Minor MR bug - last post by profile

[motulist]

When you're looking at the list of threads in any forum there is a column "last post: by mr.x" but when you click on the username it only links to the profile of the "last person" who posted, not the actual username you clicked on. So if you're looking at list and someone new has posted between the time when you loaded the page and when you clicked on their username then it clicking on the username "mr.x" takes you to the profile of "mrs.y" instead. This happened to me and I had to click it three times and then examine the link address in the status bar before I realized what the problem was.

 

[bousozoku]

It's not a bug. Refresh the page and you'll get the name of the latest member to post.

 

[WildCowboy]

It is a little weird though to click on a username and be taken to someone else's profile. It's a bit annoying to have their name right there on the page in a link and you can't get to their profile without clicking on the thread first or doing a search for the user.

While it may not be a bug, it is a bit non-intuitive, which can cause problems.

 

[neocell]

When I first saw the links I assumed that it would take you to that post, not the users profile. Alas, I was somewhat upset when it took me to the profile, and I still think/wish for a quick link to the last post

**EDIT**

Now I realize that clicking the title above or the arrow beside the users name does this.
Crap, how long have I missed this

**EDIT** double post

Weird I've seen this ("sorry double post") listed a lot and I've always wondered how it could happen. My first time doing it and it appears to be spawned when I accidently held cmd + control + s while I was typing the message (another tab opened in Safari with the same page) instead of cmd + control+ d, and when I hit submit, there was two

Weird

 

[bousozoku]

When I first saw the links I assumed that it would take you to that post, not the users profile. Alas, I was somewhat upset when it took me to the profile, and I still think/wish for a quick link to the last post

**EDIT**

Now I realize that clicking the title above or the arrow beside the users name does this.
Crap, how long have I missed this

Sure, the arrow to the right of the member's name will always take you to the last post. The one to the left of the title will take you to the first post unread. If there are no unread posts since your last visit, there will be not arrow to the left of the title.

 

[iBlue]

it's because the URL is for the latest poster, not the actual user or the specific userID. it's a dynamic link, just goes to whomever posted last.

screenshot from hovering a username, url in lower left...

 

[motulist]

Right, we know why it technically does what it does, now how de we change it? Couldn't it be changed so that as the page content is created dynamically anyway then the listed last post username also gets a direct link to that user's profile rather than a dynamic link to just the last random poster? Meaning it should work just like on the search results page or subscribed threads page where you click the thread starter name and it uses a static link to the thread starter rather than a dynamic one. Because it really is a bit confusing to click on username A and get sent to username B's profile.

 

[iBlue]

Right, we know why it technically does what it does, now how de we change it? Couldn't it be changed so that as the page content is created dynamically anyway then the listed last post username also gets a direct link to that user's profile rather than a dynamic link to just the last random poster? Meaning it should work just like on the search results page or subscribed threads page where you click the thread starter name and it uses a static link to the thread starter rather than a dynamic one. Because it really is a bit confusing to click on username A and get sent to username B's profile.

thought there was still question of why it did that. i had to stick up for the system, it isn't buggy, just doing what it's told. ok so now that that is out of the way... i'm not sure if anything can [or will] be done. i have a suspcion that is a feature that can't be changed (unless there is some ugly hack for it and i doubt arn would go for it)
it could be confusing i suppose, never thought too much about it. seems to be a small bump in the road on an otherwise smooth ride here. <shrugs>

 

[bousozoku]

Right, we know why it technically does what it does, now how de we change it?
...

We don't change it. It may be confusing but is it truly so life-threateningly confusing?

 

[motulist]

Well the fact that this even comes up for discussion is a testament to how well things run around here. Still, there's always room for improvement, so it's worth looking into to see if there's a simple solution. As far as calling it a bug, I suppose we have different definitions of what a bug is. To me a bug is anything that doesn't work as intended.

 

[motulist]

Bug:

A software bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. Bugs arise from mistakes and errors, made by people, in either a program's source code or its design.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_bug

And if it isn't self-evident, I point out problems because I like this place.

