Does Somersoft need a botox injection?

[reeco]

it works fine for ignorant PC uses like me , and i suppose we see less of the older posters perhaps due to the questions asked again and again, like , hi i want to get into property where should i start, or my value was too low what should i do, or the bank said no , where to go now !

this drains on you a bit and those with the answers , have typed these soloutions a hundred times , so they get a little bored with it , just a guess?
what are your thoughts??

Very true. But such is life. Maybe you could flag these types of post in a orderly and less intensive fashion. My solution to that would be this...

When a new poster comes on and asks the obvious, We as long term users can tag said user with a title / color/ exclamation mark or all of the above. The tag would be instructions to the user to do a quick search by themselves and then come back and seek the finer details that make a great thread. Its the same premise as automated answering service like banking has.

As we all know the purpose of an automated answering services is to point people in the right direction or department without going through the banter of intial meet and greets. They cut the fat of a conversation and get you were you need to go quicker and efficently....sometimes

I often see people be nice and say kindly to do a search. Maybe we can invent a acronym that kindly but bluntly tells a user to do a search first?? such as

STFF & TCBU - Search The Forums First & Then Come Back To Us

UTFL - Use The Force Luke.

I believe it would be a comedic relief to tag someone with this Acronym. It uses humor to suggest that a user try hard and look for the answer So you keep it light and be firmly instructive without offending. You can even ad a star wars cartoon pic to nail home the idea so there can be no mistake what is being implied

 

[reeco]

Hmm. I can see the value of this style of interaction in some situations.

we could do something like have two buttons at the top of every forum area: "New Discussion" and "New Question" ... where discussion starts a traditional thread, while questions starts a Q&A style thread.

I originally dismissed the idea being only suitable for a small percentage of the questions asked here (such as "how much stamp duty would I pay when purchasing a property in victoria"), but looking more deeply at how their systems work and the way it is being used by other SE sites, I think there may be some real potential here.

Interesting suggestion - thanks!

can certainly see the merit in this myself. Its very similar to Digg. But again it have to would occupy its own seperate space within SS as intelligent conversation is very much the heart of SS. If facebook has taught me anything..its that we seem to be very much social animals.

Providing a flat answer is the dead end of any conversation. But still very informative of course

 

[BayView]

I think it would be an awesome thing if when people used Acronyms a similar thing would happen when you hovered your mouse over it??? possible???

I detest acronyms as a rule. I use a few here such as PPoR, but not many.

The English language is a wonderful thing, and I hate to see it destroyed that way.

Eventually there will be no expression and ability to illustrate - we will end up with a series of grunts and squawks to speak. Cave men.

The bloody Yanks are world champs at it, and unfortunately the disease is spreading to our Land.

I think the forum is pretty good as it is.

 

[reeco]

I detest acronyms as a rule. I use a few here such as PPoR, but not many.

The English language is a wonderful thing, and I hate to see it destroyed that way.

I think the forum is pretty good as it is.

I had the same feelings also. tis why i tried to find a solution(for new people anyway). I believe its got alot to do with our need to find the path of least resistance. Such a pinch to say PPOR

The site ive come to realise is merely a vessel. I dont think many people are going to like the new things coming through soon. Some i think will leave.

But when they realise its just about people talking to people ...and that it has little to do with the site. They will surely come back.

Especially when there presented with something better. Such is life.. So fingers crossed they get the new design right

 

[troyhunt]

While using Stack Exchange itself is not really an option based on the way they've structured their hosted solution (and the price - ouch)

Just for the record, Stack Exchange just became free: http://blog.stackexchange.com/post/518474918/stack-exchange-2-0

 

[reeco]

Just went to another forum and found the perfect new face for SS.

http://www.perthstreetbikes.com/forum/f21/animation-funnies-werk-safe-106948/

The site just feels so much more fresh then SS while stil remaining very familar.

Mr Sim does the PerthStreetBikes forum have the same underlying strucutre?

I Love how well everything is laid out. The threads are far more Dynamic media wise. You can link youtube vids and they simply show up. No extra steps required(no trying to find the button to do the task)

Pictures and the like speak a 1000 words yes? I think its great to have a video dynamic layer in a thread. No need to leave SS its just there. Time to bring SS up to date for sure.

When someone is quoted they also have the quote visualised with a speach box. Its a small detail but like every piece in a puzzle. It has a purpose.

I feel SS users are missing out. IMO

You can also quote to a particular post right under that post instead of being transported to the bottom of the thread like SS. Just makes everything so much easier for everyone. Gotta try it to understand i spose

 

[skater]

I just had a look at that site and it's awful! Please don't make drastic changes to SS. It's good as it is.

While I'm not savvy with these kinds of things, I suspect that a forum such as the one mentioned would not be able to handle the amount of traffic that SS has either. I am a member of a couple of small forums that don't have a huge amount of traffic and they have a similar set up, while I have visited a few larger ones that seem to run similar to SS.

 

[Sim]

Just went to another forum and found the perfect new face for SS.

The site just feels so much more fresh then SS while stil remaining very familar.

Mr Sim does the PerthStreetBikes forum have the same underlying strucutre?

