> > * immediate overview about what are the new messages in which threads; >
Google Groups does that. > * jump from new message to new message by pressing the space bar... > Once in a topic, just scroll in Google Groups -- only the new messages are expanded, so easy to read only what's new. > The online google groups on the other hand > > * waste heaps of screen space (even in compact mode; why can't the > compact mode of google groups be as compact > as - say - the compact mode of new-style gmail?), > I agree -- way too much wasted space at the top. > * and do not manage to present the information in a way that I can easily > see everything i'm interested in without scanning multiple whole pages > (information like in which threads new messages are added, and what > are the newest messages in a thread). > Hmm, I don't have a problem with that. The compact list view easily shows which topics have new messages, and once in a topic thread, only the new messages are expanded. > Not *sure* *why* rich text editing seems like * a good idea to you ;) * > * > * > *(written in the new google groups interface)* > Well, when you put it like that... Obviously, I'm not talking about arbitrary ugly text formatting. I'm referring to things like font choices (san serif proportional for general text, Courier New for inline code), text highlighting to show where you are making a correction to someone's code or where a problem occurred, hyperlinks <http://www.web2py.com>, bulleted and numbered lists, indented blocks (e.g., for quoted content), embedded images (e.g., for screenshots), quoted text that can be copied and pasted without including leading ">" characters, etc. That's all useful stuff. Anthony
