Suggestion: A thread readership bar

A tiny little 2 inch long bitmap graph bar (0 to 100%), placed to the right of the posters name that shows how much of that thread the user has read before posting in it. To score in it, the post must scroll through the browser window.
I think it would go a long way in keeping redundant posting under control and making threads much more readable.
IMHO and thanks.

reply to post by charlyv


Kinda like how you have to read the terms and condition for a service and you have to scroll down to the bottom in order to continue....

Did you ever read the entire terms and conditions on anything? I certainly never did, just scrolled down and clicked continue. That´s how this plan will go as well.

How about a small pop-quiz before you can hit reply? It will be pretty labor-intensive but well worth the effort.

Peace

reply to post by charlyv


Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhno. I mean, all it does is add a little irritant to the people who don't read before posting. And what about the people who post an introductory paragraph and leave it like that? Scrolling won't do crap.

If your goal is to make sure people read it, then it would be better to have add a line of code that measures the amount of time someone spends with that tab or window active before allowing them to post. It has to measure the ACTIVELY OPEN time, so that the time only counts when they're staring at the OP. Give it like a minute or so. Because they can't cheat by switching tabs, they'll be forced to actually read it out of sheer boredom, unless they go grab a beer in the meantime or something.

That's really the only thing the admin can do to ensure the OP is read before people post. Unless there's an even more creative idea out there? If I spent enough time on it, I could come up with more, but again: there's really no way to guarantee it. There's ways around everything. And remember, I'm trying to keep the ideas practical. We don't want people to spend more time getting past the OP than they do typing a reply, you know?

Originally posted by charlyv
A tiny little 2 inch long bitmap graph bar (0 to 100%), placed to the right of the posters name that shows how much of that thread the user has read before posting in it. To score in it, the post must scroll through the browser window.
I think it would go a long way in keeping redundant posting under control and making threads much more readable.
IMHO and thanks.

Eh I'm against this. What if I have already read the thread previously on my phone and wish to reply when I get to my computer?
What if i have read the thread, and it only takes me 5 seconds to read the last reply to the 10 page thread? I would still have to wait X seconds/minutes to reply!

I personally don't like this. Just delete posts that are repetitive (like if they bring up a point someone has already made) or spammy in nature / can be viewed as a reply of someone who didn't read the whole thread.
Making X time to post additions, or making someone scroll to the bottom is very annoying and honestly would have prevented me from making some of the posts I made just due to the annoyance.

Plus, if someone isn't going to read a thread, a time restriction or making them scroll to the bottom is not going to make them read something. I would just scroll to the bottom, or just open a thread,and wait for X seconds while I go to the bathroom, and then come back to reply...

Originally posted by AfterInfinity
reply to post by charlyv

 

Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhno. I mean, all it does is add a little irritant to the people who don't read before posting. And what about the people who post an introductory paragraph and leave it like that? Scrolling won't do crap.

If your goal is to make sure people read it, then it would be better to have add a line of code that measures the amount of time someone spends with that tab or window active before allowing them to post. It has to measure the ACTIVELY OPEN time, so that the time only counts when they're staring at the OP. Give it like a minute or so. Because they can't cheat by switching tabs, they'll be forced to actually read it out of sheer boredom, unless they go grab a beer in the meantime or something.

That's really the only thing the admin can do to ensure the OP is read before people post. Unless there's an even more creative idea out there? If I spent enough time on it, I could come up with more, but again: there's really no way to guarantee it. There's ways around everything. And remember, I'm trying to keep the ideas practical. We don't want people to spend more time getting past the OP than they do typing a reply, you know?

edit on 1-10-2012 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

You kinda missed the point. Irregardless of reading the other posts or not, nothing would prevent you from just posting. Some people read fast, others slow, others skim. You would get credit for reading any post that you scrolled through, no matter how fast you did it. Also, the data would be stored on the server, so it would not matter where you accessed it. Not perfect, but many would not like to let others know that you posted an opinion without reading the progression of the thread. It is just an idea for an approach at helping to solve what I feel is a real problem. For some, it would even save the embarrassment of posting an irrelevant response.

Hmmmmm. Still against this.
I read the threads as do many. This is just going to be a nuisance. I'm not really trying to scroll or wait X time to reply when it's only the last post that I hadn't read yet (which doesn't take the amount of time it takes to read a whole thread).

Just ban the kiddies that don't read threads..

Edit, I now fully understand what you're saying...
Also kids will just: scroll or wait time and then post to make it seem like they read the thread.
If I get you right: the bar measures time, but even if you don't wait longer than 1 second you can post, you just get a low rating?

So quality is based on the time spent reading now and how long it takes you to write something? Errrr....quality is quality, you don't need a time bar to tell you whether it's a quality post or a crap one.

Originally posted by Ghostx
Hmmmmm. Still against this.
I read the threads as do many. This is just going to be a nuisance. I'm not really trying to scroll or wait X time to reply when it's only the last post that I hadn't read yet (which doesn't take the amount of time it takes to read a whole thread).

It really would be a nuisance. I too read threads before I post. But that is not everyone's cup of tea. Some people enjoy just reading the OP and then leaving their thoughts on it and then moving on to the next thread. To each his own.

But I don't think there is any real need to try and push members into reading whole threads before posting and sort of...Branding the ones who don't.... I can see people using THAT as an argument rather than focusing on the actual point of the thread " You didn't read the whole thread so your opinion doesn't matter"....

I think it would serve as more of a distraction than anything else and it very well might discourage people from posting for fear of being branded a "non reader".

"Shun the non readers!"

But anyway, that is where I stand on this one.

Peace and love.

^exactly. It takes the enjoyment out of sharing and the focus away from your actual post.
I don't run a forum anymore, but I got rid of visible post counts and other points on the actual posts for the reason I just said.