mods

[tj99959]

Why don't you just remove the new member forum and the general discussion froum since it has become quite obvious that you don't want people to use them.

PLEASE take the time to investigate what happens to a thread when you move it! THEY DIE, never to be looked at again. Not a good way to pass good information on to those that want it.
You are fooling yourselves if you think most users are interested in opening 50 different sub forums.

[tiburonfirst]

tj, no opening of subforums necessary if you follow your threads through ''my posts'' - i don't even look anymore, at least most of the time, in which forum my threads are hosted.
but i can see the problem if somebody navigates ecf any other way ......

[caffeinator]

Yeah, I do the same thing...about the only thing I touch is the "New Posts" link and the "What's New" dropdown menus. Maybe a search here and there.

Manually doing things on a huge forums like ECF is not going to work. I'm on a few sites far larger than ECF and without automation, there is zero way anyone could do anything useful. It just doesn't work. Use the site's tools and you'll be happier.

[caffeinator]

For example, I posted in this thread: Guys - how do you carry around your e-cig and supplies

It was originally in New Members, but got more involved and was moved to E-Cigarette Accessories. I didn't even notice as my updated posts list still had it listed. It automatically updated it.

Like so:


(click for full sized)

If there is something you'd like to know how to do, I'm sure we can help ya do it.

[tiburonfirst]

caf - i think tj is concerned that members not all that familiar with ecf easily lose track of threads they might be interested in.

it would be interesting to know if threads, once moved, really lose momentum.

[caffeinator]

Hmm, IDK.

On all of the large forums I know of, users use subs and the post lists to keep track of posts. If they don't know how, then they need to be taught how. One site I've on since 2005 has about a million members and more posts then the USPS. Users still seems to follow along just fine though.

As far as the OP's/or posters losing track, on forums that I mod, I always PM the OP or the poster when I move or otherwise edit their content. That way, they can't say they weren't notified and their post/topic/whatever just "disappeared". Ya know?

[tj99959]

caf - i think tj is concerned that members not all that familiar with ecf easily use track of threads they might be interested in.

it would be interesting to know if threads, once moved, really lose momentum.

IMO most forum member that are not on the site every day, and/or newer member function from this page The E-Cigarette , and basically only use the top 4 forums, with most only the top two. Just look at the numbers using each forum and it is quite obvious.
I know how to find the threads I started, or posted in, that's not the problem. The problem is that it seems like no one else can. I have followed active thread after active thread, that that has gotten few if any views after it was moved.
I think my solution to this problem would be to wait until a thread drops from the first page before moving it. If a thread is getting enough attention to stay on the first page, it is because people are interested in it, so it is probably right where it belongs.

[caffeinator]

Ah, I see what you're saying now...

IMHO, Forums are just like the rest of the Internet; the strong survive and rest get swallowed by oblivion. If a topic is worthy, informative and interesting, it'll keep on going because users will seek it out no matter what.

[tj99959]

Ah, I see what you're saying now...

IMHO, Forums are just like the rest of the Internet; the strong survive and rest get swallowed by oblivion. If a topic is worthy, informative and interesting, it'll keep on going because users will seek it out no matter what.

Wish that was the case here, but a new thread in the same place seems to be the norm requiring that the conversation needs to be repeated from square 1 all over again.

[oldsoldier]

This subject has come up more times than I wish to attempt to count. The forum is large and to be quite honest I'd love to just merge all the forums into one mega forum just to show you how ill advised it is to NOT break up the subject matter.

Once a user learns the layout and starts using it it is actually way more efficient to do it "our way". Trust me I've moderated on a forum that is much much larger than ECF and even though large forums are not easy for a new user to navigate, breaking down the subject matter is the way to go.