Unfollow Thread

RATM

So you follow a thread. Fair enough, although following is what paedophiles do I'm still with ya.

Next thing you know the tab is saying 'Unfollow Thread'; WTF?? What the hell is 'Unfollow'? That's not a word.

Just as you can't unrun or unwalk or even unstalk how can you 'unfollow'? This ain't Twitter, this is boards.ie so we need a uniquely Irish solution to an Irish problem.

I propose we ask to get it changed from 'Unfollow Thread' to 'Feck Off Thread'.

Sharpshooter

Feck Off Thread is delicious imo.

When a thread really annoys me ( and is not in a forum I moderate ) I would relish clicking on what you propose rather than Unfollow or Unsubscribe.

It would be satisfying to say the least and would prompt me to click for the simple reason that you get satisfaction from clicking the option you put forward.

Just to be clear here, the OP started this thread in AHs and I directed him here.

OldGoat

Change them to the "Board this" and "Bored now" buttons.

Though the 'Feck Off' button is a +1.

seamus

RATM wrote: »

Just as you can't unrun or unwalk or even unstalk how can you 'unfollow'? This ain't Twitter, this is boards.ie so we need a uniquely Irish solution to an Irish problem.

Think about that for a second. Think about the context. The prefix "un-" basically means to reverse an action. No you can't unrun, unwalk or unstalk. Once you've done those things, they're done, they can't be reversed. However, if you're following a thread, then yes you can reverse that action and stop following it - unfollow it.

"Unlike" isn't a word in terms of "no longer liking" (though it is a word in other contexts), however it's perfectly cromulent.

In fact, there is nothing stopping you from putting "un-" before any word, provided that it makes sense.

Wibbs

seamus wrote: »

however it's perfectly cromulent.

Oh no you didnt

Eoin

Seamus just embiggened the thread.

pickarooney

seamus wrote: »

Think about that for a second. Think about the context. The prefix "un-" basically means to reverse an action.

No you can't unrun, unwalk or unstalk. Once you've done those things, they're done, they can't be reversed. However, if you're following a thread, then yes you can reverse that action and stop following it - unfollow it.

"Unlike" isn't a word in terms of "no longer liking" (though it is a word in other contexts), however it's perfectly cromulent.

In fact, there is nothing stopping you from putting "un-" before any word, provided that it makes sense.

Sorry seamus, but that's just nonsense.

If you run and then you stop running, you don't unrun. You simply stop running.
If you follow and then stop following, you don't unfollow. You stop following.

seamus

pickarooney wrote: »

Sorry seamus, but that's just nonsense.

If you run and then you stop running, you don't unrun. You simply stop running.
If you follow and then stop following, you don't unfollow. You stop following.

That depends on the context. If you think of following in the "I'm walking behind you" context, then you're right. But when you think of it in terms of the "I'm subscribed to thread" context, then it's perfectly valid. If you can undo what you've done, then "Un-" is a valid prefix. You can't "undo" your run - the calories have been burned, time has moved on. But you can "undo" the action of "following" a thread. You can't however undo the action of following a person.

pickarooney

Exactly, but 'follow' can only be used in the sense of a continuous action and not as a verb of changing state. In order to be able to use it as the latter, boards would have to completely redefine the verb, the way it did with 'infract'.

seamus

Not really. It can also mean "to watch the progress of", which in a loose interpretation could be a changing state. You're watching it's progress or you're not.

Language is supposed to evolve. Facebook has redefine "unlike", why can't boards redefine "follow"? Stop being so rigid and old. Man.

pickarooney

But you can't 'unwatch' either, or 'unmonitor' for that matter. I'm all for inventing new words when the need arises, and even for adapting the meaning of a word with the passage of time, but I can't get on board with something that flies in the face of linguistic logic.

Facebook can fuсk off.

star-pants

I liked 'subscribe' - because it did what it said, brought me threads from the forums I want.
'Follow' means you're doing the work, which you're not in this case, the threads are brought to you in your subbed section.

I'm all for change, I just dislike the new terms.

/my 2c

TequilaMockingBird

Wibbs wrote: »

Oh no you didnt

Oh yes he diiiid.

Girlfriend.

Wazdakka

Bring back the Subscribing I say...

Down with this twitter terminology nonsense.

Elmo

Has twitter taken over Boards next we will be asked if we "like" posts


Sorry, if this is the wrong forum.

DeVore

We really did kick this about before doing anything but we couldnt come up with a better term (and while I lol'ed at "Feck Off Thread", it isnt a serious option )

Unfollow is clear and while its a bit weird, I dont think anyone will be confused as to what it does, which in the end of the day is the primary purpose of communication.

DeV.

I had to check, but we are now living in George Orwell's 1984. Which in my opinion is doubleplusungood

Zaph

Probably better suited to Feedback than the Help Desk

pickarooney

Already a thread on this

El Weirdo

Elmo wrote: »

...next we will be asked if we "like" posts

Erm... the thanks button?

Zaph

pickarooney wrote: »

Already a thread on this

So there is, threads merged

Gordon

You can undo something, so you can undo anything if it makes sense to a lot of people. It's the only way our language can evolve to infinity and beyond.

pickarooney

Gordon wrote: »

You can undo something, so you can undo anything if it makes sense to a lot of people. It's the only way our language can evolve to infinity and beyond.

