thread print button

[thetrasher]

Where is the "printable" button?

[webmasterworld.com...] it be possible to have a “thread print button” on WM? Functionality I am looking for is “ press a print button and the whole thread prints”. I would find this very useful especially on the long threads – ones that have 5 or more pages.+1

[ken_b]

It's been recently removed.

Jimsthoughts says:

Print Link Gone.... the Print pages have always caused little issues when it comes to SEO of the site... we were wondering if people would miss it if we removed it...I see you did ken...if a bunch of people also say they miss it, we'd be happy to bring it back.

from this thread [webmasterworld.com...]

[incrediBILL]

Only a few people ever mentioned it.

Print was gone a week before I got my first inquiry wondering where it went, that's how frequently it was used.

The main problem we had with it was scrapers were abusing the heck out of it and as Jim pointed out, causing more SEO issues than it was worth.

The print per each post was a useless function and if it were revived, it would be for the whole thread only and available only for logged in members, not non-members and scrapers.

However, there are some major things underway that take precedence over a print thread offering.

If there's enough demand for it, which there hasn't been, we probably wouldn't be able to address it until late Q1 '15.

[lucy24]

I must have blinked. I don't even remember seeing a "print" button. In forums that have it (php/bb3 for example) I don't think I've ever used it for its nominal purpose. It's more for collecting a multi-page thread into a single document so you don't have to keep switching back and forth.

scrapers were abusing the heck out of it

Can't you code it so the button only becomes visible once you've passed some post count? If there are active WebmasterWorld contributors who moonlight as scrapers, we've got bigger problems than a Print button.

[ken_b]

It's more for collecting a multi-page thread into a single document so you don't have to keep switching back and forth.

Yeah, that's how I used it for the most part. I think I actually printed a few threads when I first joined the forum, but I haven't a clue if I still have the printouts.

Now I've set my messages per thread (display) to 70. That solves the problem for the vast majority of threads as far as pagination goes.

[incrediBILL]

If I bring it back, and I'm not adverse to doing that, it probably would be just for anyone with a status above NEW MEMBER as I even caught a logged in scraper, it takes all kinds.]

For the record, that 'feature' was being abused to the tune of about 40K pages a day average which is why being barely used by actual members it was an easy candidate to disable and free up server resources for other tasks.

I think I can plead a case for bringing it back as an option just for regular members so it won't be abused again. It would be for full threads prints only, not as it was on every single post.

Would that work for everyone?

[lucy24]

Yes, please.

(Why would anyone need a Print button for an individual post? I'd like to think everyone here is computer-literate enough to select the text of any one post and paste into text editor of their choice. Heck, it's what I do even when answering individual questions if they ask six things in a single post.)

Now, if only it were possible to Preview a reply without obliterating the entire thread you're replying to...

Timestamp says incrediBill posted aproximately eight minutes before I opened this tab. Heh.

[ken_b]

Would that work for everyone?

That would work for me, but given the scraper issue, I don't think I'd reinstate the feature.

I just hit up the Active Posts list and sorted by the MSGs link and only 5 threads had more than 70 comments and only 2 of those had more than 140. It looks like the total on the active list at the moment was 148 threads.

As long as we can set the messages per thread to 70 and considering the scraper issue I can live nicely without the print feature.
.

[thetrasher]

Would that work for everyone?

Yes, sure.

As long as we can set the messages per thread to 70 and considering the scraper issue I can live nicely without the print feature.

70 is not enough for the "Server Farms" threads.
[webmasterworld.com...] = 193
[webmasterworld.com...] = 109
[webmasterworld.com...] = 327
[webmasterworld.com...] = 103
[webmasterworld.com...] = 92
[webmasterworld.com...] = 169
[webmasterworld.com...] = 166 and growing
Before I write about a new server address range I have to see if it has not been mentioned. The print versions of these threads I also liked for offline use.

[not2easy]

Before I write about a new server address range I have to see if it has not been mentioned.

I'm sometimes in the same boat, I do a search and look for the leading IP as "nnn.nn.nn.n" so if it has been posted anywhere here it shows up and I can see if it is the same.

[incrediBILL]

From what I'm hearing is we don't really need a print thread feature, but alternatively a VIEW ALL options on a thread that shows it all on one page and skips pagination.

It would be a link or button per page, only shown on multiple page threads, so when you need to see it all you click VIEW ALL to get it all at once.

How does that sound as a simple alternative?

[ken_b]

How does that sound as a simple alternative?

Sounds good to me.