Optimize the CD experience

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Foster

During the last year I have become mindfull on the hours spent in CD, and I'd like to greatly reduce that number.

I'd like to know how you "read" CD. What options do you set, what threads do you look at, what ones do you skip? Forum management? Is everyone but dlavery and JaneYoung on your ignore list? Tell us your secrets to wading through the deluge of posts to find the important messages to read!

Thanks!

Thread Titles. If the title looks interesting to me I hover over it and read the first couple sentences. If the title is "WE NED HLP!!!!!!1" I ignore it.

As far as going through threads quickly, I just skim the posts for relevant points. If I see an interesting point I read the rest of the post. Obviously there are a handful of people who, over several years, have demonstrated that I should just read their posts before skimming them. Sadly the converse is also true, some people are on my mental ignore list. I only use the real ignore list when someone just grates on my nerves too much. I also clear off the ignore list once every couple months.

And, just for the record, dlavery is on my mental ignore list from September until January if the thread involves the word "hint" at all.

[ATannahill]

I will view most of the threads when they first appear, after some things get too long for the subject (IMO) or there are too many posts repeating the same thing I will stop reading them.

I try to read all posts in some of the better threads. IMO a lot of the people on CD could learn to be more concise in their posts.

I only have two people on my ignore list. It's not that they are bad people or have rubbed me the wrong way. They just have avatars that flash rapidly and get distracting. I wasn't able to read other posts because of them.

[Jon Stratis]

Two methods: First, browse thread titles on the right of the portal page. It gives a nice summary of what the community is currently discussing across the entire site, and allows me to dive in deep on topics that interest me (note: you can hold your mouse over the topics and the text of the first post will pop up). Second, dive into specific forums that could contain useful information for my role on the team as the electrical/programming mentor and browse recently updated post titles there. For these forums, I utilize the "Mark these forums as read" button to help indicate posts/threads i've already considered and either read or dismissed.

[EricH]

I look at the thread title and forum. Fantasy FIRST gets a lot of attention, as does Rules/Strategy. General Forum depends on the thread title; a lot of stuff goes in there that should be elsewhere.

If someone else has already answered a question and I don't think I have anything else to add, I go on to another thread.

I'll follow threads that are interesting until either there is too much stuff or until they die. Game hint threads get sporadic attention at best.