I don’t know if this is intentional or not, but it’s rather confusing from a UX standpoint. When a new thread is created, there are two buttons below (Create Topic / cancel) and one above ( + ) with text beside it (Create a new Topic). Inspecting the HTML, the two + buttons aren’t identically classed. This would suggest that the top one isn’t supposed to do the same thing as the bottom, but it isn’t clear what the top one is supposed to do. Is it supposed to do anything? Or is it just to let me know I’m currently writing a new Topic?
I clicked the button just now to test it. Apparently the (+) button gives a drop-down where I can actually change everything I’ve written, including the title, into a message that can be sent to a user! Definitely not something I would have guessed. And it doesn’t allow me to go back to the “Topic” format, so I had to copy/paste what I had already written.
I would suggest, instead of the current design, perhaps having “Create a new Topic” as one button, the default, and “New message” as a second button, to the right of it. Much like how “Latest” “Top” and “Categories” are laid out. Or have them appear as folder tabs. This would also allow the user to switch back-and-forth without losing their content as I did.
Thanks!