one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Sorry for bugging you guys with all these questions. I figure since it's been a week since kickoff, and the initial energy/excitement have calmed down, its a good time to reflect on this week's.

If there is one suggestion you can make to make this forum better (whatever that might mean to you), what would it be?

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

I think a really good idea to make this forum better was suggested in another location. I think there should be a short waiting period for newly joining members. It doesn't necessarily have to be a full five days, but at least 24-48 hours is fairly reasonable. That way they can get the understanding of things. :)

Other than that, I want to say congrats to CD on a build season flux well managed.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

30px sig height limit

Edit: What is the use of a waiting period before posting on a site with all the forums visible to the public?

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

They are free to browse the forums. They just can't post for a certain number of hours. A lot of people on here have a habit of posting something a bit dumb on the first moment they register. I was most definitly one of them :).

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

You can see my suggestion in my sig.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Thanks, but that's a suggestion for the members ;-).

I am looking more toward suggestions on how this forum can be modified to be better for the users.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

You always see "search before you post!"

What if a new member has no idea what to search for?

I think the forum police need to step down from their pedestals, and try to teach the new members how to use the forum, not just bash them for not searching before they post.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Even though it would be useless, a tutorial of some sort (maybe a flash animation like the link removed, or even just a simple html page) that would explain all important features of these forums would save the new users and old users a bunch of headaches.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Ban those who whine. This is my second season with CD. and this year i have seen easily 10 fold the number of people complaining about how poor a job first is doing. If they think they can run this organization better, i dont think they deserve the privledge of using this forum, or any other team resource for that matter.


ok, flaming over

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

I agree a little "tutorial" some sort may be usefull maybe it is something that has to be done before you post. I would think there is someone out there who could make a flaash animation or two with some moderator guidence. Parts of this like Searching could be a seperate movie in a FAQ.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Maybe put a First Time Here link that takes you to a menu of flashes to instruct people how to make good posts, and explain how the forums work. please teach folks how to post, and then how to search. Also, talk about the rep points, those are really cool.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Ooooo!
How about the ability for every user to make their own FIRST based blog!


OK maybe not....

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

That actually wouldn't be too hard to implement.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

OK then I take it back.
I want to make a Fantasy FIRST blog! :D

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Subscribing to the various subforums and a new posts from subscribed forums button? Pretty please Brandon. :)

Matt

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

totally agree. i just joined today and it took me atleast 2 hrs to just get acquainted with it. :ahh: 1/2 the time all i saw was "SEARCH BEFORE YOU ASK" but it took me a while to find the different categories, etc. and what a bunch of the buttons meant. i'm sure tehre are a bunch of options on here that even the pros aren't aware of. it'd be nice to have a tutorial or just a quick ppt briefly explaining each feature. :]

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Put a reminder on the top of every new thread page to make sure they search and include a link.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

You know, Matt. Your (and may others') wish may come true.

I've been wanting a quick way to get the 'Forum / Help / Comments' and other areas that I pay attention to, to show up on a 'new posts' search results.

I may just tackle those 2000 lines of code, now that I have some free time.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

question/suggestion (depends)

OK, I'm not sure if this is here already: is there a customized page when we sign in that tells us the pages we have recently posted in and a link to the thread? :confused: I've seen this feature in CC (college confidential - a forum like this about HS/college) and it's very convenient because sometimes it's hard to find the places we have posted in (or maybe it's just me because i am quite forgetful...). :rolleyes:

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

There is a way to do that.

Click your name.

Click "Find all posts by nehalita" (second from the bottom).

Enjoy.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

A tutorial would be very nice. It definitely took me five days to figure out how to get to different forums without going through a message in the portal.

My searches, often as not, return nothing.

I spent about an hour trying to understand the whole reputation thing after I saw a post or two discussing it and got curious.

It's dumb things, but I've never encountered a forum laid out quite like this one, and though I don't mind trying to find out more, it's often not worth my time, especially during the build season.

btw - is there a way to mark threads you've posted in so you can see if people have responded, or do you just have to remember the name and hope that it will show up in the portal and/or a search when you come back to check? (ie now would be a helpful time for this feature) And please don't tell me to search. I wouldn't know what to use as keywords that are likely to show up, so that would be another useful tutorial to have. :) Thanks all!

