# With the new right gutter, where should "Reply as Linked Topic" go?
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [12 mei 2016 om 13:02 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815 "2016-05-12T13:02:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)
#### Post date: [12 juni 2016 om 22:01 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/43 "2016-06-12T22:01:02Z")
> [@Tom\_Newsom](#):
>
> closed topics attract more than their fair share of replies-as-new-topics.
Indeed, that ~~is~~ was the primary technique to re-open a discussion, or take it in a different direction.
---
### Author:  [@mholt](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mholt)
#### Post date: [12 juni 2016 om 22:18 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/44 "2016-06-12T22:18:28Z")
Okay, thanks! Just wasn’t sure if I was missing it somewhere.
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### Author:  [@cpradio](https://meta.discourse.org/u/cpradio)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 01:34 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/45 "2016-06-13T01:34:59Z")
I’ve been wondering if adding a button to the share dialog when clicking the post time would be an ideal place to put this UI element, as then you know the user is wanting to do something with that specific post.
I’ve been finding it a bit interesting that several communities are missing the UI element.
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### Author:  [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 02:22 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/46 "2016-06-13T02:22:36Z")
> [@cpradio](#):
>
> I’ve been finding it a bit interesting that several communities are missing the UI element.
That often happens when taking features away from a UI 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mittineague](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mittineague)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 03:33 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/47 "2016-06-13T03:33:41Z")
I wasn’t thinking of when Reply As gets used to revive a Closed topic before.
Whereas the other above query helps identify “off-topics”, this finds “zombies”
```plaintext
WITH op_posts AS ( SELECT posts.id,
posts.created_at
FROM posts
WHERE posts.post_number = 1
),
closed_topics AS ( SELECT topics.id,
topics.last_posted_at
FROM topics
WHERE topics.archetype LIKE 'regular'
AND topics.visible
AND topics.closed
)
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT(op_posts.id)) AS zombie
FROM topic_links, op_posts, closed_topics
WHERE topic_links.internal
AND topic_links.reflection
AND topic_links.link_post_id = op_posts.id
AND topic_links.topic_id = closed_topics.id
AND closed_topics.last_posted_at < op_posts.created_at
```
---
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 03:59 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/48 "2016-06-13T03:59:34Z")
Maybe we leave the reply button on closed topics and have it flick open reply as new topic
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 04:35 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/49 "2016-06-13T04:35:43Z")
I think that would be super super dangerous personally. Maybe only for tl2 users or higher.
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 04:36 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/50 "2016-06-13T04:36:00Z")
With the recent “[final editorial decision](https://meta.discourse.org/t/make-post-links-more-visible-with-new-right-gutter-timeline/44920/64)” by @codinghorror to use the share icon for incoming posts, what if clicking the share icon below a post provided an option to “Reply as Linked Topic”? Share currently gives you the link (that you can copy and paste into a new topic to create a link), why not add a button alongside Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Email to open the New Topic composer and pre-fill the old “Continuing the Discussion from…”?
Edit: Just saw that @cpradio posted this above, sorry for the duplicate post…
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 04:37 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/51 "2016-06-13T04:37:23Z")
Yes this is the same suggestion as @cpradio since it is the same dialog and it is a very good idea.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 09:12 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/52 "2016-06-13T09:12:51Z")
Here are some quick mockups of how “Reply as Linked Topic” might look on the link dialog:
The simple link looks best to me, and properly sets itself off from the other methods – appropriate, since it is a bit different.
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 09:14 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/53 "2016-06-13T09:14:41Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> The simple link looks best to me
I agree, the first two options are too similar to the share buttons.
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 09:39 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/54 "2016-06-13T09:39:09Z")
Also adding my vote for the 3rd option.
Option 2 has no context - is it going to show more buttons, expand the window - I’m not sure.
Option 1 feels a bit too strong.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Newsom](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Tom_Newsom)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 10:09 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/55 "2016-06-13T10:09:12Z")
Feels a shame to have this hidden in a menu. I predict having to explicitly educate users about it now, rather than the previous discoverable method.
