Forum Migration - General Q&A

[gerardv]

True that. And we are definitely not looking to garner "popularity" as a metric. We are looking to find ways to better curate "quality" of posts. In fact we have no firm ideas at the moment about if and how we would do this - we are simply exploring possibilities for improving the relevance and usefulness of search results as the forum accumulates more and more material.


And everybody's input is welcome and appreciated too. This is a tricky topic to get right, and easy to get wrong.

 

[mbrennwa]

We are looking to find ways to better curate "quality" of posts.

Do the quotes mean that the meaning of "quality" is not yet very well defined? In other words, what do you mean by "quality" of a post?

 

[gerardv]

I was meaning quality as opposed to popularity. An example I gave in a much earlier discussion would be where a member asks for help identifying a rare part in an obscure old device. One reply with a clear answer that identifies the part would be a quality response IMO. Even if few people saw it. That said, we don’t have a good definition yet for quality either, nor consensus of what that should be. It is an interesting philosophical debate.

 

[bonjonno]

Sometimes posts include super large photos. On all of my computers this causes the paragraph text to be the same width, forcing you to scroll back and forth to read. Very annoying. Is there a way to limit the photos to regular page width no matter what size is uploaded?

 

[jan.didden]

Such posters generally go straight to my ignore list. Those huge pics seldom have any value anyway ;-)

Jan

 

[bonjonno]

That is good if it works for you Jan. My favorite poster on the site whose designs I've executed with great joy posts too large pics now and again. So for me it's the worst problem I've encountered with the format.

 

[PRR]

Sometimes posts include super large photos. On all of my computers this causes the paragraph text to be the same width, forcing you to scroll back and forth to read. Very annoying. Is there a way to limit the photos to regular page width no matter what size is uploaded?

I'm a major complainer about that, even if I mostly bite my tongue.

In the test forum this is "fixed", for most cases (never say "all"). We have abused it with insanely large images and it renders them small or medium, click to enlarge. The author has some control, thumbnail to medium large, but the default is to make it fit nice.

 

[planet10]

The image handling in VB sucks. XF and other measures being taken should fix that issue. for good.

dave

 

[gerardv]

Sometimes posts include super large photos. On all of my computers this causes the paragraph text to be the same width, forcing you to scroll back and forth to read. Very annoying. Is there a way to limit the photos to regular page width no matter what size is uploaded?

Are you talking aout here or on the new forum that this happens to you?

 

[rayma]

Yes it should. Can you give me more specifics please?

I tried it once some time ago, and was not allowed to add photos to a first post.

 

[rayma]

Are you talking aout here or on the new forum that this happens to you?

Happens here fairly often.

 

[gannaji]

My Personal pref posts:

I do like the idea of tagging posts for my own use, without it being vissible to others. That might help looking back at some posts of my interest. For anything public I'm very afraid
of social media behaviour of a part of the subscribers.

This is a very good suggestion !
1. For example, in a thread , there are are 2000+ posts. As I start reading the thread, I mark some posts as IMP for me. Next time I open the thread, I should be able to see only those posts marked by me as IMP. (with a provision to see all posts if required) My selection of posts is not to be available to others, except for admins.
2. This will help me to locate the Schematics, PCB layouts I used in the thread as well as Instructions by the OP, without having to wade through the whole thread.

 

[gerardv]

It looks like you can do something much like what you're suggesting. . . . see image.

 

[Sangram]

Sometimes posts include super large photos. On all of my computers this causes the paragraph text to be the same width, forcing you to scroll back and forth to read. Very annoying. Is there a way to limit the photos to regular page width no matter what size is uploaded?

Often refreshing the page will fix the super-sized photos.

 

[jan.didden]

What you often see is that people don't read the first post in a thread but react to the last few they read. So after a few pages often the thread wanders off in totally different directions than the basic subject it was started for in the first place. That is also the reason many threads end in a train wreck, as people shoot off on all kinds of tangents and personal hobby horses.

Obviously you can't force people to read the first post before posting in a thread. But what would be helpful is making that first post stick as the first post on top of the screen no matter at which thread page you are.
Sort of similar to the way you can make the first line in a spreadsheet stick while scrolling through the sheet.

I'm convinced that this would help keeping threads focused and on track and better value.

Jan

 

[gerardv]

people don't read the first post in a thread but react to the last few they read. So after a few pages often the thread wanders off

This is a serious concern and a moderation issue too. I'm been on forums with near dictatorial mod policies about staying on topic - the discussions and threads were gold, but some people found that difficult to live with. Personally I'd be in favour of some "stay on topic" pressures on people. And with an easy way to split off a subtopic is someone needs to take it elsewhere.

 

[sgrossklass]

I'm been on forums with near dictatorial mod policies about staying on topic - the discussions and threads were gold, but some people found that difficult to live with.

I would be one of those people. Sometimes the OT sections are the actual fun part...

Personally I'd be in favour of some "stay on topic" pressures on people. And with an easy way to split off a subtopic is someone needs to take it elsewhere.

So pretty much the way things used to work on Usenet. People have been unable to stay on topic in large threads for a long, long time. You best learn to live with it.

As for the subject of "likes" discussed earlier, I have grown quite attached to them elsewhere but would have to agree that they should probably be split into multiple categories. Sometimes you may want to express an "Agree" ("AOL" for the old-timers ), while at other times it might be a "Thanks" instead. Actually determining thread quality is not trivial and may mean having to introduce greater weight for those who know their stuff, and that's a real can of worms. Other places have misc. user badges to sort of deal with the problem of authority, such as "industry expert".

 

[Sjef]

DIYAudio forum is a forum where some of the most respected audio designers in the world are taking part. Turn it into social media with "like" buttons where people are coming back to earn "likes" will be the end of the forum as a serious source because it would scare most pro designer away. For that alone I'm 100% against any form of popularity ranking. Please don't do it, don't fall into this trap nomatter how much people would like it in the beginning it will turn this forum into just another social media junk. Please dare to be different by not following trends.

 

[mbrennwa]

DIYAudio forum is a forum where some of the most respected audio designers in the world are taking part. Turn it into social media with "like" buttons where people are coming back to earn "likes" will be the end of the forum as a serious source because it would scare most pro designer away. For that alone I'm 100% against any form of popularity ranking. Please don't do it, don't fall into this trap nomatter how much people would like it in the beginning it will turn this forum into just another social media junk. Please dare to be different by not following trends.

Yes, YES, and YEEESSSSS!!!!

 

[hifijim]

I like the current format/rules/"look and feel" just as they are. This website is very informative and enjoyable. I have never failed to find what I am looking for by using the "advanced search" features.

By all means, fix and upgrade the backend, modernize the server, etc... But if the user experience did not change at all, I would be fine with that.

By the way, you moderators and administrators do a great job... Thank you.