The Lemon Fool

Hi,
What do the symbols next to topics mean? Sometimes they are scrolling and sometimes not. There are other symbols used too, is there a glossary somewhere?
I looked in FAQ but couldn't see the answer.
Thanks.

bluedonkey wrote:Hi,
What do the symbols next to topics mean? Sometimes they are scrolling and sometimes not. There are other symbols used too, is there a glossary somewhere?
I looked in FAQ but couldn't see the answer.
Thanks.

Moderator Message:
RS: Moved from Room 101 to Biscuit Bar, shadow left there.

Some explained here.
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=7342

John

To summarise the outcome of the thread redsturgeon links to and add a bit more:

Red main symbol = thread contains posts you haven't yet read (*), blue main symbol = thread doesn't contain any such posts
Star = you've contributed at least one post to the thread
Scrolling 'text' = thread contains 50 or more posts
Padlock symbol = thread is locked (i.e. no more contributions can be posted to it)
Main symbol is circle with 'text' = ordinary topic
Main symbol is circle with italic "i" = announcement topic by admins/moderators
Main symbol is lamp bulb with "!" = less major (?) announcement topic by admins/moderators

I'm uncertain about the distinction between the last two, but the first of them seems to get into a separate "ANNOUNCEMENTS" section of a board listing, and the second into the "TOPICS" section above any non-announcement posts.

(*) Where "read" means "loaded a page that contains the post - the software cannot know whether you've actually bothered to read it!

Gengulphus

Presumably these come with the software but I must say I cannot see much point in some of them. It is though, helpful to know what the symbols mean, thank you.

Dod

Main symbol is circle with northwest pointing arrow = thread is actually on another board and this is a link to it.

Gengulphus wrote:Main symbol is circle with italic "i" = announcement topic by admins/moderators
Main symbol is lamp bulb with "!" = less major (?) announcement topic by admins/moderators

I'm uncertain about the distinction between the last two, but the first of them seems to get into a separate "ANNOUNCEMENTS" section of a board listing, and the second into the "TOPICS" section above any non-announcement posts.

Gengulphus

Gengulphus,

Despite being a moderator, I have little formal insight into these symbols. But I have been able to infer a little about them, from the extent to which I am able to control them.

The key distinction between the two, as far as I am aware, is that announcements (circle "i", for "information") appear in the announcement box, and are admin only. "Lamp bulb" topics are anchored to the top of the board, irrespective of the date of the last posting.

MDW1954

Dod101 wrote:Presumably these come with the software but I must say I cannot see much point in some of them. ...

Agreed! I actually actively dislike the 'scrolling text' icon rather than merely seeing little point to it. It isn't a strong dislike, but its plus point is miniscule - the range of 'page selection' icons tells me a fair amount about the size of the thread (which of 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, etc, posts it contains), making being told whether it contains 50+ posts of very little additional value. And it has the minus point of movement, which makes it a significant visual distraction from anything else on the screen (at least as far as I'm concerned), and for me that minus point outweighs its plus point.

It's also useless as an indicator of a 'hot' topic. Especially for 'persistent' threads, such as those on the Company News board, it can indicate a thread that was 'hot' at some point in the past but long ago ceased to be so, or even one that has never been 'hot' but has been accumulating a trickle of posts for a long time...

If the criterion for a thread being 'hot' were something that could reasonably be regarded as actually indicating that - e.g. a "more than N posts added in the last 24 hours" - I would still not really like it, but I would see the point in it for those who are interested in identifying active areas of discussion. Putting up with features one dislikes but others might plausibly want is part of the give & take of sites like this, but I find it hard to imagine anyone really wanting the 'scrolling text' icon as it currently exists, at least once they understand what it actually indicates!

Gengulphus

bluedonkey wrote:
What do the symbols next to topics mean?

Sometimes they are scrolling and sometimes not. There are other symbols used too, is there a glossary somewhere?

Does this help?



Image source - https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=2143267

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

It might be useful to some to know that when viewing a forum (showing the titles of topics), clicking/tapping the red circle displays the first unread post in the topic, whereas clicking/tapping the blue title displays the first post in the topic.

MyNameIsUrl wrote:It might be useful to some to know that when viewing a forum (showing the titles of topics), clicking/tapping the red circle displays the first unread post in the topic, whereas clicking/tapping the blue title displays the first post in the topic.

You find out soon that tapping a blue circle does you no good whatsoever.

TJH