Quick Sidebar Major Update

[Descream4]

The issue with shop expiration alerts not appearing has been fixed.

The following sidebar updates are planned for next week.

1. Updated indictor (read/unread circle) that will change color when the thread has an available bump.
2. Node list will allow members to pin certain sections to the top of the list. These sections will not be removed if the user does not visit that section.
3. For the "Other Threads" section, threads will be removable. They will only reappear in the user posts again in the thread.

That still doesn’t fix the issue. It should not be that difficult to at least add a way to sort by last bumped.

 

[Fluentcee]

Sidebar for quick bumping was for sure my number 1 most useful feature

 

[Desire_Ink]

1. Updated indictor (read/unread circle) that will change color when the thread has an available bump.

This doesnt fix the issue and is not what people ask for. Bring back the possibility to sort "My Active Threads" by bump time. It is that simple - we need this exact feature back.

 

[MistiServices]

Add an option to collapse and expand by categories, now I have to scroll all the way down to reach other posts where I have notifications.

 

[EpicNPC]

I'm sorry, but the sidebar is not a bump manager and we have no plans to priorities bumps over replies. We plan to show an indicator so members can quickly see which threads have a bump available. There is no need to also sort those threads at the top.

If we sort with bump included, it will become very hard to know when a thread has a new reply. Sellers will most likely assume it's a bump related, since bumps would make up the vast majority of alerts. New reply alerts could go ignored. This could lead to questions posted by customers going unanswered by sellers.

I'm sorry, but sort for bumps will not be added.

Add an option to collapse and expand by categories, now I have to scroll all the way down to reach other posts where I have notifications.

I'm not sure I understand. There's only 2 categories. You want "My active threads" section to be collapsible so you can see "other active threads" easier?

When a thread has a new reply, it will appear at the top of the "Other Active Threads" section, same as before. What changed? You said "now I have to scroll all the way down...". Before you didn't have to scroll down? We didn't change anything in regards to this, so I do not understand what changed.

 

[The Integrity]

Why is Other Active threads not showing watched threads and instead showing every thread that you ever commented in? What is the point of watched threads now ?

 

[Fluentcee]

Respectfully, you are prioritizing your own intentions and completely disregarding your user bases outcry for features. I really don't see why this isn't important to you, whereas I'm looking at the active thread section and it's completely useless to me. I don't care about replies to old threads I don't even watch. It's useless.

Bumps I care about, and if a thread has a reply I care about, I will have it watched. The old system was literally perfect.

Please don't abandon us to your whims.

 

[EpicNPC]

Why is Other Active threads not showing watched threads and instead showing every thread that you ever commented in? What is the point of watched threads now ?

Watch threads are meant to receive notifications; email, push, and app. The sidebar does not do any of that, so if you want notifications, you still have to watch those threads.

It seems you're requesting the option to add threads to the "Other Active Threads" section without having to make a post in the thread. We can add support for that in next weeks update.

If you have a thread on your watch list, but did not comment in it, we will display that in the "Other Active Threads" section as long as the thread has had activity in the last 10 days.

 

[EpicNPC]

Respectfully, you are prioritizing your own intentions and completely disregarding your user bases outcry for features. I really don't see why this isn't important to you, whereas I'm looking at the active thread section and it's completely useless to me. I don't care about replies to old threads I don't even watch. It's useless.

Bumps I care about, and if a thread has a reply I care about, I will have it watched. The old system was literally perfect.

We have an update for next week that will give you the ability to remove threads from your "Other active threads" section. We are also adding the option to add threads to this lists as I just posted above.

Threads will also have an indicator that show when a bump is available. All the options you have requested, aside from the bump sort, will be available in the next update next week.

 

[Fluentcee]

A thread remaining at the top because of one new reply is only useful one time, so that you can read it and respond to it if needed.

Previously, you'd get an alert for that, respond, and move on until you got a 2nd alert. It being at the top for me to reread for 4 days isn't helpful. The majority of these are simply reviews on sold threads.

The only way to get to relevant threads is to scroll down.

I would then request the ability to remove threads from my own active threads in addition to others. Since mostly expired threads are at the top of this section right now.

