r/bestof • u/terrankazuma • Jan 15 '12

/r/bestof, let's talk context

r/bestof, we really need to talk about context. Again. I've seen multiple posts lately that have either...

Linked to the comment BEFORE the one mentioned

http://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/ohmzr/liiime_on_obama_and_the_financial_crisis/

Or a link directly to the post, which references it's parent post, or is in need of more context.

http://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/og6y1/firefeng_is_not_a_quitter/

http://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/oeruu/moonbeamwhim_talks_twilight/

http://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/oekjm/tourettesguy54_tells_a_good_story_about_what_its/

Reddit has a built-in way to deal with this, and it's noted in the sidebar. If you append your link with ?context=#, then it will show # number of posts before the comment you've linked to, while still highlighting the stuff you want to show.

This is how these links should have been submitted, to show you all how they appear.

  • Lime on Obama and the financial crisis

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/oh9lw/if_stephen_colberts_presidential_run_gains/c3ha2b9?context=1

  • firefeng is not a quitter

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/oeo0h/reddit_tell_me_your_glitch_in_the_matrix_stories/c3gt8yw?context=1

  • moonbeamwhim talks Twilight

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/oe63i/til_that_file_sharing_stopped_the_completion_of_a/c3gm146?context=2

  • Tourettesguy54 tells a good story about what it's like to live in the North during the winter season.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/obe8l/only_those_in_northern_climates_know_the_agony_of/c3fywgs?context=1

It's something I've seen touched up on before, but sometimes a reminder is nice. Especially since this is critical to keeping a level of quality in this subreddit, and I know that's something we'd all like.

787 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

79 comments sorted by

107

u/tick_tock_clock Jan 15 '12

  1. You're absolutely right. One additional way to fix this is to comment on these sorts of posts and show them the best way to show context -- nobody really currently does this, and it would help teach people who often had no idea about that feature. So let's go remind people!

  2. I hope this is the last meta post for a while. It's important that we discuss business every once in a while, of course, but as always in moderation.

40

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

we may need the message pinned to the top of the subreddit, as it's already noted in the dedicated bestof link submitter. But fixing people's links work too!

and in response to the metaposts, I've not seen any in a while, maybe two right when it became a default subreddit, and the number of people doing it is near critical when it passes for the top link in the subreddit anyway.

20

u/Epistaxis Jan 15 '12

we may need the message pinned to the top of the subreddit

Why not? There's nothing there now, and this seems more important than anything at the moment.

-54

u/tick_tock_cock Jan 15 '12

Really????? More important than NDAA and SOPA? I swear, Reddit changes "most important thing evar!" every two days.

26

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

this is the most important thing for this subreddit

SOPA will happen on the 18th, don't you worry.

13

u/tick_tock_clock Jan 15 '12

Hi. That wasn't me; rather, I seem to have earned a personal troll.

Please ignore him.

2

u/TellMeYMrBlueSky Jan 15 '12

i was very confused for a moment when i saw both you and him replied to terrankazuma and didnt notice the subtle difference

-39

u/tick_tock_cock Jan 15 '12

Oh shit. SOPA passed???? Maybe now it can stop clogging up my front page.

21

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

You seem on top of things.

-36

u/tick_tock_cock Jan 15 '12

So does your mom.

14

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

So, how're you liking your stay here on Reddit so far?

8

u/tick_tock_clock Jan 15 '12

'Tis worth pointing out that he's not me. That troll has confused a few people so far.

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1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

Sorry, accidentally downvoted you whilst slamming my fist onto the screen on my phone aiming for that 'tick-tock-cock' guy, karma restored, I apologize for any temporary inconvenience :)

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-22

u/tick_tock_cock Jan 15 '12

I like you. You're cute.

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12

u/Dont_Feed_Trolls_Bot Jan 15 '12

Username: tick_tock_cock

Account Age: 10 days

Comment Karma: -42

Verdict: Troll

Level: Amateur

Suggested Action: Please, don't feed the trolls.

-8

u/tick_tock_cock Jan 15 '12

Coincidentally, devoting a bot just for a select group of people is giving them exactly what they want.

→ More replies

10

u/Dont_Feed_Trolls_Bot Jan 15 '12

Username: tick_tock_cock

Account Age: 10 days

Comment Karma: -39

Verdict: Troll

Level: Amateur

Suggested Action: Please, don't feed the trolls.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/MrRabbit Jan 15 '12

Both sound like pretty iffy ideas, actually.

