Every forum user needs to read and understand this

[Mike Fewster]

DPR is changing

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68444187

We need to be understanding and discussing the implications. I appreciate that the changes will allow better display of photos. Good. I rarely post my photos here and prefer to use other sites such as The Photo https://dprevived.com/c/wednesday-cc/207/ for viewing and discussing images.

But. DPR has been the only photo forum that allows threaded rather than flat view of discussion. To me, this is very important. It is DPR's greatest strength and if I understand correctly, it will be lost in the transfer to the new platform. I may be wrong, I hope I am wrong but I think Xenforo only allows flat view.

The difference is that with threaded view all the different viewpoints are gathered together and the backwards and forwards of developing opinions can be followed together. With flat view, a participant needs to search for the various responses scattered through the forum. It's too hard to follow complex and varied ideas. Discussions tend to become two way communications between the OP and each person who responds.

When we look at our current forum, all the current discussions are grouped together under relevant headings. We choose which topics interest us and joinn that discussion, or not. You can quickly see all the dicussion around a particular point grouped together.

Other thoughts?

 

[RaysJ]

DPR is changing

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68444187

We need to be understanding and discussing the implications. I appreciate that the changes will allow better display of photos. Good. I rarely post my photos here and prefer to use other sites such as The Photo https://dprevived.com/c/wednesday-cc/207/ for viewing and discussing images.

But. DPR has been the only photo forum that allows threaded rather than flat view of discussion. To me, this is very important. It is DPR's greatest strength and if I understand correctly, it will be lost in the transfer to the new platform. I may be wrong, I hope I am wrong but I think Xenforo only allows flat view.

The difference is that with threaded view all the different viewpoints are gathered together and the backwards and forwards of developing opinions can be followed together. With flat view, a participant needs to search for the various responses scattered through the forum. It's too hard to follow complex and varied ideas. Discussions tend to become two way communications between the OP and each person who responds.

When we look at our current forum, all the current discussions are grouped together under relevant headings. We choose which topics interest us and joinn that discussion, or not. You can quickly see all the dicussion around a particular point grouped together.

Other thoughts?

I agree, flat view is terrible, and is the only forum, l use that has it. When l started using this forum it was set to flat, nearly gave up then l discovered threaded.

l never post any images on here.

 

[dcstep]

Went over to Mac Rumors to see an example and it didn't seem hard to follow. What am I missing?

 

[RaysJ]

Went over to Mac Rumors to see an example and it didn't seem hard to follow. What am I missing?

Change your setting on here to flat, on a long thread, you may see the problem. You can't even see the post you are replying to.

 

[grsnovi]

DPR is changing

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68444187

Other thoughts?

Yes, I don't see any reason to get our collective panties in a wad.

They are doing it. What we may feel is beside the point.

I would suggest that anyone id free to create an alternative site with threaded view that matches this site, do it for free with no advertising and the world will beat a path to your door.

--

Gary

Gary Smith

Explore Gary Smith’s 169 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[RaysJ]

Unless someone uses quote, you can't see what or who, they are replying to, posts are in isolation and often don't make sense.

 

[RaysJ]

I won't bother then

 

[deednets]

I read most of those posts over there and it appears that the decision has been made. One dpreview staff suggested that most users use the flat view. And only a few prefer the threaded view???

I would question this. Just look at other fora where threads run over multiple pages? Hard to believe that 25 years later, the coding of the new page is actually a massive step back.

The staff puts up a brave face to sell this as progress, but to me it looks like a cost cutting, facilitating advertisements and throwing in easier group chats etc. exercise.

I understand budget concerns, but why proprietary software is harder to run and maintain on much more capable hardware is a bit hard to understand.

My highly uneducated guess is advertising to run in Threaded View, possibly a necessity for the survival of the site.



Ah, yes: one dpreview staff mentioned more emoji????? Maybe with FB users in mind?

An animated crying face running in a 10-second loop? So funny...

I must say that I have zero appetite for watching the demise of this site by checking out those new features.

Deed

 

[Ralf B]

I would not have noticed otherwise.
I went there and shared my views. Now it is wait and see...

 

[deednets]

DPR is changing

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68444187

Other thoughts?

Yes, I don't see any reason to get our collective panties in a wad.

They are doing it. What we may feel is beside the point.

I would suggest that anyone id free to create an alternative site with threaded view that matches this site, do it for free with no advertising and the world will beat a path to your door.

Was your comment meant to be satire?

If not: where exactly is it "beside the point" what users feel?

You may not be old enough to remember the New Coke??? Here in New Zealand Cadbury decided to use more palm products in their chocolate, what consumers felt was beside the point ... so, what I am saying is that mistakes have been made in the past.

When what customers felt was exactly the point

Deed

P.S. was also checking out how many more emoji I need in this response.

 

[Ralf B]

I don't see any reason to get our collective panties in a wad.

I prefer to wear my individual panties, but thanks anyway for offering a collective edition.

