# Reply box: make reply options more visible

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/reply-box-make-reply-options-more-visible/246547
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [November 23, 2022, 2:07pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/reply-box-make-reply-options-more-visible/246547 "2022-11-23T14:07:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 7

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### Author: ![rrit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5ac83/32.png) [@rrit](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rrit)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/reply-box-make-reply-options-more-visible/246547/7 "2022-11-23T17:43:50Z")

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My opinion on UX:  
Any object of the same element-class should always follow the same working principle and look identical, so that the functioning of it is recognizable by users.

And here the “Reply-mode-selector” is actually a select-button, which looks like an input field and does not look like the select buttons in other places of the UI e.g.

- ![grafik](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/d/1/2/d128d0d6d25b6feb002263ed443a5692ec22ea82.png)
- ![grafik](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/optimized/4X/9/1/7/9175fed994b236b8f388b154c3bf6fb104f85026_2_517x42.png)

These points where already mentioned but went lost in the long run of implementation. Thanks to pointing me to the earlier discussions.

> [@With the new right gutter, where should "Reply as Linked Topic" go?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/82):
>
> Oh, that’s a really nifty idea. beers A bit of a power user hidden thing, but we could make that more obviously a button / selector as well.

> [@Menu toggle for different reply modes](https://meta.discourse.org/t/menu-toggle-for-different-reply-modes/58133/36):
>
> [Menu toggle for different reply modes - #36 by awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/t/menu-toggle-for-different-reply-modes/58133/36)  
> One small thing: would anyone be opposed to making this stand out _slightly_ more as a button?
> 
> This (closer to our default button style)
> 
> ![Screen Shot 2018-02-07 at 12.05.07 PM.png](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/e/b/eb64677dc1e7ff36406db5c86eb62ad7662b9eb1.png)
> 
> instead of
> 
> ![Screen Shot 2018-02-07 at 12.05.29 PM.png](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/6/8/68db7a872589f500e9575da5129ad3f2e0207648.png)
> 
> 😻 love this feature, btw

* * *

On the general discussion of the feature “Reply as Linked Topic”:

> [@awesomerobot](#):
>
> Is there a better way to explain the benefits of a linked topic? Is there a certain threshold of activity where it might make sense to recommend a linked topic and explain why a little bit?

### Use cases for “Reply as Linked Topic”

Actually it’s all about not getting an otherwise healthy discussion stopped by 2-3 users starting their off-topic discussions in it.

**User picking multiple quotes of older posts in the topic:**  
User tries to make a point on specifically selected statements which might get the discussion off-topic.

**New reply on cold topic with long time of no replies:**  
This often results in slightly off-topic content which is better placed in a new topic.

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