Why isn't entering the nick of someone who has posted in a thread easier?

[GarryP]

In the "Reply" section of a thread we can use the "at" sign and type someone's nick to create a 'whatever-it's-called' that notifies that user.
Most of the time I have to enter pretty-much the entire nick to get the one I want.
It would be better if the software put the nicks of the people who have already posted to the thread at the top of the list.
Having the 'current thread users' nicks at the top of the list would make it much easier to select them.

[walt.farrell]

Serif did not write the forum software, so unless the software already provides an option for that which Serif simply haven't enabled, I'm afraid there's very little they can do to satisfy a request like that.

[SFurniss]

In addition to Walt's comments it's worth mentioning that anyone who has already commented on the thread will automatically receive a notification. So this feature is more commonly used to bring in people who are not already part of the conversation.

[GarryP]

Ah, well that's fair enough. Just thought I'd ask. Thanks both.

P.S. A forum section for people asking about the forum might help confused people like me from asking this sort of silly question in the future. Or maybe not, if we're really confused.

[SFurniss]

I think these sort of questions would come under customer service, but I'll pass your comments along.

[walt.farrell]

26 minutes ago, SFurniss said:

In addition to Walt's comments it's worth mentioning that anyone who has already commented on the thread will automatically receive a notification. So this feature is more commonly used to bring in people who are not already part of the conversation.

Only, I think, if they are "following" the topic, or chose the "notify me" option when posting. I suspect that a number of the more experienced forum users may not choose that option when posting (though I have no way to tell, of course).

I've also noticed a significant number of posts from new forum members, in particular, where a question is asked and the follower count is 0. If responses to the question don't quote the original, or at least call-out to the poster by using @ and their name, they may not be aware of the answer.

[SFurniss]

Apologies Walt, I misspoke there. Only the original poster would be notified along with anyone choosing to follow the thread.

[MikeW]

 

10 minutes ago, SFurniss said:

Apologies Walt, I misspoke there. Only the original poster would be notified along with anyone choosing to follow the thread.

fwiw, my shortcut to the forum is pointed to the Content I Posted In page. That way I can keep up with replies to whatever threads I have posted in when I first arrive here. I never use the Notify Me of Replies option. Other notifications display (where I have been quoted or if there is a reaction) at the top of the page.

[Patrick Connor]

fwiw I follow (threads I make and) a number of staff, so I get notifications for when those staff say something. I find MattP, Ben & Dave Harris to be very enlightening. (I also happen to follow MikeW for the same reason  )

[Alfred]

1 minute ago, MikeW said:

fwiw, my shortcut to the forum is pointed to the Content I Posted In page. That way I can keep up with replies to whatever threads I have posted in when I first arrive here. I never use the Notify Me of Replies option. Other notifications display (where I have been quoted or if there is a reaction) at the top of the page.

For what it’s worth, I’ve likewise opted not to receive email notifications of replies. I still get pop-up notifications if someone quotes or mentions me, or if they react to one of my posts.

I don’t see any point in automatically following threads to which I’ve posted, so I only follow threads manually. In addition to the default ‘Content I Posted In’ and ‘Content I Follow’ Activity Streams, I have custom ‘Unread Content I Posted In’ and ‘Unread Content I Follow’ filters, so I can easily catch up on anything I’ve missed.

[MikeW]

19 minutes ago, Patrick Connor said:

fwiw I follow (threads I make and) a number of staff, so I get notifications for when those staff say something. I find MattP, Ben & Dave Harris to be very enlightening. (I also happen to follow MikeW for the same reason  )

While I don't follow anyone, I concur about Dave Harris. I read most threads he has posted to. And sometimes I may appear to get a bit snarky in my replies to those threads but I mean well  ;^-)

[v_kyr]

1 hour ago, GarryP said:

P.S. A forum section for people asking about the forum might help confused people like me from asking this sort of silly question in the future.

Good point, usually forums do have some seperate section/location which deals with the forum software handling and things around that.