Oh, c'mon, it's no more anti-intuitive than the way we use "tagline". And, eventually, we'll have a MARCIE. People are going to have to find out what that means, too.

This is the internet. There are going to be neologisms. "Threadsuck" is a perfectly good term. And if your opposition to it is based on the grounds that a word with "suck" imbedded in it isn't going to be workplace-friendly-- dude, if it's not huge text or in the title bar of your window (as a title of a thread would be), and it's only *imbedded* in the word, I really can't entirely be swayed by that argument.

I think it hurts usability. Browser based interfaces start off at a disadvantage, since they usually don't have things like tooltips or context sensitive help. Picking code-words for the "buttons" just seems to make the board it harder to use.

I'll be arguing against using "MARCIE" anywhere in the user-interface, too, if it comes to it.

Anyone else who needs access to the CVS repository, please send me mail at the profile address.

I still don't know quite what a CVS repository does, but I do note that it's finished ahead of schedule. Yay Karl!

And, eventually, we'll have a MARCIE. People are going to have to find out what that means, too.

I also like "Squelch Noisy User Filter." Table Talk had "Evade Noisy User Filter," but I wanna SNUF porn, never ENUF porn.

Threadsucking through the interface is a new feature that WX and TT didn't have. You've probably all discussed how people are going to use it back in "Building an Unlikely City," but I wasn't there. (So I kind of haven't earned the right to be so free with my opinions here, huh. I'm not coding, don't listen to me.) Anyway, if people might want to suck several of their favorite threads daily for a kind of Buffista Digest, you might want a separate page for threadsucking with checkboxes and options. Or if people are going to look at a thread with 1000 messages and think, "I'll suck that for later," then maybe you want the buttons in the Message Center.

Clicking "threadsuck" will take you to a page that asks which post to start from, right? That page will kind of explain it. People won't just be clicking "threadsuck" out of curiosity and getting stuck with a 2000-post download.

I still don't know quite what a CVS repository does, but I do note that it's finished ahead of schedule. Yay Karl!

Not finished just yet. Testing. There will be bugs, permission issues, and other normal shake-out difficulties.

But it looks like we might make the schedule.

Michelle T.'s requests have been added, at a mid-priority. Yay for CVS having and testing!

I also like the idea of SNUF as the name for the filter, and I don't feel that 'threadsuck' is any worse or any more obscure than other internet words. If people feel it's a problem, let's add it to the FAQ, along with all the other obscure words. In fact, it should probably be mentioned in the FAQ anyway.

Not the FAQ, the How-To, methinks.

I too think "download thread" is clearer and better language for the link name. Nilly and Meijia are both used as names where there can be some explanation of what the name means, and meara-ing is clear from context. "Threadsuck" would not be.

People won't just be clicking "threadsuck" out of curiosity and getting stuck with a 2000-post download.

Errr... Actually, yes, that was the latest plan. I did design a fancy-pants interface, but ita felt it was too much, especially with the thread proliferation. A sample of my interface is here.

I too think "download thread" is clearer and better language for the link name.

Again, my thought was to have two links below the thread title - One that downloads the entire thread, and one that downloads just the unread messages.

Michele, oh Usability Queen (and I mean that in the nicest way), how do you feel about all this?

Actually, no, Jon. I wasn't thinking the page would just dump a file on the user. I was envisioning an intermediate page where one can pick the range of posts, the behaviour (mark read?), and perhaps even have the file zipped before it's handed off.

Usability Queen! Do I get a tiara?

I think the threadsuck control panel is a good idea, if a little confusing in the current iteration, if we think people will use it. And I'm impressed, if surprised, that there are no vampire jokes anywhere on it: that takes restraint.

With Jon's proposal, you'd have

Natter 4,345: The Cheese Continues
Subscribe | Download entire thread | Download unread posts.

My feeling is that unless we know a lot of people want to use the threadsuck option, it's a lot of choice to be surfacing at the top level. ita's intermediate page suggestion, especially if you can set default options and just click OK when you get to that page, might be a better idea if most of our users are reading online.