• A Case for Popular Threads
    17 replies, posted
So I totally get the logic behind the removal of the old Popular Threads page. It discouraged browsing the forums broadly and engaging with a range of topics, it lead to those topics that passed the threshold and making it into the Popular list exploding in popularity at the expense of the readership of other threads, and it meant that certain topics got way more attention than othets. The issue currently is that browsing around to find the most relevant/pressing/interesting threads is a slog. Instead of checking a single page for interesting stuff, I'm having to look through a range of subforums. Given current browsing trends (brief but frequent engagement, access while mobile, etc) this isn't ideal. What's happening is that for myself (and likely others), I'm using Reddit for my interesting-stuff feed, and coming here less frequently, only checking the two subforums I have enough interest in to actively pursue. It would be interesting to see how many people are adjusting similarly. The value of Facepunch is that we have this vast range if interests and topics to discuss, but we still retain loads of that old-school forum community feel. I'm wondering if we can rework the popular threads page in a way that encourages broad reading while still fitting in with current browsing behaviors. Could there be a Highlights page that gives you the top 5 threads from each of your subscribed subforums + a couple of random subforums? A list of the most popular threads in each subforum with a link that takes the user to that subforum rather than to the thread itself? A page that lists threads with the most posts per minute rather than views, thus highlighting areas of high engagement rather than high passive viewing? Just some thoughts
I agree wholeheartedly, the lack of Popular Threads has completely changed my FP experience for the worse. With popular threads I was able to learn and engage in the following: -Relevant/breaking news, not just in the US but around the world, which I really appreciated. Thanks to FP I was much more up to date on a variety of news topics, and some really interesting international news that I would rarely see even if I did frequent a more typical news source -Relevant/breaking gaming news, less important to me but fp_popular was my primary source for learning about new games, gaming drama (lol), etc. -Interesting topics from sections I never would have bothered clicking on. Particularly original content from FPers themselves Nowadays I do the following: -Check Programming WAYWO (which is relatively dead) -Check latest threads (as an attempt to use it like popular threads), praying there is something actually interesting and not just ANOTHER Rust ban complaint. Usually its just full of uninteresting noise (to me). I am spending substantially less time on Facepunch and interacting less with users, particularly in areas outside my realm of interest (basically programming). I understand the rationale behind the removal as well, but it unfortunately has had the opposite of the desired effect on me. It is a shame, I would pay real money to have it back haha.
Yeah, popular threads was definitely a nice way to immediately see what's burning in the FP community. Be it some important news stuff, or a strange thread someone made. I think it's important to bring this feature back.
Popular Threads is still on the roadmap so I'd expect it to return sometime. https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/553/9e6f7618-ff9d-4e32-97aa-a90bf96abd2a/chrome_2018-03-29_23-32-09.png
you have points, but i don't think it starts or ends with those pages. I've never used popular/read, recent only for modding, and rarely had threads on subscription. I used viewer count to tip me off if something was hot in their respected subforums. All the information I needed was on the front page & subforums. right now it's not there and I haven't been feeling where the action is at. it is indeed enticing in knowing where the action is.
I feel like it should be bumped up, because it is quite a important part of the forum and shouldn't be too hard to add right? I could be wrong.
If anything popular threads made me check out some threads I would have otherwise ignored entirely tbh.
It's coming. Just be patient.
I remember seeing a post just after migration suggesting that it had been intentionally removed. Glad to know it's back on the Roadmap
iirc it's always been on the Roadmap. You're probably thinking of Unread Threads page, which was intentionally removed (and replaced with thread subscriptions).
You're absolutely right! I'm so used to having a poorly functioning FP search system that I didn't look hard enough. I'm a dingle! https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/143427/1f348c1d-8f38-4666-9ec6-d1534b453702/;lk;lk.PNG
I like this idea, it is annoying seeing LMAO pics on the top everyday.
I liked "read threads" acting as a means of subscription feed, and how a list of new threads was underneath it. Given my typical usage of many (though brief) stops by the website per day, I felt like I was never missing out on the new thread activities. It was convenient.
this is all so weird to me, the entire time i've been here, nearly a decade now, i've never used popular threads i always just went to the subforums i liked, most of them tbh, and just went through the first page of threads, seeing the new threads and checking in on updated threads i liked maybe i just had more free time to read through the sub forums, but it never felt like a slog to take a few minutes to read through sensationalist headlines and see what stood out, especially when what was popular on facepunch
Maybe I'm really lazy.
I hope I can bump it to the top over Latest Threads. A lot of those tend to be support issues for things I'm not knowledgeable about, making half of the new threads irrelevant to me. I mean, admittedly, I already check Sensationalist Headlines and I'll go back to checking News Node once it's fixed, but it still might help me catch things I normally wouldn't have, like things that come up in GD, since I straight-up don't notice anything in there past LMAO Pics. Trending threads sounds a+.
Popular threads and read threads were my bread and butter for Facepunch, and without them it's a lot harder to find new threads that catch my attention or keep up with threads I found.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.