what's the point of the reply to this post button?

Is it supposed to do something different than the regular reply button at the bottom of the page? It doesn't seem like a reply using that button references the post being replied to in any way. I would expect it to automatically insert a quotation of the replied to post or something like that.

It is an experiment we are trying.

I think the wording could be improved to say reply to thread.

Gotcha.

I think it kind of encourages people to reply to the first post without reading any of the posts below, resulting in less of a conversation and more duplication of responses. Not knowing what was posted using which button, I have no way of knowing if that's actually happening or not, though. I guess that's why you're experimenting!

We had lots of people who kept saying they could never find the reply button when they came to permies.

Since we already had this blue reply button for people who were logged out/new to permies, we thought we'd try adding it for those logged in. It's not been as successful as we hoped. We no longer get emails from people saying they can't find the reply button, but we also seem to have less activity on the forum.

But, in the words of Paul



We tried it...and it seems to not be one of the 2/100 that turn out! So, we'll try more things, and see which turn out!

I think the blue reply button would be great if it was used to address a mid thread post.
If it would quote the mid thread post at the end of the thread it would allow continuity. Unlike some social media where a mid thread post just puts it in a position under the mid thread post. If you have 15 pages and you have to go through all of the posts to catch a mid thread reply it would be tedious. I see where there might be a problem if  some one jumps in with out reading the entire thread and further down someone has already addressed what a new reply might add.

Robert Ray wrote:I think the blue reply button would be great if it was used to address a mid thread post.
If it would quote the mid thread post at the end of the thread it would allow continuity. Unlike some social media where a mid thread post just puts it in a position under the mid thread post. If you have 15 pages and you have to go through all of the posts to catch a mid thread reply it would be tedious. I see where there might be a problem if  some one jumps in with out reading the entire thread and further down someone has already addressed what a new reply might add.

I think the quote button already does what you describe - if I'm understanding you.

Jan White wrote:

Robert Ray wrote:I think the blue reply button would be great if it was used to address a mid thread post.
If it would quote the mid thread post at the end of the thread it would allow continuity. Unlike some social media where a mid thread post just puts it in a position under the mid thread post. If you have 15 pages and you have to go through all of the posts to catch a mid thread reply it would be tedious. I see where there might be a problem if  some one jumps in with out reading the entire thread and further down someone has already addressed what a new reply might add.

I think the quote button already does what you describe - if I'm understanding you.

Yes it does! The problem is, people don't see the quote button. Or, they click it, and don't understand all the [ quote] tag stuff, and get confused. Most social media places on the internet don't use BB code any more, sadly. I wish I could personalize my posts on facebook or instagram or twitter or whatever like I can here. But, I can't. And, I think a lot of people who arrive at permies are only familiar with facebook, etc. We need to find some way to make our site intuitive for them, but I'm a bit at a loss for how to do that.

I've never used any of the usual social media sites, so I have nothing to compare to.  But if people are having a hard time finding buttons, that seems like something that could be worked on. The big blue reply to this post button is pretty obvious. If it worked as the quote button currently does, maybe the quote button could be eliminated.

I agree that the usual reply button at the bottom of the page is pretty small and blends into the background pretty well. I know a lot of work went into the current aesthetics, but, if a lot of people are having trouble seeing things, maybe they need tweaking.

Jan,
Yes if someone uses the quote button and they reply it does appear. What I'm suggesting is that If I come up to a salient thread entry and want to respond to that entry I would like a short cut (intuitive) blue button that quotes the salient entry and allows me to post. That post appearing at the end of the thread. Perhaps a throbbing blue or some color other than brown on tan at the current reply to thread location. There is already the smoke coming out of the cabin if we see some moving "here I am" gif might help. Maybe reply to thread and reply to post capabilities?

I too assumed wrongly the new button would reference a specific post...something I was really excited about, and thought would be super handy especially with multi-page threads that wander off into quasi related tangents.

I apparently am one of those who just can't figure out how the quote button works; except it puts my cut and pasted comment on a white background. But as I am still having to cut and paste I must be using it wrong.

The quote function works by using BB code formatting tags (we have quite a few cool ones, and there's info on most/all of them here: https://permies.com/wiki/52623/formatting-tags-permies-posts-awesome)

Anyway! With the quote tag, you're basically putting [quote] before what you want to quote, and [/quote] after the quoted bit. You can literally put anything in quotes!

Silly Person wrote: Eat boogers every day for breakfast, for your health

In code, that looks like:

[quote=Silly Person] Eat boogers every day for breakfast, for your health [/quote]

When you click the button on a post to quote it, basically all that happens is that you get a reply window with the quote already put there for you.

