The New @Tagging Mod Here On The Forums

**HAWK** · Dec 20, 2011 22:51

We've just installed a really cool new mod here on the forums which allows you to @ tag members in posts.
@ tagging someone will notify them that they've been mentioned in a thread.

An @ tag works by wrapping [ mention ] tags around a username, which in turn links to that member's profile and it looks like this: @HAWK

You can tag someone several ways:

Click the Screen Shot 2011-12-21 at 5.42.30 PM.png button in your GUI
Type an @ followed by their username (as you would in Twitter)
Use the Tag User(s) field above the Reply To Thread button

A tagged user will be notified via their Notifications indicator (top right of the screen) or via the new Thread Tags tab under your Profile.

So... if you need to ask a question or get the attention of someone specific, make sure you @ tag them.

**imaginekitty** · Dec 20, 2011 23:04

Test @HAWK .

**HAWK** · Dec 20, 2011 23:04

Roger that.

Screen Shot 2011-12-21 at 6.05.16 PM.png

**Max Height** · Dec 21, 2011 00:07

I think I can't see the forest for the trees because I'm not seeing the point of tagging someone

If you want to get someone's attention can't you just PM them or make a post in the thread? and if the tagged member just gets a notice that they've been mentioned in a thread, they then have to go over to the thread to see why someone tagged them. And how do you plan stopping nuisance tagging?

**molona** · Dec 21, 2011 02:16

I guess it is the twitter experience... in the forum. It may be fun... let's test this... @molona , @ScallioXTX , @spikeZ , @blackmax , @AndrewCooper , @xhtmlcoder , @ULTiMATE , @Crazybanana , @guido2004 , @SpacePhoenix ... can't think of any other names right now... but let's see if all of them realize that I mentioned them in this thread... hehe

**molona** · Dec 21, 2011 02:17

I mentioned myself but I see no notifications... Is it because me and myself are the same person?

**spikeZ** · Dec 21, 2011 02:29

Originally Posted by Max Height

I think I can't see the forest for the trees because I'm not seeing the point of tagging someone

If you want to get someone's attention can't you just PM them or make a post in the thread? and if the tagged member just gets a notice that they've been mentioned in a thread, they then have to go over to the thread to see why someone tagged them. And how do you plan stopping nuisance tagging?

Its easier to check your notifications if you have been tagged than to keep checking for your username or checking back to every thread you have posted in. Sure folks can PM you too.

Originally Posted by molona

I guess it is the twitter experience... in the forum. It may be fun... let's test this... @molona , @ScallioXTX , @spikeZ , @blackmax , @AndrewCooper , @xhtmlcoder , @ULTiMATE , @Crazybanana , @guido2004 , @SpacePhoenix ... can't think of any other names right now... but let's see if all of them realize that I mentioned them in this thread... hehe

Originally Posted by molona

I mentioned myself but I see no notifications... Is it because me and myself are the same person?

Yes, you can tag yourself but it wont increase your mentions count. Stops the nuisance tagging!

**Max Height** · Dec 21, 2011 02:38

Originally Posted by spikeZ

Its easier to check your notifications if you have been tagged than to keep checking for your username or checking back to every thread you have posted in. Sure folks can PM you too.

yeah ok, thanks. I can see it has some merit but what's stopping someone going around tagging users just for the fun of it and consequently wasting other people's time when they go look up why they were tagged.

Just had a thought

.. Do we have the option in our profile settings to switch off being tagged just like we can switch off PM's from other members?

**spikeZ** · Dec 21, 2011 03:07

Any OTT tagging or abuse of the tagging system would result in a warning for the member. If you find that someone is abusing the system then feel free to report them using the flag icon on the left and they will be dealt with appropriately.

As far as I can tell, you can't turn off tagging but in the unlikely event that it becomes an issue then the plugin could well be hacked up to incorporate it.

**chris.upjohn** · Dec 21, 2011 03:08

@HAWK , i like it. Makes the forum feel more social now

**molona** · Dec 21, 2011 03:13

Ha! I can even see the number of times that I've been mentioned or tagged! Right under my picture. This is a brilliant idea. I like it!

Now for another stupid question... if tag=mention then why I have two counts, one for tags and another for mentions?

**spikeZ** · Dec 21, 2011 03:15

@molona you may get mentioned 5 times in 1 thread posts and 1 time in 5 other threads (see the top of the thread where I have tagged you!) so it counts both

**ScallioXTX** · Dec 21, 2011 03:22

tag != mention

mention is when I do this: @molona

and tag is when I add your name to the box at the top of the page
spftagging.jpg

**molona** · Dec 21, 2011 06:09

Originally Posted by ScallioXTX

tag != mention

mention is when I do this: @molona

and tag is when I add your name to the box at the top of the page
spftagging.jpg

So if I get it right... I can only be tagged once per thread... but mentioned multiple times in the same thread.

**ScallioXTX** · Dec 21, 2011 06:20

Originally Posted by molona

So if I get it right... I can only be tagged once per thread... but mentioned multiple times in the same thread.

That's how I understand it, yes.

Let's see. @molona .

