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CalloftheHauntedMaster
Junior Member
289 Posts |
 Posted - 07 December 2006 : 17:17:50
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This is not for split topics or for merging different threads together.
This is to auto-merge a double/triple post...
For example, I'm the last poster in a thread. I post again and now I have two posts in a row (double posts). Instead of that, this mod would immediately edit my first post and add the content of my second post to it, thereby preventing a double post.
It seems pretty easy to make since the only thing necessary is a check to see if you're the last poster in the thread. If so, your posts are merged together. If not, the post proceeds as normal.
Obviously, your post count would not increase as a result of these auto-merged posts.
Anyhow, a search for this type of feature came out dry, and my knowledge of coding is just as dry. Does anyone have a mod they've designed for this or can someone design it?
Again, it seems simple provided you're familiar with snitz...< |
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TonyB7
Junior Member
USA
267 Posts |
Posted - 07 December 2006 : 22:23:26
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You would also have to check the elapsed time between posts. If I thought of something else an hour later I wouldn't want you squashing it at the bottom of my previous post as it might be a different angle entirely.
You're really not saving memory or anything with this, and it falls under any general anti-spam rule so if someone does it unnecessarily all the time just call them on it. I haven't seen any big abuse of double-posting on our forum.
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Shaggy
Support Moderator
Ireland
6780 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 04:32:16
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Not a bad idea, actually. Easiest way to do it would be to check the if the posting member posted the last reply (within a certain timeframe, as Tony suggested) in post.asp and change the method to "edit". Don't have time right now to provide you with any code but, hopefully, I've pointed you in the right direction.
<edit>Although, rethinking it, doing it that way may only serve to confuse people; they might think they hit the wrong button.</edit>
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 Search is your friend
“I was having a mildly paranoid day, mostly due to the
fact that the mad priest lady from over the river had
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Edited by - Shaggy on 08 December 2006 04:33:14 |
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CalloftheHauntedMaster
Junior Member
289 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 10:19:18
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Well, I'm not familiar with Snitz enough to write any code. I'm just throwing out the idea for someone who can write it.
Way I see it though, there's never a reason for a double post. Even if a person wants to add another angle, they could simply edit their post.
Remember, this mod would only be applicable if you were the last poster in then thread. Kinda like this:
Topic starter (Call)
First poster (HuwR)
Second poster (Shaggy)
Third poster (Call)
Fourth poster (Call)
Instead, the mod would merge the fourth poster with the third poster since it was the same author. However, had someone else been the fourth poster entirely, then this wouldn't even be an issue since no double post would have occurred.
Not sure why you'd need to check the the time frame at all. As I said before, thinking of something new could still go under your last post provided you were the last poster. If there were new posts since then, you'd just post as normal.< |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 10:50:19
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| editing posts can often be confusing because it appears as a new post in active.asp and the lastpost date, but is not allways obvious that someone edited their post, especially if it is an admin and the post is not marked as edited. coming along two hours later and making another post is IMHO perfectly valid and I see no valid reason for it to be merged with another post (also shorter posts are better for searching than long ones by the way)< |
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CalloftheHauntedMaster
Junior Member
289 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 11:16:01
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Alright, let's take it a step further then.
However, let me explain why I need this feature, at least on my forums. Members tend to do two things that get extremely annoying. They don't edit previous posts and they bump their topics. The former is just plain foolishness because they generally have two or three sequential posts within five minutes of each other as they forgot to say something before. As for bumping, we're all familiar with this. However, my forums aren't that insanely active that we get 10 new posts in a thread per minute (most times, anyways). They just want their threads to be very visible.
I added a min character limit and it's still easy to bypass by saying 'bump' several times. Frankly, these are trivial issues. They do not constitute huge offenses. However, if my staff constantly lets it slide, more members start doing it. And I'm not going to start banning people for this because it's not the end of the world.
However, the auto-merge system seems effective for this. Worst case scenario, it could always be uninstalled. I would just like someone to create it so it would be out there for everyone to use. If it ends up causing problems as some believe, it can be removed. However, I believe it needs to be attempted.
Actually, I got this idea from another forum I occassionally frequent, and it seems quite effective.
Remember, this mod would only activate if a double post were to occur. Look at it this way. A member can always bump a thread simply by editing their reply to it. However, they choose to try and double post instead. The system punishes them by combining the two posts together, the post is not seen as new, no post count increase, and the thread isn't bumped. Instead, they could've just edited their previous reply and not double-posted and the bump would've occurred.
Furthermore, instead of the normal "This topic has been edited by ____ on ____", the auto-merge mod would say "This topic has been edited on ______ due to an auto-merged double post".
That'd eliminate confusion.< |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 11:24:31
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1) doing what you propose will not prevent bumping, since editing a post has the same effect on bumping as posting a new reply does, and what is wrong with bumping ?? sometimes posts get missed and bumping them is a necesity to get them noticed again..
