Poll Question: What DU feature do you miss never having been available

[sniffa]

I'm pretty rigid in my advocacy for "sort by locks" but I'm open to suggestions.

[PBS Poll-435]

1. I vote "Graveyard."

With TahitiNut writing the epitaphs.

[dipsydoodle]

24. Yes indeed

A graveyard decicated to the freepers whose lives were devoted to trolling DU and playing with themselves.

[saltpoint]

2. Before they FINALLY made it available, I really missed the escort service --

free weekends after 10,000 posts.

[PBS Poll-435]

3. I am going to need to get busy!

Thank GOD for no post limit in GDP V2.012

[saltpoint]

4. LOL! And at 50,000 posts, I think we get to electrocute a television

evangelist of our choice.

So the incentives are built-in from the git-go.

[PBS Poll-435]

7. I am so there!

What is prize for "Platinum-level?"

:evilgrin:

[saltpoint]

11. At the Platinum Level, the triumvirate kicks in:

Pat Buchanan eviscerates himself on GOOD MORNING AMERICA;

Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin come back to life for an extended concert tour; and

the escort service goes all-free, 24/7, including holidays.

[silverojo]

18. I'd rather see the Three Stooges come back to life for a live tour

Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk! :D

[AlCzervik]

5. release the hounds or activate cattle prod now.

[jakem]

6. one of these!

[Poll_Blind]

8. They had this awesome new Ignore feature. FINALLY, a way to...

...improve your DU experience.

Are you sick of that person who constantly harasses you on DU? Now you can do something about it...

  Finally! The Administrator addressing the biggest single issue that both new users and old hats on DU suffer from: Harassment. And the DU Admins knew it and came up with a solution for it!

  It was shouted down so loudly that it didn't even get out of the trial period alive. Not by multitudes, but by just a few dozen posters many of them well-known for all the wrong reasons. And healthy (monthly) financial contributors to DU. It got so bad, the Administrators publicly apologized, for Pete's sake.

  That was pretty much when I realized that the tone of DU was never going to improve and that many of the people who literally posted OP after OP about withholding their donations if it was ever implemented were griefers- people who really enjoy just harassing other users.

  They should have taken the hit and implemented the feature. Earlg, Elad, Skinner, had a great idea that would have allowed users to make DU a much more enjoyable place to be.

PB

[sniffa]

9. Ignore still exists

I know

[Poll_Blind]

13. It was the added functionality of the "New" Ignore that really had promise though.

Are you sick of that person who constantly harasses you on DU? Now you can do something about it...

I forgot, he even titled the thread that way....

PB

[Occam Bandage]

21. I dunno. Why not just ignore them and be done with it?

[Poll_Blind]

22. It helped prevent GSL (Grief, Swarm, Lock).

  That's so much of what DU nowdays- look at the Russert topic as an example.

  Anyway, GSL almost guarantees that you can shut down almost any discussion at DU if you want to. You just need at least at least a couple of people and you can shut down or effectively cripple almost any thread. Not having to deal with wave after wave of alert would leave the moderators much more time to actually moderate- instead of referee.

  It changed DU for the better for the short while it was up and it could have really helped the signal to noise ratio here. But mostly preventing the GSL which made everything worse.

PB

[JVS]

26. That was awesome. I totally punked JPgray with it

My thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6041243

JPgray's reply
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6041776

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

29. Agreed, and well said. nt.

[BlooInBloo]

10. That DU-codificator or whatever post-maker should really be incorporated into DU....

EDIT: I keep meaning to greasemonkey it in, but I never seem to get around to it.

[apocalypsehow]

12. I'm your one "Other" voter (so far):

I'd like a feature that would allow OP's to extend their *ignore* lists to threads they post. It would cut way down on both disruption and flame-wars, IMO.

And it would also eliminate the replies by swarming posters to a thread who are simply stirring up shit in it to get it locked because they don't like the OP.

Just my $.02.

[madeline_con]

14. Free snacks at midnight.

:popcorn:

[AlCzervik]

16. that still works for me, you need to upgrade to the pneumatic internet tubes.

[PBS Poll-435]

17. Thanks for the Sunflower Seeds, Skinner!

:hi:







:rofl:

[Crunchy Frog]

15. I'm currently maintaining my own "graveyard" favorites category.

[silverojo]

19. I'd like to be able to recommend posts within a thread

There are some real gems posted here, but you can't rec them unless it's an OP. :(

[begin_within]

20. A "view new topics since your last visit" function.

Every other forum that I visit regularly has this - you click on "New posts" or "New topics" and it gives you a list of just the threads that were either started or added to since the last time you logged on.
Or, at least having topics that have been added or modified since your last visit appear in bold, while topics which haven't changed since your last visit be non-bold.

