[SUGGESTION] Have a "follow" option that doesn't add show to homepage

[SoMuchTV]

I don't know if this is even something you can customize in the forum software, but you don't know if you don't ask, so...

Could there be a way to follow a show with notifications, but not have it added to our homepage?  There are a lot of shows I've once watched and still have interest in, but don't need to add to the hundreds already on my homepage.  I just want to get a notification if someone adds a comment to the thread.

It's becoming more of an issue with the reorganization of the documentaries.  Previously, if a doc was a thread within a parent category, it didn't seem to add it to my homepage when I followed it, it just sent me notifications.  Now, it seems like even though the docs are the lowest level (a thread inside a parent category like "HBO Documentaries"), they're still being added as separate shows to my homepage if I want to follow them.

Is it possible to customize the "follow" options to accommodate that?

[CM-BlueButterfly]

I'll ask the people who know. 

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

I don't know if this is even something you can customize in the forum software, but you don't know if you don't ask, so...

Could there be a way to follow a show with notifications, but not have it added to our homepage?  There are a lot of shows I've once watched and still have interest in, but don't need to add to the hundreds already on my homepage.  I just want to get a notification if someone adds a comment to the thread.

It's becoming more of an issue with the reorganization of the documentaries.  Previously, if a doc was a thread within a parent category, it didn't seem to add it to my homepage when I followed it, it just sent me notifications.  Now, it seems like even though the docs are the lowest level (a thread inside a parent category like "HBO Documentaries"), they're still being added as separate shows to my homepage if I want to follow them.

Is it possible to customize the "follow" options to accommodate that?

Thinking more about this… maybe it’s a bug?  Or at least inconsistent. If I follow the lowest level thread on a show (typically an episode thread), it doesn’t add it to my homepage. But now if I follow a documentary that has no lower level threads, it does add it to my homepage. So maybe it is something you (admins? Techs?) can control? 

[CM-BlueButterfly]

Just now, SoMuchTV said:

Thinking more about this… maybe it’s a bug?  Or at least inconsistent. If I follow the lowest level thread on a show (typically an episode thread), it doesn’t add it to my homepage. But now if I follow a documentary that has no lower level threads, it does add it to my homepage. So maybe it is something you (admins? Techs?) can control? 

All true what you're saying. 

The key is the indexing. Indexing makes the show/topic search-able on the forum's homepage, however, it also makes them show up on your personalized homepage. 

Episode threads aren't indexed. If you search for them on the forum's homepage, they don't show up (they do show up when you go into a forum and search "everywhere", though) but they also don't show up on your personalized homepage. 

I can ask if there's a way to index a show/topic and not have it appear on the personalized homepage. Or I can de-index the topics.

I'd defer to you and your fellow members on what you consider more convenient/practical. 

[SoMuchTV]

10 minutes ago, CM-BlueButterfly said:

I can ask if there's a way to index a show/topic and not have it appear on the personalized homepage. Or I can de-index the topics.

I'd defer to you and your fellow members on what you consider more convenient/practical. 

Well since the search function is pretty useless right now, I’m not sure indexing the topics is gaining us much. But that’s just my opinion. I’d be curious if anyone else is even noticing the issue and wants to weigh in. 

Best option in my opinion would be if you get a positive answer to this 

Quote

I can ask if there's a way to index a show/topic and not have it appear on the personalized homepage.

 

[AllAstronauts]

The shows stuff piggy-backs on the stock Forums software and the follow feature there.

When you follow a single forum, that as you know, adds it to your shows homepage and such. Working as intended. 

As pointed out above, following a TOPIC within a show works since that is not a "show" itself, only the forum is, so you can get around this hitch by following topics alone.

There is a major new version of the software being released later this year so I'll just say this CAN be done (even now actually...) but maybe this waits until then when everything can get a good long look and maybe this all gets re-engineered from the ground up, which is what this opportunity will present anyways as the software will need to be at least partially re-written to upgrade at all. Note that the major new version releasing this year does not mean the upgrade will happen right then when it is released. Oh no... This will still be some time down the line. I'm in the private Alpha and even us bums in that group have only interacted with the front end. Haven't even sniffed the development changes yet and we know they are substantial.

Still, if the Powers-That-Be yell in my direction I might be able to throw a check on the follow button giving you the option of show or no-show. Or maybe a separate follow button? 

[SoMuchTV]

9 minutes ago, AllAstronauts said:

When you follow a single forum, that as you know, adds it to your shows homepage and such. Working as intended. 

As pointed out above, following a TOPIC within a show works since that is not a "show" itself, only the forum is, so you can get around this hitch by following topics alone.

I’m not sure the second paragraph ^^ is true anymore, though. Until a few days ago, forums I follow show up on my homepage, but topics I follow did not. Which is the way I expected and want. But now, a lot of topics (single or limited-episode documentaries) I follow are also on my homepage. Which is just too much, for me. 

Just want to make sure you’re talking about the issue I’m seeing. 

[CM-BlueButterfly]

4 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I’m not sure the second paragraph ^^ is true anymore, though. Until a few days ago, forums I follow show up on my homepage, but topics I follow did not. Which is the way I expected and want. But now, a lot of topics (single or limited-episode documentaries) I follow are also on my homepage. Which is just too much, for me. 

Just want to make sure you’re talking about the issue I’m seeing. 

I apologize if it got lost in the discussion but I did index the documentary topics. (Not the most recent ones but those before that). That's the reason they're showing up as "recently added" and that's why they're showing up on the customized homepage. 

But it's not general practice to index a topic. Hence, AllAstronauts' statement that you can follow a topic without them showing up on the customized homepage.

Non-indexed shows/topics don't show up in the TV show index. They also can't be searched on the forum's homepage (which is the more convenient option if you want to search for something you don't know if it exists or aren't entirely sure what the title is/was or where it aired). 
While they can be searched for in-forum, it's rather inconvenient (I know it was addressed with the person responsible (not AllAstronauts) but I'll check with them about the status) and likely not an obvious option to a new(er) user.

When it comes to documentaries/topics where it's preferrable that they're more visible, you'd basically have to know they're there when they're not indexed. So, indexing them definitely has its plusses. 

The downside is, that any indexed topic shows up on the customized homepage. 

Currently, members can decide what they want to follow, but whether it shows up on the customized homepage depends on the index status. 
@AllAstronauts' suggestion of creating a show/no-show option (which I like) would give control of that to the member and I think that's where it should be. 

 

 

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 6/9/2024 at 5:52 PM, AllAstronauts said:

Still, if the Powers-That-Be yell in my direction I might be able to throw a check on the follow button giving you the option of show or no-show. Or maybe a separate follow button? 

Just want to ask that you keep maintenance in mind so that users can find their list of no-show/follow-only forums to remove them from follow or move them to show.

[SoMuchTV]

@CM-BlueButterfly

@AllAstronauts

Any updates on this? It’s great that the “search” at the top of the home page now can find pretty much any show (due to indexing, I guess?) but kind of cumbersome that every documentary I follow is now on my homepage (again, due to indexing, I’m assuming). 

It would be great if there were a middle ground option where we could follow something with notifications only, without it populating on the homepage. 

Edited June 30 by SoMuchTV
Adding tags in case they don’t get automatically notified