Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

cimmaronjim

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Apr 21, 2002
Messages
44
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Just an opinion from a new user, I see no downside at all to having sub-categories if they were topic, not brand specific, and only for the engine and motors forum. Those who chose to, could still browse all the posts and those who were looking for a specific info would find it more quickly.<br /> I wouldn't want to see 40 different categories but 10 or so would be about right.<br /><br />It's a hell of a place as it is. Still having trouble grasping the concept of people helping each other out for free.<br />Almost too good to be true.<br />"Props" to everyone!!!
 

crab bait

Captain
Joined
Feb 5, 2002
Messages
3,831
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

i feel mostly with OLDBOAT1 .. can we make just FEW changes an see hows it goes ?? & add maybe later ? a total revampin' is to much.. also i always felt that possibly the people don't use the ' search ' because they feel that the infomation is 'stale' or can't possiably be in file cause their question/ problem about 'transom rot' is so unique ..heck , we all seen questions posted an if they just scrolled down the list alittle bit ,, the exact question from someone else is right there with 8 replies.. you can try an make it **ot proof but i doubt it..
 

cimmaronjim

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Apr 21, 2002
Messages
44
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Ooops, guess I'm not that new as I see I've been promoted. Sure can't be based on merit.
 

Homerr

Commander
Joined
Mar 4, 2002
Messages
2,281
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

I agree with some minor changes.<br />Please include one for fiberglass work.<br /><br />I am in the midle of doing such work, and in my opinion, asking questions about fiberglass/stringer/hull work doesn't really fit into any of the current categories.<br /><br />How about one called' "Fiberglass forum" or "fiberglassing"<br /><br />My 2 cents...<br /><br />H.
 

Boatist

Rear Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2002
Messages
4,552
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Dave has a point, I can't find time to read them all either. If you break it up into 15 groups I am sure I would end up reading less. If you have to break it up I would suggest I/O and Outboards.<br /><br />Here is my sugestion, on the subject line make a few boxes that must be filled in.<br />I/0 or outboard, Brand, HP, Model, year if known, problem or question.<br />I find it so frustrating to find a subject that I know something about or I want to know about so open it to find something like "it wont start what is problem" or "it over heating" but no brand, hp, year. You do not know if it a jet ski, I/O, Outboard ect. and it a total waist of time to Read because you can't help him. Some times you ask what is it and about 50% of the time he never answers. If it had to be put in before he could post it would save a lot of time. It would also give us a good thing to search on and if you want to read about Merc or OMC or I/O you could pass right over all the rest. By the way great Fourm I read it every night now.
 

alcan

Commander
Joined
Dec 14, 2001
Messages
2,505
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

I vote for leving it as is. Bottom line, there is only one subject here. That is people,and we are all brought together by a comman denominator, marine engines and fun. I agree that the search funtion is under used. As a not so long ago new guy I can see if a person that dosen't know much about computers and nothing about outboards might be a little intimdated by all this. I like it all together because I can give out info on older stuff and take in info on the newer stuff.
 

smalloutboardsarecool

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 11, 2002
Messages
171
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

how about we just name it "epoxy boat building and repair" what do you watto learn about epoxy I can help you out there, just start a new post in eingen and motors! :cool:
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
Joined
May 19, 2001
Messages
26,030
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Yes, we have seen the growth. More and more people are picking up wrenches and troubleshooting on their own. It is kind of the corporate way "to do more with less"....I have to side with JB and agree to study the situation a bit more.<br /><br />I would suggest re-designing the SEARCH engine to become more of a self help tool. Maybe moving SEARCH into a Forum heading on it's own. Consider reading a trouble shooting guide in an automobile manual. When a person has a problem with "hard starting" the manual suggests things to be investigated. (Of course getting ANYONE to follow directions is a dream....real people rarely read directions)<br /><br />I consider this board an endless wealth of knowledge and have a VERY high regard for all the submissions. We "police" our own here and I feel great about that. No changes necassary if we continue that. Sure, there are times when we all sit at the keyboard and laugh, shake our heads and nod but, we ALWAYS attempt to answer even the simple questions with the same professional manner (even when someone < JB quote > "pops the primer" :D )<br /><br />Everyone is doing a great job. <br /><br />Yes, a spell checker (when used :rolleyes: ) would also be nice!!<br /><br />Bob :cool:
 

rwise

Captain
Joined
Jul 5, 2001
Messages
3,205
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

For my part, leave it the way it is! New people can learn to use the funtions of the board. But if it must be broken up I'd say 3 sections, I/O's, outboards, and Jet Ski's. I read much more than I post and read post's just to learn. This is a great place!<br /><br />Richard<br /><br />Also most do not use the "Edit Post" funtion when they make a correction!
 

Bear

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 1, 2001
Messages
1,627
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

I agree to the heavy trafic lately. Lack of time and the topic you want to follow is on page two or three all of a sudden... <br /><br />I do not want 10-15 sections because when it comes to troubleshooting it can be related to maintenance, cooling, electrical and fuel. If I don't know what's wrong, how can I know where to post it? There will be a lot of good answers but in the wrong section.<br /><br />Separate inboards and outboards? Maybe but there is a lot of similarities. Two strokes and four strokes engines? No, leave this board as it is. <br />Put your question in the topic section, give us all information you have. Then we read them and answer if we can. <br />If you don't have the time, get back later. Just don't think you have to read and answer all questions yourself. Don't get me wrong, we all want to help each other. But the last month or so is has been a bit too much. I really enjoy this forum. It helped me through the winther.<br /><br />Admin5, you made me laugh ;) ("My wife...")<br /><br />Thank you suzukidave for bringing it up. But let's see what happens if we leave it as it is. <br /><br />And thank you JB, 12Footer and every other heavy user :D <br /><br />/Bear
 

CalicoKid

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 27, 2002
Messages
1,599
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

I'm just a new guy but would love to be around for a while, so here's a contribution.<br />Leave all as is with one exception so that those who know their way around and provide sooo much help can do so as well as they do now (I already owe big thanks).<br /><br />The exception: Add a SORT function in addition to the SEARCH function. A well designed sorter would be able to sift information one step at a time until you get it narrowed down into a manageable number of posts. Example: Sort to engines, get thousands of posts, narrow sort to ignition, get hundreds of posts, narrow to coils, get dozens, etc. And a BACK button would help too incase your last keyword proved a bust and you don't want to start all over again.<br /><br />I really like the current format and the material within is more valuable than money, finding it can be tricky though. The search function can return way too much and those of us who are short on patience will most likely just ask the same simple questions over and over making it difficult for the guys who are really at thier wits end to get a good reply. I'd sure feel better knowing I tried to find the answers myself before taking up someone elses time.
 

butlp

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 26, 2002
Messages
302
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

I'm for enhancing the 101 idea that 12Footer had. <br /><br />A category to cover the basic FAQ functions which was "read only", and updated by Admin5 and the Admirals, would not get too big and would be much easier to navigate.<br /><br />I use the Search all the time, but it is not very prominent at the top of the page.<br /><br />A spell checker would be nice, I struggle understanding some of the abbreviations and typing errors.<br /><br />Other than that I love the board and luckily have the time to read most of the posts. <br /><br />Like a lot of others on this board, I have learnt more in the last 4 months than I did in the previous 30 years and I thank all the members for sharing their knowledge. :) <br /><br />Peter
 

suzukidave

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 1, 2000
Messages
387
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Wow, a lot of responses. I have some thoughts on them. First thanks to everyone for responding. There are a lot of different perspectives.<br /><br />For those who like things the way they are, let me say that I assume that most of the traffic will stay on the "motor breakdown" and "motor maintenance" subboards which will still be pretty general. If I didn't know why my motor didn't go, that's where I'd start. Posters on those boards may get steered elsewhere if their problem fits a particular category, or they might stay on that board. However, some posters will know or strongly suspect already they have a prop issue or an electrical problem. They can start on the right subboard and they will also find previous posts on that subject all in one place and easy to browse and research. This is important because right now there are so many different posts with redundant topics that it is hard to learn much from just browsing new posts, which used to be my preferred way of getting an education here. It is not much fun to browse the same questions over and over so, in the long term, who is going to do it? Will JB spend 2 hours a day forever?<br /><br />I like 12 footers idea on restating the new topics as questions to make it as easy as possible to know where to go with your question and to research it before you post. I suggest that the subject title should also list some keywords at the end of the question to steer people there. The more hints we give, the better it will work.<br /><br />I don't like the idea of just 2 or 3 new sub-boards because I think they there will be so much overlap between those topics that there will just be confusion and people will revert to a single board. If we do this at all I think the different subboards should have distinct subjects that people can easily and logically tell where to post, and also so the new subboards will be useful for research. I have tried but can't get the number down below about 10.<br /><br />I don't think a beefed up search function will reduce traffic much. Realistically, whether we like it or not, everyone can browse but many people don't search before they post, maybe because they don't know how or are not sure what to search for or just don't believe they will find that perfect old post where the exact symptoms of their exact motor are reproduced. We shouldn't bar them access to the board so let's organize the board better in the hopes they find the answer by browsing. <br /><br />I'm also not sure I agree with the idea of FAQs unless someone is going to volunteer to write them all. We probably all have books on outboard maintenance, but books (and FAQs) contain general info. The beauty of this site is that people help each other out on specific questions. It may be good to know from a FAQ that most oil injectors after 1990 are reliable, but it's better to post a question to this site and find out the one on my 96 Johnson 70 is not (if that were true -- is it true Clanton??). Maybe particularly good posts could be nominated for FAQs but I think that sorting the subboards by topic will go a long way towards making it easier to research problems just by browsing.<br /><br />So, with due respect to the other posters against the idea who contribute plenty here, I think some flexibility to new ideas is in order. If 10 new categories seems a bit much, consider that with less than that the categories tend to overlap so that posts will probably all end up on one board anyway to avoid confusion. Is it really going to be that difficult to jump from board to board?? It's only one more double click!<br /><br />I also think it is significant that 12 footer and JB are interested in the topics idea while a lot of others are not. JB confirmed he spent 2 hours reviewing posts yesterday. I kind of suspected that was the case for the heavy users. I don't know how long you can keep that up JB but I wonder about burnout. Maybe that's why Corm and some other former high volume posters don't post as much any more. I've also seen people come and go who post hundreds of messages in a short time and then move on. <br /><br />What I would like to see is this board be sustainable in the long term. I think we should try to avoid burnout of the people who make it work. One of the things that different subboards might produce is more people prepared to do the kind of legwork that JB does on a smaller scale for just one subboard. Maybe Schematic checking things on the "Electronics" board is enough so JB won't feel he has to go there every day. I thought of this whole thing because I started doing exactly that on the "Boating" board because I felt like checking posts on "engines and motors" was just scatter-gun for me as I couldn't possibly open them all. I also didn't like feeling guilty that I wasn't opening some posts where I might be able to help.<br /><br />Admin5, what do you think?
 

petryshyn

Commander
Joined
Oct 3, 2001
Messages
2,851
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Yes, this board has become very busy. I consider this to be "successful". I've noticed a large increase in traffic. Part of the success is due to:<br />>the simple layout of the board<br />>quality of help<br />>timely responces<br />>willingness to get involved<br /><br />As ODDD1 says, If it aint broke don't fix it. The more restraints and rules we impose, the less likely people are to post. Lets not reck a good thing by trying to overtweak it..... I would hate to see too many rules, nicely organized sections, and a reduction in postings..... :)
 

G DANE

Commander
Joined
Nov 24, 2001
Messages
2,476
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

I´d go with Schematic and others in this.<br /><br />The forum is great as it is. I think it is the time of year, everyone in boating and motor business are busy. I often noticed qualified help coming from several users, and i think this possibility will be reduced by splitting forum. If posts gets a better headline, its easyer to read and respond to the ones where you ( think ) you are able to help. I received a lot of assistance and read many interesting threads - thanks to all. Some of you experienced guys really does a lot here - deep respect !!
 

Admin5

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 29, 1998
Messages
683
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Thanks for all the input so far! This is a tough one and we really appreciate all your thoughts. Keep em comin so you can blame us and say "I told you so" if we mess anything up. ;) It looks like the jury is still out.<br /><br />Have a great weekend everyone and go boating!
 

suzukidave

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 1, 2000
Messages
387
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Yikes, the fish still ain't biting.<br /><br />Schematic and G Dane, I respect your viewpoint and those who you echo. I'm not intending to propose any new rules at all --I don't like the idea of rules. I just propose new sub-boards and hope people will more or less follow the topics so the place will naturally organize itself. Also, if traffic dropped off badly as a result I would support going back to a single board. However, how much of the redundant traffic could be avoided if people could easily browse on sub-boards organized better by subject? Do we really consider it a success if traffic is high because 3 guys a week ask the same questions?<br /><br />Here's a stat for all you guys to chew on:<br /><br />topics posted May 30, 2001 = 16<br />yesterday = 106 (my best count)<br /><br />I don't think yesterday was that busy either.
 

chewy

Cadet
Joined
May 22, 2002
Messages
10
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

I am just a newbie here but i don't think I have been anywhere else on the web since I found you folks. If anythinh I would revamp the search options to make it a bit easier for folks to find the problems they have. I for one throughly enjoy browsing through the posts. I have learned a lot about quite a few areas just doing that. thanks again for all your help and I wojuld be happy to help in any way possible.
 

trollhole

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 19, 2001
Messages
423
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Like it just the way it is! I guess it's a lot easier to navigate through the post when you have a high speed connection. Compared to some who are using a Dialup connection. :mad:
 

Terry H

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 25, 2001
Messages
1,862
Re: Question for Admin5 and others about this Board

Sazukidave...I don't think that using sub-catagories will stop people from asking the same question over and over, go to other boards and you find the same thing. Go over to Boatsetup.com, that's what they've done...they are good but this board has proven to be more successful. If you only want to look at particular catagories in "engines and motors" the search feature works great...and would likely be faster than moving from page to page looking for certain items...just a friendly Thought ;)
 
Top