 

[Fluentcee]

Simply put, the majority of posts don't have replies. They often only get one a review. I think the emphasis of the importance of replies is maybe not as good for a normal user who isn't selling that much. I can see how it would be valuable for a mod who mainly reviews threads that require replies. But for your average user, this is a downgrade in all aspects.

 

[EpicNPC]

The manual thread remove option will be added for all threads. Threads marked as sold, bought or closed will also be automatically removed from the list. This way only active threads will remain. This will be available in next weeks update.

 

[MistiServices]

You want "My active threads" section to be collapsible so you can see "other active threads" easier?

When a thread has a new reply, it will appear at the top of the "Other Active Threads" section, same as before. What changed? You said "now I have to scroll all the way down...". Before you didn't have to scroll down? We didn't change anything in regards to this, so I do not understand what changed.

Right now i have My active threads on top , filled with bunch of threads i dont care about that much ,taking up space, and when i get notification in Other active threads section, i have to scroll trough all threads to mark that notification as read or to check what about is notification. So if we can collapse Active threads , so its easier to acess other part of that sidebar without scrolling trough bunch of threads on list.

Before this sidebar mess, i would get notification on bell icon, open , and click read if i want or open thread and read it if i want, now i have to scroll to other active threads, click read and close sidebar. Instead 3 seconds task , its 10 seconds task + i dont know what will appear in sidebar yet , what about thread upgrade warnings , sticky thread , feedback , thread replies , where do those appear ?

 

[EpicNPC]

Threads marked as sold, bought or closed will be auto-removed after next week's update. We're also adding an option to manually remove threads if you don't care about them. That should make your list shorter and could resolve the issue you're having. At this time we do not plan to add an collapse/expand option.

 

[The Integrity]

Watch threads are meant to receive notifications; email, push, and app. The sidebar does not do any of that, so if you want notifications, you still have to watch those threads.

It seems you're requesting the option to add threads to the "Other Active Threads" section without having to make a post in the thread. We can add support for that in next weeks update.

If you have a thread on your watch list, but did not comment in it, we will display that in the "Other Active Threads" section as long as the thread has had activity in the last 10 days.

Previously I could watch a thread or forum and select "Alerts".

On threads it would send me a single alert whenever the thread gets new replies. On forums it would send me an alert whenever a new thread was opened but not on new posts on existing threads. Then I can manually watch that new thread if I find it interesting.

I don't use push noifications or the app. And I don't want email spam. It was perfect with only alerts. I could quickly glance the new alerts, click the ones I want and then to mark all as read.
This feature is now completely gone and the sidebar provides no alternative.

 

[Fluentcee]

Threads marked as sold, bought or closed will be auto-removed after next week's update. We're also adding an option to manually remove threads if you don't care about them. That should make your list shorter and could resolve the issue you're having. At this time we do not plan to add an collapse/expand option.

That is good to hear. I sincerely hope you reconsider and prioritize the sort active threads by last bump or reply.

But trust me, I for sure have never missed a reply because of the alert system in the first place. The redundancy of replies being at the top is hard to overstate.

 

[MistiServices]

By last reply is more important from seller perspective, cause i bump 60+ threads and few of them have no replies at all but they show on top of list..

 

[Descream4]

I'm sorry, but the sidebar is not a bump manager and we have no plans to priorities bumps over replies. We plan to show an indicator so members can quickly see which threads have a bump available. There is no need to also sort those threads at the top.

If we sort with bump included, it will become very hard to know when a thread has a new reply. Sellers will most likely assume it's a bump related, since bumps would make up the vast majority of alerts. New reply alerts could go ignored. This could lead to questions posted by customers going unanswered by sellers.

I'm sorry, but sort for bumps will not be added.

I don’t see anyone here that had an issue with the way things were. It doesn’t matter if the sidebar (now) is not a “bump manager”. The functionality was there before & it’s now taken away. If nobody used it then it’s 1 thing, but it’s pretty obvious that this isn’t the case. If you don’t want the sidebar to be used for that then it can be separated, but to take it away completely just makes this update a net negative, as most recent updates have been.

 

[EpicNPC]

Previously I could watch a thread or forum and select "Alerts".

