How to Topics Get Forked
-
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
For normal users like you and me, we click the arrow after reply to reply as topic.
Then you can go up and click quote on the post you want to start from to get that info populated.
-
@scottalanmiller said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
@scottalanmiller said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
Wow, that verbiage could not be more clear compared to Cisco.
That's because one makes their money from being clear and easy as they don't certify consultants; the other makes their money from being obtuse and getting money from a support and consulting ecosystem. It's not in Cisco's interest to make things easy or clear for their customers.
I like that. I'd like to start a new thread about that subject (particularly at a new Ubiquiti firmware that has a feature that we might be able to start replacing some ASAs). I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
Mod has to do it. But with as little as there is, just starting a fresh thread for exactly the purpose is best. Forks are always a little messy as they start from something that wasn't intended to kick off a question, so tend to lean towards being confusing. Unless a conversation has already erupted about it, best to just make a new thread and allow the old to continue organically.
Ah, got it. Thanks. Does it just just show up in the various feeds? How do I know if a mod has forked it, so as not to redundantly start a new thread?
-
@jaredbusch said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
For normal users like you and me, we click the arrow after reply to reply as topic.
Then you can go up and click quote on the post you want to start from to get that info populated.When you do that, how is the title of the new thread determined?
-
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
@scottalanmiller said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
@scottalanmiller said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
Wow, that verbiage could not be more clear compared to Cisco.
That's because one makes their money from being clear and easy as they don't certify consultants; the other makes their money from being obtuse and getting money from a support and consulting ecosystem. It's not in Cisco's interest to make things easy or clear for their customers.
I like that. I'd like to start a new thread about that subject (particularly at a new Ubiquiti firmware that has a feature that we might be able to start replacing some ASAs). I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
Mod has to do it. But with as little as there is, just starting a fresh thread for exactly the purpose is best. Forks are always a little messy as they start from something that wasn't intended to kick off a question, so tend to lean towards being confusing. Unless a conversation has already erupted about it, best to just make a new thread and allow the old to continue organically.
Ah, got it. Thanks. Does it just just show up in the various feeds? How do I know if a mod has forked it, so as not to redundantly start a new thread?
The mod has to announce it. The new thread shows up as a new one, so everyone is alerted to it in the unread announcement, but as the mod has to create the title, it's always a little confusing.
-
This one was forked, for example. So you can see how it worked.
-
So to do a fork, for it to work safely, the original topic has to be locked. This can be problematic in a busy topic. So often mods have to wait for a lull in the hopes of not locking while people are trying to respond. Then they have to lock, do the fork, select the posts that seem to be part of the fork and split them out, give the new topic a title, post it, then unlock the original topic. And if people are in the process of responding to the original and don't notice this happen, they then respond to the forked topic in the wrong place making even more of a mess which has no mechanism for cleanup.
Topic forking isn't terribly hard, but it has some challenges.
-
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
For normal users like you and me, we click the arrow after reply to reply as topic.
Then you can go up and click quote on the post you want to start from to get that info populated.When you do that, how is the title of the new thread determined?
I entered it. It is simply a new topic.
-
@jaredbusch said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
For normal users like you and me, we click the arrow after reply to reply as topic.
Then you can go up and click quote on the post you want to start from to get that info populated.When you do that, how is the title of the new thread determined?
I entered it. It is simply a new topic.
I hadn't tried the Reply As Topic before as I didn't stop and think about what it really meant. That is very cool and easy to keep things on topic.
-
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
For normal users like you and me, we click the arrow after reply to reply as topic.
Then you can go up and click quote on the post you want to start from to get that info populated.When you do that, how is the title of the new thread determined?
I entered it. It is simply a new topic.
I hadn't tried the Reply As Topic before as I didn't stop and think about what it really meant. That is very cool and easy to keep things on topic.
Yes, very odd that more communities don't leverage tech like that. It makes for some seriously drifting conversations.
-
@scottalanmiller said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
For normal users like you and me, we click the arrow after reply to reply as topic.
Then you can go up and click quote on the post you want to start from to get that info populated.When you do that, how is the title of the new thread determined?
I entered it. It is simply a new topic.
I hadn't tried the Reply As Topic before as I didn't stop and think about what it really meant. That is very cool and easy to keep things on topic.
Yes, very odd that more communities don't leverage tech like that. It makes for some seriously drifting conversations.
Or extra work by posting a link to a new thread and saying "I started a new thread about this." Just quoting the thread is super easy.
-
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@scottalanmiller said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@bbigford said in How to Topics Get Forked:
@jaredbusch said in Website internal/external:
@bbigford said in Website internal/external:
I've heard people talk about forking a thread when things get off track. How is that done, rather than just starting a new thread?
For normal users like you and me, we click the arrow after reply to reply as topic.
Then you can go up and click quote on the post you want to start from to get that info populated.When you do that, how is the title of the new thread determined?
I entered it. It is simply a new topic.
I hadn't tried the Reply As Topic before as I didn't stop and think about what it really meant. That is very cool and easy to keep things on topic.
Yes, very odd that more communities don't leverage tech like that. It makes for some seriously drifting conversations.
Or extra work by posting a link to a new thread and saying "I started a new thread about this." Just quoting the thread is super easy.
And if it isn't quick and easy, people tend to not do it.
