User defined post lists/series/threads/playlists, the ability to follow them and get notified when they're updated
F
Foodstuff
started a topic
over 1 year ago
I enjoy following ongoing series of posts - seeing thoughts and approaches evolve as time goes on.
I don't obsessively stare at cohost all day... but I also have ADHD so I'm constantly afraid of missing something cool because I wasn't paying attention.
There are some people who are making series of posts about projects they're working on of which I do not want to miss any entry. The way that cohost works makes this very stressful.
It's excellent that mido has created a list of the posts in the series (he's even pinned it!) but there's no way for me to know it has been updated. The only way I know to this is to keep this page open in a tab and then remember to go and refresh that tab (without the tab I'd just forget because ADHD).
cohost is positioning itself as micro-blogging platform and one of the best features any blog can have is the ability to link posts together into a series so people can navigate through them.
Maybe I've arrived at post 10 of 10 and I'd like to go to the start and see where we came from? Under the current system that, at best, involves scrolling through someone's user page with shares and replies turned off (which isn't a foolproof solution if they're a prolific poster).
I'm bringing that other proposal up because one of the comments suggests that "editing the post [you] already have" is preferable.
I'm not sure what this achieves on the reader side? As far as I know I don't get notified when a post I like has been edited? Does it get re-shared so I'd have to chance encounter it in my feed?
Not all blogging is a free-flowing stream of consciousness. Sometimes contents are loosely connected but still related enough to warrant a connection.
This also collides with my ADHD - I can't concentrate on a 3000+ word blog post if I'm not very intensely interested in the subject. Breaking up long content into discrete chunks is a way for me to both track where I am and prevent the content from being overwhelming. (Going from one discrete "thing" to another kinda resets my brain a little.)
No-Effort Solution: Just Use A Unique Tag For All The Posts
This isn't much better than keeping a tab open imo.
You currently can't get notified when something is posted to a given tag (a feature that might make whoever's in charge of infra break out in hives)
Nothing stops tags from "colliding" unless you give it a hacky name that makes them hard to use and/or surface
I wasn't aware until literally now that you can see a list of the individual tags you've bookmarked because that feature has terrible UX
Barely There: User Unique Tags
Allow users to create tags that are unique to their account by adding some meta information that can't be specified outside of the ui: "#my-thread@foodstuff" or something like that.
Basically only defeats the "collision" problem.
Better if we could turn on notifications for posts to "user unique" tags.
MVP (IMO): Next Post Feature & Notifications
Folks can edit their post to specify which of their own posts is the "next" post in a series (maybe only their own posts to avoid abuse). Folks who have liked that post get a notification that the author has linked a "next post".
Relies on authors being diligent about their own posts but gets the job done.
Relies on folks always liking every post in a series to get the notification for the next one. "Brittle" in that way.
Next Level: Next Posts
Because one-to-one relations are the root of all evil.
Folks can edit their post to add a list of posts that follow on from the current one.
This would allow folks like mido (above) to make a single table of contents post and allow folks to "follow" that instead of remembering to like every post in sequence.
Also means there's only one place for a user to update their "list".
Next Level: Link To Previous Post
When creating a post, allow a user to specify which post their new post is a sequel to. This basically automates the first two suggestions.
Ideal Feature: Custom User Lists/Series/Threads
This is the full fat version of what I'm personally looking for.
Allow users to create "lists/series/threads". Basically an ordered list of posts that can be edited whenever. Users can specify which of their lists their new posts are added to at post creation. Better yet add a "new post" button to the list to automatically populate that field. (Bonus points: allow users to add a description to their lists, which is basically a that's displayed inline at the top.)
Surface these lists/series/threads on a user's profile. Allow a user to order threads as they see fit.
Allow a user to pin one/more of their lists to their profile so it's the first thing folks see.
Allow folk to follow a specific list/series/thread and get notified when it gets updated. This is basically another "bookmarked tabs" page.
(Bonus points: allow users to group their lists/series/threads to keep them organised. Creator-side on their page and user-side in their follows.)
(Extra bonus points: allow creators to group posts internally in a list/series/thread. Similar to the HTML optgroup tag.)
Foodstuff
I enjoy following ongoing series of posts - seeing thoughts and approaches evolve as time goes on.
I don't obsessively stare at cohost all day... but I also have ADHD so I'm constantly afraid of missing something cool because I wasn't paying attention.
There are some people who are making series of posts about projects they're working on of which I do not want to miss any entry. The way that cohost works makes this very stressful.
For example, I'm trying my best to follow this series of posts: https://cohost.org/mido/post/1210490-rust-mp-game-program
It's excellent that mido has created a list of the posts in the series (he's even pinned it!) but there's no way for me to know it has been updated. The only way I know to this is to keep this page open in a tab and then remember to go and refresh that tab (without the tab I'd just forget because ADHD).
cohost is positioning itself as micro-blogging platform and one of the best features any blog can have is the ability to link posts together into a series so people can navigate through them.
Maybe I've arrived at post 10 of 10 and I'd like to go to the start and see where we came from? Under the current system that, at best, involves scrolling through someone's user page with shares and replies turned off (which isn't a foolproof solution if they're a prolific poster).
I'll acknowledge that this is kind of a duplicate of https://help.antisoftware.club/support/discussions/topics/62000183123 but I feel that's suggesting something distinctly different from what I'm proposing here.
I'm bringing that other proposal up because one of the comments suggests that "editing the post [you] already have" is preferable.
I'm not sure what this achieves on the reader side? As far as I know I don't get notified when a post I like has been edited? Does it get re-shared so I'd have to chance encounter it in my feed?
Not all blogging is a free-flowing stream of consciousness. Sometimes contents are loosely connected but still related enough to warrant a connection.
This also collides with my ADHD - I can't concentrate on a 3000+ word blog post if I'm not very intensely interested in the subject. Breaking up long content into discrete chunks is a way for me to both track where I am and prevent the content from being overwhelming. (Going from one discrete "thing" to another kinda resets my brain a little.)
No-Effort Solution: Just Use A Unique Tag For All The Posts
This isn't much better than keeping a tab open imo.
Barely There: User Unique Tags
Allow users to create tags that are unique to their account by adding some meta information that can't be specified outside of the ui: "#my-thread@foodstuff" or something like that.
Basically only defeats the "collision" problem.
Better if we could turn on notifications for posts to "user unique" tags.
(Bonus points: allow users to group their lists/series/threads to keep them organised. Creator-side on their page and user-side in their follows.)
(Extra bonus points: allow creators to group posts internally in a list/series/thread. Similar to the HTML optgroup tag.)
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