Please Add this New Feature to ATS 5/3

Several months ago I asked if there could be a new feature added to ATS, but it never materialized. I'm bringing it up again because I feel like it would be a heavily used feature and it seems to have a better chance of being added while major site construction is under way.

On the bottom of our in-thread mini-profile, there is an icon that allows us to go directly to a member's profile, see their posts, see all their posts in the current thread, send them a U2U, or ALERT! the ATS Staff.

I would like to see the following new feature added to that list:

Many times I come across a post that is very interesting/provoking and seems like it will cause a lot of debate. The only way to see the replies to the specific post is to scroll through the thread's pages, looking for replies to the post.

This can be irritating in a fast moving thread and in threads that have 4-5 'mini-debates' taking place at the same time. It's easy to miss replies or to get tired of looking for the replies to the specific post.

I would love to see a feature that allows us to view all the replies to a specific post - like the feature that allows us to see all the posts made in the thread by a specific member. Instead of looking at all of their in-thread posts, we'd be able to look at all the different replies to a single post.

It would be a great way to see the different opinions ATS members have as they relate to a single provocative post.



I hope I am not confusing you too much with my description. It's easier thought than typed (at least for me it is )

reply to post by esteay812


I think the "New" ATS is just fine the way it is actually. Why would we need a function like this?

Why not just read through the thread? If you cant do that, then the thread isn't really that important to begin with. Just MHO.

Isn't that what "posts in thread" does?

That feature is great in the large threads, where you want to see the posts in that thread from a specific member. The only thing better would be a next post button that would take you to the next post in thread by that member. Navigating large threads easily would make this site much better. And that could help.

I think that is a great idea too. I have had the same problems. Sometimes you just give up on stuff as finding specific replies to certain posts can be difficult and very time consuming especially, as you say, if the thread has evolved into numerous conversations all running in parallel. Its not about finding posts from one particular user, but keeping track of a specific conversation within a thread when the thread has evolved into many conversations happening all at once. On the larger threads this can be difficult and time consuming. Yeah, I think it is a good idea.

reply to post by sonnny1


As a person who does read through each and every post before I comment , I'm inclined to agree with you here Sonny.

Now that I think about it, It would actually be great for those of that do (read all the posts) to have a little bookmark button to mark the spot we want to continue reading from. This would be especially handy for long and ongoing threads with many, many pages of replies.

reply to post by pennylemon


Hit the link button on any post and bookmark it in your browser, it will bring you back to that post anytime. I've learned a few tricks reading here.

reply to post by pennylemon


Agree.

Now that's something I could use!

A button that lets you continue where you left off. Like I said though, I think SO went above and beyond with this version.

99.9 % of what we have is a BIG improvement.

Or maybe being able to select a particular post in a large thread, then being shown any replies to that post, and replies to those posts too. This way is is much easier to follow a conversation within a large thread without having to read all the posts in-between every time ( that are not related to the particular conversation you want to read). As the larger threads do tend to evolve into numerous conversations between different members. Would be a great tool for people researching ideas and events. Bookmarks would be a great tool too.

reply to post by sonnny1


Well... I don't always have the time to read through a 30 page thread...

Why would we have a feature that allows us to see all the in-thread posts of a specific member?

The suggestion is no less useful than that feature... useful to some, useless to others...

Also, I like the new design and the more I use it, the more I feel like it is far-better than the most recent version. This request is not a knock on the new design at all, in fact, it is a feature that I've wanted to see for a while - ATS2010 or ATS5/3 is irrelavant.


reply to post by greavsie1971


Yes.

Your second comment, immediately above this reply, is EXACTLY what I am suggesting/requesting.

With this feature you would be able to see all replies to any post, even if the post is a reply itself.

Not a bad idea. I would use that.

For long threads I would like the option where we could mark replies to be marked read or unread. Or a button to ' continue reading later' where you left off. A bookmark like the way iBooks bookmarks would be handy as opposed to trying to bookmark the usual way.
I haven't tried the ats app. Does it offer different features?

reply to post by esteay812


Why not just go to the specific member you want to hear from?

www.abovetopsecret.com...&list=posts

Seems like they covered what you want.

