I'm a vivid reader of this forum and I try to add usefull info as much as I can. But there's someting that is annoying me I just want to rant about for a bit.

I just read the 25th "can I put this SN95 wheel on my 05" topic. This issue has been beaten to death, over and over and over and every single day people keep opening new topics on the same thing. Not only does this lead to a massive load of useless topics and messages, it also makes the forum harder and harder to read, because if you want to look back for a certain detail and there are a zillion topics on the same issue useful information gets lost.

Why do we even bother to answer questions if nobody seems to read anything that is written longer than a day ago anyways? I myself notice more and more that I'm not even bothering with answering a question anymore, if it pops up for the umptieth time. If this happens with more people it will hurt the value of the forum.

What it comes down to is I think we need more strict moderation, and simply have the moderators remove new questions that have been asked before, combined with sending a standard message to the poster to look for the answer by using the search instead of just slamming another post on the forum.

End of rant.

Please know that I don't want to step on any toes, but I'm a bit worried about keeping it interesting. I have moderated various new car forums in the past and in my experience keeping forums clean and coordinated is essential in their continued success after the novelty starts wearing off. This forum is by far the best 05 Mustang forum around, so let's keep it that way! Thanks for listening.

Eric

 

Why not just NOT answer it...leave it at 0 replies...and ignore it. let it fall to the bottom of he page.

 

Cheer up.....it's the Holidays. Many people don't see it the first time around, and cant find it, so they ask again. I think this is what a forum is here for. To help each other out. I suggest you don't reply or read it , if it bothers you that much.

Happy Holidays!




Moderated Post

 

I've moderated various forums in the past and have to say that you dance a fine line between keeping the forum clean and chasing off new people from posting. Beating a dead horse to you and me may be considered "a different angle on an existing issue" to someone else. Just seems to be the nature of message boards that some topics are going to get rehased... esp. when topics get buried in active forums like the '05 section here. Maybe highlighting the "search" feature more might help.

 

Can I see a pic of mineral grey exterior with red interior?

Does anyone know what the status is on the IUP?

Is there an engine cover on the production version?


Use the SEARCH button people.

 

rob is right, though we've discussed things multiple times, many noobs are overwhelmed by the amount of information/topics on here. Though a search would probably answer many questions, many don't try that first unfortunately. Sometimes its just easier to ignore the post if it irritates you.

There isn't too much the mods can do about it short of making an FAQ section that would need its own server and to post a topic asking people to search first (which we've done).

Like Rob said, it just happens on messageboards such as this one. The longer you have been here, the more annoying you may find it. I've been here since the beginning, and let me tell you, I've seen a LOT of topics repeated.

I bet many of you (maybe even you Eric) posted something for the first time and though you haven't seen it before, I may have (lets assume). My point is, you're always going to have repeat posts. The larger the forum gets and the more new members, the more repeat posts. You can see it happen on all the other large mustang messageboards as well.

I think the fact that we split the mustang section into different areas helps as people will read the ongoing discussion in the area they are interested in and more often than not it will relate to their problem/question.

We were all noobs once..........The way I look at it, they are enthusiasts just like us who don't know what a search feature is quite yet. But I see potential.

Dan

 

I kinda agree with Rob. Look through the 05 Mustang section and often you will see what amounts to five real topics, but each topic has about twenty different threads. There will be an enoromous number of new topics each time you show up, and this makes it seems like there is a lot of real activity. But, they are often just the same thing we saw five times in the last two days with a tweak.

I love the site, but a lot of topics with thought get "pushed to the back" quickly as often times I have seen a topic go from the first page to the second or third within a few hours due to the above IMO. And, once a topic hits the third page she is gone. I think Brad possibly saw this trend emerging as well evidenced by the large number of stickies used on this site which counter the above effect.

The "just ignore it" idea has some merit, but really does not solve the problem. For people who do not have a lot of time to sift through a sea of topics, many of which are a rehash of another, this could make them less likely to frequent the site. Several people that I thought really contributed a lot do not show up much anymore and maybe this is a factor.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. I am certain Brad and all the mods recognized the trend long ago, but fixing it is something else entirely. I have to say I would have no idea what else to do

 

Besides, we still have Grantsdale, don't we?

Nothing to worry about.

 

 

I have seen in other forums (IT related) that users are forced to do a serach before a new thread can be opened. It can of course be circumvented, but at least the person is made aware of the search option.

 

Perhaps to highlight the search feature a bit more, once a new person initially registers the screen that appears telling the registration was completed successfully could also contain brief How-To's, Rules, and note the stickies. And/or the email that is sent to them confirming successful registration can also contain such hints.

Will it work all the time, no, but if it decreases the repetition a bit then it may be worth it. Afterall, it need not be a detailed description with animation, just a few lines detailing the useful features on this site.

Just my darn near worthless 2 pennies.

 

Actually, Grantsdale has been quiet lately

Everybody has touched on this subject, and everybody is right.

One thing I haven't seen suggested, is actually putting up a tutorial on how to "search".

Those of us that are internet savy know how phrase things in a search to find all the relevant things we're looking for, and how to limit said search to further narrow it down.

Not everybody knows how, believe it or not, and when they do a search for the first time they'll enter something that's bound to result in a gazallion results and they get turned off to the whole "search thing".

That's all well and good, but the other problem is: Nobody reads tutorials and FAQ's, all the greatest documentation lays to waste most times

 

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Interesting idea.

 

This has been my stance for quite a while. I owned a site with 50,000 registered forum users. The way I taught my mods to work if a repeat topic was posted was:

1) Lock new post
2) Move locked post to a forum that can't be seen by normal users (reason this was done was to keep any evidence of users breaking rules. the post can also just be deleted here.)
3) PM user that started repeat thread with a link to both the search page and a relevant topic on the subject he/she posted about.

If the same user kept doing it over and over, it would result in a warning, and escalate from there.
________________
Yup, I've been quiet lately. Enjoying the car too much.

 

How's this, K.I.S.S., its always worked for me. Just make the search button more prominent!!! BTW, good to see u having fun, Grantsdale!!!! B)

 

Good idea's.. We normally just close the thread and tell em where to find the origional. I prefer to provide a link, but sometimes time doesnt allow it.

Got any vids yet of the GT?

 

I think people are unaware of the search feature, and this board's topics move FAST. I have never seen a board have a topic thrown to page 3 so quickly.

Have patients and give people the bennifit of the doubt, not every one posting has extensive board experiance.

As far as moderation, cut them some slack, as I stated above this board moves fast, means lots of posting, hard to thumb through every post.

 

since the board moves so fast, it makes it alot easier to find what you are looking for if the subforums are used more. It helps alot. We dont mind helping new users out what so ever.