So that's why boards undid the 'subscribe' button - because it made sense to a lot of people.

This should probably get kicked to English so the grammar nazis can condemn it righteously while the rest of boards just gets on with using it.

Elmo

El Weirdo wrote: »

Erm... the thanks button?

And it should stay that way

http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1SVEA_enIE377IE378&q=define:+unfollow&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

The portuguese would want to watch the dumbing down of their language.

Should I unsubscribe from this thread?

pickarooney

So (according to that portuguese dictionary of twitter) this 'unfollow' business did not originate here but on that other... site.

Elmo

pickarooney wrote: »

So (according to that portuguese dictionary of twitter) this 'unfollow' business did not originate here but on that other... site.

How about Stop Following Thread? Or more simply unsubscribe.

RATM

DeVore wrote: »

We really did kick this about before doing anything but we couldnt come up with a better term (and while I lol'ed at "Feck Off Thread", it isnt a serious option )

Unfollow is clear and while its a bit weird, I dont think anyone will be confused as to what it does, which in the end of the day is the primary purpose of communication.

DeV.

Well my campaign to bring in 'Feck off thread' won't die here If I sponsor the Santa Strike Force for 20 quid this Xmas can we have it showing Feck Off Thread for 24 hours at least? I'm sure more people would get on board. I'm serious btw

Elmo

RATM wrote: »

Well my campaign to bring in 'Feck off thread' won't die here If I sponsor the Santa Strike Force for 20 quid this Xmas can we have it showing Feck Off Thread for 24 hours at least? I'm sure more people would get on board. I'm serious btw

Shouldn't that be "Thread, Feck Off"?

pickarooney

If you were following a thread, say, to help you get out of a labyrinth on Minos, and you didn't want to do that any more, you would simply drop the thread.

Elmo

pickarooney wrote: »

If you were following a thread, say, to help you get out of a labyrinth on Minos, and you didn't want to do that any more, you would simply drop the thread.

DROP THREAD sounds very like a techie-speak.

pickarooney

Elmo wrote: »

DROP THREAD sounds very like a techie-speak.

Only to a techie who would be aware of alternative uses of 'drop' and 'thread' though

Wazdakka

I still think this whole follow, unfollow, my forums thing is a load of poo.
I preferred the "Subscribe" system..

Gordon

But then there's a comparison with 'subscribing' to boards.ie, which needs to then be explained to more people. Hate to sound like Sir Humphrey from Yes Minister again, but that way takes up admin time and makes boards just that little bit more difficult to understand for the uninitiated.

Elmo

Gordon wrote: »

But then there's a comparison with 'subscribing' to boards.ie, which needs to then be explained to more people. Hate to sound like Sir Humphrey from Yes Minister again, but that way takes up admin time and makes boards just that little bit more difficult to understand for the uninitiated.

You are correct in saying that to the uninitiated boardster that subscribing to boards is the earliest point at which you come in contact with the word subscribe, indeed the word is actually register on first entrance to boards. Newbie could be forgive for getting such words mixed up. It would not be wrong, therefore, for older more experienced board members to think that threads and forums should be subscribed to rather than followed and as a whole you registers to be a boardster. The uninitiated boardster would then surely come to the conclusion that one registers and then one subscribes.

pickarooney

Subscribing is not the same as registering!

Gordon

Yes, there's the confusion with Subscribing to a thread and Registering to signup to boards to get posting privileges. And there's also Subscribing to boards by way of paying a fee to receive benefits such as larger avatar and custom taglines. 3 instances where 'subscribe' can be confused.

Elmo

Gordon wrote: »

Yes, there's the confusion with Subscribing to a thread and Registering to signup to boards to get posting privileges. And there's also Subscribing to boards by way of paying a fee to receive benefits such as larger avatar and custom taglines. 3 instances where 'subscribe' can be confused.

1. Register to become a member
2. Subscribe to be alerted to forums or threads of interest to you
3. Paid Subscriptions - Didn't know they existed

The further problem with Follow is that the Control Panel uses the word subscribe through out user settings.

Gordon

Elmo wrote: »

1. Register to become a member
2. Subscribe to be alerted to forums or threads of interest to you
3. Paid Subscriptions - Didn't know they existed

Yeah, that's how it's been described all these years, but it got changed partly due to the confusion around this, people still don't get it when you have to explain to them the differences.

The further problem with Follow is that the Control Panel uses the word subscribe through out user settings.

Good point, might try dropping that in the Site Development forum to request consistency, not sure if it's technically feasible to edit all occurances, but it could be put on the list.

Elmo

Gordon wrote: »

Good point, might try dropping that in the Site Development forum to request consistency, not sure if it's technically feasible to edit all occurances, but it could be put on the list.

And mention that rather than changing the word subscribe that we ditch follow.

pickarooney

Seems to me it would have made more sense to change the one term which affects a small number of users (subscribe to 'pledge' or something for paid membership) that two terms which affect a larger number of users (subscribe to thread/forum).

Orla99

Would like to unfollow a thread..

El Guapo!

Orla99 wrote: »

Would like to unfollow a thread..

This genuinely made me lol.

Click the unfollow button at the top of the thread in question.

oscarBravo

Old thread is old.

Gordon

How did you unopen this thread oscarBravo?

oscarBravo

I simply ununlocked it.

Gordon

I don't ununderstand now.