Post New

Hi,

Is it possible to add some sign that there are new posts in a board? Or a number that says '5 Unread'. Right now I'm entering boards just to see that there is nothing new to read.

Thanks!

I second that request. Or, I liked the simplicity and tranquility in how the old boards gave you that information indirectly simply by showing the total number of posts and the time and date of the last posts. The information would be static and not be lost just because I quickly glanced at a post. That would be enough for me.

-Raylight

In the old boards, the Favorites page had the information of how many posts were unread on each of your favorite boards.

When TMF made the transition to the new board software, the main complaint was 'where do I find my favorites'.

I think people used the favorites page as their personal hub. As such, I think I'll continue lobbying for a Favorites page that is customizable and controlled by the user. Even more so, because most users at the moment are people that already know exactly what their favorite boards would be.

Raylight:
Or, I liked the simplicity and tranquility in how the old boards gave you that information indirectly simply by showing the total number of posts and the time and date of the last posts. The information would be static and not be lost just because I quickly glanced at a post. That would be enough for me.

Aguila
Favorites page that is customizable and controlled by the user.

Done. I have added the date of the last post to the Favourites page. It is a great idea. The favourites appear as you use the site, starting with the true favourites at the top and then ranking down.

Background: I am going keen Shrewdom FAR away from notification paradigms such as Facebook and Instagram. The reason is philosophical and would be a long post, but in short, I want to show respect to our intelligence here and avoid our brains come mush. We want to keep the ratio of writing (real, not brief comments) content to consuming content much, much higher than everywhere else. The mechanisms to achieve that are subtle.

- Manlobbi

Done. I have added the date of the last post to the Favourites page.

Thanks! Looks great! I was thinking in a broader context, i.e. lists of boards in general. For reference:

https://web.archive.org/web/20220816160434/https:/...

I find this information to be an unobtrusive way to let one get an overview that works just as well for anyone visiting the site. Especially when you're faced with lists of hundreds of company related boards. If it says 0 for example, you can make an informed decision whether you want to visit that board. It saves time, and discoverability encourages authors to also write in smaller less active boards.

Time and date indirectly give you that 'x new posts' without coaching you into mindless consumption. Even more so if you change sorting condition. It does away with all the stress.

We want to keep the ratio of writing (real, not brief comments) content to consuming content much, much higher than everywhere else. The mechanisms to achieve that are subtle.

Sounds great. I'm thinking of writing a post about some thoughts regarding the 'Shrewdness' mechanism, but doing so would further reduce my 'Shrewdness'. :) In short, and just an idea: perhaps using for example a top percentile could strike a balance between encouraging 'real' writing and not discouraging e.g. helpful comments or interesting discussions? A post like this one for example arguably doesn't belong in a list of 'best of', even if it's thought out and took some time to write. Yet, I think or would like to think, that it adds value.

-Raylight

Thanks! Looks great!

I have in any case made an extremely subtle yellow 'new' ticker appear when there is at least one new note. Given that people are not forced to visit the Favourites page, they won't be unnecessary distracted if they don't like such notifications, but it is there on the Favourites page in any case. It was so small, that I found it fine, and it is the same yellow subtle ticker that appears for 24 hours when a new Post of the Day has been released to the public.

The Post of the Day is a concept that I believe (1) will motivate authors to write longer and more thoughtful posts, or conduct deeper research, and (2) shows genuine respect towards them as broadcast to the broader public. The two work together also. It probably changes the perception of the site a little for the public as having exceptional talent within the community.

I'm thinking of writing a post about some thoughts regarding the 'Shrewdness' mechanism, but doing so would further reduce my 'Shrewdness'. :) In short, and just an idea: perhaps using for example a top percentile could strike a balance between encouraging 'real' writing and not discouraging e.g. helpful comments or interesting discussions? A post like this one for example arguably doesn't belong in a list of 'best of', even if it's thought out and took some time to write. Yet, I think or would like to think, that it adds value.

I thought a long time about this, and the fact that you are raising it in this way is impressive. There is an international piano competition based upon my music and I had similar problems to solve regarding how a low score can irrationally effect the average, and excessively blunten the effect of a high score. In short, excellence becomes less important than a good average - which is not how the world should work.

For this board technology, though, to cut to the chase: The problem is largely solved with the passage of time. When the author has only left a few posts, each next post has a dramatic effect on their Shrewdness-Star rating. But this is temporary. After a few weeks of posting, the Shrewdness-Star will become extremely stable and gravitate around some area. Authors won't think that much about trying to suddenly raise it but will just generally try to lift the standard of their writing. IF, and this is IF, some authors are really sensitive about the rating and it makes the write less, then on the whole this is not bad at all - most authors won't care about it that much, and the ones who do will anyway just write with a higher quality/quantity ratio which is great anyway for their board, even if they are involved less in the more capricious/briefer posts. The systemic effect of the Shrewdness-Star, using a long 12 month trailing average for average recommendation calculation, I think is about right. It could be more or less, but 12 months is simply to remember and understand also.

To make high recommendations remain effective, and averaged down far less when the author posts a few low-res posts, there is a good solution. It uses squares each recommendation, so that high scores would not be marked down so much by a few research/question posts with no recommendations.

Simple average, where r(p) denotes number of recommendation on post p:

Average = (r(1) + r(2) + r(3)) / 3
Square-average = [ ((r(1)^2 + r(2)^3 + r(3)^3)) / 3 ] ^ (1/2)

Eg, if recommendations are 15, 1 and 2, we have:

Average = (15 + 1 + 2) / 3 = 6 <- pretty damaged from the 2nd and 3rd post
Square-average = ((15^2 + 1^2 + 3^3) / 3) ^ (1/2) = 9 <- More weight on first post

I may change from the simple average to the square-average, however the community are not (as a whole!) mathematicians, and it is far better that they understand what is going on, so I'd rather keep it simple even if it very good, but imperfect, incentive-wise. Sometimes good enough is great, if it is emotionally more coherent also.

- Manlobbi

I have in any case made an extremely subtle yellow 'new' ticker appear when there is at least one new note.

Love the little yellow mark, very subtle.

However now the exact date and time (down to the exact minute) of the last post seems kind of cluttery.

<<Love the little yellow mark, very subtle.
However now the exact date and time (down to the exact minute) of the last post seems kind of cluttery.>>

Agreed, done. :)

- Manlobbi

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