1. On threads it would send me a single alert whenever the thread gets new replies.

2. On forums it would send me an alert whenever a new thread was opened but not on new posts on existing threads. Then I can manually watch that new thread if I find it interesting.

3. I don't use push noifications or the app. And I don't want email spam. It was perfect with only alerts. I could quickly glance the new alerts, click the ones I want and then to mark all as read.
This feature is now completely gone and the sidebar provides no alternative.

I don't understand. The sidebar alerts works exactly the way you have described.

1. When a thread has a new reply, the alert will appear in your sidebar. (support for watch threads is being added next week)

2. This is currently how the sidebar works. When a new thread is opened, the forum shows "NEW". The forum list show the last 25 forums you have visited. Maybe your visiting more than 25?

3. This is currently how the sidebar works. You can click threads or forums with alerts or mark them as read.

I don’t see anyone here that had an issue with the way things were. It doesn’t matter if the sidebar (now) is not a “bump manager”. The functionality was there before & it’s now taken away. If nobody used it then it’s 1 thing, but it’s pretty obvious that this isn’t the case. If you don’t want the sidebar to be used for that then it can be separated, but to take it away completely just makes this update a net negative, as most recent updates have been.

The feature was unintended and could be one of the reasons why the sidebar was not very popular. I would image most members want to see relevant threads and information, not a bump manager. After next weeks update you will be able to easily see what threads have a bump available, but there will be no sort option based on bump. Sorry.

 

[Fluentcee]

I don't understand. The sidebar alerts works exactly the way you have described.

1. When a thread has a new reply, the alert will appear in your sidebar. (support for watch threads is being added next week)

The feature was unintended and could be one of the reasons why the sidebar was not very popular. I would image most members want to see relevant threads and information, not a bump manager. After next weeks update you will be able to easily see what threads have a bump available, but there will be no sort option based on bump. Sorry.

1. Instead of appearing on top, it appears at the top of the other threads section for most threads. If you have a lot of threads in your own current thread section, it means a lengthy scroll to the bottom, but also at the top of this new section. So a collapsible "My active threads section" would be helpful. But still, the old alert system was still better for this.

I don't see why you're so adamant about it not returning and simply stating that you're sorry. This thread has over 100 replies because people don't like the new system and miss the old features.

I understand you have big plans for this and maybe it will be great in the future.

But it will never be great without listening to community feedback for what people like and dislike.

 

[EpicNPC]

1. Instead of appearing on top, it appears at the top of the other threads section for most threads. If you have a lot of threads in your owner section, it means a lengthy scroll to the bottom, but also at the top of this new section. So a collapsible "My active threads section" would be helpful. But still, the old alert system was still better for this.

I don't see why you're so adamant about it not returning and simply stating that you're sorry. This thread has over 100 replies because people don't like the new system and miss the old features.

What is the purpose of the requests that are being made? This is something that needs to be considered when approving or denying a request from a community member.

What is the purposed to monitoring other sellers thread in the "Other Active Thread" section? It was placed below because those threads are not as important as your own threads.

Why do you need this functionality? Why do you need to monitor other seller's threads so often?

 

[Fluentcee]

I don't monitor seller threads, the ones I watch are in help or community sections primarily, such as this thread. If I get a notification on this very thread, I must go to the bottom as I described.

As far as my own threads, they are already monitored by alerts, or at least were previously in the old system.

The order used to inform me of when I last interacted with them, via bump, which is incredibly more useful to know.

I already knew when it had a reply and responded because of an alert. It remaining permanently pinned toward the top doesn't help me.

Does my logic make sense?

 

[EpicNPC]

As I said earlier, we will consider adding this option.

I'm still going to hold off on this until next weeks update goes live. Members will be able to remove threads and sold/closed/bought will be removed as well. If the need is still there, it will be in the following update.

 

[Desire_Ink]

I'm sorry, but the sidebar is not a bump manager and we have no plans to priorities bumps over replies. We plan to show an indicator so members can quickly see which threads have a bump available. There is no need to also sort those threads at the top.

