Regarding forum pagination

[Thorvald of Lym]

Back in the vBulletin days, users could adjust how many posts appeared per page in a thread. When CivFanatics was migrated to Xenforo, it defaulted to 20-per-page (also the vBulletin default). I don't know if this could be changed in user preferences, and since I was using 20 I never bothered to find out.

Yesterday I noticed the display was upped to 30 posts per page. This might not have been an issue, but for the difference in how vBulletin and Xenforo link to specific posts. In vBulletin, the format is /showthread.php?p=12345#post12345 (or showpost.php?p=12345&postcount=6789, which displayed the post in isolation from the main thread); the browser looks for the post in relation to the thread as a whole.

In Xenforo, however, the format is /threads/name-of-thread.12345/page-38#post-12345 — the browser parses this as find the thread → find the page → find the post. Because it's searching for the page before the post, and because each page is now 10 posts longer, Xenforo addresses from before the 30-per-page display are broken: the browser navigates to a page further on than where the post is actually located.

There are workarounds (links using the old vBulletin format will still translate properly), but to the average user that doesn't have time/patience/know-how to punch in the address manually, this discrepancy will only cause problems down the line. Can staff please reset the display default to 20 posts per page?

 

[leif erikson]

I have reset the posts per page to 20.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I have reset the posts per page to 20.

I really wish there was a way so we could set our individual preferences and not mess everything up. On the old forum I had everything set to maximum, to cut down on how many times I would have to load/reload pages. For those of us on older computers, there are times when pages take a long time to load, especially when there are a lot of images and/or videos posted.

 

[BvBPL]

I agree with Valka.

 

[Omega124]

I disagree with Valka. Unfortunately no policy is going to please everybody, but if Xenformo is going to be stupid and look at page number instead of post number first, then I would rather have working links to posts than slightly more convenient loading. If people's rigs are so outdated that forum browsing is too taxing, then thats provably a sign they should just upgrade.

 

[BvBPL]

You disagree with Valka that there should be a means to establish a personal preference for how many posts per page we wish to see? Why?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I disagree with Valka. Unfortunately no policy is going to please everybody, but if Xenformo is going to be stupid and look at page number instead of post number first, then I would rather have working links to posts than slightly more convenient loading. If people's rigs are so outdated that forum browsing is too taxing, then thats provably a sign they should just upgrade.

How about losing the judgmental attitude, okay? I bowed out of the contentious thread where we last argued, but that was about abstract ideas and personal things and you very plainly told me I wasn't welcome there.

This is Site Feedback and judging people for their preferences on how to use this site and what works best for each person is rude and unwarranted.

Yes, I know that more page views and clicks means more ad revenue for Thunderfall, and he's justified in liking more revenue since he pays for this site. But he's not going to get it if the site doesn't work for a certain segment of the members who don't have the latest computer or the fastest internet speed. I don't live on this forum and I have other priorities in my life that take precedence over the latest electronic thing. And some of us don't have the fastest internet speed simply because it's not available where we live. Are you going to tell me to move so I can enjoy 20 posts/page, 20 topics/page instead of the way it was before?

All I'm asking is that we be allowed to set our preferences to accommodate what works best. This is a XenForo issue, not a "Valka's computer is old and she should just buy new stuff and shut up" issue. Or at least that's how I see it.

 

[Omega124]

You disagree with Valka that there should be a means to establish a personal preference for how many posts per page we wish to see? Why?

As long as xenformo stupidly format links to direct posts in the way thor described, then, yes, it is imperative people are able to actually able to effectively link to specific posts and be able to be understood what post was meant to be linked.

If someone is running the 30 page view like valka wants, then not only will she not get the right post if I link her to a post, but also the inverse as well. It becomes increasingly harder to effictively communicate between people who are running different standards, for no real benefit.

If the admins are able to fix this problem, then yes more options are good. But not when more options stiffens communication.

I'm not going to dignify valka's post with a reply since it has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Please take any personal vendettas with me to PMs

 

[Valka D'Ur]

If people's rigs are so outdated that forum browsing is too taxing, then thats provably a sign they should just upgrade.

What part of addressing this crack is off-topic for this thread? It's condescending and rude.

I have no vendetta going on here. I just object to people dismissing posters who don't - for whatever reason - have the latest computers with the fastest internet speeds.

About 11 years ago I was on a different gaming forum that switched from one kind of forum to another (switched to vBulletin). We coped with broken links by fixing them when we found them.

Are these links in question between posts made before and after the migration, or only since the migration?

 

[leif erikson]

Moderator Action: Please stay on topic. Getting personal is not going to help this thread maintain civility.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889