The ease of it wasn't hard at all to do.

reply to post by ausername


No, it isn't what 'posts in-thread' does, but it is similar. It would be more like the opposite of 'posts in-thread'.

Instead of seeing all the posts a specific member has made in the thread, you would be able to see all the replies different members to 1 specific post.

So, if someone opens a thread about building a canoe, and I leave a post saying;

"The world's ending! I have undeniable proof!"

You'd be able to click the 'replies to this post' and see all the replies made to my post by other members. The feature would allow you to easily follow one aspect of the thread, without the need to scroll through all the other, unrelated, in-thread conversation.

reply to post by sonnny1


What do you mean? I do not want to hear from a specific member...

When a specific member makes a specific post in a thread, I would like to be able to see all the replies that all the other members made to that specific post.

reply to post by esteay812


K.

I got lost in the translation. Apologies.

I still think reading the entire thread then reading just the replies to one member is more fulfilling.

Just my honest opinion.

Peace.

reply to post by sonnny1


Yes, I do like reading all the posts. I've noticed that threads tend to develop into a few 'sub-debates', branching out like a tree.

Maybe it would be like scenes in a movie. They don't all happen at once, because you'd have too many things going on to get the full scope. In general, each scene is related to the movie, but each scene also portrays a different dimension of the movie's story. We watch the scenes individually, then add them all together and the full story is revealed.

A feature like this would make it much easier to follow each of the branches, without drifting back and forth.

It could be used in other ways too. If there is a particular member that you generally agree or dis-agree with, you can easily see what other members had to say about their specific comment/s in a particular thread.

I'm sure there are various other ways members would use this sort of feature, but the purposes I've mentioned are why I'd like it.

This would be a bad idea.

So, if you were replying in a thread, but I only want to listen to 2-3 people which I know have something great to say, (Im not saying you arent saying anything useful ) then I would never listen to what you have to say.

But I understand why you would want this feature. But many people will be unessesary, and feel they could as well just stop answering a thread.

It wont ever be good I'm afraid. )-:

reply to post by ypperst


I apologize if I am poorly understanding you or if I have poorly explained the function of the 'fantasy feature' . I mentioned earlier that there are probably uses that a feature like this could have, but I haven't thought of. There are, most definitely, features currently available that are 100% useless to some members, but one of the main features available to other members.

Unfortunately, for me, I am unable to spend any extended duration of time on ATS in a single 'session'. The result is that many of the threads I would be interested in become huge threads in the time between my visits.

Entering one of these threads many hours after it's publication can quickly reveal the most extraordinary posts based on member feedback and the star system. Scrolling down the first 2-3 pages reveals the comments which have garnered the most stars and, potentially, the most member replies.

I simply think it would be quite an awesome feature to be able to see all the member replies to a single, specific post. In a fast moving and large thread, replies can be scattered over dozens of pages. This scattering makes it more difficult to find all the replies and member opinions to the specific post.

There have been times I had found myself interested in one of the first few posts in a very large thread. I've replied to those posts and realized my comment will be on page 27. There are a lot of things that happen from page 1 to page 27 and comments to one of the first few posts can seem completely out of place 26 pages later.

I imagine a feature like this would be very useful to some and maybe worthless to others, but that is not out of character with other ATS features; such as the ability to see all of a specific member's in-thread posts, or all of their posts in general.

In my opinion, this feature goes hand-in-hand with the feature to see all in-thread posts by a specific member.

A feature that allows us to see all in-thread posts by a specific member should have a counterpart that does basically the opposite.

'See all replies made by this member in this thread'

'See all replies to this member's specific comment'

A perfect example of how this feature would be very useful is today's thread, by ATS member 'Matafuchs', titled;

"Active Shooter at Washington Navy Yard, Reports of Multiple People Shot"

This thread was published @ 8.58a and has exploded to 32 pages by 5.17p!

That is a lot of activity and there are multiple posts on the first 2-3 pages that have provoked many replies, which are scattered throughout the 32+ pages.

Being able to see all the replies to specific posts would make it so much easier to see how the thread has developed and would make it so much easier to get up to speed on a thread you come in late on.