If we sort with bump included, it will become very hard to know when a thread has a new reply. Sellers will most likely assume it's a bump related, since bumps would make up the vast majority of alerts. New reply alerts could go ignored. This could lead to questions posted by customers going unanswered by sellers.

I'm sorry, but sort for bumps will not be added.

You know how that sounds? It sounds like "We know better than you what you need". Who asked about alerts at sidebar in the first place? I didnt saw any single person. And personaly I think that this is one of the most useless options ever. We had all our alerts at "Bell" icon and this was good enough, especialy since sellers do not get so many replyes to threads at all. We could use Sidebar as "Bump Manager" with threads being sorted by bump time and it was honestly the main purpose of Sidebar, because there simply isnt any other option on this site which could help with this. Now you remove old Sidebar, which worked perfectly for years and which made life for sellers more simple, and add this new one, totaly useless with options no one asked for and didnt need. Well, ok. But then, can you please bring some other option for "bump management", a feature dedicate exactly for that purpose which will have sorting by bump time available? Because Sidebar became totaly useless thanks to your actions.
But sure, if your goal is downgrading usability of your forum and you prefer to totaly ignore what users need, then I guess nothing can be done here. After all a lot of previous updates were of same "quality".

 

[Descream4]

What is the purpose of the requests that are being made? This is something that needs to be considered when approving or denying a request from a community member.

What is the purposed to monitoring other sellers thread in the "Other Active Thread" section? It was placed below because those threads are not as important as your own threads.

Why do you need this functionality? Why do you need to monitor other seller's threads so often?

It wasn’t as much of an issue when the limits were much higher, but right now the threads I have for some forums far exceed the amount of threads that can be bumped per session. That means I have to switch between the ones I choose to boost every time. Making 1 large thread to list multiple accounts isn’t as effective. I did this & am still doing this to a degree, but many people skip these threads by default (myself included).

Showing a symbol that shows if a thread can be boosted or not does not fix that issue. If there is some feature that can be implemented to fix this issue then it’s not a problem, but that is what’s makes this update most annoying.

 

[The Integrity]

I don't understand. The sidebar alerts works exactly the way you have described.

1. When a thread has a new reply, the alert will appear in your sidebar. (support for watch threads is being added next week)

2. This is currently how the sidebar works. When a new thread is opened, the forum shows "NEW". The forum list show the last 25 forums you have visited. Maybe your visiting more than 25?

3. This is currently how the sidebar works. You can click threads or forums with alerts or mark them as read.

No it doesn't, I already pointed out the difference.

1. When a thread has a new reply, the alert will appear in your sidebar. (support for watch threads is being added next week)

BEFORE: Threads that I added to watch list would trigger alerts on new post.
NOW: Threads to which I replied at any point in the past trigger alerts in the sidebar.
DIFFERENCE:
1. I had complete control over what threads were in this list, but now I have none. I could manually watch threads in which I didn't reply and I could not watch a thread in which I replied.
2. The alert would trigger once and would not trigger again until you open the thread. In the new system every reply bumps the thread to the top of your list, regardless if you viewed it or not.
WHAT TO CHANGE: The sidebar should just use the watch list instead of having another separate list of threads.

2. When a new thread is opened, the forum shows "NEW". The forum list show the last 25 forums you have visited. Maybe your visiting more than 25?

BEFORE: You could watch a forum, for either new posts or new threads only. If you select threads only, you get alerts whenever a new thread is opened. If you set posts, it's the same as if you're watching every thread in that forum.
NOW: There's a recently visited list that shows some forums and shows a "new" tag if it has new posts but that's not the same.
DIFFERENCE: Each new thread triggered an alert which had the title and link to the thread, as well as the user who made the post. Here I just have a "NEW" badge and have to open the forum and check what's new myself.
WHAT TO CHANGE: Same as 1, that change should automatically fix this issue as well. Recently visited section is pointless in it's current form and can just be removed.

3. This is currently how the sidebar works. You can click threads or forums with alerts or mark them as read.

I can't mark all as read and I have to click the white circle on every single thread. Mark all is needed. Previously I would watch a certain game forum because I'm interested in buying a certain type of account. Most alerts that I would get could be ignored, since it's either not the type of account I'm looking to buy or it's a buy thread. I'd sometimes have 5-6 alerts, neither of which interest me, but yet I still want to get alerts for that forum since occasionally the exact thing that I'm looking for shows up and I don't want to miss it.


