Why are so many of these threads being moved???

[suburbangirl]

And am I the only one who finds it extremely annoying??!!!

I am guessing this is a way for the mods to get us to use the 'Property Investment - Other' forum as a 'last resort'?? ie trying to get us to use the other forums more?? ETA perhaps this is also why it's been shifted to the bottom of the list??

Do they not realise we actually like 'discussing' stuff in the one place without jumping all over the joint??

Or am I the only one??

 

[Nathan]

quiet a few feel upset about this, me being one of them...

however, there is a function which im trying to adapt to up the top says new posts just click on there as a refresh button...

just means you have to sift through for what you want...

 

[Sim]

I am guessing this is a way for the mods to get us to use the 'Property Investment - Other' forum as a 'last resort'?? ie trying to get us to use the other forums more?? ETA perhaps this is also why it's been shifted to the bottom of the list??

See discussion in this thread: http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45851

Do they not realise we actually like 'discussing' stuff in the one place without jumping all over the joint??

You CAN discuss everything in the "one place" ... as mentioned by Nathan - it's called the "New Posts" search (link in the navigation bar at the top of every page) - it shows you all updated threads in one easy to view location. This is what most people use to view the forums, and it really does make it easier to keep track of things.

If you don't like discussions from some topics being included in the new posts search, you can now stop those threads from showing up by using the new feature described in this thread: http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45946

 

[suburbangirl]

Appreciate the explanation...and have now visited the other threads, but still not a happy camper.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it kinda springs to mind, I have to say...

 

[Sim]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it kinda springs to mind, I have to say...

... but it is broke - we have over 450,000 posts on this forum and putting them all in the one discussion area isn't an effective way to manage it all.

Users were never encouraged to only post in the one forum area - it is a situation which has developed in recent times due to a large volume of new users and some lax moderation on our part.

We are now attempting to remedy that and educate users about how the forum should be used for the benefit of everyone - including those who just want to occasionally browse through threads on a particular topic and don't actually participate in the ongoing discussion.

It really doesn't make things any more difficult (quite the opposite in my opinion), and most people had never even noticed the change, since the New Posts search hides all of that complexity and makes everything very simple.

Give it a go - it really is better.

 

[nomadic]

Appreciate the explanation...and have now visited the other threads, but still not a happy camper.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it kinda springs to mind, I have to say...

you can vote here to have less threads but the majority doesn't rule

http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46045

 

[Craig-G]

I am sure the Mod's had a cheeky smirk on there face when they moved this post

 

[Sim]

I am sure the Mod's had a cheeky smirk on there face when they moved this post

no, it was more of a resigned *sigh*

 

[Gee Cee]

Bloody Whingers

Firstly i would like to congratulate Sim for many years putting in the effort to run this forum. As well to all the Mods that keep it in order

i truly do not know how they have the time and they are not paid.

I don't have a job and find it difficult to fit in investing a family and just keeping up with New Posts.
Of course there has to be some form of order . Cannot just throw everything into the filing cabinet drawer then try and find it later.

We are sooo lucky that we have this facility to study what is going on, voice our opinions and get help from very savvy people in all areas. And we DO NOT even have to pay for it. Back in 1978 when I started investing you would sit in Library for days just trying to get a tiny bit of information.

There was very little networking. You were very lucky to find any one to be a mentor and had to mostly just fly by the seat of your pants.


Keep up the GREAT work Guys

Just my view

Gee Cee

Greg

(Poor Old F@rt)

 

[Gentle_Chief]

i truly do not know how they have the time and they are not paid.

What the mods are not paid?!
Whats the economics behind this Sim

 

[Sim]

What the mods are not paid?!
Whats the economics behind this Sim

I don't own the forum, I just run it.

Moderators have always been a volunteer position - they are passionate about the community and about property investing and spend time helping the community willingly.

