Forum Feedback Where is TE headed?

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blr_p: I will move with the times. It's not a matter of preference. The nature of evolution is that it is uncontrolled. There is no guarantee that even if the forum owners implement every single good suggestion here, you can prevent any of the outcomes that will eventually be.
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Thx felt that was the deeper question lurking in what you said.

Evolution and should we mess with it ?

chiron said:
Almost all of the forums I've posted in have their peak in activity at around a couple of years after which it slowly wanes as the main topics have already been discussed to death. This might not be as true for tech forums but I think that is more or less what is happening here now.
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Exhibit A

chiron said:
Anyway, my 2c is to leave things as it is.
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That's my feeling too but then i hardly look at the market section.

And if its felt there are any changes to be made that they be graceful ones that won't disrupt the flow too much. Channel the flow rather than obstruct.
 
cranky said:
May I suggest a "What to buy?" sub-forum of the market. All the price queries, product queries etc can be cubbyholed there. That way the core tech discussions can remain in the relevant sections.
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yes, this should be done and it is very easy to implement.

Whenever I go to PC peripherals section, I close it in 30secs after just seeing topic names. All topic are mostly for suggestions and very few where we can get new information.

If we have 'what to buy/ suggestion' sub-section, all suggestion threads will be there and in main forum we can discuss new technologies/ technical problems,etc.

We have TE-Price Guide Home Page - TechEnclave Price Guide which is so dead. We can keep it updated so that members can refer it. I believe no one refers it(how one can? as it has got no updates).

I still don't know, how to update that price-guide:ashamed:
 
what can we do about general laziness :ashamed:

http://www.techenclave.com/mac-os/pls-help-me-find-all-drivers-159704.html#post1411771

The OP is clearly not a noob. he's attempting to setup a hackintosh. However, his post is hardly self explanatory.

And the guy who responds did not notice which subforum this was posted on, and gives the standard reply. Poor guy (misguided as he was) even took the trouble to fish out the links.

There is no actual rules broken, however you see how threads like these contribute to the general decline in quality.

I would suggest some stern and proactive moderation. While we may come across as a stern & uptight bunch if this is to be implemented, we have to lose something, somewhere...
 
cranky said:
May I suggest a "What to buy?" sub-forum of the market. All the price queries, product queries etc can be cubbyholed there. That way the core tech discussions can remain in the relevant sections.

Now, when I mean product vs tech, what I basically mean is that a query on price or availability or other criteria that do not link directly to the technology behind the product, is a 'product query'. Technology discussions are not necessarily concluded in product recommendations. Which is the whole point, really. Troubleshooting queries, which is another large part of the traffic I can see (and I can't see as much as the admins), can remain in the core sections...
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I see your point. Which is why I had made that what to buy template. Too bad we couldnt implement it the way I envisioned. Honestly we did think of this separate market section long back, but were afraid to touch it as it might lead to empty tech sections. :ashamed: Anyway the time has come perhaps to take the plunge.

HOWEVER the problem comes when the question changes from 'what to buy' to 'why to buy'. When you compare two products in a thread, it edges into the tech territory.

6pack said:
Some inputs from me. I had typed this some back and that token bug removed it
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We already have a wiki in the strategy roadmap. However it might be some time before that gets rolled out. Will finalize the scope eventually.

Anyway unlike earlier when we did everything with a week long downtime and big bang, this time we will take things one at a time. Let one thing stabilize and pick up, before moving on to another.
 
how about some bunched up megathreads for specific products as tvs ,A/c's and other consumer products , means a bit more work for mods to keep shifting threads , but atleast people will start reading the previous threads ?
 
^At least henceforth they should! There should be a thread or a megathread (maybe a sticky if it has daily hits) for LCDs, Power supplies, ACs, AVRs and other consumer goods and PC peripherals. For instance we already have one on power supplies but no one cares to post their query in that thread and opens a dedicated thread with a view of getting specific replies - as far as possible I respond to any query relating to power supply if it has been put up on the stickied thread since I took the initiative to sticky it!

I did report some of the new threads to have it moved to the sticky but unfortunately it wasn't so did not bother. Point is this will eliminate redundancy and unwanted searches as most responses have been put forth in a single thread. A member has to just browse through the last few pages to see if a similar query was put up.

We need dedicated members for each section. Maybe a couple of senior members who could respond properly and not by giving insane replies. It maybe expected from the same members to bring about new threads on new tech pertaining to the section. Others can as well pitch in with these threads.
 
^ I am against the idea of 'merge-em-all' recommendation threads.

A recommendation thread should:

a) list some common recommendations for different budgets/needs

b) link to related discussions

c) optionally offer quick recos for people who do not have the time to start a new thread.

I'm surprised none of the reco threads have any recommendations. You avoid redundant queries by providing some common recommendations in the first place.

Moreover blr_p is right, finding anything will be a nightmare. Merging threads should be done for closely related threads. Merging everything just because its PSU related doesn't make sense.

Let me put it this way. Suppose I have a budget for 3k for a PSU. Would it be easier to search through a 'PSU for 3k budget' thread, or browse through a single mega thread where people are discussing everything from PFC to efficiency?