So the main change to make would be for the sidebar to use your watch list and not simply all threads that you ever replied to. Watch list ONLY, not watch list on top of whatever it's doing now. Then the user would have complete control of which threads show there and can set it to show only relevant content.

And for the "My active threads" part I don't see why they wouldn't be sorted by bump time if that's how they worked before, whether intentional or not. Just because you don't want it or use it doesn't mean that others didn't. It's still a feature that got removed and the experience is now worse.

 

[EpicNPC]

1. As stated 3 times we are adding support for watch threads next week.

It seems you're requesting the option to add threads to the "Other Active Threads" section without having to make a post in the thread. We can add support for that in next weeks update.

We are also adding the option to add threads to this lists as I just posted above.

(support for watch threads is being added next week)

2. The previous version was not useful in many cases. If you're watching a mid or high activity forum, you can get 20-100 new thread alerts per day. This is overwhelming to review for most people. If you're offline for a few days, you can come back to hundreds of alerts. Most members will not check the vast majority of those alerts. If you're watching more than 1 forum, you can easily have thousands of alerts.

Checking the activity for long term members who also watch multiple forums, many members had thousands of unread alerts because of this. This tells me alerts are not efficient and many go unread or ignored. Members who receive too many alerts like this can also easily overlook more important alerts.

The point of this update was to consolidate alerts so users have less to review. The alerts that still appear in the bell icon now have more importance to them and are less likely of being overlooked.

DIFFERENCE: Each new thread triggered an alert which had the title and link to the thread, as well as the user who made the post. Here I just have a "NEW" badge and have to open the forum and check what's new myself.

WHAT TO CHANGE: Same as 1, that change should automatically fix this issue as well. Recently visited section is pointless in it's current form and can just be removed.

Most seller only check a few sections. This lists allows them to login, go to their sidebar and check the forums they're interested in without have to search for them each time. They can immediately see if there's new activity and make a decision whether they want to check it or not.

We can improve the 'recently visited' list to provide some more data, but there are no plans to provide detailed information about the new threads/replies that are created. Perhaps a "new thread" counter for each section so you can see how many new threads were created since your last visit.


3. 'Mark all read' was not added because we wanted member to view their alerts. The threads only appear as unread when there's a new reply, so we assume the user would want to read it. I understand the alert is often due to feedback and in the next update those threads marked as "sold" or "closed" will be removed from your list, so you'll see less of those threads. We'll consider adding "Mark all read" in the future, but it will not appear in the next update.

Previously I would watch a certain game forum because I'm interested in buying a certain type of account. Most alerts that I would get could be ignored, since it's either not the type of account I'm looking to buy or it's a buy thread. I can't mark all as read and I have to click the white circle on every single thread. Mark all is needed. I'd sometimes have 5-6 alerts, neither of which interest me, but yet I still want to get alerts for that forum since occasionally the exact thing that I'm looking for shows up and I don't want to miss it.

What if we added a link where you could open the forum and have it auto-sort by "newest thread" anytime the "NEW" icon appears. This would give the user 2 options.

• Click the forum and load normally
• Click the link and load by newest threads

This would solve both problems. It would prevent members from being flooded with useless alerts, but would still allow members to view new threads in a section with 1 click.

 

[The Integrity]

1. As stated 3 times we are adding support for watch threads next week.

Yes but it shouldn't be just "support" for watched threads. Watched threads should be the only source of data for the sidebar. Why have two separate list of threads showing at the same time?

2. The previous version was not useful in many cases. If you're watching a mid or high activity forum, you can get 20-100 new thread alerts per day.

100 alerts is not that much really. That's one alert in 15 mins on average. For someone who is constantly on the forum that's nothing.

If you're offline for a few days, you can come back to hundreds of alerts.

That's exactly what the mark all as read option is for. If you were offline for a longer time and wake up to 100 alerts, you either view the list and skim through it and/or just click on mark all and move on.

