(Reasonable) Features you'd like to see implemented on RailUK Forums

[TT-ONR-NRN]

If I have posts deleted/warnings/notes given by moderators etc... I would like the moderator to sign their username so I know who has issued the warning/note.

I have often requested this also, purely as it allows me to message that moderator just to ask for more information or give an explanation

I must add something, possibly the only thing, that really annoys me is the quote function, since it was changed maybe about 2 years ago. If you copy and paste a quote, your response ends up mixed in with the quote, if you try and separate it, it splits it into two quotes, if you click unquote it unquotes it all, if you backspace the wrong thing it unquotes it all, the quote function is just very difficult for me to use.

Oh, and I'd love to be able to hide threads so that you don't see them. For example, as an anxious over thinker I used to feel quite distressed when I saw "Russia invades Ukraine" was getting constant updates at the start of the invasion, to the point where I almost requested to have access to the General Discussion revoked. I'd love the option to hide or remove a thread from what I see, just like how a subforum can be hidden from me.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I have often requested this also, purely as it allows me to message that moderator just to ask for more information or give an explanation

I must add something, possibly the only thing, that really annoys me is the quote function, since it was changed maybe about 2 years ago. If you copy and paste a quote, your response ends up mixed in with the quote, if you try and separate it, it splits it into two quotes, if you click unquote it unquotes it all, if you backspace the wrong thing it unquotes it all, the quote function is just very difficult for me to use.

Oh, and I'd love to be able to hide threads so that you don't see them. For example, as an anxious over thinker I used to feel quite distressed when I saw "Russia invades Ukraine" was getting constant updates at the start of the invasion, to the point where I almost requested to have access to the General Discussion revoked. I'd love the option to hide or remove a thread from what I see, just like how a subforum can be hidden from me.

Thanks

In terms of the "Russia invades Ukraine" thread (and others); yes it's annoying/upsetting but I just don't read it. I don't read every thread in this forum; just ones that interest me most

 

[Crossover]

I hate the auto merge feature too, it's annoying when you make an unrelated post, even minutes after you posted previous post & they merge.

Oh, fixing bumping threads by the means of "bump", is very easy, by making bumping threads, but not contributing to the discussion, against the forum rules.

Can make it against the rules and moderate against it, but it still requires moderation. With the size of the forum, it is probably better to let automation take care of it

 

[Egg Centric]

It's is in this thread, posts #5 (quoted here) and #6:

This link does not seem to work. Is it in some moderator only forum or something?

 

[Mojo]

This link does not seem to work. Is it in some moderator only forum or something?

What link?

 

[Purple Train]

What link?

Clicking on the writing at the top of the quote tags that says, "Abcdwf123 said..."

 

[Trackman]

I'd love the option to hide or remove a thread from what I see, just like how a subforum can be hidden from me.

I second that, but I don't know how easy it would be for it to be implemented.

 

[Haywain]

This link does not seem to work. Is it in some moderator only forum or something?

Looks like the post/thread I linked to might have been deleted.

 

[Cowley]

I have often requested this also, purely as it allows me to message that moderator just to ask for more information or give an explanation

What I’d say about this is that whenever we have to say something to someone - be it minor or major, that then generates a conversation with that person for us, which we may need to reply to.

Now that’s fine if it’s a simple “Ok fair enough, I understand why you’ve made that decision.” But it’s not always like that… So often when you log in after working all day and there’s five or six people to reply to from things you’ve had to do the day before it can pretty time consuming. And that’s before you get to the stuff that’s happened since you were last on the forum that might need dealing with immediately!

So from our point of view, adding more people questioning every single decision you have to make on top of what we’re doing already would probably take it into the realms of impossible to keep on top of.

 

[infobleep]

The edit time is displayed but maybe something else can be done, depending on what the software allows; the best thing to do for any suggestions is to send them via the 'Contact Us' form but we are limited by what is possible in the software.

The time when I could do without auto merge is on the National Routing Guide changes thread.

When a new addition it made it takes me to the top of the auto-merged post and I tend up reading stuff I already read before I had to the new section, which Kieron helpfully does date to make it clear. It's just that I can't remember which I've read and there may have been multiple updates in-between.

