Can anyone explain to me why Facebook seems to prefer the MySpace-esque message posting system, which (on your page) only displays the messages someone posts to you, but only displays responses on the other person’s page (without including the original)?
At least with Facebook you can click the link to see the conversation in order, but it’s still pretty annoying, if you ask me. Am I missing something?
6 Comments
That’s because you’re using it like myspace. I think you’re talking about Cynthia’s post which you could have just replied on you’re own wall.
The way MySpace has it is completely illogical, this way you can have a conversation without going back and forth (without creating more page views).
So by going to her page you actually broke the said conversation, something that could continue the conversation (I think because I’ve never used it) is wall-to-wall.
Nope, wall-to-wall is exactly what I did do, which led to this post, because it posts my “Thanks” reply on her wall and not on mine. Wall-to-wall does keep the conversation intact and together under the hood, but you have to click the link to see the whole conversation in context, outside of either party’s individual wall. (This is the link I mentioned in the post above).
In the past, I have just replied by adding a message on my own wall, which works in terms of displaying the conversation in order, but that actually does break the conversation, and also falls apart if you have more than one message you want to reply to, because you can’t re-order your wall.
What’s the suggestion or how can it be fixed?
Rearranging comments is sort of a weird idea because I’ve never seen it implemented anywhere and I can’t imagine it being usable it also forces the comment to be in one place, the only other way I can think of is pure threaded comments but that keeps them in one place too.
To me, the way they have it now makes the most logical sense, especially since they’re not forcing you to do it in a particular way, ie myspace. And when you compare it to anything else (blogs, tagboards, myspace, forums, message boards)they give you more options than “post your comment here”.
Why are all my comments being moderated?
Forget it, instead of asking questions off your questions I’ll answer yours instead.
1) They don’t. That’s just one option and you selected the “myspace’eque” way.
2) Clearly. Haven’t you heard facebook is for people under their prime, which is 31 and under in the social web world.
Your comments were being moderated because I have the first-time-name moderation check enforced right now, until I get time to tweak my rules, and you keep using different names to comment under.
I’m not actually suggesting rearranging comments as a solution, just pointing out that you’d have to do that if you wanted to handle replies by just posting to your own wall (along with other problems with that approach), unless your comment was always the immediate next comment, and no other comments were made between the time of the original one and your reply.
I don’t have a one-size-fits-all suggestion for a better system for handling replies in this model, because I think the system is a bit flawed to begin with, at least in terms of supporting conversations based off of one original message (in other words, a comment thread).
The fact that all the messages are all presented at the same level (the wall) is one problem, and the fact that both initial messages AND/OR any replies are inconsistently and confusingly displayed (and sometimes not displayed - in different places) depending on where you’re viewing them from and in what manner the individual chooses to respond (wall-to-wall, direct post, etc.).
I guess it’s OK to have more options, but I think trying to squeeze them into the same top level model (that I don’t really like to begin with, and that’s probably the root of the issue) only tends to make it more confusing. You don’t have this issue with blogs, msg boards, and forums, because their comments are always focused under a particular post or topic, and ALL relevant comments/replies are visible there at that level of the hierarchy, not intermixed at the same level with the original posts, etc. It’s true that you do have a similar issue with tagboards as well, but at least there all the comments are still in one place.