one suggestion to make this forum better

[pakrat]

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.

[Koko Ed]

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


OK maybe not....

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

OK maybe not....

That actually wouldn't be too hard to implement.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

That actually wouldn't be too hard to implement.

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

[Matt Leese]

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

Matt

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Matt Leese

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

Matt

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.

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

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.

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

[Pat Fairbank]

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.

[Greg Perkins]

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

[Goobergunch]

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?

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Greg Perkins

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

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.

[activemx]

25 second search rule, perhaps

[Ken Leung]

Originally Posted by Greg Perkins

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

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.

[steven114]

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

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Pat Fairbank

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.

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.