The future of The Lab & Drawing Board (*Vote*)

[bruce0]

I agree with Ptown kid on this.  You have to be careful about creating the "island of misfit toys" (American television reference).

I think there are some newb sections already, and I have used them but they tend to be out of date and when you go in there you hear crickets.

And while I broached it, I am questioning the Build Threads notion. emrr has a good point... more sections means more hunting (which I as a newb do not find to be part of the pleasure <:0  )  ... a build section might work because it is pretty well defined (at least it seems like it is), but what is really needed is better searching, especially now that the old google searches link to the wrong board. 

And possibly off topic, but related to board functionality: Might it be possible to take the old queries (if I search in google, the results I get contain old format links, sometimes buried in other sites, and sometimes from google it'self which hasn't re-indexed the pages, maybe there is someway to re-index the pages), and translate them and re-direct them to the same topic and page in the new domain name.  There was a very smooth transition of domains, but searching got harder, and the google window at the top helps, but does not return the same stuff.  I usually just view the link and go to the same topic number, and it works pretty well.


All that said, it may be "gilding the lilly" this board is really nice.

 

[okgb]

Another question though , is how to make it efficient & productive  ?
the brewery is a place for rambling & off opinions but
the whole site is getting like a windows machine , slow & bogged down
until someone invents an " auto intelligent archiving  "  system , it's hard
to know how much great info is here , never mind knowing when it's gone .

 

[Ethan]

the whole site is getting like a windows machine , slow & bogged down

Did you mean that figuratively or literally?
I just want to make sure there aren't any technical issues.
I'm seeing page load times average <100mS, which is pretty good.

 

[justanalogue]

Like to keep what it is.
I compare this with visiting a surplus or yard sale:Looking for certain items but sometimes be surprised what else there is.
GroupDIY is a journey for me and I like to go off track.


Willem.

 

[tchgtr]

I voted #3 because this is one of the few places I've seen on the net where smarter minds (not me) actually do prevail.
I'll still come here no matter what, and I think it's great as is, but am intrigued by the suggestion of an "official builds" thread.
I don't mind the differing projects being mixed together. It's easy to spot what interests me, and sometimes you run into something interesting that you normally wouldn't have viewed.
No matter what, thanks for all the hard work. 

 

[okgb]

Sorry i meant  , figuratively
some of the people maybe voting NOT to change maybe doing so  [ rightfully ]
because they don't have the time[ or will ]  to support and keep up threads

 

[guavatone]

One thing is that it would be great if Lab general topics and project specific threads and project specific posts were separated.

 

[QUEEF BAG]

it's not that i am resistant to change, but i like what we have now.

the biggest problem i have  now is searching for info...
a lot of posts, and ya gotta read most all of 'em to find (or not) what yer lookin' for.
and that's not to bad of a problem.  lots of info to stumble across in the process.

posting in the proper forum helps. 

our needless banter does not really help, but it sure is entertaining - probably worth it.

whatever...it's the people and not the format that makes this place what it is,  great!

 

[hitchhiker]

I too think that the current setup is working very well.

 

[okgb]

Or there needs to be a
' I'm proud of my build " or " Listen to me talk  " category
to help keep the others categories clean

 

[canidoit]

The only problem with a "newb forum" is that people with the ability to answer will rarely venture there...

I have to agree. Newb or newb in denial will probably be more inclined to venture in the normal or other forums.

 

[kazper]

I'll toss out some ideas with everyone else.

I like the official project threads if they were in a separate discussion forum making them easy to find. I'd like it better if each project/layout had a separate thread with the important documentation placed on or linked from the first few postings.

I'm not sure if we need need separate forums for each type of projects, but there is clearly a few different types of projects here. Out of the projects we have I've came up with 3 types, Clones, User design or mashups, 500/51X. Microphones are probably just as viable to have sub forums.

Another option, merge the drawing board with the lab and add repair or make another Discussion for "repair & restoration tips and tricks".

Anyways just some ideas.

KaZ

 

[kazper]

Or there needs to be a
' I'm proud of my build " or " Listen to me talk  " category
to help keep the others categories clean

Mods can make a yearly sticky for "showing off your builds", everyone can post there.

Lots of people like to talk, thats what the brewery is for.

 

[erikb1971]

I tend to find the newb questions in the build threads often quite useful... being one myself. It would be nice if the build threads could be in one area, preferably the first post or the whole thread "tagged" if possible, rather than putting it in a sub sub sub area...

 

[Mbira]

I voted #2. 

I really get fruastrated in forums with huge amounts of slicing and dicing of the boards.  There are some Synth forums like that where there are like 30+ different forums you have to look at to try and find what you want.  I think the amount of information we discuss here, things could easily turn out that way here, too.

 

[okgb]

there are dedicated project threads that are not maintained and often people don't bother to post in them ,
and many littering their opinions [often not helpful or relevent or on topic ......... listen to me ! ] over the whole site , not
seemingly noticing that , that's what the brewery is for . or not understanding the question or request before answering

 

[JamesW]

Or there needs to be a
' I'm proud of my build " or " Listen to me talk  " category
to help keep the others categories clean

I think facebook has this covered 

 

[okgb]

Right , then IF that's the case they need not clog up threads , or at least be aware of it

 

[kepeb]

Indeed.
I think a build area, singular.
Encompassing all 'show of my build of...' & 'official project help for...' etc. can all go in one more area.
these are helpful for all board projects and should be accessible.
these threads often get lost in the lab amongst so many other subjects.

also a re-iteration of the general 'code of conduct' gets my vote.
before joining, and as a general reassessment of membership.
maybe message limit before posting in certain areas...? or some other clever way of cleaning?

any more sub-categories would make it harder to navigate in other ways.
I'd like the place to remain open free and friendly and inviting to more people. not an elitist labyrinth.

 

[Alistair]

Everything works well as is, but if it was up to me, I'd just have a think about the Meta thread in the Lab.  I think the biggest problem with 'mess' is new members that can't find info on existing projects- almost always Mnats 1176, GSSL type projects, which are already very well documented.
One of the biggest things that comes up is people asking questions that have been answered, and then being told to read the thread.  The Mnats 1176 thread is over 100 pages now!  It can take longer to read the thread than to build a unit!

Almost all of the info needed is in the threads, and often linked to specific pages in the Meta, but it's perhaps not as user friendly as possible.  Then again, I don't think that's all bad, as it encourages people to read and problem solve, rather than just asking questions and expecting 'build by numbers' projects.

A possible solution would be that for longterm, established projects, to give them their own subfolder in the Lab.  That way people can ask questions without having to read 100+ pages, and for those not interested in those projects, it will keep the main section of the lab nice and clean?