View Poll Results: Do you want to see changes to the forums?

Voters
21. You may not vote on this poll
  • No. The existing forums work fine as is.

    14 66.67%
  • Yes. The existing stucture is fine but there should be more categories added.

    7 33.33%
  • Yes. A complete change with a new structure should be considered.

    0 0%
Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Poll on Changes to the Structure of this Forum

  1. #1
    Webmaster Don McRitchie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Posts
    1,753

    Poll on Changes to the Structure of this Forum

    There are now two posts requesting changes to the structure of this forum. By all means, any suggestions to customize this forum to better suit the needs of its users will be considered. My only qualifier is that there needs to be a reasonable concensus for any proposed change.

    To keep it simple, I'm starting with a poll to determine if there is a consensus for change. If so, we can then consider options. If you do vote for change, please feel free to offer suggestions for the types of changes you would like to see.
    Regards

    Don McRitchie

  2. #2
    Administrator Robh3606's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Rocinante
    Posts
    8,163
    Hello Don

    Hmm

    Well I think we all remember multiple threads about Music as an example I can see that added as a catagory makes sense to me.

    As far as technical help how would you divide that up??

    There are guys who own the large/small format monitors, guys who own commercial JBL like the L166 L26 and the DIY's. I guess you could split it into the catagory by speaker type to help focus on the needs of each group.

    Figure the Monitor group would focus on the monitors and restoration projects that are required to get them up and in original condition, and hard to find restoration items like name plates.

    The commercial guys need techsheets specs and similar information on restoring there speakers to out of the box condition.

    The DIY group looks for what driver work well and have their own special needs like box tuning help with crossovers as well as compression driver compensation. They need to understand horns and the effects of different horn types have and so on.

    They are 3 distinct groups but there is commonality between them.

    There are some very good technical discussions in what start as general guestions. It seems like it would be hard to keep that from happening unless we really define what goes where but even then some of the threads just seem to go there own way.

    We could have a Driver section where questions about individual drivers could be answered and also one for Horns as 2 examples where the questions could be focussed and it would make it easier to find information.

    Rob
    Last edited by Robh3606; 07-10-2003 at 04:34 PM.

  3. #3
    Webmaster Don McRitchie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Posts
    1,753
    Here is some background on how the current structure was developed. The following is not meant to be justification for leaving things as is. Instead, it is just an explanation of the factors at play. Obviously, there are other factors not considered or accomodated by this structure that may be deemed more important.

    The current structure was pretty much set by our old forum. My starting principle was that each catagory should have a degree of independence. People interested in general topics should not have to sift through sales notices etc. The degree of breakdown was influenced by the number of posts. There should be sufficient traffic in each individual forum to maintain participation. For the past year, we have maintained a fairly steady average of 30 posts per day. In my mind, this dictated a relatively small number of categories since I felt we should try and strive for a minimum of a couple of posts per day in each category. "Forum Issues" was obviously an exception since since this was planned as a means to address disparate issues as they arise. "Off Topic" has not quite risen to the level of discussion I would have hoped.

    There was one final guiding principle. The scope of each category should be broad enough to allow some divergence of discussion within a thread while remaining relevant to the category heading. No matter how hard one tries to maintain theads "on topic", it is more the rule, and not the exception, that threads get sidetracked to be off of the original topic. Personally, I don't find this to be a problem as long as the new tangent still falls withing the heading of the overall category. Otherwise, the forum structure quickly becomes meaningless.

    And there you have the background for the current structure.
    Regards

    Don McRitchie

  4. #4
    Senior Member Don C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Santa Rosa CA
    Posts
    1,722
    I normally read every single post on this forum. Adding more categories would probably just mean more clicking of the mouse for the same amount of reading. That's why I voted to leave the structure and categories alone.

  5. #5
    Webmaster Don McRitchie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Posts
    1,753
    This is not meant to change your opinon, but are you aware of the "View New Threads" feature at the top right corner of the main page? This creates a page listing every thread that has been created or modified since your last visist no matter which forum it was posted in. Using it regularly allows you to access every post with only one click.
    Regards

    Don McRitchie

  6. #6
    Senior Seņor boputnam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    northern california
    Posts
    6,142
    Don...

    Thanks for the reply to my seemingly solitary post: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...=&threadid=286

    In the interim, I have looked harder at the issue of Forum structure.

    The chaos of the Forum is fairly extreme, and may exceed efforts of further structure. By that I mean, there are many here who do not discriminate between "home" and "pro" - either out of innocence or immediacy, and even more who cannot grok "General" vs "Technical". Mis-categorizations are harmless, but, the distinctions get repeatedly blurred and so appear to not be as useful as I first hoped. And, so many Threads wander to destinations not foreseen, it is largley impossible to catagorize, either at the outset or ending. "Amorphous" is the rule of the land.

    I have gotten smarter about the "Search" option, and it astounds with its comprehensiveness. This tool mitigates much of my frustration with Forum structure, since the structure is not a proper database, per se.

    I am pleased whenever a "seller" posts appropriately in "Marketplace" and am equally dismayed when one of that ilk posts in other sectors. But, then again, each time cloaked sellers breach the trust, very thorough due diligence results, which benefits Forum-ites perhaps more than either the seller or potential buyers. Most here are eBayer's and benefit their projects by the liquidity provided on eBay. But it is always preferable to know the intent of the Poster.

    At present, I simply cannot envisage a proper structure that is either more useful, nor would be more clear to the users. Regrettably, I ultimately fear of my return from an extended tour overseas - attempting to "catch-up" could be awful.

    In short, I just dig the hell out of this Forum, and am oh-so-appreciative that it's here at all . It has been of irreplaceable assistance to me.

    At present, I find I cannot vote...
    Last edited by boputnam; 07-13-2003 at 08:27 AM.
    bo

    "Indeed, not!!"

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 2 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 2 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. READ ME - Forum Rules
    By Don McRitchie in forum Lansing Product Technical Help
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 03-28-2021, 03:03 PM
  2. READ ME - Forum Rules
    By Don McRitchie in forum General Audio Discussion
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 12-17-2011, 01:28 PM
  3. Forum Structure
    By boputnam in forum Forum Feedback
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 08-05-2003, 07:52 PM
  4. Welcome to the Lansing Heritage Forum
    By Don McRitchie in forum Forum Information - Read Only
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 04-18-2003, 10:18 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •