How to tag someone in a post?

[bigjoncoop]

Is it possible to tag a forum member in a post?

On most forums you can simply put a @ sign before there name and it will tag them.

Or sometimes after writing the @ sign a drop down list will appear so you select a members name...

But it seems that @"member name" doesn't tag the person here on the eevblog forum.

Thanks

[jpanhalt]

I use @ here, but it doesn't seem to have any effect.  Same goes with quoting an individual.  Nothing special in terms of a notification happens so far a I know.  Does it matter?  (Not to me.)  At least the @ lets most people know to whom your response is directed.

[SiliconWizard]

There is indeed no such thing on this forum, and to be fair, whether it would be a good thing is questionable. If the person is following a given thread and sees their nickname in posts (whether you add a @ or not, doesn't matter much), they'll see they are being mentioned. If they are not following a thread enough to see that, then they may not want to be bothered with notifications anyway. I'm not completely sure I like the concept of "tagging", whereby people are supposed to say so important stuff that the other absolutely has to be notified. Dunno. If one really wants to say something to someone in particular, they may just write a PM. If it really matters.

But mentioning who you are replying to - unless it's the OP, which should be IMO implicit then - yes. Definitely. Or even better, quote the specific part you are replying to, that helps. Try to make the quote relevant (do not quote everything by default just because, or OTOH try not to quote out of context, that's also annoying.) Just my random 2 ethereums.

[Kim Christensen]

Not that I know of.
The easiest thing to do would be to create your post and then send them a private message with a link to it.

[T3sl4co1l]

It works... sometimes? I've had alerts before. But they're not well known and rarely used here.

Ah yeah, it's a bb tag:

@Halcyon is a goober

Tim

[PA0PBZ]

The bottom line in the Profile menu is 'Mentions' but it doesn't show anything. Not sure if it's broken/switched off/not implemented.

[T3sl4co1l]

Depends, you ever been tagged @PA0PBZ before?

Tim

[PA0PBZ]

Depends, you ever been tagged @PA0PBZ before?

Yes, and no, still nothing 

[tggzzz]

Please do not "tag" or "mention" someone.
Please do quote their points.

Tags/mentions are used on FarceBoor, Twatter and similar. Those antisocial muddia sites use such features bugs to deliberately hobble discussion of subtle points; they favour trite instant reactions. I don't want this forum to follow that path.

Other forums discourage subtle ongoing discussions by only allowing single level quotes, but that's a different point.

[brucehoult]

Please do not "tag" or "mention" someone.
Please do quote their points.

And if the person you want to mention has not been involved in the thread, quite possibly is not aware that it even exists, but is known to be expert on the matters being discussed?

[tggzzz]

Please do not "tag" or "mention" someone.
Please do quote their points.

And if the person you want to mention has not been involved in the thread, quite possibly is not aware that it even exists, but is known to be expert on the matters being discussed?

Include a link to one or more of the experts posts?
PM the expert?

But maybe the expert has seen the thread and doesn't want to be involved. There are some Awful/Aweful Examples of threads started by certain incontinent posters

[brucehoult]

Please do not "tag" or "mention" someone.
Please do quote their points.

And if the person you want to mention has not been involved in the thread, quite possibly is not aware that it even exists, but is known to be expert on the matters being discussed?

Include a link to one or more of the experts posts?
PM the expert?

But maybe the expert has seen the thread and doesn't want to be involved. There are some Awful/Aweful Examples of threads started by certain incontinent posters

I'm not a fan of arguments along the lines of "We shouldn't have fast cars / guns / pseudoephedrine / modems / books because bad people exist who might use them in a bad way".

There are mechanisms to deal with bad people directly, without taking away useful things from normal people.

[tggzzz]

Please do not "tag" or "mention" someone.
Please do quote their points.

And if the person you want to mention has not been involved in the thread, quite possibly is not aware that it even exists, but is known to be expert on the matters being discussed?

Include a link to one or more of the experts posts?
PM the expert?

But maybe the expert has seen the thread and doesn't want to be involved. There are some Awful/Aweful Examples of threads started by certain incontinent posters

I'm not a fan of arguments along the lines of "We shouldn't have fast cars / guns / pseudoephedrine / modems / books because bad people exist who might use them in a bad way".

There are mechanisms to deal with bad people directly, without taking away useful things from normal people.

I'll avoid the detour into that rathole territory.

I will note that mechanisms are only useful if reliably enforced. That is far from guaranteed. Take, for example, the "thanks" mechanism on this website; there's at least one poster that thanks every response in the myriad of twattish threads he has started. (N.B. some people directly tell him he is an idiot, and he thanks them!)

[luudee]

I have read all the post so far, and must say it is quite interesting to see the different opinions.

So, how about this:
IMHO, I believe that tagging should be available in the forum.
However, I also believe that each user should be able to turn tagging notifications off is s/he desires.

That way everybody goes home a winner ! 

Cheers,
rudi

[PlainName]

So, how about this:
IMHO, I believe that tagging should be available in the forum.
However, I also believe that each user should be able to turn tagging notifications off is s/he desires.

Everyone wouldn't be a winner, unfortunately. The dislike of mentions by tggzzz seems to be not because they might get one but because other users might post and/or receive them.

[tggzzz]

So, how about this:
IMHO, I believe that tagging should be available in the forum.
However, I also believe that each user should be able to turn tagging notifications off is s/he desires.

Everyone wouldn't be a winner, unfortunately. The dislike of mentions by tggzzz seems to be not because they might get one but because other users might post and/or receive them.

I think they are a bad concept arising from flaws in platforms deliberately enshittified for commercial reasons.

