Warning of posts since clicking "Add reply"

[Mark]

I'd like to see a feature that warns you when you submit a post if any posts have been made since you started typing your post. (To avoid those "Edit: <user> beat me to it" posts)

It could just pass the ID of the latest post in the thread when going to the post screen, and then when making the post check if that ID is one less than the ID it's going to give the post you just made. If it isn't, it displays the post screen again with all the posts made in between.

For example:
TOPIC
- Post 1
- Post 2
- Post 3

You click "Add reply", the number 3 is stored as a get or post variable.
While typing your reply someone adds Post 4 and 5.
When you submit your post, 3 is compared with the ID number that is going to be created for your post, which in this example will be 6. If 6-1 is not 3, the posts in between 3 and 6 (which would be 4 and 5) are displayed along with the post screen again, that way you can either edit your post to respond to posts 4 and 5, or just cancel making the post.

[Joey Matthews]

Does SMF have this feature?

I recall it somewhere and I think it would be very useful. I know how annoying it is when someone posts exactly the same point as yours and you're the looking like the fool. :lol:

+ from me
~joey

[atomicknight]

Well, those numbers aren't ever actually stored somewhere - they're generated dynamically when the page loads.

But, it would be nice to have such a feature, albeit implemented slightly differently (such as checking for new posts when you hit the Preview/Submit button and then creating a floating DIV or something that shows you the new posts and asks to confirm submission of your post). Of course, that'd require passing timestamps to the post editing form and what not, but that shouldn't be an issue.

[Mark]

It doesn't matter where the numbers come from, it's still very possible to pass the last one to the post screen.
Of course, it doesn't really matter how it's done it could be done several different ways, I just thought that would be the simplest. I got the idea from PHPBB3 which has this feature and haven't actually looked at how they do it.