Ditto
The [/w/index.php?title=Forum:Use_liquid_threads_in_the_forum%3F&offset=20101121205821&lqt_mustshow=121 highlighted comment] was created in this revision.
So far I have been finding it bit clunky, but can we use liquid threads on the forums to make them more forum like? - π 23:38, 14 November 2010 (UTC)
No, this is a hideous new interface available with MediaWiki 1.16. I was wondering whether we should use it on the forums.
I do like that you can reply to people at levels though.
I hate it. This is a Wiki; whatever happened to signing your posts with four tildes and actually having to hit "reload" to see replies?
You can reply at any level in wiki-lang too, just make the indent appropriate. I do it all the time. ħuman
17:46, 21 November 2010 (UTC)
Hmm, so I hit "reply" to a comment four above this. That comment did not end up where I wanted it to.
I am assuming that one advantage to this ghastly system is that it avoids edit conflicts? I can't think of any others.
The convenience I like. Can we fix the ugly a bit, throw some colours on it?
I agree with the number. But I'm getting a 4chan vibe from this. so please don't change the saloon bar.
There is a principle in design: "KISS," short for "Keep It Simple, Stupid." Deviate from this principle and things start to become Byzantine in complexity. But if we must have this, could the background color of the boxes be changed to be the same as the page background?
Using MediaWiki as a forum is not simple. You have to manually do indentation, manually sign your comments, you have to deal with unsigned comments, you have to deal with edit conflicts, and the database is littered with redundant data because with every comment the entire page is saved.
(ECx200000000) Hey. You would have edit conflicted me just then, so I am still going to complain about it.
Also, why do the latest replies get cut off when you reload the page, so that you have to click the link "Show X replies" every time?
Because they didn't want people going off on tangents. You're supposed to reply to the first post, not the previous one.
This is fairly simple. You see a comment you wish to reply too. You click reply and you type in the box.
So do we like this idea or not?
It is awful. I don't care what it looks like, I can't even follow this conversation, and my comments are ending up in places I don't expect them to.
The nice thing about using the wiki-syntax for our forums is it is the same as our talk pages and articles - ie, a new user only has to learn one way to have a conversation here.
The problem is that they have to learn how to have a conversation. Let's face it, MediaWiki is not exactly ideal for conversations.
Let's see, all you have to do is click reply, type something and click save. No having to figure out where to insert your comment, how many colons it needs, having to remember to sign your posts, and no edit conflicts.
I dispute the first point, as one has to scroll up and down the page trying to find out which reply button to click. This is harder than typing one more colon than on the last post, or typing four tildes at the end of the post, or even dealing with an edit conflict.
There needs to be a big post new comment button at the bottom of a thread, but otherwise, don't tell me it's harder to find the appropriate reply button than to figure out where to put your comment on a wiki talk page, assuming you're not replying at the bottom.
It is; for the latter, you just have to click "edit" and then grep the text for the post you want to put yours after. Here, because of the new rule about how "you're supposed to reply to the first post, not the previous one" (a remark of yours which, thanks to this new interface, I cannot diff-link to; another reason we should not adopt this, lest we give the Conservapedians ideas), you have to scroll up and down until you find the correct "first post."
Also, why do I have to hunt up and down the page and click an "Update" link before I am able to see my own posts?
That's why I said it needs a post new comment button at the bottom.
As for difflinks - each comment is actually a separate page. In the "More" dropdown menu you'll find a "link to" button, which will take you to the comment page: Thread:Forum:Use liquid threads in the forum?/Ditto/reply_(18)
But this has the added benefit of being incredibly fugly, in addition to being terrible at conversations.
Reminds me a bit of LiveJournal, honestly.