I think FWW would have a more competitive forum with a better format. Fora or vBulletin?
I would abandon this forum if it weren’t b/c there are some really knowledgeable people here. The threads aren’t always easy to follow, at least to me.
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Replies
Speaking for myself, I don't see anything wrong with the current format. A singular problem (following threads) isn't sufficient to change what works for most of us. Again, it's only my opinion.
Mikaol
No issues with this forum. Color coding older threads would be a welcome format change.
I'm all ears if there are a lot others who want a feature. I don't think we are likely to pull in a totally different software, and I'm not a big fan of color coding. I am a fan of locking old threads!
1 Why lock old threads? Frankly, many of them have rather more interesting discussions than the majority of those from the last year of four.
2 The picture-display mechanism is primitive, with only one-at-a-time viewing, no facility to add captions or any integration within the text of a post. We're a species that prefers the visual, you know! :-)
3 Not a technical forum issue but .... there's a curious reluctance to begin, or to participate in, threads of the "look what I've done and how I did it" kind. Subsequent discussions can offer constructive criticism or generate lots of orthogonal discussions about all sorts. I feel the forum chief (you, Mr Strano) could do a lot more to help generate a more vibrant forum of more interesting content than endless threads of the "my finishing went wrong" kind.
********
But somehow I feel that that, as always, there'll be no substantive change of any kind. Inertia seems to rule in Taunton Land, these days.
Lataxe
1) 90% of old threads are revived by spam. Spammers think they can bury their links there and nobody will know. We know, zap them, and then everyone is confused why the post is revived.
2) true
3) I purposefully try and stay out of the forum other than as a moderator. Sometimes I jump in, but for the most part there is plenty of Ben Strano's thoughts and opinions seeping into all things FWW, and I think this is a place for everyone to be heard (even those who use orthogonal in a sentence)... not just those of us with the keys to the building.
Change happens. It might not always be the change you want, but it happens.
You have the keys? Whoa.
It's a code actually.
You don't have to tell me. Just nod if I get it right.
7459
1) When you delete a spam post that revives an old thread, why not make a short post saying "spam deleted"? Surely this is better than deleting the whole post. I often peruse the forum for old posts via a search topic, unearthing some useful stuff. But if you gradually delete all that old history ...... That's vandalism!
2) Will you be getting your web provider to provide a better picture-using facility then? How useful such a thing would be!
3) Some see this forum as a peripheral and unimportant aspect of the magazine. That would be a mistake, as such forums are often a significant part of a publication's public face, these days. Personally I would welcome some stimulus, opinion and advice from the FWW staff. After all, such stuff is why we read the magazine. And it's unlikely that even your voice would be allowed, by the readers & writers, to dominate. :-)
Lataxe, an avid reader of all kinds of history.
More than once I’ve posted here regarding an article and had the author respond. Most recently Mike Korsak. They already put a lot of time and effort into sharing their knowledge. Cruising the forums to further advise is unlikely to be at the top of their list. We use the forums to share ideas and our unsolicited opinions at times because we don’t have an outlet such as the great publication that is FWW. They don’t need the social media avenue as much.
No issues with the forum here either. Although, if asked to name one thing to change, I'd like to see a warning appear when one goes to reply to an ancient post. Something like"Yo. You do realize that this thread is as old as dirt, don't you?"
Locking old threads is a winner, maybe just the OP should have the ability to post so we can get the back-end report / finished project photo if they are so inclined. Easy ask for me, of course I don't have to program it...
When are we getting the downvote option? Don't downvote me for asking. Oh, you can't.
I also have no problem with the format. I do like the old threads suggestions though, all of them so far. If someone sees an old thread they want to comment on they could easily just start a new thread of the same subject.
+1 on the warning about old threads.
Another suggestion is an easy search function on threads. There's a way now, but having to drill down to find it is cumbersome. FW would likely say they don't want to imply that the info in the threads is reliable, so they don't make the searching easy. A warning message when you search should alleviate that concern
Regarding color coding, those of us that are colorblind would end up very confused frustrated!!
The Obvious Thing: Some way to indicate to a user they are not responding to a post from 2005! Seriously?
The Other Obvious Thing (maybe). Every forum I have ever been a part of (that was worth anything) has had inter-forum messaging. To even go into why this is useful and necessary is a waste of time.
FWW - it's been too long and these things never get resolved. I know from one who use to be at Taunton in other dept. for many years that there just isn't the cash anymore. But seriously, the forums I referenced have virtually no money...as in NO MONEY.
By the bye, there really isn't a good excuse for not solving these "problems".
+1 on a PM feature.
I’m also wondering if a regular thread called “tool swap Tuesday” or some such would be useful (the first Tuesday of every month, say). e.g., “I have a Veritas MKII that I don’t use anymore. If interested, PM me”.
