br0adband
Member
One thing I've noted here at RR over the years that I've been a member is the lack of a "proper" way to go back a page. What I mean here is the lack of a link, or a button that allows the user to quickly get back to the , and it's not by using the "Back" button on my browser or the mouse-rocker feature I have because of the browser I use (hold Right, click Left and it backs up a page; hold Left, click Right and it goes forward, etc).
My suggestion is based on another forum that uses VBulletin just like RR does: the HardForum, one of the most popular computer enthusiast websites on the Internet over the past few years. The one thing they do over there (and they're not the only VBulletin powered forum that does it) is provide a 'quick link' of sorts that sits at the bottom of each threaded list of postings that, when you click it, takes you back to the subforum listing without forcing the user to scroll way back up to the top of the page they're looking at to do the same thing.
The primary reason for this is because if you do scroll back up the page and click the subforum link, or if you simply use your browser's Back button or feature, it won't mark the thread as "Read" properly. So when you return to the subforum thread listing, the very thread you just read and are now up-to-date with is still going to show the little arrow that means "Hey, there's stuff in here you haven't read yet, new stuff."
So, adding this 'quick link' - or in the case of the HardForum, it's a simple drop-down menu that actually lets the user jump to any subforum from that point but defaults to the current subforum listing - would make site navigation much more efficient, require less "Back" action, and keep the thread postings updated because when you use that 'quick link' the forum software takes note of the fact that you did read the last (newest) post(s) and are fully updated, so that info gets passed on to your user profile and you don't end up trying to read the same stuff twice.
This is just a suggestion, of course, but I've been wondering why this feature hasn't been enabled at RR for years now. I just suddenly felt like putting the suggestion out there this morning, so... take it and use it, or blow it off.
Here's a picture of what I mean at the HardForum, a screenshot crop that I just did so you can get some idea of what I'm talking about:
Sorry for the large image, just wanted it to be very easy to spot. The subforum that thread exists in is Operating Systems; if I click the Go button there next to the drop down menu, two things happen: 1) the forum software marks the entire thread as read so it won't show the "New posts" icon when the thread listing is shown - this doesn't happen if I click or choose Back, and 2) it jumps me back to the thread listing without requiring me to scroll back up to the subforum link at the top of the page.
I know that the HardForum is using a more updated version of VBulletin than RR is, and you folks just went through the v3 update also, but implementing this one relatively simplistic option for the "Forum Jump" drop-down menu would make browsing the forum that much more efficient and easy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to scroll back to the top of this page to go back to the thread listing.
Just my $.02... have fun, always...
bb
My suggestion is based on another forum that uses VBulletin just like RR does: the HardForum, one of the most popular computer enthusiast websites on the Internet over the past few years. The one thing they do over there (and they're not the only VBulletin powered forum that does it) is provide a 'quick link' of sorts that sits at the bottom of each threaded list of postings that, when you click it, takes you back to the subforum listing without forcing the user to scroll way back up to the top of the page they're looking at to do the same thing.
The primary reason for this is because if you do scroll back up the page and click the subforum link, or if you simply use your browser's Back button or feature, it won't mark the thread as "Read" properly. So when you return to the subforum thread listing, the very thread you just read and are now up-to-date with is still going to show the little arrow that means "Hey, there's stuff in here you haven't read yet, new stuff."
So, adding this 'quick link' - or in the case of the HardForum, it's a simple drop-down menu that actually lets the user jump to any subforum from that point but defaults to the current subforum listing - would make site navigation much more efficient, require less "Back" action, and keep the thread postings updated because when you use that 'quick link' the forum software takes note of the fact that you did read the last (newest) post(s) and are fully updated, so that info gets passed on to your user profile and you don't end up trying to read the same stuff twice.
This is just a suggestion, of course, but I've been wondering why this feature hasn't been enabled at RR for years now. I just suddenly felt like putting the suggestion out there this morning, so... take it and use it, or blow it off.
Here's a picture of what I mean at the HardForum, a screenshot crop that I just did so you can get some idea of what I'm talking about:
Sorry for the large image, just wanted it to be very easy to spot. The subforum that thread exists in is Operating Systems; if I click the Go button there next to the drop down menu, two things happen: 1) the forum software marks the entire thread as read so it won't show the "New posts" icon when the thread listing is shown - this doesn't happen if I click or choose Back, and 2) it jumps me back to the thread listing without requiring me to scroll back up to the subforum link at the top of the page.
I know that the HardForum is using a more updated version of VBulletin than RR is, and you folks just went through the v3 update also, but implementing this one relatively simplistic option for the "Forum Jump" drop-down menu would make browsing the forum that much more efficient and easy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to scroll back to the top of this page to go back to the thread listing.
Just my $.02... have fun, always...
bb
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