Currently when I am in a topic, I am limited with what I can do. I can’t create a new topic and I can’t switch to a different category.
This forces me to press back or click on the category / header to return to root menu and then switch to a new category.
AI-generated summary
The discussion revolves around improving category switching within a topic on a forum platform. stu1 expresses frustration with the current limitations, noting that users cannot easily switch categories or create new topics from within a thread. davemaxwell clarifies that category switching is possible via the hamburger menu, though not intuitive. codinghorror adds that new topics can be created using the “Reply as New Topic” function. stu1 appreciates the new topic feature but emphasizes the need for more intuitive category navigation, especially for users who frequently switch between categories—such as those managing events or organizing content across multiple topics. erlend_sh asks for examples of better implementations, while codinghorror defends the hamburger menu as a common design pattern. stu1 reiterates that while the hamburger is standard, it’s not ideal for frequent category switching, and suggests that a more accessible navigation method would enhance user experience, particularly for power users who rely heavily on categories.
You can switch to a new category using the hamburger icon at the top right. Not intuitive, but it’s there…
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Would be more intuitive if the way you switch categories is always the same. IMO there shouldn’t be multiple ways of doing something.
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You can also create a new topic using Reply as New Topic in the right gutter. Just delete any pre-filled text if you don’t want the new topic to be linked to the current one.
Also, there should always be at least two ways of doing something, but not too many more than that.
FWIW, I LOVE the reply as new topic function, really helps keep people on topic!
But I’m more talking about the switching categories function. Hiding this function under the “hamburger” button isn’t great usability IMO.
Do you have an example of other forums doing a better job of this? I’ve never needed this feature much so no forum with a good solution to this immediately comes to mind.
It’s really common to group less used features (or the app menu) under a hamburger button. You can see it on Google Chrome for desktop and Android, for example.
(Although in android they changed it from 3 horizontal lines to 3 dots, sort of a sideways ellipsis…)
True enough, but nav normally doesn’t go under those buttons.
Perhaps I use categories more that average? for example on this site I frequently flip between feature, ux and bug to ensure I’m putting things in the right place.
On my discourse, I use categories (and subcategories) to switch between events (it’s a message board for festivals). So I want to make the nav between these contexts as friction free as possible.
Considering that we stick the current category to the top nav bar on the left, putting a pulldown control here instead would seem to make sense? You could even display the number of unread topics in these categories?
I had a look at other forums, and I didn’t find any that provided easy access to switch between categories. That doesn’t necessarily make it a good thing though!
Do other people not switch between categories very often? Interested to find out if I am unique in navigating around like this?