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Look at SDH for a good example of well organised multi-sub bike forum, with high traffic..
Way too many topic area going on there.
[i]776230 Posts in 58984 Topics by 21237 members[/i]
So about a 1/3 of the posts on here then.
At least split the Bike forum into:
* Bikes and Equipment
* Riding
So, for instance, the great helmet debates would go where?
They are equipment, but it is about riding.
What if a discussion about riding somewhere (in the Riding forum) results in someone asking an Equipment question like what tyres work well there? Should a mod then move the thread?
Petty rules and categories just cause annoyance all round.
Look at SDH for a good example of well organised multi-sub bike forum, with high traffic..
Why do people keep pointing at less successful forums as an example of how to do it better?
Is it not conceivable that the flat format may be part of the reason that STW is such a popular forum?
So, for instance, the great helmet debates would go where?
They are equipment, but it is about riding.
What helmet should I buy? -> Equipment
Should I wear a helmet whilst riding? -> Riding.
It is really not hard, although the number of wrong posts in the Bike section of the site suggests that some users have trouble with the concept.
What if a discussion about riding somewhere (in the Riding forum) results in someone asking an Equipment question like what tyres work well there? Should a mod then move the thread?
What tyres for mud - Equipment
What tyres for Scotland? - Riding.
That's a borderline example, and the bottom line is it doesn't matter really, what matters is the big fat obvious topics go in their big fat obvious sub-forums.
Petty rules and categories just cause annoyance all round.
Most of the internet seems to manage.
Or maybe STW should change over to a newsgroup? That'll keep the 'flat earthers' happy 🙂
Is it not conceivable that the flat format may be part of the reason that STW is such a popular forum?
In the beginning, it may have helped grow the forum.
Now, it is a hindrance, and makes the site feel amateurish and annoying to use (not helped by lack of Private Messaging, and constant downtime).
Older users are bound to think that everything is perfect, and resist change. That doesn't make them right.
On the sub divisions topic can I clarify things?
No.. not now.. Not ever.. will we subdivide the bikes or chat forum into anything else. It's part of who we are.. It's part of why we are so popular, which in an ironic twist is also part of why the server is so loaded 🙂
Tom has updated the Forum Maintenance sticky thread.
I've read everything on here and there are some salient points from a number of people who clearly know what they are talking about. But then there is a lot of mush from people who clearly don't.
We have a lot of talent here and the site and what it does is a lot more complex than most people ever realise. There is a lot more going on than just a forum. There's many other things the database does than just deliver the forum. In short the demands on our two Toms and the three dedicated servers that are used to run this site are quite a lot more complex than just a single forum installation.
The calls for sys admin sackings is really uncalled for. After reading the input of techies on this site and talking to others offsite I'm convinced without a doubt that we have the best tech talent working on keeping this site up and running under extraordinary circumstances and demands.
The site has gone down intermittently for the last couple of weeks. The cause of that is complex but it is being sorted. The site will undoubtedly go down a few more times before the solutions are fully implemented.
there are some salient points from a number of people who clearly know what they are talking about. But then there is a lot of mush from people who clearly don't.
That pretty much sums up the STW forum and, thinking about it, the Internet. (-:
Thanks for the heads-up, appreciated.
But then there is a lot of mush from people who clearly don't.
Evening 8)
The calls for sys admin sackings is really uncalled for.
You know STW has the ability to go from 0-Burning Pitchforks in about 2 seconds, so I would take these with a pinch of salt.
We have a lot of talent here
😳 thank you *goes coy*
thank you *goes coy*
Pics or GTFO.
[img][/img]
pesky i phones.
My HtC shows me the full page, shrunk to the screen.
the wiggly ads make it a bit of a sod to move around.
i wouldnt notice, except ive been using another forum (ahem :oops:)
which auto formats and it runs loooadddsss better)
can we plug this in please...
[url= http://www.tapatalk.com/ ]null
apparently its free!, and paid for by app DLs
It is really not hard, although the number of wrong posts in the Bike section of the site suggests that some users have trouble with the concept.
So you agree that going back to the one-free-for all forum is the answer.
Give the punters what they want, not what you think they want... 😆
What helmet should I buy? -> Equipment
Should I wear a helmet whilst riding? -> Riding.
What tyres for mud - Equipment
What tyres for Scotland? - Riding.
Excellent. And who will decide these rules? Will there be some kind of chart we can refer to so we know which category our thread belongs in?
What if I ask about buying a helmet and the first reply is "you don't need a helmet, they are just for kids with soft heads"?
That's a borderline example
If you think threads radically changing topic and direction is a "borderline example" then you haven't been here very long.
bottom line is it doesn't matter really, what matters is the big fat obvious topics go in their big fat obvious sub-forums.
If the topic is big fat and obvious then it will showup on search.
Now, it is a hindrance, and makes the site feel amateurish and annoying to use
You find it annoying just starting threads in Bike Forum instead of carefully selecting a sub-category based on some arbitrary set of rules? Weird.
Looking at your profile, the three(!) threads you have started since you joined have all been answered pretty well, so what's the issue?
Most of the internet seems to manage.
I've seen "Most of the Internet" - it's shit.
Older users are bound to think that everything is perfect, and resist change. That doesn't make them right.