2) if your users do this to increas their post count, A)warn them to stop, and if they persist, decrease their post count by 50 that will soon stop them from multiposting to bump their post counts
3) who cares how many posts a bloody user has anyway.
You should educate your members into good posting habbits rather than aditing the forum code to accomodate their bad habbits, it is far more effective.< |
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CalloftheHauntedMaster
Junior Member
289 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 11:55:47
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1) HuwR, I think you missed my point although you mentioned it yourself. Why bump when you can just edit a post and that'll bump it automatically without double-posting? I've never really understood double-posting, particularly on Snitz software. Any non-admin can simply edit a post they've made in a thread and it'll be bumped because the software views it as a new contribution. So, why ever need to double post?
2) It's not a matter of post count increases, generally. It tends to be more of a way to get things noticed. However, it's really a lame method because most people read threads anyways. If they have nothing to say, why would they suddenly have a comment after an entire post that says "Bump"?
3) This has nothing to do with post counts. It's good forum practices, like you said. I can try and educate people and hand out punishments, but Snitz just isn't designed to faciliate punishing members. In the base code, all I can do is ban accounts and edit post counts. Those are two opposite extremes. I've added IP bans, but they can be bypassed, as can temp bans. It's hard to educate a user about good habits when the most you can threaten them with is banning for double posting (hardly the same as flaming or spamming), or post count lowering (not that they care anyways).
This provides a medium and makes the forums look cleaner.
Besides, quote:
doing what you propose will not prevent bumping, since editing a post has the same effect on bumping as posting a new reply does,
That's just as good. It'll allow bumping but prevent double posting. Remember, I'm against double posting. And most people double post to bump. This'll let them bump but prevent the double post.
Personally, I don't like bumping all that much, but you're right, there's nothing truly wrong with it. It's the double posting that needs to cease, and I'm hoping that if this mod gets created, double posting will be eliminated as the posts are auto-merged and the bump happens automatically.< |
This account was hacked into by Image, a very honest guy as you all can see! Stealing people's passwords is his pasttime. Beware of this, before you register at his forums! |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 12:37:08
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I don't really see what your big hang up is with double posting either  unless the double post is the same question in multiple forums, but then that is not what you are taliknig about, I see nothing wrong with me making this post and coming back 5 minutes later to make another one< |
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CalloftheHauntedMaster
Junior Member
289 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 12:40:40
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Fair enough, however, wouldn't a thread look less cluttered if your double post was merged into one post and the bump was achieved anyways. Same goal accomplished but without multiple posts.
Eh, I guess it's just a personal preference type thing. Anyhow, anyone have beta code for this?  < |
This account was hacked into by Image, a very honest guy as you all can see! Stealing people's passwords is his pasttime. Beware of this, before you register at his forums! |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 12:48:41
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| no I' don't think it would, yes maybe if you have a whole heap of crappy mods like avatars etc installed it would, but that is why we don't have things like avatars and the main reason I have viewing of signaturs turned off, since I think that clutters up the forums more than a double post would< |
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CalloftheHauntedMaster
Junior Member
289 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 12:55:38
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Way I see it, forums should be comfortably designed for convenience. Stuff like Private Messages, polls, avatars, etc improve that convenience a lot. Double posting removes some of the clutter.
It's also the main reason I'm an advocate of adding more mods into the base code.
But, that's nothing to do with anything. How would I go about making this mod?< |
This account was hacked into by Image, a very honest guy as you all can see! Stealing people's passwords is his pasttime. Beware of this, before you register at his forums! |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 13:09:50
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how do avatars improve convenience, they serve no useful purpose whatsoever other than to clutter up a forum and increase it's bandwidth.
The MOD you want should be fairly simple to accomplish, working along the lines of Shaggy's initial suggestion, but rather than presenting a user with the edit post you would do the check after they hit the post button, then if theirs is still the last post, change the flag to do an edit instead of a new post. I will take a look at the code later and post something for you, but am about to go out so don't have the time right now< |
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CalloftheHauntedMaster
Junior Member
289 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 13:16:23
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Well, avatars don't really improve convenience, true. They're just popular as a method of personalization. Pretty much every forum uses them. They've just become popular.
As for the code, I'll greatly appreciate any code you can write since I don't know enough about snitz to edit or write my own code.< |
This account was hacked into by Image, a very honest guy as you all can see! Stealing people's passwords is his pasttime. Beware of this, before you register at his forums! |
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MaD2ko0l
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1053 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 14:16:06
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doesnt the "flood control" do more or less what u are asking for???
basically it wont let people multi post within a specifyed time limit. is this not what you are looking for?< |
© 1999-2010 MaD2ko0l |
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AnonJr
Moderator
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 08 December 2006 : 14:22:10
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| Not quite the same. Can you imagine having to wait 5 min. to post in another, unrelated, thread?< |
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An auto-post merge mod for double posts???