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### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 10:17 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/56 "2016-06-13T10:17:44Z")
I really can’t see any other option here, one advantage of this change is that it unlocks the feature on mobile
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### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 15:50 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/57 "2016-06-13T15:50:37Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> Here are some quick mockups of how “Reply as Linked Topic” might look on the link dialog:
Of these I think option 3 makes most sense.
> [@Tom\_Newsom](#):
>
> Feels a shame to have this hidden in a menu. I predict having to explicitly educate users about it now, rather than the previous discoverable method.
I agree that it’s a bit too hidden. Perhaps the `+` icon could be available to be added to the post menu, that works the same way? And when a topic is closed, the reply button is changed to `+ New Topic` as I think has been proposed elsewhere.
Unfortunately I’m distracted with getting ready for a trip (meetups in Berlin, Toulouse, Dar es Salaam this summer, anyone?) so not really able to focus properly on this, and feel a bit uneasy about the big changes coming without being able to properly pay attention to them. But I’m liking the direction this is taking! 🚀
---
### Author:  [@Mittineague](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mittineague)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 17:06 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/58 "2016-06-13T17:06:14Z")
I too prefer the third mock-up.
I see two main uses for a Reply As
1 to branch an off-topic into its own discussion
2 to revive a closed topic
For the first I think more prominent / sooner would be better
For the second I think flagging moderators would be preferred, but I can see how some would rather not petition
My first thought of having it in the composer would work for off-topic use, but of course not for closed topics.
Overall I like having the Reply As in the share menu.
As for it being “hidden”, Discourse has quite a few features that take some time or digging to discover.
It could be argued this is poor UX, but IMHO as long as a feature can be found or learned about when the need for it arises it isn’t that much of a problem.
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### Author:  [@featheredtoast](https://meta.discourse.org/u/featheredtoast)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 20:02 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/59 "2016-06-13T20:02:52Z")
I think it’s sufficient to put it in the share screen. It seems to not be a heavily used feature, and I have never had any other reason to click the ‘link to post’ button up until now. It makes sense to put it there. Also, keyboard users will also be able to continue to have single click reply as linked topic.
And being able to have this on mobile is a huge +!
PS, voting for option #3 here, too!
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### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 20:31 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/60 "2016-06-13T20:31:12Z")
With this idea, if I want to quote reply as new, do I select some text, click the link icon, then click the `+ New Topic` link? Then a new topic is started containing the quoted text? That seems to be a fairly circuitous route. I always liked being able to select some text and click the `+Reply as new topic` in the gutter.
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### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 20:48 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/61 "2016-06-13T20:48:03Z")
> [@Tom\_Newsom](#):
>
> I predict having to explicitly educate users about it now, rather than the previous discoverable method.
I was already spending lots of time educating users because the reply-as-linked-topic link was not always visible.
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> I think that would be super super dangerous personally. Maybe only for tl2 users or higher.
I don’t see the danger. Is it dangerous because you don’t want new people to re-open a closed topic by starting a new discussion because they’d do it accidentally?
But the users I care about are tl2 anyway, so that’d be fine for my edge case.
> [@Mittineague](#):
>
> I see two main uses for a Reply As
My third is that I have topics in read-only categories that function as conversation starters (my colleagues would call them “assignments”). Students start a new topic with their solution to a problem. When their topics/answers do not start with the “Continuing discussion” header, one is left to guess just what problem the person’s answer is solving. (And now, those who are unable to Reply-as are the most likely to submit answers that are nonsense.)
---
### Author:  [@featheredtoast](https://meta.discourse.org/u/featheredtoast)
#### Post date: [13 juni 2016 om 20:50 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/with-the-new-right-gutter-where-should-reply-as-linked-topic-go/44815/62 "2016-06-13T20:50:58Z")
That seemed to be discussed back up a bit in this thread:
> [@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/44815/18):
>
> Interesting, so maybe “Quote Reply” should have the little drop down to select start a new topic, like this: [image] But then again as @cpradio pointed out the keyboard shortcuts also work for this kind of power user scenario…
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