They are doing it. What we may feel is beside the point.

What everyone will feel after DPR did it, is the point then?
Unaware what actual preferences across all DPR visitors are WRT flat or threaded view, the remaining traffic after the change will be a clear indicator. And both those that run the place (IAW: Paid staff and the unpaid voluntary mods) and those that remain as users will certainly feel at least a difference, if not even quite some pain caused by a possible loss of web site traffic and good Old and new forum pals....
We shall see - and feel - then.

I would suggest that anyone id free to create an alternative site with threaded view that matches this site, do it for free with no advertising and the world will beat a path to your door.

Go ahead. And throw in some collective panties to lure in visitors, maybe?
Cheers,
Ralf

 

[deednets]

Went over to Mac Rumors to see an example and it didn't seem hard to follow. What am I missing?

--
Dave

Maybe a matter of personal preference, but I also had a look. Near unusable in my opinion and here is why (just one example ok?):

• The Google Pixel 10 has 911 replies, easy enough to navigate, right?
• Find a post, read it and maybe think about replying
• Try to find it again tomorrow
• Reply and your post will be no 912
• The poster of the original comment will never know if anyone replied or how to actually find it, e.g. when you find the total has gone up to 1022 posts.

Null problemo for you??

Deed

 

[Ralf B]

Was your comment meant to be satire?

If not: where exactly is it "beside the point" what users feel?

You may not be old enough to remember the New Coke??? Here in New Zealand Cadbury decided to use more palm products in their chocolate, what consumers felt was beside the point ... so, what I am saying is that mistakes have been made in the past.

When what customers felt was exactly the point

Deed

P.S. was also checking out how many more emoji I need in this response.

Thumbs up from my side on this one, Deed.
Cheers,
Ralf

 

[wpstl]

I only use flat view and hate the other. I prefer scrolling to clicking.

 

[Mike Fewster]

Went over to Mac Rumors to see an example and it didn't seem hard to follow. What am I missing?

Maybe a matter of personal preference, but I also had a look. Near unusable in my opinion and here is why (just one example ok?):

• The Google Pixel 10 has 911 replies, easy enough to navigate, right?
• Find a post, read it and maybe think about replying
• Try to find it again tomorrow
• Reply and your post will be no 912
• The poster of the original comment will never know if anyone replied or how to actually find it, e.g. when you find the total has gone up to 1022 posts.

Null problemo for you??

Deed

As I said in my original post, if i'm understanding what's happening correctly, group conversations will be killed. There will be an OP and if the original post interests you, you can respond. Trying to follow and participate with a series of replies becomes an unmanageable nightmare. It can be done but it takes a lot of time to untangle. and you need to keep up to date with the thread. Now try to do it if there are a couple of topics at any one time that interest you.

I think you'll find that posts break down into largely two way exchanges between the OP and various individuals.

As far as I'm aware, DPR has been the only forum with threaded view. I understood that DPR had developed the underlying structure that enbles this to happen, themselves. It has resulted in a depth of information sharing that I have valued.

 

[hasselmarc]

Threaded view is horrible because of the load time latency. Flat view loads a larger number of posts at once, and lets me quickly scroll with the page-down key. I wish flat view was the default when opening a thread, and also that it would break pages after a higher number of posts. (it may be possible to configure this somewhere, but I browse anonymously so configs don't work for me)

The other horrible thing is that old threads always bubble up in the overview list when someone adds a post. New threads and unpopular threads get easily buried in the noise of the always-same "main" threads competing for the first slots. This effect causes me to avoid visiting the forum on consecutive days. I rather let a week or two pass before returning, so I get a thread list that looks mostly "fresh" with just a few routine offenders.

 

[GodSpeaks]

But. DPR has been the only photo forum that allows threaded rather than flat view of discussion. To me, this is very important. It is DPR's greatest strength and if I understand correctly, it will be lost in the transfer to the new platform. I may be wrong, I hope I am wrong but I think Xenforo only allows flat view.

IF DRP loses the threaded view, I will probably stop coming here. I cannot stand the flat view for all the reasons you state. The threaded view allows one to see, engage in and follow a particular aspect of a discussion.

 

[Bob A L]

This new format only allows photos of 1600 pixels max on longest side as I understand. This isn't a decent way to display photos from 61mp images.

 

[dazzerfong]

They're switching over to XenForo.

When you quote, there's a link that bounces you to thhe post that it came from. If you prefer flat view, I think it's actually superior in how it handles it as currently, if you want to go to the source post it forces you back to threaded view.

Personally I can't stand threaded view, reminds me far too much of the old PHP board days. That being said, I do miss the charm of this forum - it stands out quite uniquely to every other forum. But it also means a burgeoning tech debt.

 

[deednets]

This new format only allows photos of 1600 pixels max on longest side as I understand. This isn't a decent way to display photos from 61mp images.

Nope, 15000px dpreview has negotiated a different size. It was in one of those staff responses.

Deed