Forum Moderators: rogerd
I've never been a huge fan of threaded forums, for a couple of reasons:
1) Difficult to read big threads and spot new content.
2) Discussions can become fragmented and spawn divergent conversations that have little to do with the original post.
The main reason I've seen cited for threaded forum display is that it can make complex conversations LESS confusing by allowing a poster to easily address a comment made earlier without having to explain which post he is referencing; this permits more focused and coherent discussion of sub-issues raised by the original post.
Are there any fans of threaded forums here? I'm launching a new forum, and I could kick in threading with by clicking one button... but I'm not convinced it's a good move.
Not only does that help keep threads coherent, it also increases the number of new threads. Not that quantity is more important than quality, but one megathread that covers everything has less value than a larger number of more specific threads.
However, recently I've seen a forum that shows a threaded view, but they are still displayed on the same page. There is a reply button under each post to determine the threading. And you can switch between a threaded and a linear view. I think IPB does this. I definitely prefer this method. It certainly can't hurt since it's only an optional view and the default is linear.
But I much prefer a linear view. You just can't rely on your users to create a usable threaded view. It may work here though, or another professional tech-based forum.
A previous threaded forum I used before was not very busy at all but still discussions became hard to follow and "newbies" often replied to a thread by creating a new thread.
Also are threaded forums more difficult to moderate? (if that's an issue) as I notice on some forums a lot of not so knowledgeable (or even downright rude sometimes) posters drop digs/flames in where they think they won't be spotted.
Suzy
Another forum design that was popular for a while features threading. Within each subthread, posts are indented. In a big thread, the result was either massive horizontal scrolling, or, in some cases, posts reduced to a few characters in width (but LOTS of lines).
Still, some software designers offer fairly decent threaded display options now.
I don't like threads, and I've set my forum to display in linear fashion. But I've left in the facility for users to view things threaded-style if they want. I don't know, however, how many use this facility, since it's all server-side, controlled by a cookie.
Curiously, given SuzyUK's concerns, I prefer to use a threaded structure for administration. When looking at a forum I find it's useful to see the structure of threads. Since the latest additions are clearly marked, I find I tell what's going on, in terms of who's replying to whom, a lot easier than with a linear display.
Replies have to be made to specific posts, rather than the thread as a whole. What seems to keep people in order (so they don't mess up the structure of the thread) is that they can get a quote from the post they're responding to delivered up automatically. Apparently this is all it takes to focus the mind. :)
Right now though, I'm using phpBB (flat-style, otherwise known as linear) for my rp fora. It's "okay". Threaded would be better, but aside from software a friend wrote for me a while back (which has some serious security holes - unacceptable on private fora.... they're private and we want them to STAY that way!) I can't find one I like. I do look about once a quarter. Hopefully a decent one will surface eventually.
Otherwise, for non-rp boards, linear is better. phpBB is what I use and I'm happy with it. There are certainly other very good linear solutions out there though.
1 - In friendly, informal conversations, context can get lost very quickly without threading. Somone saying "yeah, you're right", six posts down, is impossible to contextualise without threading.
2 - In very formal, academic-style or technical discussion, threading allows you to follow a given part of the discussion, seeing the building of people's logic, arguments, and direction of thought. unthreaded conversations in this situation are hard to follow because of the density of information.
His second point is actually equally true of free-form rp on threaded fora. What happens is:
Player 1 opens the game with her character A.
Player 2 replies with his character A. This post appears "tabbed over" below the initial post.
Player 1 posts in reply to player 2, which reply is also "tabbed over" (or Player 3 posts etc.)
And so on. There will be people who haven't played this way who may post "wrongly" requiring the mod ("dm" for those familiar with rp) to move and/or otherwise adjust the out of synch post, but it doesn't take long for people to get clued in.
The major benefit to this sort of play by post is that you generally do NOT get lost because the conversation you're trying to reply TO is buried 15 posts down.... People who rp this way quite frequently have limited time to "play" - they need to find their last posts in the relevant thread, do a quick catch-up read to see what's happened, then add a post - OR start a new top-thread-post to reflect changed circs.
The problem with all of the threaded possibles out there is simply that, having tried most of them, I find that even supposedly totally private fora get "trollers" - some sooner, some later, but for some reason (and I'm NOT a programmer so I haven't a CLUE), threaded self-hosted software seems to have mega-problems with security. Or if it's (relatively) secure, then it's kludgy, or non-user-friendly, or not customizable, or EXPENSIVE.
*sigh*
threaded self-hosted software seems to have mega-problems with security
Some threaded packages seem quite, ummm, basic, but slicker packages like Invision Power Board and vBulletin also offer a threaded option.
It's a no-winner right now. I have hopes for a board system from Nick Gammon, it looked good a while back and I will try to check it out better later this summer (after I retire.... and have time to "play" again!)
