[RFC] Require Subject on *all* posts

[jsebean]

This idea was mentioned here by imkingdavid in rfc Recent Topic title in forum list. The idea is to require all posts, replies to topics and new topics, to have a subject line filled out. This would be good for two reasons:
1. It looks really odd otherwise when you see a post without a subject.
2. It would make life easier for developers to implement this RFC since it already exists in phpBB.

*OR* One could even ask...
Why do we even have a subject line for replies to existing topics anyway, if it's a reply to a topic then why would the subject line be changed, if it's not a reply and the subject isn't the same, then it probably be a new topic.

[AliasM2K]

+1!

Subject line of replies are Re: ...[Subject of topic]... by default right? Let it be so... But I strongly feel that subject is mandatory for new posts.

[Oleg]

Why do we even have a subject line for replies to existing topics anyway, if it's a reply to a topic then why would the subject line be changed, if it's not a reply and the subject isn't the same, then it probably be a new topic.

Post subject may be useful when topic subject changes. Examples:

viewtopic.php?f=84&t=33288 - RFC topic going through various states

viewtopic.php?f=81&t=41977 - 3.1 status topic - note different post subjects for initial posts and then people replying to these posts carry over the different subjects.

[jsebean]

Why do we even have a subject line for replies to existing topics anyway, if it's a reply to a topic then why would the subject line be changed, if it's not a reply and the subject isn't the same, then it probably be a new topic.

Post subject may be useful when topic subject changes. Examples:

viewtopic.php?f=84&t=33288 - RFC topic going through various states

viewtopic.php?f=81&t=41977 - 3.1 status topic - note different post subjects for initial posts and then people replying to these posts carry over the different subjects.

True, though granted I don't think it would be a big issue if it didn't work that way. For example like the status topic all that stuff could be all posted under different headers in one post.

But either way it don't matter, still, a subject should be required for all posts,

[igorw]

IMO the subject needlessly clutters all of the posts and should be removed.

Post subject may be useful when topic subject changes. Examples:

It would be nice to have some inline note when this happens. I've seen that implemented in a few places, for example on phpBB.de.

[imkingdavid]

IMO the subject needlessly clutters all of the posts and should be removed.

Post subject may be useful when topic subject changes. Examples:

It would be nice to have some inline note when this happens. I've seen that implemented in a few places, for example on phpBB.de.

How about only showing the post subject when it is not "Re: <topic title>", and when it is shown it could be smaller? I agree that it adds to the clutter, and I'm even okay with doing away with it (I honestly never change the post subject so I don't really use it, and don't mind it going away), but that will need further discussion. And removing the subject is a different discussion than requiring it on all posts, although it does answer to the same issue.

[callumacrae]

IMO the subject needlessly clutters all of the posts and should be removed.

Post subject may be useful when topic subject changes. Examples:

It would be nice to have some inline note when this happens. I've seen that implemented in a few places, for example on phpBB.de.

How about only showing the post subject when it is not "Re: <topic title>", and when it is shown it could be smaller? I agree that it adds to the clutter, and I'm even okay with doing away with it (I honestly never change the post subject so I don't really use it, and don't mind it going away), but that will need further discussion. And removing the subject is a different discussion than requiring it on all posts, although it does answer to the same issue.

+1

[A_Jelly_Doughnut]

IMO the subject needlessly clutters all of the posts and should be removed.

Disagree. In prosilver, the large post subject is the only major visual indication there is that you have moved from one post to the next. Granted, this is a point about the style and not the actual functionality, which I agree only rarely differs from the default.

My preference would be for

if (strlen(post_subject) is 0) then
let post_subject = "Re: " + topic_title

[jsebean]

IMO the subject needlessly clutters all of the posts and should be removed.

Post subject may be useful when topic subject changes. Examples:

It would be nice to have some inline note when this happens. I've seen that implemented in a few places, for example on phpBB.de.

Inline notes? You mean in the actual post body?

I'd be all for removing it, it seems kind of useless, and while Olegs examples does show a use, it doesn't seem too practical in my opinion and really isn't needed. Simply formatting the first post would be sufficient.

IMO the subject needlessly clutters all of the posts and should be removed.

Disagree. In prosilver, the large post subject is the only major visual indication there is that you have moved from one post to the next. Granted, this is a point about the style and not the actual functionality, which I agree only rarely differs from the default.....

You could instead use the "by" text at the top of posts to show you are in a new post, plus, the difference in contrast between every other posts is also a good indicator for me too.

My preference would be for

if (strlen(post_subject) is 0) then
let post_subject = "Re: " + topic_title

Also a good option if it's not removed and should have been in 3.0 long ago.

[Oleg]

There is another situation in which post subjects come in handy: merging topics. Without post subjects it would be impossible to tell which post came from which topic.

As far as requiring post subjects, I am not sold on this yet. Currently post subjects are pre-filled with "Re: topic title", therefore it takes effort on the poster's part to remove the post subject. Why would someone go through this effort?