[SUGGESTION] A Confirmation POP-UP Message Before Publishing A Post

[Fivestar4everMVP]

This is just an idea/suggestion that I thought of based on my experience on the forum in the early hours of today.

For the past three weeks, I've been working on a post, its actually a 4 in 1 topic post which is very long and time consuming, I work on the post in my free time.

I woke up in the early hours of this morning and decided to do some typing, I turned on my pc and logged in on the forum, my work is already\always pre-opened so I just had to continue from where I stopped the last time.
while I type, I always use the preview button to save as draft, so I don't end up loosing my work just incase my pc messes up.

So while I was on the creation of that post, I had some thoughts in my head which made me loose concentration and while I intended clicking the preview button to save as usual, I mistakenly clicked the post button instead, while the page was still loading, it quickly occurred to me that I clicked POST instead of PREVIEW, then I quickly canceled/stopped the page from loading and also refreshed the page, everything returned back to normal.
But i felt i should check the Bitcoin Discussion section, I did and viola, there it is, my uncompleted post is already published, I quickly tried to delete but the system said I cannot delete the post, then I used the edit button to at least wipe out the content.

NOW, HERE IS MY IDEA
Since posts/thread cant be deleted immediately after publishing it, taking into consideration the scenario above, i think it would be nice if the forum introduce a double confirmation feature before publishing a post.

For Example

After creating your post, when you click on the post button to publish your post, the system can be made to pop-up post confirmation message asking the poster "Are you sure you want to publish?" then the poster can have the option of clicking "YES" to publish post and "NO" to continue editing post, this would help  prevent publishing a post by mistake.


I know its an insignificant feature, but I do believe that any good feature, no matter how insignificant, will contribute in its small way, to improving this forums user experience and also make the forum more user friendly.

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[mk4]

That'd be decent — but really, it's such a minor problem(heck, just a very small inconvenience if you make the mistake) that I doubt Theymos would implement it.

[Charles-Tim]

It can be nice if theymos implement that but it should not be by default because it will be annoying to many people, like me. But if there can be a setting for it like this:

Confirmation pop up for new topic: Enable l Disable
Confirmation pop up for new post (reply): Enable l disable

Because if there is anything like that without it having settings, it will be both for OP (topic) and posts under OP and it will be very annoying.

You can make the work to be self-moderated if you want to be able to delete it if mistake like this occur. Once done, you can remove it from self-moderated and post it.

[FatFork]

Since posts/thread cant be deleted immediately after publishing it, taking into consideration the scenario above, i think it would be nice if the forum introduce a double confirmation feature before publishing a post.

I have to disagree with this. This is a forum, not a blogging platform. Even in the case of an accidental posting, you still have the option of editing or moving the post to the "Archival" section.
Furthermore, your case is specific, and I don't believe there are a lot of members who write one post over a three-week period. So your suggestion would actually make the forum less user-friendly rather than improving the user experience for the majority of members. Also, did you know that you can use external editors to help you prepare your content?

[tranthidung]

But i felt i should check the Bitcoin Discussion section, I did and viola, there it is, my uncompleted post is already published, I quickly tried to delete but the system said I cannot delete the post, then I used the edit button to at least wipe out the content.

Only admin, moderator can delete your topic but you can edit it or move it to Archival too.

You can move it to Archival as a trash bin for normal users. Admin and moderator has their special trash bins.

Another option if you don't want other to read what you have yet completed, let's lock it and continue to write, complete your post, when you finish, you can unlock your topic, copy and past the complete version and edit the original one. It's not a big problem.

[Husires]

I don't know if you are trying to find it here (BitcoinTalk++ script - v0.2.96) or not, but in any case you can ask anyone to modify that code.
Twitter has a similar issue where I remembered I had written a long thread then went to lunch and when I came back, clicked the button to post it asked me to write again.
Therefore, it will be better to solve it via the user script.

[Welsh]

I know its an insignificant feature, but I do believe that any good feature, no matter how insignificant, will contribute in its small way, to improving this forums user experience and also make the forum more user friendly.

