Word Count - Get users to write longer postings

phreak

Hi all,

I just saw "Word Count" from Kasper in the Addon-Repository. Thanx for the work. I wondered if it might motivate users to write longer postings. I know that doesn't mean the content is better. But Vanilla is a very fast forum, where users can post without a page reload. So for example in a lot of my threads users tend to use it almost like a chat or - coming more close - as a shoutbox.

I had a funny idea. Expect the Word-Count Button to glow or change color, when it reaches a certain amount of characters. For example 500 or 1.000. Might be an interesting experiment i haven't seen so far.

I'd install it soon and test if this will lead to longer articles. If you have any feedback, drop it here.

vrijvlinder

Expect the Word-Count Button to glow or change color, when it reaches a certain amount of characters.

Spoken like a teacher lol , yes that would be fun to manipulate. I have come across forms which require a certain amount of info, like descriptions to be complete or it will show a warning that you haven't written enough.

Or you can actually make it a chatbox by limiting content like twitter, down to just a few words. That way people can choose their words better no?

businessdad

@vrijvlinder said:
Or you can actually make it a chatbox by limiting content like twitter, down to just a few words. That way people can choose their words better no?

That would be a good idea for some applications.
@kasper, if you decide to implement it, just keep in mind that it would require some additional server side validation (JavaScript could limit the typing, but it could be disabled).