Helpful text when there are no earlier entries

[afuna]

Title:
Helpful text when there are no earlier entries

Area:
entries

Summary:
We should have some indication of why there is no "previous" link when paging back through recent entries or the reading page

Description:
This comes up fairly regularly in Support, where someone is confused because they can no longer go to previous entries on their read page.

I think we should cut down most of the confusion by adding text on the last page to the effect that:

* read page : You cannot view earlier entries ( because of 14 days / x entries limitation blah blah OR link to an FAQ or something )

* recent entries page: You cannot go back ( because of x entries limitation blah blah OR link to an FAQ ). Try using the per-date archives [link] to see any earlier entries

Poll #1813 Helpful text when there are no earlier entries

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 32

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
27 (84.4%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
3 (9.4%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
0 (0.0%)

(I have no opinion)
2 (6.2%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[ct]

Makes sense to me. Although, should the message be different if there are no earlier entries - eg, a journal that has zero entries (for the recent-entries page) or zero subscriptions (for the reading page)? In those cases, whatever advice is given in the standard message wouldn't apply.

[afuna]

Hmmm, probably. I don't know if the system is smart enough to determine "no earlier entries available to you now" versus "no earlier entries *at all*", but if we can get that information, we should have different error messages.

We could also just add in that case to the default text, but I guess that could be confusing *g*

[cheyinka]

"You cannot go back any earlier. Either there are no earlier entries that are visible to you, or you have reached the limit of how many entries can be seen in the recent entries view. (See FAQ #n+1.)"?

[afuna]

Souns good to me!

[cheyinka]

Then for the reading page, add "posted in the last fourteen days" to the first case and replace "in the recent entries view" with "on a reading page" and FAQ #n+1 with FAQ #n+2. :D

[msilverstar]

Yes, please! My subscriptions/flist are big enough that I didn't realize, after six years, that it only ever goes back 14 days.

Informing people of this seems like a significant improvement. And maybe adding a longer time for paid users and communities, especially if they have a small subscription list.

[syderia]

Yes to this.

[triadruid]

Similar to http://dw-suggestions.dreamwidth.org/27062.html which got strong support earlier this year (that one was for individual entries, not aggregate pages). :)

[afuna]

Aha! I had this haunting feeling of deja-vu while I was typing up this suggestion, and I was wondering where it was from.

FYI, that original suggestion has been patched, and should be live by next code push!

[triadruid]

Yay! I *helped*!