Thread:Feedback/Hierarchical vs. Linear/reply (18)

I've been mostly ignoring LiquidThreads for a while, I'll admit. I don't particularly like forum-like systems, so I'm not particularly looking forward to the extension. (That being said, I do recognize how this will—probably—help newbies, so I don't broadly object). I do, however, strongly object to the preference of a linear mode over an indented mode, because that completely changes the nature of discussions in a way that I find detrimental. Indentation is a very useful indicator for skimming over a discussion and finding the important points, seeing the structure of the discussion, as well as being an immediate indicator of which post is which.

I think that the key is getting end users to recognize how to respond to individual posts as well as responding to a thread, and making it clear which action they are taking at any given time.

My personal recommendation would be the following:
 * Move the "Link to" option into the "More" menu. Linking to a post is not a very common action (outside of certain noticeboards, of course).
 * Move out the "Reply" button. Replying to a post is, or should be, a very common action.
 * Rename the thread-reply button from "Add a reply" so that it indicates that it's adding a reply to the thread rather than to the last post, e.g. "Add a reply to this topic". This last step is optional, but might be helpful.

I think you should consult a little with the Usability team to get some opinions there (if you haven't already).

I also have doubts about the hiding of replies below a certain depth, and I've changed my settings here to use a depth of 1000, but I'm not certain enough about the details of that option to comment on it yet.

Ending this, it's hard to remember to not end with ~. Oh well…