Not "HOT" enough!

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

Well, as most of you probably know we have “HOT” topics which means, if I’m not mistaken, that a thread received forty replies or more (this number was bumped up from twenty, I think).

 

With all due respect, I find this feature useless. We have threads from October that have not had replies since then yet are considered “hot” merely because they received forty replies.

 

Also, if I’m not mistaken, Feld0 and his staff have been attempting to make users more aware of new content. That would explain the “Topics you’ve participated in” and “Recently updated topics” updaters at the top of the main page.

 

 

 

 

Rather than have “HOT” topics mean the thread has reached a certain numerical value in total posts, can it be repurposed to meaning the thread has recently had a decent amount of replies in a short period of time?

 

In other words, so we know which topics are currently active!

 

At the top of the page, I think it would be much more useful to have a “hot topics” updater, rather or in addition to the other two updaters (although to avoid cluttering, maybe one or more of these can be made like a tab, similar to how you close the “tab” of the “Upcoming Calendar Events” bar or even any forum).

 

Assuming this updater’s “hot topics” was based off what I proposed above, I think it would be a great addition. I find myself unable to keep up with all the threads that are currently very active. This would make it simple to know which topics are “hot” and which are not.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Lady Rarity Pony

[Strife 455]

Not sure if that could be done with the current software, but it would certainly be nice to have. Possibly can be done with a custom hook.

 

Having fast active topics be flagged as HOT would be a decent way to promote popular threads. In addition, but a section that lists the current top X amount (5 to 8) topics, similar to "recent threads" section.

 

That said, excluding certain areas may be a wise move. For example, Roleplay World (since it usually requires a sign-up) and Cloudsdale Colosseum (since it is a 'spammy' area).

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

That said, excluding certain areas may be a wise move. For example, Roleplay World (since it usually requires a sign-up) and Cloudsdale Colosseum (since it is a 'spammy' area).

 

This is a good point. Roleplay and Cloudsdale would need to be excluded. Their posts are more about games and silliness rather than active discussion.

[Jokuc 8,173]

Yeah I also want the "hot" things to be changed. It's like every single topic is hot or something. It is just confusing

[Killian Jones 2,655]

This is perhaps an issue with how IBP sets up Hot Topics, but it is excellent feedback nonetheless, if this is impossible currently then perhaps it should be suggested to creators to make the system slightly better and add the ability to do reply cutoffs.

 

Although really hot topics don't serve any real purpose and may be a misnomer. They are really "Big topics" or "Fast topics". Tring to define what a hot topic means is difficult in and of itself.

[Strife 455]

This is perhaps an issue with how IBP sets up Hot Topics, but it is excellent feedback nonetheless, if this is impossible currently then perhaps it should be suggested to creators to make the system slightly better and add the ability to do reply cutoffs.

 

Although really hot topics don't serve any real purpose and may be a misnomer. They are really "Big topics" or "Fast topics". Tring to define what a hot topic means is difficult in and of itself.

 

"Hot Topic"

• [noun] A retail chain in the United States that sells clothing and accessories that deal with pop culture in addition to selling licensed music.
• [noun] A heavily active theme of conversation that attracts frequent responses within a short span of time.