It is a minor issue in the grand scheme of life though.

 

[Vanmanyo]

We need a reaction button so I can just react with something like a thumbs up!!

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

We need a reaction button so I can just react with something like a thumbs up!!

No thanks. Stick to mainstream social media channels if that's your preferred way of interacting with strangers on the internet. Otherwise actually take the time to compose a comment that's worth reading by everyone else. The big plus of this place is that discussions are mostly quite intelligent with short, and therefore often meaningless, replies being uncommon. Let's keep it that way.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

No thanks. Stick to mainstream social media channels if that's your preferred way of interacting with strangers on the internet. Otherwise actually take the time to compose a comment that's worth reading by everyone else. The big plus of this place is that discussions are mostly quite intelligent with short, and therefore often meaningless, replies being uncommon. Let's keep it that way.

Image is of an outsized thumbs up symbol, that being my humourous way of saying "I agree".....

 

[edwin_m]

When doing things like editing down quotes to leave the part I want to reply to, I find I often have to flip between the "clever" view that shows the quotes in grey boxes and the BB code view. If this is unavoidable then can it at least be made so the cursor stays in the same place in the text?

 

[Robin Procter]

We need a reaction button so I can just react with something like a thumbs up!!

.... I agree! Being able to simply and quickly give a thumbs-up to a post communicates a number of positives. Not in any order of importance, they are as follows :

- You agree/like the comment/post and don't need to write an essay in response.

- It is a shorthand and friendly way of writing "Thank you" to another member for their post or help.

- It gives encouragement to the person posting and the content of their post.

- It encourages friendliness between members.

- It occasionally would save Admin Staff from the task of merging posts when a member has been polite and bothered to write a Thankyou post because there is no thumbs-up option.

Unfortunately, too many people have a prejudice about the established social media which offer the Like/Heart icons and forget that they don't have to use them! There is also an element of snobbery in this prejudice and I would point out that there are many internet forums (including Facebook and Instagram) which have serious and intelligent discussions without emoji options being a problem - I speak from the experience of being the founder and principal Admin of one for over 10 years (currently over 8,500 members).

No thanks. Stick to mainstream social media channels if that's your preferred way of interacting with strangers on the internet. Otherwise actually take the time to compose a comment that's worth reading by everyone else. The big plus of this place is that discussions are mostly quite intelligent with short, and therefore often meaningless, replies being uncommon. Let's keep it that way.

.... Clearly you don't want to see them but they are only an OPTION and you don't have to use them - Why deny others?

I have highlit in bold part of your comment which appears to have undertones of sarcasm and in response, over several decades, I have made very good friends with some who were once strangers on the internet and we regularly meet in person. Some of them are even railwaymen!

The vibe in this place would be friendlier with the thumbs-up option for those who would find it a valuable option.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

.... I agree! Being able to simply and quickly give a thumbs-up to a post communicates a number of positives. Not in any order of importance, they are as follows :

- You agree/like the comment/post and don't need to write an essay in response.

- It is a shorthand and friendly way of writing "Thank you" to another member for their post or help.

- It gives encouragement to the person posting and the content of their post.

- It encourages friendliness between members.

- It occasionally would save Admin Staff from the task of merging posts when a member has been polite and bothered to write a Thankyou post because there is no thumbs-up option.

Unfortunately, too many people have a prejudice about the established social media which offer the Like/Heart icons and forget that they don't have to use them! There is also an element of snobbery in this prejudice and I would point out that there are many internet forums (including Facebook and Instagram) which have serious and intelligent discussions without emoji options being a problem - I speak from the experience of being the founder and principal Admin of one for over 10 years (currently over 8,500 members).


.... Clearly you don't want to see them but they are only an OPTION and you don't have to use them - Why deny others?

I have highlit in bold part of your comment which appears to have undertones of sarcasm and in response, over several decades, I have made very good friends with some who were once strangers on the internet and we regularly meet in person. Some of them are even railwaymen!

The vibe in this place would be friendlier with the thumbs-up option for those who would find it a valuable option.

