Bye-Bye Post Icons, Hello Thread Prefix!

Made a simple and painless change this morning for identifying your ad types and status in the classifieds going forward.

Previously I had setup Post Icons for the classifieds to identify ads as For-Sale, Wanted, Sold and SPF. These worked great, BUT they were voluntary and as you can see looking through the classifieds not everybody could be bothered to use them as requested. Additionally, I couldn't restrict which boards the post icons were available in and people were occasionally using them outside of the classifieds.

Last night I figured out how to set and assign Thread Prefixes which are similar in nature, but rather than being a graphic like the post icon these are just a stylized text. I can choose which forums they are available in AND I can make selecting one mandatory in those forums. So this change kills two birds with one stone - everyone will have to select one when posting an ad and nobody will be able to use them anywhere outside the classified boards.


Using Thread Prefix's:

Adding a thread prefix is as simple as selecting the appropriate one from the drop-down menu.

When you click the "Start a New Thread" button in one of the classified boards and the editor page comes up, you will see there is now a Thread Prefix drop-down menu located just above where you would put in the post title. Yes, it's that simple!


This screenshot shows the location of the Prefix menu:
Attachment 6344


This screenshot shows the error you will get if you don't select a Prefix:
Attachment 6345


This screenshot shows what the For-Sale prefix will look like in the classified boards thread list:
Attachment 6346


Like the old Post Icons, the new Prefix's each have a unique color to make it easier to identify different ad types while quickly browsing the listings.


If this works out as well as I hope it will I will be adding prefix options to other boards as well but those won't be mandatory like those in the classifieds. For example, in the Savage Rimfire's board I would create prefix's for the different model lines (A-Series, B-Series, 64-Series, Mark I, Mark II, 93R, Rascal) to make it easier to identify what models are being discussed in those threads since not everyone always identifies the model in the title of their posts.

Almost forgot.....

You can edit the prefix the same as you edited the post icon in the past.

1. Go into your ad and click on "Edit Post" at the bottom right of your ad post
2. Click the "Go Advanced" button at the bottom if not already in the advanced Editor
3. You will now see a field allowing you to enter a reason for editing the post (not necessary), as well as the drop-down menu to change the Prefix.
4. Change the Prefix as Desired
5. Click the "Submit Post" button (or whatever the button says - I forgot to look)


Again, easy-peazy!

New Thread Prefixes have been added to the Other Savage Centerfires, Savage & Stevens Rimfire Rifles, Savage and Stevens Shotguns, and Vintage Savage and Stevens boards. Prefixes are as follows:

Other Savage Centerfires:
- MSR10
- MSR15
- Model 25
- 10ML/10ML-II

Savage and Stevens Rimfires:
- A17/22 Series
- B17/22 Series
- 62/64 Series
- B-Mag Series
- Mark I/II/93R
- Rascal
- Stevens Favorite

Savage and Stevens Shotguns:
- Savage 42
- Savage 210
- Savage 212
- Savage 220
- Stevens 320
- Stevens 350
- Stevens 512
- Stevens 555
- Milano

Vintage Savage and Stevens:
- Savage 24
- Savage 99
- Centerfire
- Pistol
- Rimfire
- Shotgun


Unlike the prefixes in the classifieds, these are optional so you don't have to choose one to submit your post. That said, if you're discussing or asking a question about a particular model please take the 2 seconds to choose the appropriate prefix from the drop-down menu. In these boards that cover multiple models and/or types of guns in one area, utilizing the prefixes will make it much easier for people to find threads related to what they are interested in or looking for.

Additionally, using the Advanced Search function you can search for threads in a given board or boards that have a specific prefix. For example: if you want to search for all the threads pertaining to the Stevens 555, you would search for the Stevens 555 prefix in the Savage and Stevens Shotguns board and every thread in that board that has that prefix would come up in your search results.

The Prefixes, along with applying specific tags to your posts will make searching for and finding threads specific to what you are looking for much, much easier. I have already applied prefixes to the existing threads in most of these boards, though I still have quite a few pages to do yet in the Vintage board which I hope to have finished up by tomorrow or Thursday at the latest.