[Make7]

35. Ummm... don't we already have this?

New threads/posts should have a little yellow page in front of them in the forum topic lists and the thread response lists, and the little page should be white if it is old.

I'm not sure what the default is, but the two options are to either manually 'mark' forums to indicate that you are up to date, or to have the software automatically mark forums based on your last visit time stamp.

To check your settings, click http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user&saz=change_preference">here to edit your user preferences. (Or click the 'Options' icon at the top of this page, and then the 'Edit your preferences' link on the left menu of the page that opens up.)

Scroll down to 'Use MARK time stamp feature?'. If you want the threads/posts to be marked according to your last visit, make sure that 'No' is selected. Be sure to click the 'Update' button at the bottom of that page to save any changes you may have made.

-Make7

[begin_within]

36. OK thanks. I have changed it to "no." For some reason all threads I see have a yellow icon.

One feature I like about the forum software "vBulletin" is that the titles of threads that are new or modified since my last visit are in bold, while those that haven't changed since my last visit are not in bold. This is a very easy and intuitive way to see new posts. Also, "vBulletin" and "phpbb" both have a "New topics" button you can click on to give you a list of only those threads which are new or modified since your last visit, weeding out the old ones. This is very convenient and lets you concentrate only on new stuff. From what I can tell, the software DU runs on doesn't have that capability.

[Make7]

37. I doubt if you'll see any change until you log out and back in again.

I mark things manually, so I may not be 100% accurate in how this should work, but if you log out and then log back in after a few minutes, you should see the threads that have been started/modified since your previous log-in indicated by a yellow page () and the old ones with a white page ().

If that does not appear to be the case, try logging out and back in one more time. If it still doesn't work after that, I'll change my own settings and try to see how it is supposed to work.

-Make7

[begin_within]

38. Another feature of vBulletin I like very much is the "rollover preview"

When the mouse's cursor is over the title of a thread or topic, a tiny preview automatically pops up near the cursor, which shows you the first sentence or two of the first post in that topic. This often gives you a much better idea of what the thread is about, and helps you decide whether or not to go into that thread. From what I can tell the DU software doesn't do this.

[tyedyeto]

23. Other:

when a hidden profile poster shows up.... a red flag warning should be given ie:

1) This poster may or may not be a troll,

2) This poster goes way beyond the :hide: smiley and thinks he/she is pulling one over on us

3) Get the :popcorn: out NOW!

[Norrin Radd]

25. Other -- after clicking reply while not logged in, and subsequently logging in,

it would be nice if the page redirected back to the original article instead of the Latest Discussion Threads page.

[Make7]

34. Why not just log in before hitting 'reply'?

If you see something you wish to reply to, just open DU in another browser window/tab. (e.g. You could right-click on 'Permalink' of the post in question and select 'Open link ...'.) Log-in in the new window/tab, close it, and then go back to the original window/tab and click your browser's refresh page button. In most browsers, you will be exactly where you started, but logged in and ready to reply.

If you should happen to hit 'reply' before logging in, just hit your browser's back button and follow the procedure outlined above.

-Make7

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

27. Other:

A forum called "Death Row" or "The Green Mile" where DUers with at least 1000 posts who have been selected for the granite are given two weeks to leave their parting commentary in the form of one final OP (1500 words or less), before being deactivated. These OPs would be read only (no responses allowed) and would remain indefinitely for anyone to read.

I think this would be a popular and much appreciated forum which most DUers would generally view as a very fair and decent gesture on the part of the admins.

[PBS Poll-435]

30. ROFL

It would be like the stages of greif.

Denial

Attempting to bargain

Acceptance

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

31. We might recognize the stages of grief in the ocassional DUer walkin' the mile.

I've no doubt some parting posts would be immensely entertaining. Others I'd bet would be reflective and most insightful.

I think the "Death Row" forum would introduce a perceived evenhandedness to the banishment process that could only be good for DU.

[rucky]

28. We need a "Time Out" forum.

Instead of tombstones, we can have a single public forum that disruptors are allowed to post in - and take away their posting privlidges for everyplace else. That's also where we can go voluntarily to continue flamewars of locked threads, and all the other ghoulish stuff Sniffa loves to do.

[Sheets of Easter]

32. The "please DIAF" smilie.

Do they make one? That would be tits.

[ToeBot]

33. Idiot Flag, a De-recommend for posters, instead of threads. nt

[TahitiNut]

39. "Sort by locks" is totally tasteless without ...

... Sort by Bagels.

:dunce: