I also vote to leave it as it is. There isn't that great a volume of posts, and it is much more of a hassle to go into a series of different forums than it is to simply scroll down to something that piques your interest.
Split forums would also make searching harder.
Steve
Split forums would also make searching harder.
Steve
SY said:
I like the cones-in-a-box and (say) ESL/Horns/dipoles split. That's if there actually needs to be a split, which I'm not convinced of.
it wuold make searching more focussed wouldnt it?
i think a subwoofer split wouldnt be a bad idea,but there isnt actualy much traffic,'
i think we as humans love to put everything in boxes and categories😛
till said:
It's definitely a second best solution, but without it, there is always on bad apple...
John
Great to see all the enthusiastic debate.
Suggest we wait a few days to come up with some candidate structures then have a vote (including, as an option, remaining with a single forum).
Nix 🙂
Suggest we wait a few days to come up with some candidate structures then have a vote (including, as an option, remaining with a single forum).
Nix 🙂
I don't think splitting is a necessity, but I agree that a subwoofer catagory and a showcase catagory are a good idea.
In fact, the showcase catagory could exists in a couple of subjects: solid state, tubes, chip amps. Of course each thread in the showcase also ends up with technical discussion too.
I think a standard title format would be cool. I stupidly named my speaker thread with a name that didn't describe it in any way
In fact, the showcase catagory could exists in a couple of subjects: solid state, tubes, chip amps. Of course each thread in the showcase also ends up with technical discussion too.
I think a standard title format would be cool. I stupidly named my speaker thread with a name that didn't describe it in any way
It is essential that we not divide up things that belong in the same catergory. Thus, we must draw lines not based on the content of the post, but the nature of the post.
Posting your newly-finished pics and success stories (like when I got the bubbles out of my verathane, which is largely believed to be impossible) should be a forum of its own, because it is, by nature, not a question. Removing it from the "loudspeaker" forum does not compromise the loudspeaker forum. It also creates someplace I can go and be inspired when I lose motivation. Nothing gets me excited to go to work more than seeing someone else's successes.
A subwoofer forum would die very quickly, once the 2 questions people ask about subs got rehashed enough to fill a page, and then turned into "permanent" posts. Still, part of me is for it, because I will be less tempted to scream "RTFM!!!" at newbs.
A forum for woodworking issues, as opposed to the actual acoustical issues, would be genuinely useful, and a non-deterring division; it doesn't, IMO, split things that should be together. Frankly, I feel funny posting on a "loudspeaker" forum questions on how to flush-mount a squarish driver; a woodworking forum would be much better.
Dividing the forums based on what *kind* of speakers you're building is fundamently wrong, and damaging to the website as a whole. If the forums had been split into mono/di/horn forums, as an example, I never would've discovered what a blessing dipole design is, and I'd still be wasting time with sealed boxes. Since the whole point of the forum is, IMO, to get people's brains going in new directions so they do things better than they would've otherwise, and divisions based on types of speakers hamper that, I feel it's completely contraindicated.
So, here's my suggestion:
Loudspeakers:
- Loudspeakers
- Materialworking issues (we must be gender-neutral and not biased towards wood, right? 😀)
- Success Stories & Results
As always, try it for two weeks and then decide if we need to go back or not... but please, folks, be very careful that the boundaries you draw in the forums don't stifle innovation.
Posting your newly-finished pics and success stories (like when I got the bubbles out of my verathane, which is largely believed to be impossible) should be a forum of its own, because it is, by nature, not a question. Removing it from the "loudspeaker" forum does not compromise the loudspeaker forum. It also creates someplace I can go and be inspired when I lose motivation. Nothing gets me excited to go to work more than seeing someone else's successes.
A subwoofer forum would die very quickly, once the 2 questions people ask about subs got rehashed enough to fill a page, and then turned into "permanent" posts. Still, part of me is for it, because I will be less tempted to scream "RTFM!!!" at newbs.
A forum for woodworking issues, as opposed to the actual acoustical issues, would be genuinely useful, and a non-deterring division; it doesn't, IMO, split things that should be together. Frankly, I feel funny posting on a "loudspeaker" forum questions on how to flush-mount a squarish driver; a woodworking forum would be much better.
Dividing the forums based on what *kind* of speakers you're building is fundamently wrong, and damaging to the website as a whole. If the forums had been split into mono/di/horn forums, as an example, I never would've discovered what a blessing dipole design is, and I'd still be wasting time with sealed boxes. Since the whole point of the forum is, IMO, to get people's brains going in new directions so they do things better than they would've otherwise, and divisions based on types of speakers hamper that, I feel it's completely contraindicated.
So, here's my suggestion:
Loudspeakers:
- Loudspeakers
- Materialworking issues (we must be gender-neutral and not biased towards wood, right? 😀)
- Success Stories & Results
As always, try it for two weeks and then decide if we need to go back or not... but please, folks, be very careful that the boundaries you draw in the forums don't stifle innovation.
Hi all
IMHO we should leave the loudspeaker forum as it is
( OK maybe split it into "normal" and "insane" 😉 )
cheers 😉
IMHO we should leave the loudspeaker forum as it is
( OK maybe split it into "normal" and "insane" 😉 )
cheers 😉
ok, the idea for all tastes...maybe.
When adding a new post, select the categories it fits into (possibily many) - via a bunch of checkboxes perhaps.
Add fields to our user control panel which allow us to select
whether we want to view by category or not etc.
This would allow intuitive searches of posts by category (since I find that when people use differnet terminology, you sometimes miss out on informative posts when searching).
Off course this would probably need some more work in the db end, so I don't know how feasible any of this is.
When adding a new post, select the categories it fits into (possibily many) - via a bunch of checkboxes perhaps.
Add fields to our user control panel which allow us to select
whether we want to view by category or not etc.
This would allow intuitive searches of posts by category (since I find that when people use differnet terminology, you sometimes miss out on informative posts when searching).
Off course this would probably need some more work in the db end, so I don't know how feasible any of this is.
Okay, I change my mind. - That's allowed, right? 🙂 Vikash present some good arguments. Here's one more.
I don't think the loudspeaker forum needs to be changed, but only if the search engine is made more google-like.
Maybe it's not the structure but our ease of navigating it when needed. In conversation, it's easy enough. I check the forum only twice a day (who am I kidding) then I need only look at the 12 hour posts.
It's not that big a deal to see what's new. It's looking for old stuff, like my old posts, or someone else's post that recalls some relevant information, that's much more material to wade through or a whole thread about something.
I find that when I am looking for a particular thing, I get a lot of THD+N when I enter specific search terms. For instance, "VU meter" is impossible so a search under meter becomes a search of multimeters, centimeters, etc.
So, in addition to Vikash's check boxes, I also suggest that each poster gets the option of putting in a few priority keywords for the search engine.
🙂ensen.
I don't think the loudspeaker forum needs to be changed, but only if the search engine is made more google-like.
Maybe it's not the structure but our ease of navigating it when needed. In conversation, it's easy enough. I check the forum only twice a day (who am I kidding) then I need only look at the 12 hour posts.
It's not that big a deal to see what's new. It's looking for old stuff, like my old posts, or someone else's post that recalls some relevant information, that's much more material to wade through or a whole thread about something.
I find that when I am looking for a particular thing, I get a lot of THD+N when I enter specific search terms. For instance, "VU meter" is impossible so a search under meter becomes a search of multimeters, centimeters, etc.
So, in addition to Vikash's check boxes, I also suggest that each poster gets the option of putting in a few priority keywords for the search engine.
🙂ensen.
Hang on a mo'
Jason provides this sandbox for us to play in for free, and imposing an idea on him that will involve extra work for him (writing code etc) is unreasonable when this whole thread is about a very, very minor aspect of forum function.
If Jason were to do some extra coding, I would vote for the better search engine over any extra fora or scripted check system to deliniate post categories. If the latter is such a big deal, why don't you discuss a way of doing it, ie categories, and people simply type it in on the post subject line themselves? That makes it self regulating, and if the idea doesn't take off with the forum members, then no extra work is needed to be done by the administration.
eg [SW] New sub drivers - need help with enclosure design
An even simpler idea would be post headings that give a good idea of the content. Zero effort.
purplepeople said:
Jason provides this sandbox for us to play in for free, and imposing an idea on him that will involve extra work for him (writing code etc) is unreasonable when this whole thread is about a very, very minor aspect of forum function.
If Jason were to do some extra coding, I would vote for the better search engine over any extra fora or scripted check system to deliniate post categories. If the latter is such a big deal, why don't you discuss a way of doing it, ie categories, and people simply type it in on the post subject line themselves? That makes it self regulating, and if the idea doesn't take off with the forum members, then no extra work is needed to be done by the administration.
eg [SW] New sub drivers - need help with enclosure design
An even simpler idea would be post headings that give a good idea of the content. Zero effort.
Well, my 2 cents:
Yes, I think splitting it up would be good. I have occassionally missed a response to a post of mine because the thread slipped way down the page where I didn't notice it. This to me is a good indicator that splitting it would be good.
A lot of the suggestions so far are IMO unworkable because threads drift in topic. Maybe "fabrication" and "design" is a good split because a veneering question rarely turns into a thread about crossover design! 🙂
Yes, I think splitting it up would be good. I have occassionally missed a response to a post of mine because the thread slipped way down the page where I didn't notice it. This to me is a good indicator that splitting it would be good.
A lot of the suggestions so far are IMO unworkable because threads drift in topic. Maybe "fabrication" and "design" is a good split because a veneering question rarely turns into a thread about crossover design! 🙂
Re: Hang on a mo'
Thanks to Jason. Where can I donate some miniscule amount of money?
🙂ensen.
Brett said:
Thanks to Jason. Where can I donate some miniscule amount of money?
🙂ensen.
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