Chiefdelphi.com: Inspiration or disappointment?

[Karthik]

How was the Chief Delphi Forum in the 2004 season? Were you disappointed? Surprised?

The Chief Delphi Forums proved to be a valuable resource once again. My overall experience had been positive.

Comparing to previous years, do you think the CD forum has improved or degraded since its started years ago?

The forums have both improved and degraded.

Improved:

• The vB3 upgrade was fabulous
• All new features added by Brandon make this the most useful webpage I visit
• The reputation system is a great addition
• The honouring of the UFHs and WFAs is fabulous

Degraded

• There are far too many useless posts (One liners, distracting from the thread topic)
• Too many people answer questions without having the right answer
• People need to search before they post
• The overall quality of post has certainly dropped since I started coming here in 1998

What were the things you like most about this forum? How about things you hate most?

Like:

• If I have a question, I know there's a wealth of engineers and other experienced folks who can give me a quick, correct answer
• The large message archive contains a wealth of information
• The whitepapers are a great resource
• The picture galleries are great for scouting purposes

Hate:

• Needless chatter
• People posting for the sake of posting
• People posting incorrect and false information
• When people turn perfectly good discussions into flame wars, causing the thread to be closed
• The lack of proofreading

How do you feel about the amount of thread/post created everyday during summer, fall, and during the competition season? Are they too much / too little?

In general I think there are too many needless posts and threads being created. I think the chit chat forum has gotten a tad ridiculous, but I guess that's why it's there. IMHO, most of that discussion should occur on a different site, to help maintain a more professional atmosphere here. But I digress. This season I found that there was a lot less good FIRST talk going on during the competition season than there has been in past years.

If you are the webmaster of the CD forum, what would you change?

As I said earlier, I would get rid of the chit-chat forum. There are plenty of other places on the web where we can engage in those sorts of discussions. I'm not trying to be the grinch here, but I think the elimination of chit chat, would improve the quality of posts in all the other discussion areas. On the other hand, the chit chat may just end up moving to the general forum.

But really, if I was the webmaster, I'd quit and give my job to Brandon, because he's clearly shown he's the best person for the job.

Do you feel it is serving the community the way you think it should? Why or why not?

The CD forums continue to be the best resource in all of FIRST. So yes the community is being served. The community would be better served if you didn't have to read through 15 pointless messages before you got to the good stuff.

I'd like to take this time to thank all the people who dedicate so much of their time to make the place the great resource that is. From Brandon, to the other moderators to all the people who make those thoughtful, informative and insightful posts. Thanks.