Can you make new messages appear at the top of the topic list so you don't have to scroll down?

It's <i>possible</i> (but anything's possible when you have the source code!) -- but the idea is that the conversation develops top to bottom, which is how we're used to reading. If you're re-reading a thread after each message posted, then the scrolling can get tiresome, but when you stop by the board hours later, being able to read down through the multiple new messages in a thread should seem more natural than having to scroll <i>up</i> one message at a time.

<ul>-Rich</ul>

Another question for you, Rich. Are there forward and back buttons that can appear so that we don't need to go back up to the topics before going to the next message?

Or does this exist already and I'm missing it?

Thanks,
Erik

There aren't -- and there isn't really a "forward" or "back" in topics, since the topic list always shows the most recently active one on top. (No more having to look through pages to find the one new post!)

What I've been doing is to go into a topic, read it, then use the "breadcrumbs" navigation at the top to go up one level, choose the next topic, and so on.

<ul>-Rich</ul>

"Breadcrumbs?" What's that?

"Breadcrumbs" are the things at the top that let you get back to the top level the same way you came in, where it says something like

Chiff and Fipple >> Whistle Forum >> This Topic

and each are a link. Think Hansel and Gretel.

Rich,

So within a single topic there's no threading - you just reply to "the topic" as such, rather than to an individual post?

Not a problem, just wanted to see if I'd missed something...

Jens

In addition to what was called the 'breadcrumbs' method of returning, if you've not posted a reply to the topic you can just hit your browser's 'back' button to return to the topic list.

Yep, exactly -- although you can quote a particular post like I did here with the "quote" icon below it.
<ul>-Rich</ul>