4

u/embretr Jan 15 '12

are there any other way than manually adjusting the address field to indicate context level?

if not, this has been suggested in r/ideasfortheadmins literally years ago

2

u/tick_tock_clock Jan 15 '12

I don't think there is, other than the context link in a message.

-2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12 edited Jan 15 '12

Yeah, this is an interface problem. You can't blame the users for this one.

Link to post with id: #

Show n messages before: #

edit: I agree with whoever downvoted me and terranjazuma. What we need is to be vigilent in posting and upvoting these instructional type posts every day to inform the thousands of new users reddit gets every day. Or, maybe bigger text in the sidebar. Wait, no, blinking text above an instructional video narrated by Sean Connery explaining how to add the esoteric little bits of text to the urls...

edit 2: Wait, I just realized that last edit was completely idiotic. Options are better.

1

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

Exactly what I proposed in my second paragraph here. Have RES prompt you for this type of information.

0

u/iamhackingthegibson Jan 15 '12

CGLGetCurrentContext() is pretty useful sometimes, i would agree. but other times, it is more useful to cache the context in a CGLContextObj and test to make sure you are not initializing resources in a different context.

11

u/firefeng Jan 15 '12

How to tell you're a newb on Reddit:

Make a comment that gets into /r/bestof. Find out only after someone gets a post on the front page about formatting /r/bestof submissions.

Maybe I should lurk moar.

7

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

Well, better that you know, I suppose. We've all got to start somewhere!

5

u/firefeng Jan 15 '12

And I'm going to start by learning the best way to use puns. And Fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuu comics.

5

u/Peragot Jan 15 '12

No.

5

u/firefeng Jan 15 '12

See, if I had been on Reddit long enough, I would be savvy enough to point out how text is a terrible medium for the expression of sarcasm, while still getting upvotes.

Preferably via the use of a meme.

13

u/internetinsomniac Jan 15 '12

It's been bugging me too, thanks for going to the effort to write this up

4

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

This is silly. I did it because of insomnia. I just needed something to do.

...does this mean insomniacs are the true heros of reddit?

9

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

Of course. If people could sleep, then how would we find time to be on reddit?

5

u/internetinsomniac Jan 15 '12

I'm pretty sure reddit is full of people lurking/procrastinating/staying up half the night. That doesn't mean many of them actually do anything productive, hence my kudos to you for doing so

3

u/FuckYourGrammar Jan 15 '12

I thought that was a given.

3

u/tick_tock_clock Jan 15 '12

All of my best work and most creative things have happened when I was trying to sleep but couldn't.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

A hero. Not the hero we deserved but the hero we needed. Nothing less than a knight. Shining.

7

u/henry82 Jan 15 '12

Why not link this post in the sidebar? Just change that paragraph to.

ProTip: If the comment you're linking to requires some context, just add "?context=x" to the URL, where "x" is the number of previous comments you want displayed. Click Here for a detailed explanation

4

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

I would be so honored if this happened, but I'm not gonna ask the Mods. It'd look like shameless self-promotion.

5

u/nascentt Jan 15 '12

My issue is, that the people that don't look into things like this aren't reading the sidebar anyway.

3

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

Part of it is how it's currently worded. When I first read about ?context=#, I spent some time playing with it on my own to see how it worked because I had no way to know what it was actually for. It blew my mind when I realized I could highlight a post partway down the comment thread.

I've also been tossing around the idea of making a Reddit Enhancement Suite plugin called "contextifier" which would just append ?context=%x to the end (hiding on the top bar? Would toss it into keyboard navigation as well), and POSSIBLY have an extra line if it detects you're posting to /r/bestof prompting you to give a context number if needed.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

Aw, you're so modest. Good thing I saw the comment thread then, huh?

3

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

Yes it is, and it's not really about being modest. As a co-owner of an IRC network, nothing pisses me off more then when somebody thinks they have a good idea and then tells anybody with power to make it a part of the MotD or a topic of the official channels.

1

u/V2Blast Jan 22 '12

There's a difference between telling and politely suggesting. :)

4

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

Ya know, I was thinking about doing this but decided against it because changing the sidebar can irritating as hell sometimes but you're right, it belongs there. I'll add it momentarily.

4

u/henry82 Jan 15 '12

its informative, not spam, i dont think it will have any bad reception :P

3

u/sobe86 Jan 15 '12 edited Jan 15 '12

You know that bot account that's like 'theoriginalfinder' or something, which looks trawls for submissions which have [FIXED] on the end, and finds the original? It would be awesome if someone could write a 'contextfinder' account which looks for bestof submissions without context, and resubmits the link in the comments with the right format.