I would be partially mollified if I could stop other people tagging me. Obviously that's a non-starter.

[PlainName]

Every platform has flaws. Regardless of where mentions kicked off, and for what purpose, I have seen them being used usefully on various systems that most definitely aren't facebook. I think that they are pretty much embedded in the online world now and just as much a basic thing as email, emojis, etc.

Mind, the only time I've used them is when I am on a system where they are expected, to identify who is being thanked or otherwise replied to. When in Rome, etc.

[Wil_Bloodworth]

While I certainly can understand both side of this "mentions" topic, I find it extremely handy at work and use it all day long in Teams.  However, that is a real-time business situation and is slightly different than here.

That said, it doesn't bother me in the slightest if someone tags or mentions me... but, that's just me... I don't give 2 poops about controlling other people's [legal] actions.  If I don't like something, I can just "walk away"... I know... it's shocking... you can actually leave. LOL.  I'm not on FB or Twitter or IG or anything else so whatever.

- Wil

[tggzzz]

While I certainly can understand both side of this "mentions" topic, I find it extremely handy at work and use it all day long in Teams.  However, that is a real-time business situation and is slightly different than here.

That sounds like an online to-and-fro chat about today's activities, i.e. similar to FarceBook/Twatter.

As you say, that is different to somewhere like this forum, where people often refer back to posts made many years or even more than a decade ago.

I did that earlier today, when I referenced a picture in reply #8 in this 2015 (!) thread https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tek-485-repair-and-restoration-prologue/msg799741/#msg799741

[tggzzz]

Every platform has flaws. Regardless of where mentions kicked off, and for what purpose, I have seen them being used usefully on various systems that most definitely aren't facebook. I think that they are pretty much embedded in the online world now and just as much a basic thing as email, emojis, etc.

Mind, the only time I've used them is when I am on a system where they are expected, to identify who is being thanked or otherwise replied to. When in Rome, etc.

Indeed, every platform does have its flaws.

On this platform I miss some of the old usenet reader's ability to completely ignore posts from a small number of posters. Usenet had flaws that made that ability essential, of course

That isn't an excuse for importing other platform's flaws into this platform

[metebalci]

So, how about this:
IMHO, I believe that tagging should be available in the forum.
However, I also believe that each user should be able to turn tagging notifications off is s/he desires.

Everyone wouldn't be a winner, unfortunately. The dislike of mentions by tggzzz seems to be not because they might get one but because other users might post and/or receive them.

I think they are a bad concept arising from flaws in platforms deliberately enshittified for commercial reasons.

I would be partially mollified if I could stop other people tagging me. Obviously that's a non-starter.

Just trying to understand. If I want to say in a post something about you wrote, you prefer me to write "tggzzz said ..." rather than "@tggzzz said..." ? You mentioned "quote" should be used but independent of its use, there is a need for a "mention"=reference to someone in a text.

If you are against mentions because of notifications, I definitely agree that there has to be a setting and maybe it should be an opt-in.

The use of at symbol is probably due to both aesthetics (easy to distinguish the username) and a technical reason (because it is not just a word). So I am in favor of its usage but together with an option to disable the notifications.

[PlainName]

If I don't like something, I can just "walk away"... I know... it's shocking... you can actually leave.

Mate, this is the internet. You gotta get your priorities right.

[tggzzz]

So, how about this:
IMHO, I believe that tagging should be available in the forum.
However, I also believe that each user should be able to turn tagging notifications off is s/he desires.

Everyone wouldn't be a winner, unfortunately. The dislike of mentions by tggzzz seems to be not because they might get one but because other users might post and/or receive them.

I think they are a bad concept arising from flaws in platforms deliberately enshittified for commercial reasons.

I would be partially mollified if I could stop other people tagging me. Obviously that's a non-starter.

Just trying to understand. If I want to say in a post something about you wrote, you prefer me to write "tggzzz said ..." rather than "@tggzzz said..." ? You mentioned "quote" should be used but independent of its use, there is a need for a "mention"=reference to someone in a text.

If you are against mentions because of notifications, I definitely agree that there has to be a setting and maybe it should be an opt-in.

The use of at symbol is probably due to both aesthetics (easy to distinguish the username) and a technical reason (because it is not just a word). So I am in favor of its usage but together with an option to disable the notifications.

None of that, as I have previously and explicitly stated.

If you want to say something about one of my posts, quote that post. Don't make it about me. Do make it about what I said.

There are far too many people who deliberately choose to make strawman arguments so they can advance their own contentions. That's reprehensible.

For those with limited comprehension abilities (or who have other agendas), there's no problem in advancing their own contentions per se. But misrepresenting someone in not acceptable

[tggzzz]

@PlainName I agree. Repeat I disagree.

That's a crude extreme example of how merely mentioning someone is poor style and untasteful. While both of those statements is true, the lost context is critical.

It could, heaven forbid, be used as a "weapon": add such a tag to many posts in a tiny font so the recipient gets inundated but other people don't notice, or be malicious by using the wrong member id

[T3sl4co1l]

@PlainName I agree. Repeat I disagree.

That's a crude extreme example of how merely mentioning someone is poor style and untasteful. While both of those statements is true, the lost context is critical.

It could, heaven forbid, be used as a "weapon": add such a tag to many posts in a tiny font so the recipient gets inundated but other people don't notice, or be malicious by using the wrong member id

It seems unlikely one could generate enough conspiracy to create a DDoS this way, and a lone actor can simply be reported to admin and banned.  It's... not difficult, there are systems in place for this already.

Tim