mixed Order"

These settings and other options are well documented on the "Set Preferences" page.

Q: When I hit "reply" in my email client, the message is addressed to the sender and not to the forum. Can this be changed to go to the forum instead?

A: It can easily be changed, but our goal was to make this behave as much like the original majordomo list as possible. In my testing, when I hit "reply" the message was addressed to the sender, and "reply all" went to the list. But then again, I tested on a test majordomo list and not the actual linux-informix list. I'll verify which way the original worked and also please send me your preferences if you have one.

Q: Why don't I get a copy of my own posting?

A: The original web forum product that this is based on was designed that way. I'm looking into the best way to change this behavior.

Q: What does the date-time stamp mean when we're a world-wide organization in different time zones?

A: The date and times are those of the server location on the US East Coast. I will modify the display to reflect that. I could change it to GMT, but that's less meaningful to most people. Again, send me your preferences if you have one.

Q: Can we make this work more like a newsgroup where I can mark individual messages as "read" or "unread"? The "new" designation doesn't work for me because I can't set that by individual message.

A: This enhancement is in the works. It looks doable, but I need to consider the impact on the system of storing individual subscriber preferences per message, per forum. So no promises yet!

Messages In This Thread

• Forum threads and other test feedback
  Pete Perez -- Thursday, 26 September 2002, at 3:00 p.m.
  • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
    Sean R. Durity -- Thursday, 26 September 2002, at 3:42 p.m.
  • Correction
    Pete Perez -- Thursday, 26 September 2002, at 4:47 p.m.
    • RE: Correction
      Habichtsberg, R. -- Friday, 27 September 2002, at 12:32 a.m.
      • Re: RE: Correction
        Pete Perez -- Friday, 27 September 2002, at 11:52 a.m.
  • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
    Pete Perez -- Friday, 4 October 2002, at 9:09 p.m.
  • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
    Pete Perez -- Sunday, 6 October 2002, at 8:55 p.m.
    • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
      Jonathan Leffler -- Tuesday, 8 October 2002, at 3:02 p.m.
      • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
        Pete Perez -- Tuesday, 8 October 2002, at 3:10 p.m.
        • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
          Pete Perez -- Tuesday, 8 October 2002, at 3:18 p.m.
          • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
            Jonathan Leffler -- Tuesday, 8 October 2002, at 5:04 p.m.
            • Re: Forum threads and other test feedback
              Pete Perez -- Tuesday, 8 October 2002, at 6:11 p.m.

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