Edit:

Yes, before my mention just now you were mentioned 3 times, now you're mentioned 4 times

**Cups** · Dec 21, 2011 09:02

So will this find its way into Search? (or more accurately will this Filter be added)

use case: I know there was a thread not long ago, I don't remember the subject but I do remember that ScallioXTX made a comment on it because I [ mention ]-ed him.

**ScallioXTX** · Dec 21, 2011 09:13

Originally Posted by Cups

So will this find its way into Search? (or more accurately will this Filter be added)

use case: I know there was a thread not long ago, I don't remember the subject but I do remember that ScallioXTX made a comment on it because I [ mention ]-ed him.

You can see any mentions you make in your own profile (http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/usercp.php) as well under the "Mentions" tab.
So once you've mentioned someone, you can go to your own mentions tab and you'll see it there.

You can also go to my profile and see that I was mentioned by you; it records both ways.

**ULTiMATE** · Dec 21, 2011 03:24

Although I do quite like the tagging feature I worry about it clashing with features like the quote button. If we can tag members it would also make a lot of sense to make it so that if a post is quoted a user is alerted, similarly to how things were on vB3 and the old design.

Additionally, this functionality needs to be styled in a bit better as the current styles could still use some work.

**spikeZ** · Dec 21, 2011 03:30

Originally Posted by ULTiMATE

Although I do quite like the tagging feature I worry about it clashing with features like the quote button. If we can tag members it would also make a lot of sense to make it so that if a post is quoted a user is alerted, similarly to how things were on vB3 and the old design.

Additionally, this functionality needs to be styled in a bit better as the current styles could still use some work.

Quoting now also gets a notification alert.
You should get one for this for example. Only noticed it doing this earlier today though!

**Max Height** · Dec 21, 2011 14:36

Originally Posted by spikeZ

Quoting now also gets a notification alert.

Well, reading through this thread I think the whole tag/mention/quote thingy is a bit gimmicky although if used properly it might have some merit. But notifying quotes is way over-kill imo. I just don't see the point of it. When I look down the list of today's posts I can see a little icon on the threads I have posted in and that's all I need. I don't need tag/mention/quote notifications. Why not give us at least the option to switch them off in our profiles rather than impose them on us. Those that want to use the "features", fine they can be free to use them, and those that don't want to be bombarded with useless notifications should be allowed to switch off the "features".

btw - I suppose spikeZ will get a notification for the above quote

That's my rant for the day

**spikeZ** · Dec 21, 2011 15:00

Originally Posted by Max Height

Well, reading through this thread I think the whole tag/mention/quote thingy is a bit gimmicky although if used properly it might have some merit. But notifying quotes is way over-kill imo. I just don't see the point of it. When I look down the list of today's posts I can see a little icon on the threads I have posted in and that's all I need. I don't need tag/mention/quote notifications. Why not give us at least the option to switch them off in our profiles rather than impose them on us. Those that want to use the "features", fine they can be free to use them, and those that don't want to be bombarded with useless notifications should be allowed to switch off the "features".

I wouldnt say that a counter at the top of the page is 'bombarding' but hey, if it bugs you then the devs can have a look at it.

Originally Posted by Max Height

btw - I suppose spikeZ will get a notification for the above quote

Yes I did, thanks

**Max Height** · Dec 21, 2011 15:30

Originally Posted by spikeZ

I wouldnt say that a counter at the top of the page is 'bombarding' but hey, if it bugs you then the devs can have a look at it.

Yes, the counter itself is not a bombardment. I just don't see how it can be justified to not give members the option to switch off these "features". But I suppose like with anything else we don't see the point of, we have the option to ignore it.

Btw - I see another member in this thread is not impressed, initially at least, with the new "features". So we're not the only ones.

**Max Height** · Jan 3, 2012 16:11

ok, after my initial skepticism (because I'm not into twitter, facebook or any other social networking craze) this tagging, mentioning quoting etc thingy is starting to grow on me, albeit at glacier pace.

There's still a couple of things I don't fully understand the benefit of. I see I have now been tagged once and my username appears with other tagged users in the 'tagged users' list at the top of the thread I was tagged in. When I click any of the usernames in the tagged users list, I am taken to the user's profile which is fine, but I can be taken to a user's profile by clicking on their username in any thread the user posts in.

So what functionality or benefit am I missing? Is there some other benefit for a taggee or the tagger by using the tagged users list apart from being taken to the taggee's profile page when clicking a username in the tagged users list?

If this continues to grow on me, geez, I might even join twitter

**ralph.m** · Jan 3, 2012 17:48

If someone tags you, it's listed in your notifications (top right on each forum page) to alert you to the fact that someone has addressed / mentioned you. (Otherwise you might not know... So it's a great tool for people who are paranoid.

)

**molona** · Jan 4, 2012 02:59

Originally Posted by Max Height

If this continues to grow on me, geez, I might even join twitter

don't have a twitter account?

what about facebook? Careful! you mean end up loving social media!

User Tag List

Thread: The New @Tagging Mod Here On The Forums

Thread Tools

Display

Hybrid View

The New @Tagging Mod Here On The Forums

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions