"In reply to" Hack (threaded info for linear users)

vB3.0/hack version "frozen"; vB3.5/plugin version released
You can get the plugin for vb3.5 here. There will be no more releases for the vB3.0 version.

Description
This hack allows the display of the title and author of the post that each post is in response to. (See screenshot if clarification is needed)

The purpose of this hack is to provide missing information to linear view mode users. I got the idea from a board I visit that used to be UBB Threads, though my choice of presentation is a bit different.

See the attached screenshot for an example of how this can look. The hack itself only provides the additional items in $post, so it is up to the templates exactly how it looks. (The changes I used are included as an example in the hack instructions)

Complexity
This hack changes one file, requires no queries, and requires changes to one template.

Technical
This hack has been tested on vB3.0.3,vB3.0.0RC4 and vB3.0.0RC2.
It adds 1 query to showthread in linear mode, and adds 1 additional query in linear mode for each consecutive layer of deleted parents of posts displayed on a page. (If a displayed post is a reply to a deleted reply to an undeleted reply to a deleted reply to an undeleted post, 2 total queries are added to showthread, but if a displayed post is a reply to a deleted reply to a deleted reply to a deleted reply to an undeleted post, 4 total queries are added to showthread. If both examples are displayed in the same page, only 4 total queries are added to showthread.)

Update (v1.10 2004-03-01)
Version 1.10 released, which uses the beginning of a post as a title if the post does not have a title, and also trims long titles down to a decent size. Minor optimizations. regardinghackupdate.txt added for existing users, regardinghack.txt updated for new users.

Support
Please click the install button above if you install this hack.

The hack version of this modification will have no further updates, but I will still answer questions in this thread.

[WetWired]

Update (v1.10 2004-03-01)
Version 1.10 released, which uses the beginning of a post as a title if the post does not have a title, and also trims long titles down to a decent size. Minor optimizations. regardinghackupdate.txt added for existing users, regardinghack.txt updated for new users.

I decided that using the beginning of the post instead of "untitled post" was better than using the post number both from usability and overhead perspectives.

[ChurchMedia]

Very cool! Installed w/o a hitch.

Thanks!

[Martin CX]

It's a very nice hack, but you might want to consider renaming it since the search engine on this site won't search for "regarding".

Cheers

[WetWired]

Hmm, I changed the thread name, but I really don't know anything more searchable that describes it.

[Bison]

What happens if someone replies to another post inside the thread ... instead of the first post?

[ethics]

Originally Posted by Bison

What happens if someone replies to another post inside the thread ... instead of the first post?

It shows which post inside the thread that a person replied to.

[MickDoneDee]

Originally Posted by ethics

It shows which post inside the thread that a person replied to.

Thankyou for this useful hack. I've installed it on vB 3.0.3 without a problem. I clicked *install*.

In your txt document at the bottom you said: "The following is an example of the code that you might add to the postbit or postbit_legacy and (optionally) to postbit_deleted, postbit_ignore, and postbit_ignore_global templates, which demonstrates the use of all variables:"

I've only added the template change to postbit. How can I view these other templates you mention - postbit_deleted, postbit_ignore, and postbit_ignore_global templates - to decide whether to add the same changes to them. I don't know what these other templates do.

[Logikos]

You need to expand the Postbit Templates:

Postbit Templates [» «]
* postbit [Customize]
* postbit_attachment [Customize]
* postbit_attachmentimage [Customize]
* postbit_attachmentmoderated [Customize]
* postbit_attachmentthumbnail [Customize]
* postbit_deleted [Customize]
* postbit_ignore [Customize]
* postbit_ignore_global [Customize]
* postbit_ip [Customize]
* postbit_legacy [Customize]
* postbit_onlinestatus [Customize]
* postbit_reputation

[MickDoneDee]

Sorry Live Wire, my question was not clear. How can I view those templates in the forum to see the effect of the changes? I know where to see the effect of postbit changes in the showthread display. Where can those other templates be viewed within the forum?

postbit_deleted Is that the postbit left after a post has been soft-deleted?

postbit_ignore Is that the postbit left from a poster on someone's Ignore List?

postbit_ignore_global Is that the postbit left from a poster on the Global Ignore List?

[Logikos]

Originally Posted by MickDoneDee

Sorry Live Wire, my question was not clear. How can I view those templates in the forum to see the effect of the changes? I know where to see the effect of postbit changes in the showthread display. Where can those other templates be viewed within the forum?

postbit_deleted Is that the postbit left after a post has been soft-deleted?

postbit_ignore Is that the postbit left from a poster on someone's Ignore List?

postbit_ignore_global Is that the postbit left from a poster on the Global Ignore List?

You are correct MDD Sorry didn't understand the question.