If you don't get what I'm talking about, take the mobile phone advisor thread. There's a *lot* of good info literally lost in there; but with such varying needs, it is close to impossible to find your specific query - and at 200+ pages it is no mean feat to simply browse through it either.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
^ I am against the idea of 'merge-em-all' recommendation threads.

Let me put it this way. Suppose I have a budget for 3k for a PSU. Would it be easier to search through a 'PSU for 3k budget' thread, or browse through a single mega thread where people are discussing everything from PFC to efficiency?

If you don't get what I'm talking about, take the mobile phone advisor thread. There's a *lot* of good info literally lost in there; but with such varying needs, it is close to impossible to find your specific query - and at 200+ pages it is no mean feat to simply browse through it either.
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between 200+ posts spread across some 20 threads, and the same number of posts in 1 thread, what difference does it make ? You will HAVE to search in the first case. Second scenario, its optional, if you have a little patience.

Of course, i too suggest only merging of related posts, like i always like to cite, the suggest a speaker for 3k threads. I dont see the point of having 20 threads on the same. Do you ?
 
^ The point is those 200 posts will all be relevant to your query. Rather than having to filter out 200 relevant posts from 20000 posts.

And just to reiterate, I have no problem merging threads as long as its closely related as the example you've given.
 
my point is , if these posts are on seperate threads which are not merged, the user will have to search them out anyway.

the scope of merging would be left to the mods anyway. Users will be free to create posts, but mods would have to decide which thread with which it should be merged.

if a mega thread exists, its purpose would be to serve as a discouragement to newbies from posting not exactly well thought out queries again and again, since it would get merged. it would also help them think out what exactly they need to post , since only if their queries are sufficiently backed up with information, , and warrants to be different, will the thread remain seperate.

Instead of posting " suggest a processor for 10k" ( which ought to get merged with the "suggest a processor thread" . the user would have to post a more meaningful thread, like "which processor for maya ?"
 
And my point is, merging everything that is remotely connected is as ineffective as having separate threads.

Having a mega thread won't change anything. What a newbie intended to post in a separate thread, he will go ahead and post in the mega thread. If a newbie was indeed that intuitive enough to think as you say he will, he would've probably searched and formed a crisp/concise thread anyway.

Oh and when he does post in the mega thread, it will be right after person A has posted another query, and his post will be followed with person B responding to person C's query a couple of posts earlier. Do you think thats easy to read? Hint - there's a reason its called a 'thread'. The very definition implies something that is *continuous*.

This is exactly why I say merging should be for closely related threads/discussion.
 
Have you tried putting up a story on Digg, it will look up the words in the thread before submission and check if there are any similar threads based on the content and then ask the thread creator if he still wants to go ahead with the same.

DO you think, this is something that is doable.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
What a newbie intended to post in a separate thread, he will go ahead and post in the mega thread. If a newbie was indeed that intuitive enough to think as you say he will, he would've probably searched and formed a crisp/concise thread anyway.
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In which case, we shall henceforth ask him to browse through the previous posts in case a similar query has been answered already else we shall answer the query.

Eddy, all the informative posts shall be appended to the posts in the first page or we can provide links to reviews and other technical information related to the power supply. We can as well include the updated pricing of the power supplies - I shall volunteer for the cause.

Point is other members should follow suit - they should not be answering all redundant queries which would simply clutter the thread.

In essence, this does not apply to power supply alone. JM2C. :)
 
@^^

Good point.

Like I said previously. Answer someone's question and move on, or direct them to the search feature or the correct thread and move on.

@Mods/Admin

Nice going guys. I see the "Read the RULES" link already! Good going. :)
 
Oh and I noticed a 'Read the RULES' linky has come up. I wish all the newbies have a good read at that!
 
SharekhaN said:
Have you tried putting up a story on Digg, it will look up the words in the thread before submission and check if there are any similar threads based on the content and then ask the thread creator if he still wants to go ahead with the same.

DO you think, this is something that is doable.
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That is a feature which suggests based on the thread titles. The thread titles in that case need to be accurate, otherwise it wont work.

It is server intensive. Yes it is doable, with the upcoming server upgrade we shall look into it.
 
like i said, all the thread searching etc can be brought to almost nothing if a price wiki is made. we can list out all the price ranges for psu, processors, etc from budget to hi-end and also put up some recommended sections. We can also have a column for ratings for the particular products based on polls conducted here, say every 3 months or so. Maybe we could add a few reviews too if required.

Then the reader just has to see the relevant sections in order to make up his mind on what to get.

I know I sound silly putting up the wiki proposition again and again, but it has its benefits. It can be updated frequently and sections can be added and removed at will. We just need dedicated folks for it.
 
And taking a hint from the sorcerer's video, we also need to look at making the rules a bit leaner. Then perhaps make a list of 10 commandments which everyone should know and follow at the bare minimum. A quick start guide instead of the motherboard manual. :P These could be the most flouted rules on TE which impact the content quality. Any suggestions on what those could be?
 
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