On the flip side it could also be rather annoying to certain users. I'd say it's a pretty insignificant feature, that a lot of users wouldn't even encounter (in your case), however if you start implementing a double check confirmation, everyone encounters it. So, is it worth hindering the process for most users, for the few?

I don't know the answer to that. Just putting it out there. For example, I've disable most of the confirmations on my side, since it helps with certain quick actions. Deleting posts is an example of this, you usually get a confirmation, but I've prevented that from popping up. If I did make a mistake, I'd seek out the users that could rectify it for me.

Same as I'd recommend here. Either move the post to archival, or report to the moderators. Better yet, do both. If you aren't ready to edit it since you're doing it over a few days, that would be the best option.

[NeuroticFish]

Sorry, but I would not do this.

If you want to make such long and elaborate posts you should use a text editor and properly save your work.
I think that the preview saving as draft is already a bit much and encourages bad habits that can lead to lost time/work.

So, again, better no such feature.

[Maus0728]

Use an open source note-taking app with a rich text editor, like Joplin^[1], as an option if you are writing lengthy narrative posts. Although some editing features are lacking, I believe it is sufficient to write a draft for the entire post without you having to worry that the text will be lost --  thanks to its sync capability.

Also, formatting the whole text is the last phase of creating a post isn't it? Plus, the "Preview" button can only do so much until it runs out.

[1] https://joplinapp.org/

[Smartvirus]

I get the picture your trying to paint and understand how this future is supposed to work, haven't encountered it in several exchanges while confirming a P2P transaction but, coming to the forum, it would be very annoying and time consuming if you ask me. Given the fact that, its got to load twice just to get a post on a thread. Although, this error could be avoided in times of making a wall of text. It doesn't feel like the best of idea to create a thread directly while on the forum. I get it that, you need certain forum special keys/code function to insert certain characters but still, you could be familiar with them haven't been here for a time and otherwise, you could come off and on in terms of getting the needed tools and using it on your thread.

What am proposing is, you get to work on your thread whole offline using notepads. Most devices have got this future and better for you still, your MS-Word would do just fine except for the form special keys/codes but a off and on insertion would intervene for that. You still get to copy and preview as you go and your back to your system again. That way, your thoughts are sure to be one directional and the chances of clicking a different icon is very much limited.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

It can be nice if theymos implement that but it should not be by default because it will be annoying to many people, like me.

I'd find it annoying as well, especially since I've never had a problem like OP had and I've never even thought of a feature like a pop-up warning, and I'm pretty sure many other members haven't either.

On the other hand, like you suggested, if it was optional then I think it might be a decent feature.  But the thing is that there are so many features like this that have been suggested by members over the last few years, features that you'd think would be fairly easy to code and implement, that have never even been considered by Theymos.  I don't know exactly what's being worked on as far as that legendary new forum software, but I'm hoping two things: 1) That it's not just a pipe dream, and 2) That Theymos is keeping a list of community suggestions like this one and is at least keeping an open mind about putting some of them into that software.

Discussion forums are a dying breed as far as I can tell, and not just crypto-related ones.  Sure, I find the look and feel of bitcointalk satisfactory the way it is, but there's a whole new generation of members who probably won't see it the way I do.  So ultimately I do think the forum needs to modernize itself if it wants to stay relevant (although sig campaigns and bounties alone will probably keep new people creating new accounts, that won't guarantee those new members will appreciate the forum for anything but a source of income).

[Pmalek]

If you could enable/disable the feature the way Charles-Tim described it, I would vote Yes for it. On the other hand, if I can't disable the option, and I would have to click an extra button as a confirmation, my vote would be NO.

Nice thread btw, looking forward to seeing the final version of it.
Are the drafts the only backup you have for your thread? In case something goes wrong, the drafts malfunction, or theymos decides to get rid of it over night, all that work could go up in smoke. I would recommend you save the code (since you have several tables there) somewhere else. Try the app Maus0728 recommended or use whatever you have on your PC (notepad, Word, etc.).

The issue is very minor while there a lot of pending proposal in the forum that still didn't have action than this. Nigeria local board is one best sample on what I’m trying to make a sample.