The key is to always put your own words AFTER the [/quote]. That way, you don't end up with your words inside the white quote box.

[/quote] means that the quote is ended, and you're going back to normal text now.

Ahhh, so I do still need to "cut and paste"; itks function is to create the "white box" to put the quote within...thanks for the clarification!

Lorinne Anderson wrote:Ahhh, so I do still need to "cut and paste"; itks function is to create the "white box" to put the quote within...thanks for the clarification!

The easiest method would be to use the tan "Quote" button. Do you see one to the right of the tan "Thumbsup" button and the PIE button?

Yes, I do see it and have used it to some degree of success, thanks.

I believe the "reply to this post" in blue infers that one is replying to the salient post, not the thread. Maybe just changing "post" to "thread" would help clarify?
Maybe add "quote and reply" to the quote button? The blue does stand out, I see it, so it does stand out. Would changing the color of the quote button do the same thing?
Reply to this thread moved up to the task bar with the quote button?
The bottom advertisement is between the action buttons and the thread. You have to look for it it is not intuitive with that ad break. I understand why it is there but it is a bump before you see how or where to reply.
That narrow control panel moved up above the ad?
In the same line with the current blue reply add the quote option?
Move all the lower action buttons up and in the  blue line?
Moving the quote button in line with the current blue line allows more room in the upper action line for future moderation actions?

The buttons at the end of the thread REALLY DO "blend into the woodwork" ,  therefore are not as easy to spot as the "blue button - "Reply to This Post" located in each post.

I too, thought that "reply to this post" was somehow different than "post a reply" found at the end of the thread. (maybe it could be? as some sort of analytic of which posts were engaging folks?) And I feel like I'm cheating and skipping ahead by pressing it (even on the most recent post) and also risking piling on the bandwagon, or missing some further explanation below...

I like the "blueness" of such an important button, it really jumps out from the brown/tan/wood scheme.
I think it should read the same as the lower button "Post a Reply"

I also like the idea of adding a second blue button beside it that would read "Quote this post in your reply" instead of the small, brown "Quote" button in the upper right corner. (this could allow space for the "Report!" button to not be the only item behind the meatball menu button. (...) unless of course that was intentional for the moderators' sake! ).

While were at it... When quoting a post, the reply box opens with the BB code and with the quoted post already inserted.
BUT THE CURSOR... is in the top left corner?!?!? sort of hiding next to that initial square bracket. Where it would normally appear in an empty reply box, or a new document, true, but... it isn't...

For me it makes more sense for the cursor to be at the end of the quoted material, with a carriage return, so that MY reply begins on a new line. The quotation above it for context/reference.

This might also mean fewer replies mistyped within the quoted material ? since the cursor and/or your own typing is clearly seen below the quotation.

I suggest the blue button should say "reply to this topic" and the quote button should be small blue and say "reply with quote"
edit: I see that when I log out the Quote button is grayed out And the cursor over it says must be logged in to use it.  So I understand a new persons frustration trying to find the small brown reply button at the end.
So can another blue button be "reply with quote"?  Can the blue buttons be just for those not signed in ?

logged out reply

Lorinne Anderson wrote:Yes, I do see it and have used it to some degree of success, thanks.

I think an important thing to consider if you're using the tan quote button near the thumbs up is that it will quote the entire post. Sometimes you are only needing to link to part of the post which is where the quote button inside your reply is handy. However, there's no reason you can't highlight and delete unnecessary parts when using the tan button - particularly pictures that don't need repeating.

In fact if you are only quoting part of someone's post, the extra repeated stuff sometimes gets confusing and make things slower to load for people using less than wonderful internet.  Yes, the quote button inside the reply requires some cutting and pasting, but it can really improve readability. I've sometimes used it multiple times quoting a long post broken up into sections with my comments relating to each section in between.

Jan White wrote:I think it kind of encourages people to reply to the first post without reading any of the posts below, resulting in less of a conversation and more duplication of responses.

Agreed!  A certain amount of that happens, regardless, especially with long threads.  I read posts that are pure duplication and were clearly written without knowledge that someone above had said the same thing.  But the blue button only encourages this.  Not good.

Also, I think it very much encourages people to post a reply to a specific comment without using the quote button, as described herein in great detail.  Again, this is something that will always happen, but I feel that I've observed it happening much more since the addition of the blue button.  They think they're post will appear directly beneath the one in which they clicked the blue button, rather than at the bottom of the thread.

And you can't blame them: the blue button does sort of suggest that.  And that functionality is available on other forums, for example in a comments thread on Facebook.  But the result is a lot more posts appearing that say nothing but "yes, I agree with what he said."  And you have no idea which prior post they're agreeing with!  Also not good.