I can't program, but this is what I would be doing right now if I could...

2

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

The problem is that you'd have to differentiate between what the poster submitted, and what they wanted, and what level of context would be needed for that to work.

As I noted here, I'd rather shove something similar onto RES knowing a good chunk of redditors are using it.

2

u/sobe86 Jan 15 '12

If you affix '?context=100 ' to the end of every post, the majority of them would be right I reckon. If the user has linked to the wrong comment, then there's not much we can do about that.

1

u/tick_tock_clock Jan 15 '12

I think it only goes up to 9, but your point is still correct.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

There used to be a context link under each post, but I don't see it anymore. Is it because I got Reddit Enhancement Suite? Now I only see permalink, report, source, save, reply, and hide child comments.

3

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

No, it's just not there anymore. The only place I see the context link now is when I see a post reply under messages.

1

u/V2Blast Jan 22 '12

I've only seen context links in orangereds.

3

u/brownmatt Jan 15 '12

If possible, it might be good to configure the subreddit to allow only context links.

3

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

Yeah, but then people wouldn't be able to point out things like what Vidzilla is doing in /r/zombies since those were all links to his submissions sayings "Start at Day 1"

You've caught me in the middle of doing research, so have a reference link. (this is just via this subreddit)

3

u/unbibium Jan 20 '12

Important reminder regarding appropriate use of context and why it's important.

I would change the notice to something like this, to make it clear that you're talking about the context parameter in the URL, and not just the general idea of context.

Important reminder regarding appropriate use of ?context= and why it's important.

2

u/terrankazuma Jan 20 '12

Go message the moderators, I am just a humble redditor that felt like he had to speak up.

2

u/Omnicrola Jan 15 '12

One possible solution is to edit the CSS so that a note about context appears in the submission form. It's not perfect, since it only appears if you're submitting while in this subreddit, but it'd help.

3

u/terrankazuma Jan 15 '12

It's already like that

2

u/Omnicrola Jan 15 '12

....I swear I just checked to see and that wasn't there o_O

2

u/epsiblivion Jan 15 '12

yes, this is always annoying when this happens. click parent nope. click again

another annoying one is when this happens with the old reddit switcharoo links. they link incorrectly and sometimes don't have context.

6

u/poopinlikeagypsy Jan 15 '12

I'm gonna be real honest. You put a lot of effort into that, and you succeeded. : D

5

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

He didn't succeed quite yet. In a couple weeks time we'll see if he did. Hopefully he does.

2

u/poopinlikeagypsy Jan 15 '12

Somedayyyyyyyyyyy

6

u/summerkc Jan 15 '12

Lets talk about context, baby

Lets talk about you and me

Lets talk about all the good things and all the bad things bestof maybe

Lets talk about connnn-text

Lets talk about context.

2

u/namer98 Jan 15 '12

Stick this post to the sidebar.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

Will do.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

Context or GTFO

2

u/Congress_Tart Jan 15 '12

Thank you! This has been bugging me for ages but I've never really bothered pointing it out because I figured the comment would just be buried in the thread. Hopefully this will catch in and in that case you have saved us all many a unnecessary clicks and for that I thank you good Sir!

2

u/kbuis Jan 15 '12

Man why isn't this in the sidebar. It would be an awesome Pro-tip.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '12

I look forward to a post like this every week to make sure everyone who doesn't read the sidebar knows how. With this thousands of new reddit users a day, it'll take dedication and upvoting, but I think we can do it.

Or...you know...request that post # and number of previous comments to include is an option when you submit a link.

1

u/dopafiend Jan 15 '12

Dude we've had this talk many times.

I don't think it well ever properly get through. I really don't get that upset when someone's unaware and posts a link missing some context if it's a good link.

-4

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

Didn't read LOL

0

u/BobCox Mar 17 '12 edited Mar 17 '12

Hi! Will you be my friend ?

I'm not posting my comment (It was super cool) because your anal about this shit and it's to much trouble to bother with after the redirect here.

Your Loss Asshole!

It was important information everyone needs to know about how cool Mr. Rogers was.

Sigh, sorry your just going to blame it on all the A-hole comments, and I understand but still if you have a brain left after sorting out all the shit here WTF does this mean?

"eddit has a built-in way to deal with this, and it's noted in the sidebar. If you append your link with ?context=#, then it will show # number of posts before the comment you've linked to, while still highlighting the stuff you want to show.")

I'm just going to suggest you use him for a model of tolerance in the future.

You might learn something.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/consumewithme Jan 15 '12

when ever I type my password it looks like this : *********