'My Posts' button

A lot of threads on MSE Forum quickly stagnate or don't reach a satisfactory conclusion because the original poster never returns.

It seems likely that this is often because the original poster simply doesn't know how to find their thread. Due to the high posting rate here, threads disappear from the front pages of their respective forum in a short time.

A prominent 'My Posts' button that is always visible in the Forum would help thread-starters find their posts and thereby give better continuity and resolution to threads.
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  • Robin9
    Robin9 Posts: 12,056
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    I agree.

    I often chip in but then can't find the thread I've posted on and have to do a search by my user name.
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  • sarah1972
    sarah1972 Posts: 18,858
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    Just hit your username and then you will see all posts is there.
    I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Competitions Time, Shopping & Freebies boards, Employment, Jobseeking & Training boards If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • I_Love_comps
    I_Love_comps Posts: 2,290
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    The other option to keep up to date with threads that you are interested in is subscribe to them. If you wish to subscribe to a thread then visit the thread you wish to keep up with (even your own thread), and at the top of the thread click subscribe.
    I am a Senior Ambassador on the Competitions Time Board and the Old Style MoneySaving Board.
    If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators.  Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.



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  • coffeehound
    coffeehound Posts: 5,649
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    sarah1972 wrote: »
    Just hit your username and then you will see all posts is there.
    The other option to keep up to date with threads that you are interested in is subscribe to them. If you wish to subscribe to a thread then visit the thread you wish to keep up with (even your own thread), and at the top of the thread click subscribe.

    I think a problem with these methods is they require some prior knowledge, whereas a first-time poster probably won't know about them. (I'd been here probably two years before working out you can click your username to find previous posts!) An obvious button to find previous posts is required IMO.
  • sarah1972
    sarah1972 Posts: 18,858
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    I think a problem with these methods is they require some prior knowledge, whereas a first-time poster probably won't know about them. (I'd been here probably two years before working out you can click your username to find previous posts!) An obvious button to find previous posts is required IMO.

    I see what you mean but if a new user has no prior knowledge, they only have to post on here and users will point them in the right direction.
    I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Competitions Time, Shopping & Freebies boards, Employment, Jobseeking & Training boards If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • Wizard_of_Id
    Wizard_of_Id Posts: 5,512 Forumite
    You don't say which version you are on but I am on the old green version and just use the 'user CP' button from any page and it takes me straight to the list of subscribed thread with recent posts.
  • coffeehound
    coffeehound Posts: 5,649
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    edited 12 March 2017 at 8:15AM
    You don't say which version you are on but I am on the old green version and just use the 'user CP' button from any page and it takes me straight to the list of subscribed thread with recent posts.

    Yes the green version here too. The User CP button only brings up subscribed threads rather than recent posts.
    sarah1972 wrote: »
    I see what you mean but if a new user has no prior knowledge, they only have to post on here and users will point them in the right direction.

    That's just not happening though and instead people give up and never return to their thread. The fact that 40% of people who post on the forum only ever make one post illustrates the problem!

    .
  • Mandelbrot
    Mandelbrot Posts: 9,139
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    edited 12 March 2017 at 12:39PM
    Yes the green version here too. The User CP button only brings up subscribed threads rather than recent posts.
    The way I would search for a previous, fairly recent post of mine ... necessary when a BG/Moderator moves a thread to another board ... is to do what sarah1972 describes above.
    Click on my username at the top of the screen (the "Welcome, username. You last visited ..." part), then click on the 'Statistics' tab, and then on the "Find all posts by (yourself)" option.
    This normally works for me, and of course if my post is not there at all it will tell me that my post, together with possibly hundreds of other similarly innocent posts, has been deleted because the whole thread has been deleted, just because one or two posts by others were deemed unacceptable. C'est la vie.

    But I accept that this 'stepping through screens' is not that obvious to a newbie.
    However, all new users will of course now be on the 'blue version' (by default).
    As I use that version as little as possible (I want to avoid headaches and retain my eyesight ;)), I am not able to comment on how easy it is to find previous posts on that version.
    That's just not happening though and instead people give up and never return to their thread.
    Strictly speaking, we probably don't know whether "people give up and never return to their thread".
    Yes, they might not post on it again, but it might simply be that they have returned to the thread, read the responses, received a satisfactory answer to their question, and have no need to post anything further.
    There are of course other reasons why some users never return to a thread they started ... :whistle:
    The fact that 40% of people who post on the forum only ever make one post illustrates the problem!
    No. It is simply a statistic. Like many other statistics about this forum, it is interesting. But the meaning behind it can be various and complicated. It does not necessarily imply a 'problem' that new users are having.
    .
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  • coffeehound
    coffeehound Posts: 5,649
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    Mandelbrot wrote: »
    Strictly speaking, we probably don't know whether "people give up and never return to their thread".
    Yes, they might not post on it again, but it might simply be that they have returned to the thread, read the responses, received a satisfactory answer to their question, and have no need to post anything further.
    There are of course other reasons why some users never return to a thread they started ... :whistle:

    No. It is simply a statistic. Like many other statistics about this forum, it is interesting. But the meaning behind it can be various and complicated. It does not necessarily imply a 'problem' that new users are having.

    Yes I wasn't seeking to imply that all 40% make only one post for this reason, but the fact that I and other posters have had this difficulty shows that there is a problem. Something as fundamental to a forum as re-finding one's own posts really shouldn't be as difficult as it is here.
  • Mandelbrot
    Mandelbrot Posts: 9,139
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    Something as fundamental to a forum as re-finding one's own posts really shouldn't be as difficult as it is here.

    Agreed.

    A slightly quicker way, if you are a frequent poster and depending on where you are in the system of course, is to click on your username in a particular post. That will bring a drop-down box, of which one of the options is "Find more posts by (you)".

    This is on the 'Green' version. I can't remember if something similar exists on the 'Blue' version.
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