Regular thread/Hot Thread - do we need that distinction?

[Storymama]

I'm talking about the icons that look like this:

http://www.blondbrain.com/share/screenshot_legend.gif

The forum software enables the "hot" version of the icons whenever views or posts goes over a certain level (which can be altered, but we so far haven't done anything to it . . . )

Given that each thread lists how many posts it has (and that we are likely disabling Thread View count, if the poll continues as it presently is running) it may be redundant to offer more indicator graphics than simply "New Posts", "No New Posts", along with the "You posted in this thread" indicator version of each of those. On the other hand, we may have users who rely on this extra bit of visual information about threads.

Thoughts on this? I am personally stumbling over the similarity between the new posts and hot posts, because they are both red. (I am clicking on lots of threads that are "hot", thinking they have new posts.) I could easily tint them to be different colors, if people really like the standout "hot" thread. If nobody cares if threads are "hot" or not, I can easily disable the feature altogether.

[gfrach]

I kind of like the hot thread idea, but I'd want the designation higher than 11 posts which is what it seems to be now. Sometimes a thread gets hot without me realizing it for awhile. But I'd want it at 50 posts or so, or even higher.

[Anne]

I'd be all for changing the colors. I've mistaken the hot thing for new posts at times, too. It's kind of nice to have a visual and numerical indicator.

[Anne]

I kind of like the hot thread idea, but I'd want the designation higher than 11 posts which is what it seems to be now. Sometimes a thread gets hot without me realizing it for awhile. But I'd want it at 50 posts or so, or even higher.

Yes, I can see raising the number, too, though the right number isn't popping into my head at the moment. Fifty sounds good to me, I suppose.

[Kerry]

I really don't see a need for the distinction, especially since there are post counts easily visible for each thread. I would prefer to just have two colors - read and unread/new posts.

[karunamayi]

No need for that extra feature in my mind. We can count and it's really too many things to try to remember in the beginning.

[Sadie]

I kind of like the hot thread idea, but I'd want the designation higher than 11 posts which is what it seems to be now. Sometimes a thread gets hot without me realizing it for awhile. But I'd want it at 50 posts or so, or even higher.

It has to do with Thread Views *or* Posts. I think it's currently set at 15 posts, or 150 views.

[Hobbes]

just being a contrarian here...

but for someone who ALWAYS misses the hot posts, I kind of like the feature. I seem always to miss the topics that everyone else are posting in. Sometimes these are the controversial ones that turn into arguments (which I guess I'm glad I miss sometimes) but often they are threads that just get a lot of interesting discussion whether it be recipes, introductions or something deeper.

Yes, I can count and read numbers :p but I just seem to miss them. I'm not a detail-oriented person. I've tried, just not and can't seem to be :sob:

So, I usually don't notice those threads till they hit 100 or some posts and by then everyone is done with it.

The color (fire) does get my attention though.

Hmm, can you make it a personal turnoff/turnon feature? Probably not.

It's not that big a deal for me, just putting my two cents in before this thread becomes 100 or more long and I miss it and noone cares what I write ... :moon: :rofl:

[mirage1]

just being a contrarian here...

but for someone who ALWAYS misses the hot posts, I kind of like the feature. I seem always to miss the topics that everyone else are posting in. Sometimes these are the controversial ones that turn into arguments (which I guess I'm glad I miss sometimes) but often they are threads that just get a lot of interesting discussion whether it be recipes, introductions or something deeper.

Yes, I can count and read numbers :p but I just seem to miss them. I'm not a detail-oriented person. I've tried, just not and can't seem to be :sob:

So, I usually don't notice those threads till they hit 100 or some posts and by then everyone is done with it.

The color (fire) does get my attention though.

Hmm, can you make it a personal turnoff/turnon feature? Probably not.

It's not that big a deal for me, just putting my two cents in before this thread becomes 100 or more long and I miss it and noone cares what I write ... :moon: :rofl:I don't normally miss them because I read everything (rofl) but the count on the side isn't very obvious to me--I'd like to have the flames or something. I'm not hard over on it, though.

[aleutsi]

I do think the very many different styles of envelopes turned me away from looking at them for information and I took the path that required less thinking, LOL!

All that to say it doesn't matter to me either way.

[gfrach]

Yes, this is my perspective, too. I just seem to miss them and usually catch them just as they're done.

[macaquinha]

I'm talking about the icons that look like this:

http://www.blondbrain.com/share/screenshot_legend.gif

The forum software enables the "hot" version of the icons whenever views or posts goes over a certain level (which can be altered, but we so far haven't done anything to it . . . )



I originally found the various envelopes baffling, so now I ignore them. But I agree that having some graphic notification when a thread goes ballistic is sometimes useful. I'd say 50 posts or so, though, since plenty of our threads go past 20. :p