If you're watching more than 1 forum, you can easily have thousands of alerts.
...
This is overwhelming to review for most people.
Members who receive too many alerts like this can also easily overlook more important alerts.

You have to keep in mind that members themselves are the ones who choose whether to get hundreds alerts or not. Watching a forum is something that you have to manually and willingly do.
I should have the freedom to choose whether I want to watch a highly active forum or 10 highly active forums and get thousands of alerts, even if I know that I'm going to ignore most of them.

And if I find it overwhelming at any point I can simply go and remove these forums from my watch list.

The point is to have the freedom to use it how I want and not how someone else thinks would be the best for me. That's a default xenforo feature that works the same in every forum and it's something that should not be changed. If you want to move it to the sidebar, that's fine, but don't change it's functionality.

3. 'Mark all read' was not added because we wanted member to view their alerts. The threads only appear as unread when there's a new reply, so we assume the user would want to read it. I understand the alert is often due to feedback and in the next update those threads marked as "sold" or "closed" will be removed from your list, so you'll see less of those threads.

They still wouldn't want to read it. You said that stats show that most alerts go unread or ignored. You're trying to solve this by making a list of threads that you think are important for the user instead of letting them chose what they want to see. That won't solve it. If they ignored the ones they chose to see, what makes you think that they won't be ignoring your curated list?

Most are still going to be left unread. You just made it more troublesome to keep the button clean without that red number.

What if we added a link where you could open the forum and have it auto-sort by "newest thread" anytime the "NEW" icon appears. This would give the user 2 options.

• Click the forum and load normally
• Click the link and load by newest threads

This would solve both problems. It would prevent members from being flooded with useless alerts, but would still allow members to view new threads in a section with 1 click.

That's a step in the right direction I guess, but I'd honestly still just go with the old way it worked with alerts.

 

[The Integrity]

To make the forum a better place, you need to listen to what the members want and give them that. You're instead implementing things based on your perspective of how you use it and how you think others use it, which doesn't really align with how they actually use it. So there's friction and reception ends up being overwhelmingly negative. People use the forum in weird ways and you shouldn't try to change them by forcing them to do it your way.

I know that you're making all these changes in an attempt to make the forum better and more usable for everyone, but if everyone says that a particular change is bad, you should listen to the feedback and do that instead. If they're asking for a "bump manager" then why not give them a fking bump manager?

I also understand that you've invested time and money into developing this and want it to work, but don't stubbornly stick to that original idea just because of that, even after seeing that it doesn't work. New features should be based primarily on the feedback of people willing to use them. Want an improved sidebar? Put in it what people are asking for and that's your improved sidebar.

 

[EpicNPC]

Yes but it shouldn't be just "support" for watched threads. Watched threads should be the only source of data for the sidebar. Why have two separate list of threads showing at the same time?

Watch lists is shows every thread you have ever watched. By default any thread you created or posted in is added to you watch list in addition to the threads you select to watch. Members who have been here for years will have hundreds or thousands of threads listed.

Once support for watched threads is added, those will appear, but only active threads. The sidebar is called "Recent Activity" for this reason, we only want to show the user active threads. If someone wants to check their full watch list, they can by going to their actual watch list.

They still wouldn't want to read it. You said that stats show that most alerts go unread or ignored. You're trying to solve this by making a list of threads that you think are important for the user instead of letting them chose what they want to see. That won't solve it. If they ignored the ones they chose to see, what makes you think that they won't be ignoring your curated list?

Most are still going to be left unread. You just made it more troublesome to keep the button clean without that red number.

I striked that comment out because as stated many times, support for watch threads is being added. I'm not sure why you keep bring that up when we ARE letting members chose what threads they see.

They are ignoring them because there's too many, they're overwhelmed. If you watch 1 active forum you can easily get 100+ alerts per day. That might be nothing for you, but most users won't check any of those alerts, making them useless. In that avalanche of alerts could be a few important one's, but since they clicked 'marked all as read' they didn't see those important alerts either.

The sidebar will show your threads, threads you replied to and threads you're watching that are active within the last 10 days. You will easily be able to see new replies and available bumps without being overwhelmed by alerts.

