I have been having an issue with the way replies work under content.
I understand that they are set up like the forum but I find this is inefficient and it leads to a little confusion when I am reading what other people think about a class or playable race. I have myself received replies that are 6 pages of comments later than my comment. This forces me to go back and find my comment before I can understand what people are saying to me. Not everyone is significantly trained in the use of copying the post or section of post they are replying to. And this leads to some comments being confusing as they may be adding onto a comment that is a few pages back. Their addition might even be amazing if I knew what they were talking about.
I kinda wish it worked a little more like Reddit, Youtube, or Twitter, where the comments for a specific post are sub-posted under the post they are replying too.
Example: VB: I think Humans make the best Sorcerers cause if you use the variant you can pick up the spell sniper feat and pump up intelligence. | AC: Nah, Gnomes get a natural intelligence boost and Darkvision. And they are small so you can take cover easily. | VB: They also a bite-sized for dragons.
This is my feedback, Thank you for taking the time to read it, Vitalabyss
I wasn't talking about search and notification, but the reply formatting. It's the norm to have inline and tiered replies now, but that wasn't always the case and largely still isn't. If you look at forums for Board Game Geeks, Roll20, EA or Rockstar games or many other forums, you'll see they still use the sequential layout. Some have "view in thread" options, but the tiered approach isn't as ubiquitous as you may think. In fact, that's more a feature of social media style sites such as reddit, facebook, twitter and youtube, where the conversation is expected to branch and diverge, in order to drive up engagement. In forums such as this, the assumption/expectation is that some posts a question, suggestion etc and then it stays on that topic.
A workaround, as you've demonstrated, is to use the quote feature. In fact, that was the norm before tiered replies began to rise in popularity.
This has been internet history 101 with someone whose been online since the 90s :P
This has been internet history 101 with someone whose been online since the 90s :P
Internet History aside. I have also been online since the '90s. And as you can see in this post, I know how to quote properly to form a reply.
The format I am suggesting is just a quality of life change that has come about elsewhere as the internet has evolved. And it came from the same reason I have given above. As multiple people get involved in a conversation, it diverges. But unlike IRL where conversation follows a thought, Forum format gives us the opportunity to address specifics ideas or sentences at any time. And if quoted properly, this is no issue. The issue I am having is that many people online today don't. Either from a lack of knowledge or just being used to instant replying.
I think the Forums are fine. Those who are here on the Forum mostly understand how to use them and are here to be here.
My concern is the area under content.
If you go to the fighter page for example, then scroll all the way past the official stuff to the bottom where people are leaving comments, there is an issue following it. I have received multiple replies this summer on the Genasai race page for a comment I made in like July, but none of them quote me. The first time I was really confused and had to find my comment. The reason I posted this, originally, was because I was reading under the warlock for ideas and after the first page it started getting jumbly and confusing and I didn't know who was talking to who.
I just feel that if people are going to talk about something, they should be able to do it without confusion. Forum posts have a title that sets the theme and direction of the conversation. But with DnD, if you go to a content page like the Fighter class, there can be a thousand things you can talk about without any direction at all. And when thousands of people are doing that... it becomes a mess.
You misunderstand, I'm not saying you don't know how to reply, nor that it wouldn't be a valuable QoL change, just that they appear to be using classic style forum code. This is the same code the appear to use for their comments system. I wouldn't be surprised if overhauling one wouldn't entail overhauling both; which would likely lead to loss of data.
The reply function sends a notification to the person you're replying to, informing them of the fact, as you will now have found out.
I think reddit is an exception because it doesn't just branch posts (which is what the OP is asking for) but arrange them based on non-chronological metrics, which is a completely separate thing.
The reply function sends a notification to the person you're replying to, informing them of the fact, as you will now have found out.
I think reddit is an exception because it doesn't just branch posts (which is what the OP is asking for) but arrange them based on non-chronological metrics, which is a completely separate thing.
Yes, but doesn't quoting someone also send you a notification? You get the post + the reply in one.
When I spent time on forums back in the early 2000s, the options were reply (which created a replied to tag like I've done manually), reply with quote (which worked the same way as quote, but sent a reply notification), and multiquote.
When I spent time on forums back in the early 2000s, the options were reply (which created a replied to tag like I've done manually), reply with quote (which worked the same way as quote, but sent a reply notification), and multiquote.
Also some people unsubscribe to threads.
The forums I'm on have comment (creates a post on the thread, no notification), quote (quotes a post with a notification), multiquote (same as quote but for several posts) Like (notification).
I'm one of those, I've set my settings to not subscribe to threads, except if I created them, because I'd write 1 comment in a thread and then get Xth notifications which weren't even meant for me.
ETA: forgot to add, the other forum I'm on also has tagging, which sends a notification, even if they haven't written in said thread.
Hello,
I have been having an issue with the way replies work under content.