I understand the principle of what you are saying. However from time to time I come across posts here from new members who clearly have little interest, if any at all, in taking part in actual discussion and are more interested in visibility ie seeing their username appear on screen. Their posts tend to be short, often flippant or sarcastic, and rarely suggest any thought having taken place before typing. Essentially they see the internet as somewhere to simply react without wishing to make any specific point. I also notice that they tend not to stick around when they presumably work out that this place is relatively serious (see forum rules on posting quotes from external sources, for example). This forum is intended to foster discussion. Those who simply wish to vent publicly have plenty of other places available to them where that is a normal form of communication.

As to wishing to praise or encourage a poster after reading a good comment from them just how difficult is it to type a few words that say as much. When I log in here I go straight to "New Posts" and am mildly disappointed when I find the only additional post to a thread I'm following says effectively nothing. Polite thanks is fine but if that gets reduced to a single symbol I will start to wonder what point there is to even being here. And I'll give you credit for explaining your position when you might have simply said "don't agree". As such you have rather made my point. Oh and I intended no sarcasm, it was a straight up comment expressing my opinion.

 

[Robin Procter]

I understand the principle of what you are saying. However from time to time I come across posts here from new members who clearly have little interest, if any at all, in taking part in actual discussion and are more interested in visibility ie seeing their username appear on screen. Their posts tend to be short, often flippant or sarcastic, and rarely suggest any thought having taken place before typing. Essentially they see the internet as somewhere to simply react without wishing to make any specific point. I also notice that they tend not to stick around when they presumably work out that this place is relatively serious (see forum rules on posting quotes from external sources, for example). This forum is intended to foster discussion. Those who simply wish to vent publicly have plenty of other places available to them where that is a normal form of communication.

As to wishing to praise or encourage a poster after reading a good comment from them just how difficult is it to type a few words that say as much. When I log in here I go straight to "New Posts" and am mildly disappointed when I find the only additional post to a thread I'm following says effectively nothing. Polite thanks is fine but if that gets reduced to a single symbol I will start to wonder what point there is to even being here. And I'll give you credit for explaining your position when you might have simply said "don't agree". As such you have rather made my point. Oh and I intended no sarcasm, it was a straight up comment expressing my opinion.

.... I respect your opinion and understand and mostly agree with your reasoning.

I am relatively new to this forum and as with all internet forums there is a learning curve. I shall survive without the use of the thumbs-up etc and hope to contribute what I can inspite of not being a either a train commuter or railway worker.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

.... I respect your opinion and understand and mostly agree with your reasoning.

I am relatively new to this forum and as with all internet forums there is a learning curve. I shall survive without the use of the thumbs-up etc and hope to contribute what I can inspite of not being a either a train commuter or railway worker.

Though some threads may appear to make such things a necessary qualification they're absolutely not. As I mentioned this place is relatively serious but it does include a huge variety of personalities among its membership which helps to prevent discussions getting bogged down with jargon etc. Even the really contentious issues rarely cause significant strife: the moderation team does a pretty good job at keeping things civilised. My apparent defensiveness about the status quo is probably due to not wishing a reasonably happy place to lose that quality in order to accommodate every internet posting style that comes along. A touch of small c conservatism!

 

[Robin Procter]

Though some threads may appear to make such things a necessary qualification they're absolutely not. As I mentioned this place is relatively serious but it does include a huge variety of personalities among its membership which helps to prevent discussions getting bogged down with jargon etc. Even the really contentious issues rarely cause significant strife: the moderation team does a pretty good job at keeping things civilised. My apparent defensiveness about the status quo is probably due to not wishing a reasonably happy place to lose that quality in order to accommodate every internet posting style that comes along. A touch of small c conservatism!

.... I feel obliged to point out that a thumbs-up option on the internet has existed since early 2009 so it is hardly a posting style that has recently come along. The thumbs-up gesture actually goes back centuries. What did the Romans ever do for us?

You and I could debate the thumbs-up icon option until the cows come home and not agree - We have both presented our preferences in a polite, calm, reasoned and respectful manner. The Admin Team will have the final say and I am definitely not holding my breath in any expectation that they will introduce the said option.

As a relatively new member here it's good to hear that there is a huge variety of personalities here.

 

[edwin_m]

The thumbs-up gesture actually goes back centuries. What did the Romans ever do for us?

