Poll: How many threads should the Latest Posts widget list?

[Glenn MacGrady]

On normal size computer screens, the site layout has five informational widgets on the right side of the screen. One of these widgets is Latest Posts. I have changed the number of threads showing in this widget over the past three months, starting with the default of 5, and then increasing to 10, then 15, and just now to 20.

On phones and perhaps other small screens, all the widgets are below the Forums.

I'm not sure how much users rely on the Latest Posts widget when seeking out threads. So tell me, and vote on how many threads you would like to see in the Latest Posts widget.

 

[Gamma1214]

I've honestly never looked at that widget.

I check any notifications on the little bell (upper right) then hit the "What's new" tab on the left (directly below the top banner) to read anything of interest there. From there, I'm off to the forums to research older posts of interest but I'm clicking on the specific forum of interest for that.

 

[Loon]

First, thanks for your continued work on this forum!

As far as an answer to your question. I, on occasion, will use the widget but only if something catches my eye. I pretty much follow the same procedure as Gamma1214.

 

[billconner]

Have not used it. Only use "new posts".

 

[Chip]

Curiously, this thread shows up if I use the What’s new tab below the banner, but does not show if I use the new posts widget.

I never realized there was a fixed number of posts. I figured it was time-based. It sort of is, but the time varies depending on site traffic.

to respond to the question, I vote for 20. It doesn’t cost the user anything to see more. As they scroll down, if they see posts listed they’ve already seen, they can just click away from the display.

it would be nice to be able to specify a time period.if you’ve been away for a week or two, one could specify all posts in the last week, or however long since last reading the forum. Default could be a day or two. But that wasn’t your question.

 

[scratchypants]

My bookmark for this site leads me directly to What's New, so it is of no consequence to me.

 

[Alan Gage]

I always click on "new posts" to follow what's happening in the forums.
I like that it segregates how the new posts are shown with the recently updated/ threads at the top and below that the "threads that have not been updated since your last visit."

Maybe we're talking about different features because I've not noticed it limiting the amount of threads shown. There are multiple pages for me, which suits me fine although I rarely look past page one since I'm generally on the forum at least daily so I don't have much to catch up on.

Curiously, this thread shows up if I use the What’s new tab below the banner, but does not show if I use the new posts widget.

Perhaps you're already aware of this but when I look at "new posts" it filters out threads that I've already seen. For example if I view a thread and then click on "New Posts" that post will not re-appear until someone posts a response. I like this feature because it only shows me what I haven't read but sometimes it can be confusing because a thread that I know is very recent suddenly does not appear.

The workaround is that at the top of the "new threads" list it says, Show Only: Unread x

If you click the "x" it will then show all new threads regardless if you've viewed them or not.

Alan

 

[Alan Gage]

Ok, Glenn, now I see the widget on the right side you were talking about. Amazing how blind a person can be. I've honestly never paid any attention to and doubt that I will. That doesn't mean I suggest nuking it because maybe other people think it's great.

Alan

 

[billconner]

I'm almost always on phone. Where is this widget? I just have a list at bottom of latest posts. Maybe that's it? 20 or so now? Nice to have when I hit mark all threads read by mistake.

 

[Odyssey]

I like the International version of this site with the feature of seeing a sidebar on the right side of the home page. No clicking necessary. However, I've noticed that not all recent threads show up in that latest posts sidebar. It never occurred to me the number of latest threads shown was maxxed out. I haven't given the number of threads listed any thought, but if I were to consider it I'd say the more shown the fewer I'd have to go looking for., just so long as there are no more than 1 thread each of BEARS, GUNS, and RACING CANOES. Ha. Just kidding about the bears and guns. Otherwise everything's cool.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I'm surprised by some of these responses and some confuse me. I think some of you don't understand the Homepage widget layout and don't understand the difference between Latest Posts (which I'm talking about in this poll thread) and New Posts and maybe even What's New and Latest Activity.

I'll be out for the next 8 hours or so and will explain when I get back.

Meanwhile, if you are on any computer screen larger than 11", go to the Homepage (https://www.canoetripping.net/) and that will be the beginning point for my later discussion. You can reach the Homepage from any page by just clicking on the site logo/picture or by clicking on the Forums tab the the very left of the action tab bar on top of every page.

The Homepage on 11-12+ computer screens is laid out with a stack of Forums on the left 75% of the page and stack of five information blocks, called Widgets, on the right 25% of the page.

Gotta go.

 

[recped]

I have a tab for CanoeTripping.net, it's permanently on New Posts, I'm not sure if I have ever seen the "homepage" before today, certainly not since the revamp of the site.

On other boards it's the same deal, I either never visit those pages or if I do I never look/notice those sidebar sections.

I understand they would be seen by new and/or infrequent users but for regulars that stuff is rather pointless.

I do understand the difference between "New Posts" and "Latest Posts" (which for clarity is really "newest threads") For me the later is quite pointless. Somewhat similar to the "Similar Threads" section, whatever AI selects those doesn't really work (depending on your opinion of "similar"!)

On the positive side the new site works great, very happy about the upgrade from the previous system.

 

[sweeper]

Strictly a "New Post" reader

 

[Boreal Birch]

As a old computer illiterate and old foggie/gezzer, I have no idea what a widget is, little interest in learning how it is used. Is it like a henweight or something?
I do however like to see other folk’s canoe camping pictures, although I have neither a digital camera or a desire to use one myself. Much less learning the mental gymnastics of removing it from the camera putting it into a computer then sending it Nilly Willy around the inter web. We also write and send a metric ton of crap each day such as this poundage of my thread drift.
As for someone that grew up on a farm the current use of AI makes me smile. Back in the day it referred in a polite way of saying Artificial Insemination in mixed company. The man that did the work was referred to by teenaged boys as the “Cow BLEEP” a job none of us aspired to become, same could be said for the occupation of sheep herder .
As Red Green was fond of saying, “Remember we are all in this together, I’m pulling for you.”

