Why is login modal?

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Level 6

13,037 points

Why is login modal?

The apple discussions have a login state and a non-login state. Thus, we have a modal login. In the login state you see the reply icon at the bottom of a post. You may create your own post via invoking the reply icon. When not logged in, you do not see the reply icon at the bottome of a post. You may not create a reply. You have to login. At present, I go to some other window to login. Login. Come back to this windows and reload the window.

A better GUI would be to include the reply icon on all posts. If you click on reply and you are not logged in, you would get a little popup box where you could fill in your login information. Once you filled in your information and it was correct, the reply action would proceed as before.

Other forums do this and it is simpler.

The rest of the forum software could be implemented with this in mind too. This would eliminate the modality of login. It would lessen the hassle we see to day with forced logout.

Modal dialogs went out of favor over ten years ago.

Robert

iMac G3 600, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jun 14, 2011 11:47 AM

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Answer 1

varjak paw

Level 10

182,686 points

Jun 14, 2011 12:01 PM in response to rccharles

The Communities are powered by Jive's forum software (the only software that can handle the massive load put on the Communities) so things work as that developer built them. Apple has very little control over that sort of functionality. This therefore may not be something that Apple can change.

Regards.

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Answer 2

Jun 16, 2011 6:56 AM in response to rccharles

The way you can avoid this is to always log in before browsing Apple Support Communities. That's the way I do it. (Being rather wordy, I'm always going to find something to which I want to reply.)

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Answer 3

Jun 16, 2011 2:00 PM in response to rccharles

Hi,

The Login has always been thus. Or rather as long as my memory serves which is at least the last two Software versions.

I currently use tabs in Firefox.

If I open a second tab in the communities (normally from an Email Subscription alert) but have not logged in and then do what you do/did - then when the Login is complete I am returned to the thread I just opened where I realised I was not logged in, ready to click the reply button.

It seems the software will work with you on this.

I seem to remember that the WebX software did similar where you could select Login in the thread you were in and you were returned there rather than the Index page. (It may have been that hitting "Reply" took you to the Login page)

If there was a "trick" to getting the last Jive software to do this I never discovered it.

9:57 PM Thursday; June 16, 2011

 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.7)
 Mac OS X (10.6.7),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Message was Spellchecked and edited by: Ralph Johns (UK) (It means nothing as to the correctness of all the words though there is a good chance that all the right letters are there but not always in the right order)

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