I’m missing the reply as new topic button, plus the display of the new topics that were previously created from a post.
3 Likes
I’d be interested in seeing your statistics if you have Data Explorer and you don’t mind posting them.
WITH first_posts AS (
SELECT COUNT(posts.id)
FROM posts
WHERE posts.post_number = 1
AND posts.deleted_at IS NULL
AND posts.post_type = 1
AND posts.raw LIKE '%Continuing the discussion from%'
),
mod_splits AS (
SELECT COUNT(posts.id)
FROM posts
WHERE posts.action_code
LIKE 'split_topic'
AND posts.raw LIKE '%posts were split to a new topic%'
),
links_in_topics AS (
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT(posts.id))
FROM posts
JOIN topic_links
ON topic_links.link_post_id = posts.id
WHERE posts.post_number = 1
AND posts.deleted_at IS NULL
AND posts.post_type = 1
AND topic_links.reflection
AND topic_links.internal
)
SELECT first_posts.count AS replied_as_count
, (links_in_topics.count - first_posts.count) AS cited_count
, mod_splits.count AS off_topic_splits_count
FROM first_posts, links_in_topics, mod_splits
Me too. A client who needs reply-as-linked-topic just upgraded and now can’t find how to do reply-as-linked-topic. I don’t see it either.
Is it somewhere that I’m just not seeing it?
2 Likes
Oh. No. This might be OK if topics that were closed or permissions didn’t allow replies, but on my site the bulk of messages are reply-as-linked-topic messages. I suppose that I can re-train people to just start new messages and then not have the link back to the assignment that they are completing, but that’ll be a real drag.
2 Likes
Total topics on our site: 1192
replied_as_count: 17
cited_count: 54
off_topic_splits_count: 34
This feels like enough use to keep the feature. Its absence is certainly holding me off updating for now, at any rate.
2 Likes
On my site:
total topics: 1197 (eerily close to @Tom_Newsom’s number!)
replied_as_count: 23
cited_count: 120
off_topic_splits_count: 3
Just start a new topic and then return to the topic to quote reply. Or use the keyboard shortcut:
Edit: the t keyboard shortcut doesn’t actually work anymore?
Personally, my favorite solution is the one proposed by @codinghorror above. The reply buttons below each post could also have the pulldown to reply as new topic.
I’m ok with having the linked posts below each post.
1 Like
Yes it does… but you have to use j or k first so it knows which post you are continuing from
3 Likes
ah - got it. thx. also see you explained this above. trying to keep up. 
seems a bit weird that selecting a post via the vertical nav doesn’t work the same way.
I could easily see a feature request asking t to work without any selection and when it does it uses the last post? Or should it use the first? (food for thought)
replied_as_count: 17
cited_count: 54
off_topic_splits_count: 34
replied_as_count: 23
cited_count: 120
off_topic_splits_count: 3
Two members isn’t a large dataset, but
it is interesting to see that a majority start new topics either quoting or posting a link to the “source” post.
Yet, I agree, the number of new topics started by using the Reply As is a considerable percentage.
I’m thinking making the work-around easier might be a good idea.
Similar to @erlend_sh 's mock-up
5 Likes
The idea with trying to live without it for a while it to further validate that the feature is really necessary / valuable. The data above is another way to attempt to do the same thing.
I think what we’ve learned from that so far is that a favored way of replying as a linked topic is via quoting the source post, not just using the now-missing feature.
If we think the feature is valuable, then I agree with my former self, @erlend_sh, and now @Mittineague that we should explore being able to change a reply that is already being composed to a new-topic reply.
But this might be pr-welcome material if it seems like an edge case and the core team has higher priorities.
1 Like
Perhaps a little OT, but the one shortcoming I feel the “reply as linked topic” feature has is that linked topics are not represented in the flow of conversation. I think the feature would be more useful if linked topics generated something akin “closed” dialogue. This could still be displayed even after a topic has been closed.
Er… what? The outgoing links are already in the post, so how are they not in the “flow of conversation”? The latest change was to expand incoming links, and that’s already deployed, so have a look at that here in existing topics.
1 Like
OK, either I’ve missed a feature, or haven’t explained what I mean properly.
I see that there is a collection of links under the initial post, and obviously normal links are included with their comment. But I don’t see anywhere that indicates a linked topic was created, nor at what point in the conversation it was created. Sorry if I’ve missed something, still getting familiar with ask if discourses features.
1 Like
Well, the incoming links are presented below the post they linked to, not in chronology of the time the link was created. The day the link was created is a mighty weak thing to tie the link to, versus the actual post it links to…
7 posts were merged into an existing topic: Make post links more visible with new right gutter timeline
I also have a question about this, regarding the beta 8 update. I have users asking how to reply with linked topic now. What should I tell them?
2 Likes
Tell them to add a link or quote of the post they want to continue the discussion from.
Hand-crafted, artisanal reply-as-new-topic’ing.
3 Likes
All well and good if the source topic is open to replies. You can’t start a reply to a closed topic, and I imagine that closed topics attract more than their fair share of replies-as-new-topics.
2 Likes