Threads too long ....

saoir · 02-19-2011, 05:41 PM

I read MobileRead from time to time but comment mostly on Teleread.

What really bugs me about MobileRead is the length of the threads before they are ended ... are they ever ended ? The first page of topics is always dominated by ancient threads.

The original post becomes outdated. The thread drifts wildly off topic. Posting to the 8th or 10th page feels like posting to the vapour .....

Can I ask the site to end threads after a reasonable time and when it starts to get stale or goes off topic ?

neilmarr · 02-19-2011, 08:51 PM

What the heck do you think is the point of conversastion and diaslogue, Saoir? It's all about tangents. It was tangents that turned a wine press into a printing engine and a discussion over coffee into the Enlightenment. No conversiation can last too long. Sure, there are lulls and silly asides, but it invariably comes back to creative life. Leave our threads alone! Neil

DixieGal · 02-19-2011, 09:03 PM

It is not required reading. It's okay to skip stuff. Lighten up.

ardeegee · 02-19-2011, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

What the heck do you think is the point of conversastion and diaslogue, Saoir?

You got me. What the heck is the point of diaslogue?

Stitchawl · 02-19-2011, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saoir

The original post becomes outdated. The thread drifts wildly off topic. Posting to the 8th or 10th page feels like posting to the vapour .....

Can I ask the site to end threads after a reasonable time and when it starts to get stale or goes off topic ?

I see MobileRead as a 'kitchen table' or perhaps a living room cocktail party. People from all walks of life gathered around because of a commonality of interests, it this case e-books. But the conversations aren't always about e-book. They drift and flow with input from whoever sits down at the table or walks into the room. And often that input is completely off-topic from what was first being discussed, but that's OK because if anyone feels the urge to bring it back onto the original topic, that's OK too.

Unfortunately, when someone gets up from the table to get a drink, or moves to the other side of the room to chat with others, then returns to their original place, they find that the chatting has evolved without them. For some folks, it takes them by surprise and upsets them. For others, they just go with the flow. If they feel the need to continue talking about their original subject, no one objects. If they don't, the chatting continues.

For those who get upset that the talk is no longer what they wish it to be, there is always another party next door. No need to impose their rules on this party.

Stitchawl

Worldwalker · 02-20-2011, 02:58 AM

If the mods had a collective stroke or other cerebral failure and started locking threads because they were "too long" I, for one, would wander off elsewhere. There are barren technical sites where discussions are limited to one question and a few posts to answer it, then locked. This isn't one of them.

And for the love of Mike, what do you call an "ancient" thread? Looking at the currently active topics (courtesy of "Today's Threads") and leaving out the Politics & Religion forum and the Lounge, which are off-topic and meandering by definition, out of the first 20 threads, the oldest is a promo for a book in Author Self-Promo going back to last August (it seems to have spawned quite a discussion) and there's also a calibre technical thread (an archive of download recipes) going back to October, but all the others are from this current month. Yeah, no thread older than three weeks. In fact, only four topics are older than a week (that is, between 1 and 3 weeks).

So it appears that you're calling threads less than a week old "ancient".

Less than a week old.

I think there's a problem here indeed, but that problem is not the unwillingness of the mods to lock threads when you get tired of them.

HarryT · 02-20-2011, 03:51 AM

Threads do not (except in very rare circumstances) get closed; they simply "age" when people don't post to them, and hence drop down the list of threads in the forum, which is always sorted in order of most recent posting date.

Mike L · 02-20-2011, 05:19 AM

Maybe we need a way to filter out threads that contain more than a given number of posts (when viewing "New Posts"). Just as we can say that we only want to see threads from a particular selection of forums, it would be nice if we could say we only want to see threads containing fewer than, say, 30 posts.

That way, the New Posts page wouldn't be constantly cluttered up with the likes of "What is in your cup?" and "The Vent and Rant Thread" and "So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?" and other threads that contain hundreds and thousands of posts.

I tend to agree with Saoir that those threads are pretty useless, except perhaps for the people who participate in them regularly. Nobody is going to wade through page after page of messages in the hope of seeing something useful.

I'm not saying we should ban long discussions, but it would be nice if there was a way to optionally filter them out of the New Posts page.

GeoffC · 02-20-2011, 06:15 AM

I agree with some of what Saoir is saying - if they are referring to some of the threads in the non-lounge area.
In the lounge the experience is conversational, and hence threads will meander way off-topic frequently.

It is in some of the 'technical' areas where threads become so long and full of less pertinent posts, that they can irritate - some of these are stickies too ....

Stitchawl · 02-20-2011, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike L

That way, the New Posts page wouldn't be constantly cluttered up with the likes of "What is in your cup?" and "The Vent and Rant Thread" and "So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?" and other threads that contain hundreds and thousands of posts.
I tend to agree with Saoir that those threads are pretty useless,

Many of us don't find these posts to be useless.
Perhaps if you don't like them, you would be more comfortable if you didn't open them. But please, let those of us who participate there continue to do so. They are a large part of why we enjoy MobileRead forums. This forum is more than just about books.

Stitchawl

montsnmags · 02-20-2011, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike L

...

I'm not saying we should ban long discussions, but it would be nice if there was a way to optionally filter them out of the New Posts page.

If you look under "Thread Tools" when in a thread, you will see an option to "Ignore Thread". This should remove it from display in both "New posts" and the sub-forum's list of threads.

Cheers,
Marc

Mike L · 02-20-2011, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Many of us don't find these posts to be useless.
Perhaps if you don't like them, you would be more comfortable if you didn't open them. But please, let those of us who participate there continue to do so.

Where did you get the idea that I didn't want you to continue to use those posts?

If you took the trouble to read my post properly, you would have seen that I was suggesting an option to ignore certain threads. I made it clear that I wasn't proposing to disallow them.