Yes that site uses vBulletin v4, which is the same software we will be upgrading to later in the year. That means the basic underlying structure will be the same, but the actual look and feel will be somewhat different - I'll be modifying it somewhat from what they have.

Most of the little user-interface features you see on that site will be in place here, but I'm aiming for a much cleaner interface - it won't be plastered with images everywhere like on that site (although embedding images and video into posts will be simple).

Once I'm happy that the new software is stable enough to use on our site, I will set up a test site that we can play with to iron out any bugs and get some feedback from everyone on.

 

[Sim]

I just had a look at that site and it's awful! Please don't make drastic changes to SS. It's good as it is.

The software does need to be updated at some point in the near future, and as a result, the UI will be "modernised".

My goal is to keep the site as usable as it is now, while also being able to incorporate all the new features and improvements that the new version of the software will allow.

There will be some changes - but my goal is to keep them as subtle as possible ... and I am confident you will see the benefits once it is operational.

As I said in my previous post - I do plan on setting up a test site that everyone can play with so we can smooth out any issues or incorporate suggestions from the members, before we go live.

 

[reeco]

I just had a look at that site and it's awful! Please don't make drastic changes to SS. It's good as it is.

While I'm not savvy with these kinds of things, I suspect that a forum such as the one mentioned would not be able to handle the amount of traffic that SS has either. .

Each to there own it seems I like it. And so do the people there. They out number SS members also(Contributing ones anyway). Im not sure if your presumtion that PST.com cant handle traffic holds any weight at all. I aint a tech head either so i couldnt make that call.

SS is still great but change is a well known fact of life. People never like it at the start. But soon get over it real quick.

Its gonna be funny to watch people moan and groan at the start. And then go "its ok i guess, but i still like the old SS" holding onto the past. Gonna be a riot.

 

[reeco]

Most of the little user-interface features you see on that site will be in place here, but I'm aiming for a much cleaner interface - it won't be plastered with images everywhere like on that site (although embedding images and video into posts will be simple).

.

Awsome. Cant wait to see how thread conversations will go in SS! Being Dynamic is great i agree, if done right. I hope that being able to reply to a post under the post is implemented. It just seems so much easier. Best of luchk with it

 

[wish-ga]

It's the content that keeps me comin' back for more!

Like a warm hug. (No, that's uncle toby's oats ad)

 

[G_Man]

Yes that site uses vBulletin v4, which is the same software we will be upgrading to later in the year.

Great news, I was just thinking the same thing the other day (i.e. this site needs a freshen up).
Another forum I use has recently ugraded to vBulletin v4 and it really wasn't that much of an issue.

http://www.xpmediacentre.com.au/community/
One thing I really like about that site is the "Thank You" button after a post.
If someone else has had a rely which you find useful, instead of hijacking the post with your own comments, you can just hit the Thank You button.


Any chance of this being implemented?

 

[reeco]

Any chance of this being implemented?

Thats a suttle yet cool idea! I can see threads really improving under such a minor addition. It makes me cringe when i see a comment(Usually a noob) that abruptly ends a good flow in the thread.

 

[battler]

One thing I have wondered about with the reporting a post function regarding Spam, is if the symbol was to light up or disappear after it is reported so the Moderators only get it once and other users know it has been reported.

 

[reeco]

One thing I have wondered about with the reporting a post function regarding Spam, is if the symbol was to light up or disappear after it is reported so the Moderators only get it once and other users know it has been reported.

Awsome idea! Theres a bit of psychology behind it. In real world terms its like being in a mall full of people. A person sees somethings sus and says hey!!! you!!! ....the person either runs or goes "What?" Top idea battler!

 

[WinstonWolfe]

I think the search function is unsatisfactory.

i.e.
vxx is an etn of vix.

The forum search engine spits the dummy.

Google gets it with
site:somersoft.com/forums vxx

 

[Sim]

One thing I really like about that site is the "Thank You" button after a post.
If someone else has had a rely which you find useful, instead of hijacking the post with your own comments, you can just hit the Thank You button.


Any chance of this being implemented?

This feature is from an add-on published on the vB modifications website - I'll have to investigate further before I consider installing it to determine whether I think it is robust enough to run on the site, from my quick read of the support forum it loooks like there may be some issues with the current implementation.

I'll investigate further once I've got to the point of looking at add-ons.

 

[Sim]

I think the search function is unsatisfactory.

I think "unsatisfactory" is being a bit too kind. The current search mechanism is rubbish really.

This should be vastly improved in vB v4, but I will also look at adding an integrated Google search feature as a search option once I build the new site. You'll be able to choose which of the two search engines you use.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

You'll be able to choose which of the two search engines you use.

Cool. So often I want to refer to or revive an old but good thread, but can't find it quickly with a search.

A better search function will hopefully stop the time decay of great threads. There were a lot of savvy PI'ers here pre 2003-4, and to keep their threads accessible/live, would be a good thing.

I often think threads would be more valuable if they were mini blogs....offering thematic continuity, updated through the course of time. That way we wouldn't end up with 10 new threads a month addressing the same topic....which only accelerates redundancy....and doesn't help us poor humans learn as effectively from the experience and mistakes of others.

I appreciate the idea of sub forums works towards this end.