 

[Odyssey]

As a old computer illiterate and old foggie/gezzer, I have no idea what a widget is, little interest in learning how it is used. Is it like a henweight or something?
I do however like to see other folk’s canoe camping pictures, although I have neither a digital camera or a desire to use one myself. Much less learning the mental gymnastics of removing it from the camera putting it into a computer then sending it Nilly Willy around the inter web. We also write and send a metric ton of crap each day such as this poundage of my thread drift.
As for someone that grew up on a farm the current use of AI makes me smile. Back in the day it referred in a polite way of saying Artificial Insemination in mixed company. The man that did the work was referred to by teenaged boys as the “Cow BLEEP” a job none of us aspired to become, same could be said for the occupation of sheep herder .
As Red Green was fond of saying, “Remember we are all in this together, I’m pulling for you.”

We need our own secret handshake. Wearing our best analogue watches not those fancy Casio ones with push buttons, a real good relaxed plaid cotton shirt with buttons not those slim fit shrink wrap polywhatsadoodle ones, boots on our feet like we just finished work in the back 40 not those Adidas sandals weirdos wear in the city in broad daylight like they've just gotten outta a Turkish bath...
and then, maybe then, I'll pull the Timothy grass outta my teeth and exchange the secret handshake...between computer illiterate old foggie/geezers.
Keep yer stick on the ice Birchy.

ps I have heard of beer widgets before but that's as technical as my life gets. Cheers man.

 

[Woodpuppy]

I like “new posts” at the top. I’m on a phone; don’t own a PC anymore. I spend too much time on one at work, and this phone has more grunt than all the computing power of NASA when they launched Apollo 13. Besides I’m new enough on the site I’m still learning my way around.

 

[Gamma1214]

Glenn: kinda like herding cats but it sure sounds to me like "do whatever turns you on"... we're all just happy the site works like it's supposed to lately.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Here are two screen shots of the CTN homepage as they appear on a 10+ inch computer screen, showing the vertical stack of categories/forums on the left 75% of the page and the five vertically stacked information widgets on the right 25% of the page. On this first screen shot you can see three of the widgets, which are all simply lists in a box: Staff Online, Members Online, and the beginning of the list of 20 Latest Posts, which is the topic of this poll/thread.

The Latest Posts widget lists the 20 posts that are most chronologically recent whether you have read them or not. Therefore, the list of latest posts in this widget will be the same for all users. In this screenshot, if you had clicked on the the most recent (top) entry, you would have been taken directly to the post made 23 minutes earlier by Gamma in the Equipment T&E thread.



Latest Posts is different from New Posts. New Posts are customized for each user; they are the posts that are unread by and hence new to you. Some of the latest posts may be new posts to you; some may not be. You can get to New Posts two direct ways from the home page: click the New Posts button on the top right of the page or the New Posts tab under the word Forums on the top left of the page.

Moving to the bottom of the home page (and I've changed color theme styles with the Style Chooser), you can see the bottom of the Latest Posts widget, the Forum Statistics widget and the Share This Page widget, which allows one-click sharing of the home page to various social media platforms or to an email. On the bottom left of the page is the Style Chooser (paint brush icon), which allows you to choose from among the four site color themes.



On a phone screen, there is not sufficient width for this 75%/25% layout of forums and widgets. Instead, the five widgets will be placed below the stack of categories/forums, and you will have to scroll down below the forums to reach them. The Style Chooser is below the widgets at the bottom left of the scroll.

My bookmark for this site leads me directly to What's New, so [the Latest Posts widget] is of no consequence to me.

This doesn't make sense to me. When I click on the What's New header tab, it just takes me to a list of the 10 Latest Posts. You would see more Latest Posts (20) on the homepage widget if you bookmarked the homepage.

It does make sense to me to have your bookmark go directly to New Posts, because that will be a listing of all posts, presumably unlimited, that are specifically unread by and new to you.

I am more concerned about how the homepage looks to guests and new members, whom I want to attract into membership and active posting, than I am with actively regular members. I am leaving the Latest Posts widget with 20 entries for the time being in the hopes that it will provide more information and interest options for guests and new members.

 

[Clint]

I like the last post widget. Generally the first thing I look at when opening the page. I like the numbers when you had it around the 10-15 range. The 20 is to many to look through.

 

[scratchypants]

This doesn't make sense to me. When I click on the What's New header tab, it just takes me to a list of the 10 Latest Posts. You would see more Latest Posts (20) on the homepage widget if you bookmarked the homepage.

It does make sense to me to have your bookmark go directly to New Posts, because that will be a listing of all posts, presumably unlimited, that are specifically unread by and new to you.

Firstly, strange that when I quote your message, the part that was a quote from my message does not show up...

Let's clear something up - "Latest Posts" shows the top 10 threads with new posts in them - not simply the 10 latest posts (which, for example, might have all occurred in one, busy thread).

If I visited the site and read all 10 latest threads, it would take 11 new posts in 11 distinctly different threads for the list to change in a way that would cause me to miss something.

So for now, "Latest Posts" is absolutely the best option for me. Unless I'm away from my computer for an extended period, there are never enough posts that get made in between my visits to make the oldest one brand new to me. A quick glance at the timestamp of the last post of the last thread in the list tells me all I need to know.