Mike L · 02-20-2011, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

If you look under "Thread Tools" when in a thread, you will see an option to "Ignore Thread". This should remove it from display in both "New posts" and the sub-forum's list of threads.

Thanks for that, Marc. It's useful to know that. But what I was suggesting was a blanket option that would apply to all long threads - rather than having to go into each such thread in turn.

montsnmags · 02-20-2011, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike L

Thanks for that, Marc. It's useful to know that. But what I was suggesting was a blanket option that would apply to all long threads - rather than having to go into each such thread in turn.

Yes, I did follow what you meant. I offer that as an existing solution in the absence of what you suggest. Seeing as these long threads tend to be persistently at the top of their sub-forum, it is a matter of only a few mouseclicks and seconds to permanently remove such a thread, or any other you don't wish to see, from your view.

Cheers,
Marc

DixieGal · 02-20-2011, 12:20 PM

Instead of asking the powers that be to protect your precious time from being wasted, how's about you take responsibility for your own use of the forums? What's wrong with you that you can not set threads to be ignored, change your preferences to not subscribe to any threads except those you wish to follow, or just simply not reading anything that is too long for you?

I am getting sick of the crybabies complaining that every detail is not the way they like it. Thank heaven they are not dictating how things go, because they seem to live in very boring worlds.

If the threads are so much to your disliking, why don't you shut off your computer and go for a walk. Try to meet interesting people unlike yourself and develop some social skills.

Stop crying because I am not even the least bit concerned with anything you expect and even less impressed with your opinions. They are as inconsequential to me as you were rude enough to make generalizations about mine in the Lounge. Go suck on them lemons for a while.

02-19-2011, 05:41 PM	#1
saoir Groupie Posts: 188 Karma: 2088290 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Threads too long .... I read MobileRead from time to time but comment mostly on Teleread. What really bugs me about MobileRead is the length of the threads before they are ended ... are they ever ended ? The first page of topics is always dominated by ancient threads. The original post becomes outdated. The thread drifts wildly off topic. Posting to the 8th or 10th page feels like posting to the vapour ..... Can I ask the site to end threads after a reasonable time and when it starts to get stale or goes off topic ?

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02-19-2011, 08:51 PM	#2
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,215 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	What the heck do you think is the point of conversastion and diaslogue, Saoir? It's all about tangents. It was tangents that turned a wine press into a printing engine and a discussion over coffee into the Enlightenment. No conversiation can last too long. Sure, there are lulls and silly asides, but it invariably comes back to creative life. Leave our threads alone! Neil

02-19-2011, 09:03 PM	#3
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	It is not required reading. It's okay to skip stuff. Lighten up.

02-20-2011, 02:58 AM	#6
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	If the mods had a collective stroke or other cerebral failure and started locking threads because they were "too long" I, for one, would wander off elsewhere. There are barren technical sites where discussions are limited to one question and a few posts to answer it, then locked. This isn't one of them. And for the love of Mike, what do you call an "ancient" thread? Looking at the currently active topics (courtesy of "Today's Threads") and leaving out the Politics & Religion forum and the Lounge, which are off-topic and meandering by definition, out of the first 20 threads, the oldest is a promo for a book in Author Self-Promo going back to last August (it seems to have spawned quite a discussion) and there's also a calibre technical thread (an archive of download recipes) going back to October, but all the others are from this current month. Yeah, no thread older than three weeks. In fact, only four topics are older than a week (that is, between 1 and 3 weeks). So it appears that you're calling threads less than a week old "ancient". Less than a week old. I think there's a problem here indeed, but that problem is not the unwillingness of the mods to lock threads when you get tired of them.

02-20-2011, 03:51 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Threads do not (except in very rare circumstances) get closed; they simply "age" when people don't post to them, and hence drop down the list of threads in the forum, which is always sorted in order of most recent posting date.

02-20-2011, 05:19 AM	#8
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Maybe we need a way to filter out threads that contain more than a given number of posts (when viewing "New Posts"). Just as we can say that we only want to see threads from a particular selection of forums, it would be nice if we could say we only want to see threads containing fewer than, say, 30 posts. That way, the New Posts page wouldn't be constantly cluttered up with the likes of "What is in your cup?" and "The Vent and Rant Thread" and "So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?" and other threads that contain hundreds and thousands of posts. I tend to agree with Saoir that those threads are pretty useless, except perhaps for the people who participate in them regularly. Nobody is going to wade through page after page of messages in the hope of seeing something useful. I'm not saying we should ban long discussions, but it would be nice if there was a way to optionally filter them out of the New Posts page.

02-20-2011, 06:15 AM	#9
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	I agree with some of what Saoir is saying - if they are referring to some of the threads in the non-lounge area. In the lounge the experience is conversational, and hence threads will meander way off-topic frequently. It is in some of the 'technical' areas where threads become so long and full of less pertinent posts, that they can irritate - some of these are stickies too ....

02-20-2011, 12:20 PM	#15
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Instead of asking the powers that be to protect your precious time from being wasted, how's about you take responsibility for your own use of the forums? What's wrong with you that you can not set threads to be ignored, change your preferences to not subscribe to any threads except those you wish to follow, or just simply not reading anything that is too long for you? I am getting sick of the crybabies complaining that every detail is not the way they like it. Thank heaven they are not dictating how things go, because they seem to live in very boring worlds. If the threads are so much to your disliking, why don't you shut off your computer and go for a walk. Try to meet interesting people unlike yourself and develop some social skills. Stop crying because I am not even the least bit concerned with anything you expect and even less impressed with your opinions. They are as inconsequential to me as you were rude enough to make generalizations about mine in the Lounge. Go suck on them lemons for a while.