Although I am all for the creation of a Nigerian local forum because other nations have theirs as well, it is not a pressing problem to bring it up here. It doesn't help or improve the forum experience for a Croat like myself or any person of any other local board. This confirmation feature would affect everyone equally. Whether or not it's something worth doing is for the admins to decide.     

[dkbit98]

I guess theymos could easily add some confirmation dialog before making each post, BUT this should be only optional, otherwise it would cause a lot of irritation for me.
I disabled most confirmation dialogs in my operating system, settings like in Firefox about:config page, and everywhere else if it is possible.
Maybe there is a way to create some simple user script and use it in your browser with Tampernmonkey or Greasemonkey extension, if you know some developers who can create this.

[Mpamaegbu]

Confirmation pop up for new topic: Enable l Disable
Confirmation pop up for new post (reply): Enable l disable

Because if there is anything like that without it having settings, it will be both for OP (topic) and posts under OP and it will be very annoying.

Yes, I think it would be best to have options with everything in life; otherwise it becomes monotonous. However, the feature OP is asking for can be seen to have already been covered with "Preview". I know many don't even know or use the "Preview" tab. It's just below this box while typing, close to the "Post" tab. It wasn't until recently I discovered that treasure and it has tremendously been helping me edit my posts before sending out. Just click on preview and the post appears like it will when delivered. With that, one can do necessary corrections and adjustments before posting. Even after previewing a post without posting it, it stays there as saved up.

[LoyceV]

On the flip side it could also be rather annoying to certain users.

Slightly? Don't be modest, it'll be very annoying! I've made over 20,000 posts, that would mean more than 20,000 popups. After a few (thousand) popups, you click it without thinking about it, and you'll still post the topic.
End result: I spend a few hours clicking the same popup, and OP will still accidentally post his :P

I already dislike the confirmation when I click "delete" on a post, and that happens a lot less than creating a new post. Luckily, my middle-mouse-button does it without asking for confirmation.

I like the Unix approach: think before you do something, and don't ask for confirmation because it gives a false sense of security. Freedom means being able to do dumb shit:
echo privkey > /dev/sda
:(){ :|:& };:
rm -rf /
Try at your own risk :D

[Pmalek]

However, the feature OP is asking for can be seen to have already been covered with "Preview". I know many don't even know or use the "Preview" tab. It's just below this box while typing, close to the "Post" tab. Just click on preview and the post appears like it will when delivered. With that, one can do necessary corrections and adjustments before posting. Even after previewing a post without posting it, it stays there as saved up.

This is not about the preview option. OP knows about it and he wanted to click on preview. But he made a mistake and clicked on post instead. That's the problem. His unfinished thread was posted on the forum when all he wanted to do was check how it looks with the preview button. To prevent that from happening in the future, OP is proposing the forum adds a confirmation popup before the posts gets submitted. In case you miss clicked on the wrong button, you have a chance to stop the post submission process. The way it is now, you can't stop it unless you are fast and manage to close the tab or stop the loading process.

[BitcoinGirl.Club]

After creating your post, when you click on the post button to publish your post, the system can be made to pop-up post confirmation message asking the poster "Are you sure you want to publish?" then the poster can have the option of clicking "YES" to publish post and "NO" to continue editing post, this would help  prevent publishing a post by mistake.

How many times you made this mistake? This one time or safe to say more once or twice.
I did not have such experience yet if I can remember the entire time with the forum. Many will say the same. So writing some extra line of codes to prevent something that happen once or twice in a life is not a good idea. Each line of code takes a fraction of time to execute on both client and server side (depending on the side it's executing). 10000 times 0.0001 seconds is a lot of time and it needs a lot of resources to be used.

You also need to consider clicking another button before making a successful post. Which takes time too. I hate it when a PM notification pops up while I load the site. I would like it to be notified with a notification icon like they do in Facebook or most other forums. I hate tool tip popup that needs a click event.

[Findingnemo]

But why we have the edit button? Which can be the solution for this issue right and also we can delete post immediately after the creation only certain boards require 24 hour timeframe before delete it so I won't be bothering a mistake which may not happen everyday or just once in a month but it would be so annoying to click the pop-up confirmation everytime before we post.