I quite like how minimal the format is. We have SMC, AAW, FB etc for all the jazz. Its nice to visit here and have a very digestible amount of content if you feel like lightly interacting with some fellow craftspeople. The thing when viewing with a phone where it gets all jammed up when there are too many replies is unfortunate, but SMC has similar issues when viewing from a mobile. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"The picture-display mechanism is primitive, with only one-at-a-time viewing, no facility to add captions or any integration within the text of a post. We're a species that prefers the visual, you know! :-)"
Lat_axe - Doesn't the gallery allow for this? It may not be perfect either, but you can add captions to the pictures. BTW, I didn't really understand the gallery until recently. It is better to look at than the threads in the forum. Maybe the gallery should be the FWW opening page instead of the forum.
Hi Ecyor,
Your suggestion is a good one. But I believe FWW would have to actively promote the Gallery and discussions about it's contents, if it was to become a decent talking shop about the methods, design and other attributes of the pieces shown.
To be blunt, I find the current forum generally "meh" with far less discussion about construction methods, design, tool use and so forth than there was 10 years or more ago in FWW's Knots forum. Yet there's the gallery stuffed with some absolute gems that are surely worthy of being a fine stimulus to lots of interesting and informative discussion about how and why they were designed and made.
And from FWW's point of view, the Gallery and active discussions therein would surely be the best possible advert for it's commercial products. "Read FWW and learn how to make stuff like this, from not just the magazine but the other readers participating here".
Lataxe
Come on, forums/fora are inherently messy and all over the place. That's part of the charm. . .and their point, though it makes indexing a nightmare. . . . I agree about locking old threads. They can always start over. . . .Not warm to a "feature". Keep things unstructured. We need a bit of randomness!
Ha ha - very droll. Post modern life is already far too "random" and "inherently messy" for me. I suspect the random mess has an even greater malign effect on many others about the planet, just now.
But I yam an ole fuddy-duddy who enjoyed civilisation, whilst it lasted. I suppose we must all now accept a return to "a state of nature", though, despite the many random & messy physical & mental harms brought about as we wander through our various wastelands.
Lataxe
I don't tend to use the forums as much as many people, but I think they serve their purpose alright. It's a magazine site, not a forum site.
If they wanted to outsource messaging system, they could use Slack, Discord, etc. Don't know how much people would use those, and the would be a lot of work to upkeep. My point is, they function okay for what they need to be.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a “Go Down” button to jump to the last comment on the web page. This would help for very long conversations.
The festoolownersgroup.com website uses this feature. I also like the forum software they use. A good example of searchable topics and good categorization. I realize a major change in forum software would be a significant undertaking though.
A funny thing happened on my way to reading about the forum....
Well, not really, but somebody had to say it, and it wasn't getting done, so there it is.
I don't participate in a large number of forums or comment sections or what have you, but I will say that the type and style and management of them can significantly affect whether and how they're used, with what frequency, popularity, and more. Most all online publications have something in this category, at least in my experience, and though I don't participate in many, I do find it occasionally useful to search them for information, etc.
I see the biggest trip-and-stumble risk on this forum being the old thread issue. I'm not sure how it comes about, but it's not infrequent enough that an old thread is inadvertently (I believe) re-energized, almost always, I think, by someone who has not realized that the most recent previous comment on the thread was from 2006 or something. I vote that we start by locking threads more than, say, a year old. Then look for a "Go to most recent post" button or something like that. Finally, when those are done, we take a break, have a cup of coffee, and return to our workshops.
Sir Owl,
I believe you have succumbed to the Facebook and similar modes in which only the immediate is of interest. They don't really do history, do they, such "social media"? This is because their purpose is to examine the participants' current inclinations in great detail, to serve their adverting wealth generator.
Personally I like history, since it's what makes us and all we do and think. Understanding it is often the means to understand (and perhaps even improve) oneself. Old FWW threads are history and a very informative one. It would be a loss to ignore or effectively delete them.
Ben Strano thinks old threads being resurrected by spammers, with the spam deleted, "confuses everyone". Are we big grown ups so easily confused, then; and so terribly upset about it? Gawd!
Lataxe
Respectfully, I think you’ve misread my motivation and desires.
I am not a participant/member/etc. of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any of the other social media platforms.
But I think it’s important to note that locking a thread doesn’t delete it nor make it less useful; it merely means that if someone wishes to resurrect the topic, they must do so with a new post. (In which they can reference the old, locked one should they so choose.) Please note that I mentioned how I at least occasionally search forums and the like for information—and I’m not terribly particular about the age of the information, just its veracity and utility.
Clumsy or spam-driven resurrection of old threads pretty clearly diminishes the signal-to-noise ratio, I believe, and reasonable means of reducing that problem are available—e.g., locking old threads.
Now, this all having been said, none of this is exactly of great import in the world. But if modest improvements can be made at reasonable cost, I’m for it.
Oh, while we’re on the topic of the forum, its format, and possible improvements thereof, let me point to the elephant mouse in the room.
Within the “Leave a comment” box one comes across an opportunity to indicate one’s desire to receive email notices when there are new replies to one’s post. This under the heading, “Email Notifcation”.
Can FWW afford another “i”?
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