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Topic: this forum (Read 905 times) |
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Walpurgis
Magister
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this forum
« on: 2002-06-13 04:02:15 » |
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This forum has difficulties (or I have difficulties with it!  ).... First, there's no threaded replies... I suppose writers who aren't lazy can make it clear who they're talking too though.... Then there's the problems of commas and "&" from Word documents - these turn into a nasty mess of %&*:' etc.
Can anything be done?
My suggestion:
http://gnidus.net/gnidus/tree.php
Once this forum is complete, it will be highly flexible. Here's how:
Structural overview
Gnidus is constructed in a hierachical tree structure of nodes. Each node has a parent node, and each node may have any number of child nodes.
nodes may be all kinds of types; the nodes are constructed in an object-oriented fashion such that people can create and contribute new node types to expand gnidus' functionality within the hierarchical structure. image nodes, realspace coordinate nodes (suitable for safehouse, geocaching, etc.) are planned. Currently, each user that registers is also given a node of their own in the users branch, under which posts can also be added! (livejournal, anyone?).
Gnidus nodes may generally be inserted by users anywhere within the hierarchy, attached as child nodes to any node to which the user has access.
The two main node types are branches and posts. Branches operate much like forums. once you click on a forum, it will appear at the top of the tree, and reveal all the child nodes that appear under it. branches can be placed within other branches recursively, so that you can have forums within forums, etc. along with threaded posts and replies.
User access
Any user can create a branch anywhere on the tree they have acccess to. When a branch is created, the user is presented with an accesslist, wherein they may specify which users are allowed to access the branch. If the accesslist is left blank, it will inherit the accesslist of the branch in which it is inserted. If there is no accesslist above it, it will allow access to all users - including anonymous ones.
If a user does not appear on a branch's access list, that branch will not appear to them, and they will not be able to read or post to it, unless they themselves created the branch.
Generally, users are allowed to edit the contents of their posts and replies until someone responds to their post.
Filtering
the filtering features are not in place, yet, but this is how they will operate:
No provision is made for removal of nodes inserted into the tree. There are, however, provisions to filter irrelevant content out. The owner of a branch may, at their discretion, filter out posts deemed unsuitable; such posts will be replaced with a simple one-line text reading " posts filtered by [username]". multiple consecutive filtered posts will be consolidated onto one line to avoid filling up large amounts of space.
If a participant wishes to read the comments anyway, they can simply click the link to read the forum in unfiltered format.
Additionally, users will be able to maintain their own filtering lists, moderating relevant posts for themselves. Other users will then be able to utilize those filters, granting the opportunity to view the tree through the perspective of any other user on the tree.
this is bitspotter's doing if you want to contact him about it, and maybe even help. (bitspotter is a new member to CoV like myself)
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David Lucifer
Archon
Posts: 2642
Reputation: 8.94
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Enlighten me.
 
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Re:this forum
« Reply #1 on: 2002-06-15 13:05:33 » |
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Threaded discussions aren't necessarily better, they are just different. In my experience (14+ years) I've found threaded discussions tend to fragment over time, literally like the branches of a tree. I'm not saying that's bad either, just different.
Forums like this one without threading tend to simulate real life, face-to-face conversations more. Participants are not forced to keep up with the current topic (wherever it may wander), but they are encouraged through social conventions to do so.
An interesting compromise was developed by programmers at my company Javien. Check out the conversation view of the Virus mailing list on Javien Forum. Pick a conversation with lots (20+) replies and you can see the chronological order and reply tree structure simulataneously.
From you description, Gnidus sounds very intriguing. What is the implementation language?
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Walpurgis
Magister
Posts: 67
Reputation: 6.23
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Re:this forum
« Reply #2 on: 2002-06-15 15:06:09 » |
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I don't know what the language is, ask bitspotter.
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