To make the forum a better place, you need to listen to what the members want and give them that. You're instead implementing things based on your perspective of how you use it and how you think others use it, which doesn't really align with how they actually use it. So there's friction and reception ends up being overwhelmingly negative. People use the forum in weird ways and you shouldn't try to change them by forcing them to do it your way.

I know that you're making all these changes in an attempt to make the forum better and more usable for everyone, but if everyone says that a particular change is bad, you should listen to the feedback and do that instead. If they're asking for a "bump manager" then why not give them a fking bump manager?

I also understand that you've invested time and money into developing this and want it to work, but don't stubbornly stick to that original idea just because of that, even after seeing that it doesn't work. New features should be based primarily on the feedback of people willing to use them. Want an improved sidebar? Put in it what people are asking for and that's your improved sidebar.

I appreciate your feedback and others that have posted. We need members feedback so we can improve the site and often make changes or adjustments based on feedback. However despite there being over 100+ comments posted in this thread, we have not received a lot of feedback about the sidebar apart for the 5-6 members who have been posting, but this is not a large representation of the community.

The problem was that not many members used the sidebar so I can only assume it was not a useful feature. Yes, it might have been useful to some, but we want the sidebar to become the central point of the site, the first place returning members check when they visit.

The update might be available sooner than expected, possibly today, but if not, then next week since we don't launch updates on a Friday. I'm not going to post any more comments until after the update is live.

 

[Fluentcee]

I personally don't want to manually go through and remove threads that get activity because I commented on them at some point. I only want notifications for watched threads in the first place, hence why I watched it.

I think alerts because of old comments should not be the default way the sidebar works. As a new location to find alerts is more or less fine, but I don't want new things to appear there that would not have appeared in old alerts.

For the alert bell to be more related to transaction status and important updates I think is fine. But I don't want a new type of alert in the form of replies to unwatched threads.


As far as user feedback goes and that only 6 people have a problem with the new sidebar system as is, simply out a poll that simply says do you like the old or new system and you'll find the result to that.

As it stands my vote is firmly with the old until all the changes planned and many unplanned features go into effect.

 

[Fluentcee]

Effectively, the sidebar just migrates what returning members first check, being dms and alerts, to dms and alerts, and then the sidebar which also now includes superfluous information the member didn't request to see.

Alongside butchering old functionality that used to exist. Which is why this is a net negative for now.

 

[The Integrity]

Watch lists is shows every thread you have ever watched. By default any thread you created or posted in is added to you watch list in addition to the threads you select to watch. Members who have been here for years will have hundreds or thousands of threads listed.

Once support for watched threads is added, those will appear, but only active threads. The sidebar is called "Recent Activity" for this reason, we only want to show the user active threads. If someone wants to check their full watch list, they can by going to their actual watch list.

Well yes, I didn't mean for the entire watch list to be displayed in the sidebar. I want the sidebar to use the watch list as the only source for what it's showing. The default in Xenforo is indeed to add all threads where you posted to your watch list, and those lists are pretty big for most members that were here for a while. But the number of "active" threads out of those is substantially smaller. The sidebar can display a subset of the watch list which are threads active in the last 10 days, sorted by most recently active.

Currently it's actually doing just that, BUT, it's not using a subset of the watch list and instead using it's own list which we don't know how it works. Based on the replies in this thread, this list seems to be every thread the user ever posted in - which basically comes down to the same list as the watch list with the default option on, with a few differences: no ability to add threads without replying, no ability to remove threads (but will be added in the next update) and no ability to add entire forums to that list, just individual threads.

So to me it basically seems like you are re-implementing a feature that already exists in Xenforo and now every member will have two big lists of threads instead of one. Why not just use the watch list as the source for what is displayed in the sidebar, or as I said earlier a subset of the watch list - threads active in the last 10 days, sorted by most recently active. What would get shown in the sidebar compared to now would more or less be the same for most members, with a few exceptions of those who decided to follow entire forums and not just individual threads.


As for the bump manager thing, why not start a poll for it and see what people think? If a few members liked the (unintentional) feature, maybe many more would end up using it if they know that it's available. I personally had no idea that it worked like that and would have likely used it if I did, as it sounds like a good thing to have.