 

[bousozoku]

Bug:

A software bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. Bugs arise from mistakes and errors, made by people, in either a program's source code or its design.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_bug

However, it may work as the designer intended, but not as you intended.

 

[eva01]

Bug:

A software bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. Bugs arise from mistakes and errors, made by people, in either a program's source code or its design.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_bug

it isn't a bug at all. That is the way the feature works and on busy forums it is going to do that a lot since you haven't refreshed in time it goes to the last poster in the forum.

 

[motulist]

it isn't a bug at all. That is the way the feature works and on busy forums it is going to do that a lot since you haven't refreshed in time it goes to the last poster in the forum.

I must politely disagree. The point of clicking on the user's name is to view their profile. However, the way it is implemented does not always achieve what is intended. C'mon, are you really saying that clicking on one person's username causing you to occasionally be sent to some other random person's user profile is not a bug? You are correct that the way it is working is exactly according to how it was programmed, that doesn't mean it isn't a bug. The vast majority of bugs are mistakes in the implementation of the result you are trying to achieve. I mean if I were a terrible programmer and I wrote a solitaire game that installs itself by formating your hard disk, reinstalling your OS and then installing the program itself, it would be working exactly according to how I implemented my installer, but the fact that it totally wipes out all the data on your hard disk is still a bug.

 

[eva01]

i don't know, on my site it never does this so it isn't a bug. alas my site is slow thou

If you aren't fast enough with your clicking and refreshing then it can't be helped.

How could it be changed since it is a dynamic URL and you can't refresh or click fast enough

 

[motulist]

i don't know, on my site it never does this so it isn't a bug.

Interesting logic.

How could it be changed since it is a dynamic URL

Didn't you just answer your own question? If you'll look up a few posts you'll see that I explained that the "last post by: username" link should work the same way that the "thread started by" link works. Meaning it should render a static link to the user's profile anchored to the "last post by: username" which is being reported. If you don't agree with me then we'll have to agree to disagree. It is possible for two intelligent, well-informed people to disagree with each other.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Usually, I'm more interested in the last poster's comments rather than their profile.

If anyone in a given thread has said something particularly noteworthy, then it's a simple matter to see their profile but to want to go directly to the profile of the most recent poster strikes me as slightly stalker-ish behaviour.

I fail to see how this is important enough to warrant this amount of attention. Nit-picking is the phrase that comes to mind...

Oh, and by the way, my profile says very little about me.

 

[motulist]

It is a totally picayune issue. The only way I even discovered it was by clicking on the username thinking it would take me to the last post in the thread. Whether or not this feature works the way it should I think everyone seems to agree that clicking on the username under "last post by" taking you to the person's profile instead of the last post in the thread is a little bit non-intuitive. But this issue isn't important, I just saw an error and thought the designers would like to hear about it.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Clicking on the little blue arrow will take you to the most recent post in that thread, but I guess you knew that...

 

[motulist]

Clicking on the little blue arrow will take you to the most recent post in that thread, but I guess you knew that...

Actually I just learned that when bousozoku wrote about it above. So this thread was actually pretty darn useful to me and neocell.

 

[eva01]

if you do really feel that it is a bug than you can submit it to vbulletin.com

 

[neocell]

Actually I just learned that when bousozoku wrote about it above. So this thread was actually pretty darn useful to me and neocell.

Hear, hear. I completely agree with you. And YES, it is a bug. Sloppy programming. Maybe not by the administrators, gods or whoever, but if you click on someone's profile name and get sent to a different profile how could it be anything but a bug.
We can agree that it really isn't that big of an issue, and probably doesn't really matter then, but call a spade a spade and this a bug.
Yes it does what the programmer intended, but what if the programmer is an idiot?

 

[MacNut]

Ok at first I was thinking what are you talking about, now I get it, the persons user name SHOULD BE the one you are directed too not the last poster to the thread. However if you care that much about the persons profile, you can always go to the thread and look up that person.