I understand that they are set up like the forum but I find this is inefficient and it leads to a little confusion when I am reading what other people think about a class or playable race. I have myself received replies that are 6 pages of comments later than my comment. This forces me to go back and find my comment before I can understand what people are saying to me. Not everyone is significantly trained in the use of copying the post or section of post they are replying to. And this leads to some comments being confusing as they may be adding onto a comment that is a few pages back. Their addition might even be amazing if I knew what they were talking about.
I kinda wish it worked a little more like Reddit, Youtube, or Twitter, where the comments for a specific post are sub-posted under the post they are replying too.
Example: VB: I think Humans make the best Sorcerers cause if you use the variant you can pick up the spell sniper feat and pump up intelligence.
| AC: Nah, Gnomes get a natural intelligence boost and Darkvision. And they are small so you can take cover easily.
| VB: They also a bite-sized for dragons.
This is my feedback,
Thank you for taking the time to read it,
Vitalabyss
Yeah the forum side of DDB really, really needs work.
It's because it uses an oldstyle forum engine, rather than the inline style that's more common nowadays.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Older than 2007? Because I used to get on forums a lot in high school and they had better search and notification systems.
I wasn't talking about search and notification, but the reply formatting. It's the norm to have inline and tiered replies now, but that wasn't always the case and largely still isn't. If you look at forums for Board Game Geeks, Roll20, EA or Rockstar games or many other forums, you'll see they still use the sequential layout. Some have "view in thread" options, but the tiered approach isn't as ubiquitous as you may think. In fact, that's more a feature of social media style sites such as reddit, facebook, twitter and youtube, where the conversation is expected to branch and diverge, in order to drive up engagement. In forums such as this, the assumption/expectation is that some posts a question, suggestion etc and then it stays on that topic.
A workaround, as you've demonstrated, is to use the quote feature. In fact, that was the norm before tiered replies began to rise in popularity.
This has been internet history 101 with someone whose been online since the 90s :P
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Replied to Davedamon >>
Oh, yeah.
I like this style for the forums. Though they at least need a "replied to..." note like I've demonstrated here.
The tiered replies would work better on the content pages like the OP suggested.
Internet History aside. I have also been online since the '90s. And as you can see in this post, I know how to quote properly to form a reply.
The format I am suggesting is just a quality of life change that has come about elsewhere as the internet has evolved. And it came from the same reason I have given above. As multiple people get involved in a conversation, it diverges. But unlike IRL where conversation follows a thought, Forum format gives us the opportunity to address specifics ideas or sentences at any time. And if quoted properly, this is no issue. The issue I am having is that many people online today don't. Either from a lack of knowledge or just being used to instant replying.
I think the Forums are fine. Those who are here on the Forum mostly understand how to use them and are here to be here.
My concern is the area under content.
If you go to the fighter page for example, then scroll all the way past the official stuff to the bottom where people are leaving comments, there is an issue following it. I have received multiple replies this summer on the Genasai race page for a comment I made in like July, but none of them quote me. The first time I was really confused and had to find my comment. The reason I posted this, originally, was because I was reading under the warlock for ideas and after the first page it started getting jumbly and confusing and I didn't know who was talking to who.
I just feel that if people are going to talk about something, they should be able to do it without confusion. Forum posts have a title that sets the theme and direction of the conversation. But with DnD, if you go to a content page like the Fighter class, there can be a thousand things you can talk about without any direction at all. And when thousands of people are doing that... it becomes a mess.
You misunderstand, I'm not saying you don't know how to reply, nor that it wouldn't be a valuable QoL change, just that they appear to be using classic style forum code. This is the same code the appear to use for their comments system. I wouldn't be surprised if overhauling one wouldn't entail overhauling both; which would likely lead to loss of data.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Why even have the "Reply" option? There's the much better "Quote" option, if you want to talk to someone's post from however many pages back.
That said, I greatly dislike the Reddit format, I prefer my posts in chronical order.
The reply function sends a notification to the person you're replying to, informing them of the fact, as you will now have found out.
I think reddit is an exception because it doesn't just branch posts (which is what the OP is asking for) but arrange them based on non-chronological metrics, which is a completely separate thing.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Yes, but doesn't quoting someone also send you a notification? You get the post + the reply in one.
It does not, I didn't get a notification for you quoting me.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Replied to Gilli >>
When I spent time on forums back in the early 2000s, the options were reply (which created a replied to tag like I've done manually), reply with quote (which worked the same way as quote, but sent a reply notification), and multiquote.
Also some people unsubscribe to threads.
The forums I'm on have comment (creates a post on the thread, no notification), quote (quotes a post with a notification), multiquote (same as quote but for several posts) Like (notification).
I'm one of those, I've set my settings to not subscribe to threads, except if I created them, because I'd write 1 comment in a thread and then get Xth notifications which weren't even meant for me.
ETA: forgot to add, the other forum I'm on also has tagging, which sends a notification, even if they haven't written in said thread.