User talk:Karl Dickman/Thread help

Oo

This is quite a rigamarole. Not sure it's the best approach. I do agree the need is urgent -- wiki stinks for back-and-forth discussion and talk page conversations are absolutely screwed up.

I think the answer is an entire overhaul of the MediaWiki engine, with completely different methods for editing all talkspaces. Meanwhile, my workaround may interest you -- less elegant, but perhaps less work:

• I just reply to comments where they were made. If somebody comments on my talk, that's where I answer them. If I comment on somebody else's talk, and he replies there, I might have something else to say; and I say it there. All is well.

• Naturally, whenever I comment on someone else's talk page, it goes on my watchlist.

• If I comment on another's talk, and he replies on mine -- the action to be avoided -- I just cut it out and stick it back on his page, right under my comment there.

• To be sure he gets the message, and to preserve transparency, I use the following pair of templates: {{tmfrom}} and {{tmto}}.

• Note that I'm not demanding any special or novel action from the other guy; all he has to do is reply where talk began.

My workaround isn't everything, but I thought you might like to see it. — Xiong熊talk* 16:22, 2005 August 17 (UTC)