Oooh! *Grins* I bet it's this subscribe button here. So I know now, but I'm leaving the question in here as an example of the processes not mentioned in the "read these first" threads, so far as I could tell.

-Kim

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

On the new posts page (see the orange bar at the top), any topics you've replied to will have an arrow over the envelope. And it'll show all the posts that are new since you last came to the site.

It's almost backwards from the way you described it, but it should do what you want it to do.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Wow! I've never tried that button before. SWEET!! Thanks much. ;)

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33051

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

I just had an idea for a feature that might help cut out on the posting of already-asked questions...

What if, whenever a user clicks the button to post a new thread after having created it, a screen were to pop up containing a list of recent similar threads, based on the content of what was about to be posted? Then, if none of the listed threads contained the desired information, the poster would click another button to post for real. This could probably be implemented really easily by borrowing the code that displays "Similar Threads" at the bottom of every page of a thread.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

heres what i woulld like to see...

when a new member joins... instead of bringing them right into the forums, have them go to another page with a link, that link would then show a brief video/flash/ppt about the rules and procedures. then they would have to submit a specialized subscription code that they would recieve in their email.


that way everyone would have to know the rules


just my $.02

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

Not all users will have Flash or (especially) Powerpoint. We don't want to keep legitimate users from registering just because they don't have the right plugins.

It's not a bad idea though, in principle. Maybe some kind of large HTML rules page that they would then be quizzed upon?

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

New users get a welcome e-mail of sorts right after registration, I believe. I am trying to figure out the best way to get this information across. Either in this e-mail, or on some 'one-time-click-through' screen.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

I thought if you previewed your new thread, it would show the similar threads at the bottom. I was wrong. I know finding the similar threads is quite a database hit, but I'll have to see how hard it really works the db. This may be something that we could require for users with less than X posts.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

25 second search rule, perhaps:)

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

I've been playing with an idea of having a tutorial for every new user out there. Something that can teach them the rules of the forum, talk about appropriate behaviors, and provide tips on how to search and using various tools. This idea has been proven by Katie's wonderful search tutorial posted here: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=32993 . That tutorial is easy to follow, and very helpful in teaching new members on how to search.

Though I must admit I am not very good at putting all these details together. I would imagine it's a pretty big task for anyone to do. I can't even imagine Brandon having any sort of time to actually do this.

So, I thought about it, and thought, why not make it into a contest? It doesn't have to be the entire tutorial. It could be split into parts, and people can work on parts of it, or the entire tutorial if they have time. The best of the tutorials win the contest and get to be the official tutorial, plus a prize or some sort.

This is just an idea at the moment. Details will have to be worked out, things like the format of the tutorial, the submission method, the judging process, and the prize of the contest. I am not even sure this is possible at all, but it doesn't hurt just to think about it.

*edit* This of course will have to wait till the season is over, during the summer/offseason. *edit*

I suggest posting a new thread if people want to toy with this idea.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

we nd fwer ppl talkng like tis
caps splling nd punctatiun go a lng wayz to mking posts readuble

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

what if....

we had a box in the corner of the home page where a random person shows up kind of like a "spotlight" on a person. (of course we would give our consent by some option in our profile or something). i think it's a cool way to get to know new people. it'd just be a box with something simple like:

[[pictures]] :cool:
Name:
Location:
Role:
Message:
[[link to profile]]

i dunno, it sounds like a lot of coding though x.x' :o

or, a people search....to find people with similar interests or people in the same location. example: I'm looking for a programmer of a school by my area. so with this option, instead of searching through threads, the search option would look through threads and tell me all the people who have "ft laud" and "programming" in their profile. :rolleyes:

and....on our smilies box, we have that ONE little empty box where a smiley could fit in and i REALLLLLLY want a smiley with an L on their forehead (loser)...just for me. i swear if it were there I'd use it in every post i make. please? with a cherry on top? :yikes:

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

I've thought of that before, actually. A random 'member of the week' or something. I'll add that to my todo list; good idea.

Re: one suggestion to make this forum better
 

It would be useful to highlight some popular or important threads, the same way sitepoint forums does it.

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/