Considering what happened to the people that got the thumbs-down, I'm not sure this is a precedent we should be following...

 

[Robin Procter]

Considering what happened to the people that got the thumbs-down, I'm not sure this is a precedent we should be following...

.... Brilliant humour! I definitely would have clicked you a thumbs-up icon on your post.

 

[Purple Train]

.... Brilliant humour! I definitely would have clicked you a thumbs-up icon on your post.

Maybe a reaction would work there? I can definitely think of a few situations in which I could click that rather than making an entire new post (adding nothing to the discussion) to say so. (It might also help me in terms of making sure my "jokes" (I use the term loosely) aren't too tenuous to be amusing!) That being said, I can definitely see how it would have the same pitfalls as the "like" or "thumbs up" button, so can see why the mods would be reluctant to include that reaction also (although it has the benefit over a like button in that you can't really expand on "that's funny" in response to a joke unless you are in the mood to do some close language analysis, whereas "I agree" could (perhaps should) be expanded on and contribute to the discussion in that way).

 

[bspahh]

.... Brilliant humour! I definitely would have clicked you a thumbs-up icon on your post.

https://time.com/4984728/thumbs-up-thumbs-down-history/ says:

“We don’t have videotapes of people from antiquity. We have some sculptural references but it’s mostly verbal references,” says Anthony Corbeill, a professor of Latin at the University of Virginia, who wrote a book on gestures in ancient Rome. “Sparing is pressing the thumb to the top of the fist and death is a thumbs-up. In other words, it’s the opposite of what we think.”

 

[Robin Procter]

https://time.com/4984728/thumbs-up-thumbs-down-history/ says:

.... That's interesting. At my school the Latin curriculum did not include any information about hand gestures .

However, it is true to say that language evolves and changes through time from generation to generation and the thumbs-up has for centuries been interpreted internationally as a sign of approval or agreement and therefore something positive.

 

[edwin_m]

Hmm, you learn something every day. Perhaps someone should tell Facebook?

 

[Ediswan]

However, it is true to say that language evolves and changes through time from generation to generation and the thumbs-up has for centuries been interpreted internationally as a sign of approval or agreement and therefore something positive.

With some significant exceptions. Specifically, Iran and Iraq.

 

[Robin Procter]

With some significant exceptions. Specifically, Iran and Iraq.

.... I didn't know that. However, the context being discussed is here in the western world which is an entirely different culture.

 

[Energy]

I agree that auto merge feature can be very annoying when you make a post and then make another post a few days later that is unrelated. If the admins want to keep the auto merge feature then could it be reduced from 7 days to 24 hours. I think within 24 hours any new post would be significantly different. So maybe it could be reduced from 7 days to 24 hours.

Agreed, I like automerge but 24hrs seems more reasonable.

Bumping seems fairly rare on here.

It's a tricky balance! We did actually undertake a Forum Rules consultation a year ago and one of the conclusions we reached was:


I haven't got the precise number to hand but it was something like 90% though the existing rule was "Just Right". But we are alive to the issue and there are often debates "behind the curtain" regarding it.

I find the off-topic moderation fairly reasonable.

 

[MasterSpenny]

I would like to see the launch of the 2023 mileage competition soon (not shown on at least my account details page yet). Hopefully I will do the maths for the total miles on each line I have done this year!

 

[trainophile]

My one observation, having only just discovered this thread, is that it is quite annoying, when you find a thread that you have started or contributed to has become bold and moved to the top of the page, indicating new post/s, only to open it and scroll down to find the new contribution is "Thanks". I'm guilty of making "thanks" posts myself when someone has given helpful information to a query I've made, but never know whether it is appropriate to do so. A thanks or thumbs up button would resolve this - the helpful person if interested to do so could see that their post has been acknowledged, while the rest of the contributors or thread readers have no need to open it and scroll down expecting new information. We wouldn't need a huge array of buttons, just Thanks or Like would do the job.

As for the auto merge, I don't mind having to separate my posts with a dotted line or something, but it is frustrating when it doesn't move back to the top of the page. This is particularly relevant when you're having a problem with delay repay or some such matter, and you want to update the outcome perhaps three or four weeks later, by which time it has disappeared from the first page altogether.