Duplicated Threads....

Got a suggestion or idea to make the forums better or more user friendly. Post it in this forum. Also report any bugs or problems here
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Germinator
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Duplicated Threads....

Post by Germinator »

This is just an idea I think could make this forum easier for everyone in the long term, please no flaming if you think it's not worthy of mention...



I know one of the issues that must be a headache (especially for noobs) is the problem finding discussions about a specific topic in the TECH section of this forum.

One of the things that seems to happen here is, instead of friendly helpful posts directing to the thread people want, the discussion happens all over again. Now I do it myself because even though I have been here for a long time, searching IS difficult. It normally means reading through lots of threads to pinpoint what you were looking for and sometimes even though I know it's there for certain, the damn thing seems to be hiding.

I don't know how you could sort this out now it's become so regular because unlike other forums where moderators quickly close duplicate threads and place links to the original one that doesn't seem to happen here. It would take a lot of work to sort and change the existing threads.

Perhaps one of the things when setting up the new phpBB3 forum software is to change to a new indexed style tech side of the forum in a way similar to the way I did in the tech side of HoldenGemini.net forum. Indexing should make it easier to reference and quickly find threads that already exist so in the long run it becomes more orderly and easier to search without effort.

The existing tech forum could be set as an archive for reference but no longer available to be posted in.
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Frederick Stienheld
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Post by Frederick Stienheld »

What do you mean by indexed style?
I'm happy to make changes when we move over if it's going to help everyone
Germinator
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Post by Germinator »

Similar to the system I used to make searching easier. I used the same index layout of a GMH workshop manual to index the web reference site.

http://www.holdengemini.net/techforum/

Mind you the site I'm referring to has limited access to post because it's really not a forum so to speak, I just used the forum software to set it up with. The same principle could be used in a forum like this where members can post. Just have to get people into the habit of thinking about their thread and starting it in the correct forum.

Don't take this as me telling you how you should set up your site Merv, I just see an opportunity to make changes that will help everyone while you set up phpBB3. What I see is the general forum "GEMINI CHAT" might be better off made obsolete because it ends up being used for threads that really could be indexed in a section similar to how WORKSHOP DISCUSSIONS have been indexed. Rather than relying on mods to move appropriate threads to that section, maybe discussions should start off in the section relative to the thread. As of right now, the GEMINI CHAT forum has no sub forums and 10255 randomly mixed threads on technical topics in it while the whole of the WORKSHOP DISCUSSION section has 10 sub forums with a total of 219 threads.

If everyone worked in a friendly manner and guided those who can't quite find what they are looking for to the previous thread on the subject they just posted about (because it's a whole lot easier to find when it's indexed) eventually the whole site would be easier to use. The way things happen at the moment there must be over 800 threads on "Weber carbys" spread all over the place. That could be reduced to a far easier search if they were collected into one single forum and repetitive threads get closed and referred to the master topic the poster is alluding to.

I just found it was an easier way to speed the searching process if you start off looking in the section relative to what you need. At the moment you have an index of sorts but it doesn't get used to it's most efficient. People still just go to "Gemini Chat" to ask general questions about something like DCOE Webers (for example) instead of using a section for "FUEL SYSTEM" where it would be easier to find.

In theory, each section should have less posts in total because there are more sections, each containing a more specific list of threads.

One of the other real beauties about phpBB3 is the ability to use layering of forums making presentation a whole heap easier. You can have a parent forum with child forums relative to the parent... Say parent forum ENGINES with child forums G161Z and 4FB1 then those could be split into sub forums again like MECHANICAL, FUEL, COOLING, IGNITION etc... Similar to the way a computer hard drive has a rood directory and multi layered sub directories running from it.
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Post by Frederick Stienheld »

Ok that's what I thought you meant by indexed.
That's definitely something I'll look at when we move over :)
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Post by Frederick Stienheld »

Frederick Stienheld wrote:Ok that's what I thought you meant by indexed.
That's definitely something I'll look at when we move over :)
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Post by stock_gem »

bah, i've been around on a lot of forums, but i really like the way this one is set out, and the way it works. i also really hate change just for the sake of hating it.

however, i am looking forward to the upgrade to phpBB3. and all the features that come with it, but the forum layout should stay just the way it is.

if anyone's worried about duplicated threads and n00bs posting pointlessly and in the wrong section; as i'm here almost constantly these days, I'll happily take on moderating duties for you :lol:
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Last edited by stock_gem on Fri Feb 32, 3043 13:75 pm; edited 3.14159265 times in total
Germinator
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Post by Germinator »

Upgarading from phpBB2 to phpBB3 brings with it many new features so it makes sense to use some of them to improve the bugs we experience here.

Now it doesn't need to be argued that the search function here is flawed and to improve that is a benefit. Remember also that the forum began small and it has grown considerably. The bigger it gets, the more database it needs to search through while the layout remains the same.

To restructure the index is a major step towards improving the search function and I realised that long ago, which is why I have mentioned it many times.

It can be done with minimal front end changes so from a user point of view all that changes is a new layout of indexing... like at the moment the options to search are restricted. You can't zoom down to a chapter about cooling when looking for info on a water pump or thermostat. You have to search through all the technical section and try and narrow it down. If the tech section were divided into sub chapters like a workshop manual is, you could limit the search to the chapter you were enquiring about. Why would you be looking for thermostats in gearboxes and front springs? At the moment all the info is mixed into a big pot.

The proposal I made to Merv was to follow similar ideas as I have used in the tech section of HoldenGemini.net tech side of the site. Searching is simple and it literally gives the answer in the first post or two of the search result.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to make changes to cater for the growth and provide for future growth. It's part of normal process. Imagine if the Hume Highway was still a single lane cart track with bog holes and river crossings you had to wait at till the water subsided.... What a treat to halve the travel time to 8 days and all they did to manage that was added a few bridges! Improvements made travel safer and reduced time. I have been part of the most recent improvements, the duplication of over 100km of single lane highway into a dual lane divided freeway. The last few sections (3 town bypasses) are now under construction and by 2012 it should be a freeway all the way from Melbourne to Sydney. Now many of you will not recall the days when it was slow going but I remember when there was no freeway at all between Melbourne and Sydney and it wasn't all that long ago. I remember when the ONLY freeway in Victoria was the original section of the Tullamarine freeway that was made to cater for the new airport when international flights went from Essendon airport to Tulla... that was in 1968 when I moved to Melbourne. At that stage there was no Hume freeway at all. The first sections of what was to become the Hume Freeway began construction as individual town bypasses in the early 1970s. It took over 30 years to link them all up so it became one single continuous freeway from outer Melbourne to the NSW border.
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