Post Formatting

[Masonjar13]

This is technically an enhancement, but would (hopefully) solve some issues, thus I decided to post it here.

New users often post for help with very poorly written questions, either being far too vague and/or posting no relevant code, where applicable. On some other forums I'm familiar with, they have a suggested posting format where we currently have Smilies, when posting a new topic or reply, on a per-category basis. That helped me greatly to know what the post should include, if applicable, and how to format it readably (not using code-tags is also a big thing, making code difficult to read).

My suggestion is to implement category-specific formatting above the smilies when a user creates a new thread or reply. This should be of great help to new users looking for help, and decrease the time spent helping them for other users, as well as decreasing the chance of possible frustration, creating a more efficient environment.

[Blackholyman]

sounds like a good idea just looked for it but only found this

https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=2307236
https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/exte ... st_models/

[Masonjar13]

I'm not sure what forum software they're using, but here is an image.

Spoiler

Edit: In case you're wondering, blurred due to it being a members-only forum, don't want anyone mad at me.

Edit 2: I have a bad habit of editing my posts.
The first link is viable, but I think would probably be annoying to regular users. The second I think is too hidden/not obvious enough, but would otherwise be a good option.

[joedf]

This would good for Ask For Help and Bug Reports.

[Masonjar13]

Gonna give this a little nudge. Is this in the works or on back-order?

[joedf]

Kind of back order... :p
I would like there the downsides if there are any?

[Masonjar13]

Can't think of any explicit downsides, except for taking the time to actually implement it. Depending on the decided style, it may have to be written in manually. Not really sure how phpBB works, or php in general (the paradigm, that is). Guessing you could just slip it in above the smilies, just slightly modifying the already existing template, theoretically making it trivial work.

[guest3456]

couldn't you just prepopulate the body field with instructions?

[joedf]

More or less a simple matter of installing one of these...

sounds like a good idea just looked for it but only found this
https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=2307236
https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/exte ... st_models/

[tank]

Im confused as to why you think any if any new posters will even observe any template

[Masonjar13]

I certainly would have. I first started using forums with the old AHK forum, and I had no idea how to format posts. I would have benefited greatly from having a template.

I can't assume new users are blatantly ignorant or stupid, that's bad judgment. If it is pre-populated in the actual edit field, they certainly can't miss it. They would have to actively, consciously clear the field to not use it. As long as the user knows it's there. Even if they don't use it, they're much more likely to read it and include important details they may have otherwise left out.