Prefixes a guide or overall info please

[DigNap15]

is there any good info on Prefixes
How they work etc

I have never used them, But I at looking at ways of making some threads stand out.

 

[Bionic Rooster]

is there any good info on Prefixes
How they work etc

I have never used them, But I at looking at ways of making some threads stand out.

Have you looked here? https://xenforo.com/community/searc...st&c[child_nodes]=1&c[nodes][0]=2&o=relevance

 

[DigNap15]

Yes I did search for Prefix's
There are pages and pages but very specialised and mostly requests for extra features

What I want is an overview of Prefixes
What they do
How to set them up
Who can assign them etc etc

I dont want to start using them and then it turns to garbage

 

[zappaDPJ]

This video explains how it works: https://xenforo.com/community/threads/thread-prefixes.19936/

 

[sanction9]

Like tags, but you get to assign a specific range of choices, and only those choices, on a per node basis that are user-selectable, rather then allowing users to use anything they want (like tags, which won't match up for filtering unless users use the same words/phrases and always spell them exactly the same.)

 

[DigNap15]

Like tags, but you get to assign a specific range of choices, and only those choices, on a per node basis that are user-selectable, rather then allowing users to use anything they want (like tags, which won't match up for filtering unless users use the same words/phrases and always spell them exactly the same.)

HI
Thanks for that
I'm using Xenforo
And I'm not even using tags (I don't think I've heard of them)
Looks like I'll have to study those as well

 

[Nev_Dull]

I don't like them. Conceptually, prefixes are good way to help find content. For forums, however, they only work in very specific cases where you have a limited number of content types, such as classifieds or help sections.

 

[DigNap15]

I don't like them. Conceptually, prefixes are good way to help find content. For forums, however, they only work in very specific cases where you have a limited number of content types, such as classifieds or help sections.

Could they be a good way for Mods to highlight very useful or popular threads?

 

[zappaDPJ]

Could they be a good way for Mods to highlight very useful or popular threads?

I think there might be better ways to achieve that particular example.

One good demonstration of thread prefixes can be seen here: https://xenforo.com/community/forums/bugs/ If you want to know how many confirmed bugs there are in Xenforo simply click on one of the 'Confirmed' thread prefixes. That's a good example of prefixes being used by staff. They can however be user driven as in the example below.

So we use them to categorize our support pages on modems and routers. Every new thread title will a have thread prefix naming the make of hardware mandatorily appended by the user. This allows our members to bring up every bit of information relevant to their particular piece of hardware.

In many ways thread prefixes perform a similar function to having multiple sub forums but they can if used wisely provide a more elegant and functional solution.

 

[sanction9]

Well, I use Xon's Multi Prefix, which I think is the way they should be implemented in the core. Seems to always be up to 3rd-parties, though, to take these features to the next level.

Multi Prefix

Multiple Prefixes! Ever run into a situation where you want to prefix a thread with multiple tags? Now you can. All the same features still work, clicking a prefix shows all threads prefixed with that same prefix. Searching for a prefix will...

xenforo.com

 

[sanction9]

As an aside, I've never used it, but Discourse looks to have the best implementation of tags I've seen yet, basically allowing you to use them the way XF uses prefixes, combined with the main features of Xon's addon:

Set up structured tagging with tag groups and category tag restrictions

Tag support is a core feature of Discourse. In this How-To I’ll go through setting up a tag schema like Car Talk uses. We’ll want to achieve these things: Tags for car makes and car models. Only allow the car make and model tags to be used in certain categories. Car model tags can only be...

meta.discourse.org

 

[Nev_Dull]

Could they be a good way for Mods to highlight very useful or popular threads?

Sure, you could use them that way. As zappaDPJ pointed out though, there are other ways to accomplish that. Prefixes are best used where you have a limited number of possible prefixes, such as support forums. To make them useful in more open-ended forums, you would have to develop and maintain a whole taxonomy of prefixes to categorize types of threads, then hope your users understood it well enough to use it effectively. Either that or just let everyone create their own prefixes which would get very messy very quickly.

 

[DigNap15]

Hi
What are these other ways to highlight threads that could be very useful to members
zappaDPJ and Nev-Dull have mentioned this.

 

[Nev_Dull]

It depends on just what you want to do. There is an add-on for XF 2x called Widget Thread Enhancement that lets you search for things like most read, most replied, etc.

For me, links are the simple way. I have a section for new users where we link any threads that we think would be particularly useful for them. You establish whatever criteria you want, then link any threads that fit those criteria. Simple.

 

[sanction9]

If you wanted to get really fancy....

Unmaintained - [XTR] Golden Threads

What's the mean of Golden Thread? Golden Threads is a powerful add-on with all the options that you would need to display your popular threads. It comes with a simple settings page where you can choose the time range. This allows you to show...

xenforo.com