Why listen to folk who have been loyal to the cause for years when there are young upstarts full of fanciful ideas of how they can "improve" things before they flit away somewhere else? 😉
Okay, if you want change from an "older user" then here is my suggestion to resolve your sub-topics problem:
Encourage the tags to be used properly. Forums stay as big melting pots, but could then have views (created by the user) filtered to show/hide threads with certain tags set. Same with search.
Thus the thorny multi-topic helmet debate example could be tagged #equipment #riding #helmets and it would show up on any view that shows one of those tags.
I think this should be put to bed.
The person who I presume runs the site has stated a) the problems with the server / software will be fixed, and b) that the forums will never be changed.
That's fine, although IMHO very narrow minded. I have not been on here that long, but have run a successful and much larger site (by an order of magnitude) for 6 years, and know a thing or two about forum dynamics. But hey ho, accept the things you can't change and all that, ain't no biggie 🙂
You run a website that presumably gets 5 million unique users a month or.. 70 million page views or... 450,000 visits a day then if it's 10 times larger than this site.
Cobblers! I don't believe you.
🙂
but have run a successful and much larger site
Go on then, which one? And with some form of proof.
I own a computer and therefore know what I'm talking about too.
Is it Mumsnet? 😀
......but have run a successful and much larger site (by an order of magnitude) for 6 years, and know a thing or two about forum dynamics.
Name names or GTFO.
Only one thing for it then.
[url= http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=mark+&word2=7hs ]Mark v 7hz[/url]
I host Facebook from my 386 at home on a dial up connection.
I host the internets from my BBC Model B (16k) in my garage.
You run a website that presumably gets 5 million unique users a month or.. 70 million page views or... 450,000 visits a day then if it's 10 times larger than this site.
😯 Jeepers!!! That's a hell of a lot of people that read our garbage on a daily basis.
STW = Awesome!!!
The Southern Yeti:Jeepers!!! That's a hell of a lot of people that read [s]our[/s] my garbage on a daily basis.
Fixed that for you 8)
I host the internets from my BBC Model B (16k) in my garage.
You tell the kids to day and you know what, they don't believe you.
😉
Jamie... that was my original draft! I changed it so as not to seem narcissistic!
You run a website that presumably gets 5 million unique users a month or.. 70 million page views or... 450,000 visits a day then if it's 10 times larger than this site.Cobblers! I don't believe you.
The forum equivalent of getting the slipper from the head master in assembly when you're 11 years old.
1. performance seems fine
2. it's unavailable too often
3. format and controls fine
4. mods lack transparency
So why not publish weekly stats of the uptime vs downtime so we can see the truth about stability?
And get the hamsters to blog what maintenance and upgrades they are doing, instead of scribbling illegible gibberish into a notebook
WGAF? Forum is up every time I visit (though I know it's had some database woes to sort lately), performance is perfectly fine for me, format and controls are fine (more fine division would be pointless - I run a site with much more fine division and I'm considering shrinking it back down because most people don't want to look through each board and stick to just one or two and odd posts in the satellite groups get ignored).
Mods/transparency - kind of agree, but ultimately it doesn't keep me awake at night.
Now, it is a hindrance, and makes the site feel amateurish and annoying to use (not helped by lack of Private Messaging, and constant downtime).Older users are bound to think that everything is perfect, and resist change. That doesn't make them right.
I disagree on many levels. The site doesn't feel amateurish and annoying at all, I find it perfectly functional and better than the old setup. I don't resist change, I run other sites (smaller scale) and prefer this to the ones I run which are more complex. Not everyone with an opinion about how they like things is right either. In this case I believe you're very much in the wrong. Change for the sake of change, features for the sake of added features are a mistake to be avoided. The regular contributors to the site don't have the complaints you do, maybe you're wrong?
Though PM would be nice on some levels, it's hardly essential and it means conversations stay on-board generally and stops people whispering in the background, which gives something of addiional transparency and openness in the group.
I run the entire NASA space programme, the Large Hadron Collider, Belgium [i]and[/i] the internets from a typewriter and Etch-a-Sketch™ in my cupboard....
So ner!
The forum is perfect the way it is, but the increasingly regular downs are annoying. I have to go and do other things. I've even had to ride my bloody bike recently. 😯
but the increasingly regular downs are annoying
Yeah there's too many people on a downer, that's what you meant right?
...
so I'll zip it
Bet you don't! (Whay can't we have a yawning emoticon?)
Bet you don't! (Whay can't we have a yawning emoticon?)
We do. Secret code though. Just type *:yawn:*, without the *'s, and you get this:
[img] 
[/img]
:sticks finger up at Jamie:
*chuckles*
8)
[img] [/img]
/p>
Like this?
That's it DS.
Now, it is a hindrance, and makes the site feel amateurish and annoying to use (not helped by lack of Private Messaging, and constant downtime).
[url= http://forums.mtbr.com/ ]other (subdived) forums are available[/url]
😀
Damn you with your clever computer knowing ways!
I hate you all!
Mwahahahaha! Today the emoticons and tomorrow a forum with 10 billion visitors, 15trillion gigathingies of something else, a server that'll never fail and even more activity than 7hs could ever dream of... hahahahahahahahahahahahah!