As Ian says on his website: http://www.somersoft.com.au/forum.htm

Moderators have been chosen to help facilitate the smooth running of the forum based on their expertise in their respective fields, the utility of their contributions to the forum over the past couple of years, and their relative independence. All of them have earned the respect of their peers during that time and they all give their time and share their expertise voluntarily. We would like to formally acknowledge and thank them for their efforts in this regard.

This forum doesn't make any money for Somersoft - although there probably is some indirect revenue for Jan and Ian via book / software sales ... but that was never the intention for the site and would probably be quite minimal (they don't need that income anyway).

Jan and Ian started the site (although Ian did all the work!) as a resource for property investors and they fund all of the running costs out of their own pockets.

 

[steveadl]

Jan and Ian started the site (although Ian did all the work!) as a resource for property investors and they fund all of the running costs out of their own pockets.

And from what VERY little I understand about hosting - with the amount of traffic SS generates, that would be a fair few $k per year.

 

[mam544]

And am I the only one who finds it extremely annoying??!!!

I am guessing this is a way for the mods to get us to use the 'Property Investment - Other' forum as a 'last resort'?? ie trying to get us to use the other forums more?? ETA perhaps this is also why it's been shifted to the bottom of the list??

Do they not realise we actually like 'discussing' stuff in the one place without jumping all over the joint??

Or am I the only one??

No, you are not. I hate it, now it's just hard work!

It's gone from a daily read to once a week.

 

[Sim]

And from what VERY little I understand about hosting - with the amount of traffic SS generates, that would be a fair few $k per year.

Not as much as it used to ... at one point it was costing over $1000 per month, but fortunately I was able to find Ian a much cheaper provider!

 

[Sim]

No, you are not. I hate it, now it's just hard work!

It's gone from a daily read to once a week.

Have you tried the "New Posts" search ?

 

[Nards]

No, you are not. I hate it, now it's just hard work!

Must say I agree! Have tried the New Posts function, but have reverted back to forum listing page. I cant quite put my finger on what exactly it is I dont like - the forum just doesn't seem to have the continuity and, as someone else mentioned, the community feeling it did before. But will persevere with it as is...and hopefully I'll soon enjoy it as much as I did before to re-shuffle...

Nadia

 

[Sim]

Have tried the New Posts function, but have reverted back to forum listing page.

Why ? The New Posts search gives you exactly the same information.

 

[HiEquity]

Sim

You guys do a great job and this is just such a fantastic forum - well moderated and open to anyone. As far as I'm concerned you can change this forum as you see fit - it is ultimately up to Jan and Ian how it should be set up and run and I'm just fine with that.

And the new posts search is excellent - you have provided everyone with the tools required to view all the threads they could possibly be interested in as easily as possible. I can say that having moved to the new posts search it is a lot better and the forum is more balanced without everything going into the one main category all the time.

BTW is it just me or has there been an increase in posting since the change? I guess this may also have something to do with a certain financial crisis...

 

[geoffw]

This forum doesn't make any money for Somersoft - although there probably is some indirect revenue for Jan and Ian via book / software sales ... but that was never the intention for the site and would probably be quite minimal

As I understand, they have turned down some quite lucrative offers to make the forum commercial. (And this did not come from Ian or Jan, but from someone a few years ago who wanted to use the forum as a money making venture).

The forum has become huge. To leave a lot of discussions in a "General" forum may have been convenient for some in the short term, but it made it more inconvenient, and a less useful resource, for the longer term.

There have been many people who have come into the forum, who have stated what a great resource it is. And there are a lot of people who want to do research into a particular aspect of property investment. The changes will help them hugely.

For me, I'm in the "new posts" school. I don't even log in and click on "New Posts"- I have http://www.somersoft.com/forums/search.php?do=getnew as a favourite

 

[wylie]

Having never used the main menu page and always used the "new posts" button, I have not noticed any difference in function, nor any difference in any "community" feel about the forum.

Personally, I am too lazy to use the number of keystrokes needed to go into and out of each section, so why not y'all give it a try. One click and you have every post that has been added to since you last logged in, then just pick what interests you. I LOVE it and am glad that I learnt that way, cause I have no angst about the change.