Can we get a better way to delete drafts?

axisus

The forum seems to create tons of unwanted drafts. I've just looked today and I have 136. Mostly they are 'bits' of posts that I completed and then posted, but a weird unfinished remnant remains.

It is super tiresome trying to delete them. If you click on the cross they should go, but half the time it fails to go but instead takes you into the message, then you then have to exit and try again. Not sure I can face 136!

Surely there's a better way to get rid of the ones that you don't want (usually about 98% of them!)

EricTheWeary

Based on previous Discussions I might hold the forum record for number of drafts. I have deleted a bunch from time to time but I agree half the time it doesn’t seem to work so I just keep adding to the pile. 

Wether having a large number of unread posts is a problem for the forum itself I’ve no idea. Not a huge problem for me but it is clutter. 

digitalscream

I can solve this problem.

The new software doesn't have draft functionality.

Coming in...a couple of months. Test version hopefully around the second week of Feb, for a select few.

BillDL

Personally speaking I find the draft functionality to be an excellent feature that's missing from the 5 or so other forums I have posted in.  I view this site on a Desktop, so the X is easy enough to line up the cursor and click on it to delete the drafts.  Very occasionally a comment saves as a draft, posts properly, but is left either whole or in part as a superfluous draft, but being able to see a number appear adjacent to the drafts folder that appears in the menu options at the top left makes it easy enough for me to delete them as they show.  I've never had more than 3 drafts sitting undeleted. There must be something about the size or placement of the X when viewing the pages on a smartphone that make it hard to line up on and touch.  The Virgin banking app had issues with the profile icon that you touch to get down to the logout option.  It was far too small on a smartphone and it didn't quite line up with the contact area on the screen, but they fixed it.

With no draft functionality I'll have to revert to my previous method of typing up the comment in a text editor like Windows Notepad, then copying and pasting into the comment field.  I've lost too many posts in the past on other forums when some glitch occurs as you post the comment and it vapourises before your eyes, and it's a pain in the neck having to re-type the whole lot again.  I for one will be sorry to see the draft function disappear from this forum.

EricTheWeary

Currently using the mobile version on my phone from which I can't (although may well be user error) access my drafts so they are neither use nor ornament. Although I can create them on my phone and when I view the full site go 'sigh' that their number has increased. 
Drafts that are simply my part of a current Discussion I wouldn't want to have wiped just because I leave the page to go check something before I post. 

Sporky

Drafts are for people without the gumption to say what they think right away.

Y'know, thoughtful people.

We hate them so much with their thinking and sober consideration and what's with the long hair and weird trousers. 

Philly_Q

Agreed that I find the draft function useful.  Sometimes it's not a bad idea to think about something before you post it.  Or you may simply be interrupted mid-post.

DefaultM

I’ve apparently got 234 drafts but I’ve never intended to make any of them.

digitalscream

Well, for those who like it (I wasn't expecting there to be any, to be honest!)...there will be opportunity to build it in after the release of the new software. If I do that - once all the inevitable bigger bugs are squashed - I'll make it optional on a per-profile basis so that it annoys nobody but still provides value to those who like it.

axisus

Philly_Q said:

Agreed that I find the draft function useful.  Sometimes it's not a bad idea to think about something before you post it.  Or you may simply be interrupted mid-post.

Yes, I do find drafts useful for things I don't want to post straight away, but I just find it frustrating that so many junk ones are generated and they are a faff to get rid of.

Sporky

digitalscream said:

Well, for those who like it (I wasn't expecting there to be any, to be honest!)...there will be opportunity to build it in after the release of the new software. If I do that - once all the inevitable bigger bugs are squashed - I'll make it optional on a per-profile basis so that it annoys nobody but still provides value to those who like it.

For subscribers only, right? 

Kittyfrisk

axisus said:

Philly_Q said:

Agreed that I find the draft function useful.  Sometimes it's not a bad idea to think about something before you post it.  Or you may simply be interrupted mid-post.

Yes, I do find drafts useful for things I don't want to post straight away, but I just find it frustrating that so many junk ones are generated and they are a faff to get rid of.

I quite like the draft saving feature, for the reasons that @Philly_Q says, but I always manage them before they can build up beyond two 
On a Mac you have to move the cursor near to the 'X' in the drafts list & wait until the 'X' changes colour before clicking to delete the draft. Just directly clicking on the 'X' will take you back to editing the draft. Works every time for me.

Philly_Q

Kittyfrisk said:

axisus said:

Philly_Q said:

Agreed that I find the draft function useful.  Sometimes it's not a bad idea to think about something before you post it.  Or you may simply be interrupted mid-post.

Yes, I do find drafts useful for things I don't want to post straight away, but I just find it frustrating that so many junk ones are generated and they are a faff to get rid of.

I quite like the draft saving feature, for the reasons that @Philly_Q says, but I always manage them before they can build up beyond two 
On a Mac you have to move the cursor near to the 'X' in the drafts list & wait until the 'X' changes colour before clicking to delete the draft. Just directly clicking on the 'X' will take you back to editing the draft. Works every time for me.

Exactly the same on a Windows PC or laptop.  If I'm posting on my phone - which is rare - I can't see (or can't find?) the drafts, so I understand it's a pain in the backside if people mostly use their phones.

digitalscream

As is becoming traditional...when I make a promise on these threads about the new software, I have to show that it's not vapourware...so here's a screenshot, with auto-embedded YouTube video, images, and working PMs and notifications...

That's dark mode - it auto-selects light/dark mode based on your device preferences, but you can override that using the icon next to the search bar.

The "My Drafts" link is a placeholder from an old version that I haven't deleted yet...

Kittyfrisk

^ Oooh. Could you fit in some hidden Rickrolling features?
Just asking...

digitalscream

Kittyfrisk said:

^ Oooh. Could you fit in some hidden Rickrolling features?
Just asking...

Well, I was trying to think of semi-punitive Easter eggs. One idea was if someone posts too many times in a row in P&E, every comment on every thread turns into a different Rickroll for them for the next 10 minutes.

BillDL

If somebody's "Drafts" accumulate to 36 (not 136) you could have it show an annoying Rickroll type popup at regular intervals to remind them it has reached a silly level.

Whistler

I use drafts as bookmarks; it works great for me as I can leave myself a comment as to why I want to remember the topic and they are easily deleted when I am done. FYI, I currently have 45 drafts. I will need to create some bookmarks in my browser before I lose them with the move to the new software.

TheMarlin

I only use this site via mobile, it’s a browser tab that sits permanently open.  Almost never via PC.  Maybe once a year. 

If can never find drafts via mobile, so they build and build over time.