Hey, everybody!
This suggestion came from Cyrus, and I think it's a really good idea, so I thought I'd sink some time into it, and put together a patch.
Basically, the idea is to make it easier to identify the target post after clicking an ordinary post link, like:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.60743.
Normally, the (optional) fragment identifier at the end of the URL (
#msg60743 in the example link) suffices to position the viewport so that the linked-to post is obvious/unambiguous. But, sometimes that mechanism isn't precise enough, like when the post is the last or second-to-last one on its page (then, I often find myself hovering over the subject link and comparing it to the address bar to confirm that I'm reading the right post).
I also sometimes lose track of the linked-to post when I scroll around the page for a bit to get some context before reading the actual post (then, I find myself going to the address bar and hitting Enter so that the browser snaps to the right post again).
In the worst case,
both of those situations occur: After landing on the relevant topic-page, you scroll around a bit for some context, then you use the Enter trick to snap to the right post, but that's not reliable for the last or second-to-last post, so you have to do the address-comparing thing
too.
I also have to imagine that report-handling would be a little more pleasant for moderators if they had a reliable way to always quickly identify the linked-to post.
Anyway, it's tempting to make the linked-to post really stand out by putting a differently-colored background or border on it, or an inset/outset
box-shadow or something, but, all the variations of that idea that I tried ended up looking pretty naff (and, anyway, I don't really like messing with the SMF aesthetic that a lot of veteran members prefer as-is). In this case, I think it's wiser to just do something really subtle and "quiet" (after all, the forum has been just fine for a long time without this, so I don't think it should be something that jumps out from the page and draws your eye too much; it should just be something that people who know what to look for, will look for).
I've done this patch in two styles:
Style AThis one just makes the subject-line of the linked-to post render differently than normal (with
font-style: italic).
--- baseline/Sources/Display.php
2011-02-07 16:45:09.000000000 +0000
+++ modified/Sources/Display.php
2024-04-04 00:02:44.000000000 +0000
@@ -230,24 +230,25 @@
SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM {$db_prefix}messages
WHERE ID_MSG < $virtual_msg
AND ID_TOPIC = $topic", __FILE__, __LINE__);
list ($context['start_from']) = mysql_fetch_row($request);
mysql_free_result($request);
}
// We need to reverse the start as well in this case.
$_REQUEST['start'] = empty($options['view_newest_first']) ? $context['start_from'] : $topicinfo['numReplies'] - $context['start_from'];
$context['robot_no_index'] = true;
+
$context['requested_msg'] = $virtual_msg;
}
}
// Create a previous next string if the selected theme has it as a selected option.
$context['previous_next'] = $modSettings['enablePreviousNext'] ? '
' . $txt['previous_next_back'] . ' ' . $txt['previous_next_forward'] . '' : '';
// Check if spellchecking is both enabled and actually working. (for quick reply.)
$context['show_spellchecking'] = !empty($modSettings['enableSpellChecking']) && function_exists('pspell_new');
// Censor the title...
censorText($topicinfo['subject']);
$context['page_title'] = $topicinfo['subject'];
 |
- + '; // If this is the first post, (#0) just say when it was posted - otherwise give the reply #. echo ' « ', !empty($message['counter']) ? $txt[146] . ' #' . $message['counter'] : '', ' ', $txt[30], ': ', $message['time'], ' » |
';
// Can they reply? Have they turned on quick reply?
if ($context['can_reply'] && !empty($options['display_quick_reply']))
echo '
', $reply_button, '';
Style B
This one places a small, low-opacity Unicode arrow just before the subject-line of the linked-to post.
--- baseline/Sources/Display.php 2011-02-07 16:45:09.000000000 +0000 +++ modified/Sources/Display.php 2024-04-04 00:02:44.000000000 +0000 @@ -230,24 +230,25 @@ SELECT COUNT(*) FROM {$db_prefix}messages WHERE ID_MSG < $virtual_msg AND ID_TOPIC = $topic", __FILE__, __LINE__); list ($context['start_from']) = mysql_fetch_row($request); mysql_free_result($request); } // We need to reverse the start as well in this case. $_REQUEST['start'] = empty($options['view_newest_first']) ? $context['start_from'] : $topicinfo['numReplies'] - $context['start_from']; $context['robot_no_index'] = true; + $context['requested_msg'] = $virtual_msg; } } // Create a previous next string if the selected theme has it as a selected option. $context['previous_next'] = $modSettings['enablePreviousNext'] ? ' ' . $txt['previous_next_back'] . ' ' . $txt['previous_next_forward'] . '' : ''; // Check if spellchecking is both enabled and actually working. (for quick reply.) $context['show_spellchecking'] = !empty($modSettings['enableSpellChecking']) && function_exists('pspell_new'); // Censor the title... censorText($topicinfo['subject']); $context['page_title'] = $topicinfo['subject'];
|
|
';
// If this is the first post, (#0) just say when it was posted - otherwise give the reply #.
echo '
« ', !empty($message['counter']) ? $txt[146] . ' #' . $message['counter'] : '', ' ', $txt[30], ': ', $message['time'], ' » |
';
// Can they reply? Have they turned on quick reply?
if ($context['can_reply'] && !empty($options['display_quick_reply']))
echo '
', $reply_button, '';
As always, everyone's thoughts/notes/votes are appreciated. 
@theymos: Style A doesn't add or remove any markup, so post scrapers (probably) won't be affected by the change. Style B introduces a new element just before the element that wraps the subject-line, so if that's the one you like (assuming that you like either one to begin with), then LoyceV and TryNinja would probably appreciate some notice before you merge it, so that they can tweak their scrapers if necessary.
|
|
| 
![' . $message['member']['online']['label'] . '](' . $settings['images_url'] . '/im_' . ($message['member']['online']['is_online'] ? 'on' : 'off') . '.gif)
' : $message['member']['online']['label'], '![' . $txt[69] . '](' . $settings['images_url'] . '/email_sm.gif "' . $txt[69] . '")
' : $txt[69]), '