Suggestion for this great website (Merging Forums)

deacm · Post by **deacm** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:20 pm

There are six different topics on this site's "Discussion Board" (e.g. Trailering, Mods, this one etc etc). I'm not fond of having to check out each one of these on a regular basis and would prefer just to have ALL TOPICS on just ONE location/forum. It would not add that much of a load to this forum if we merged them all because this one already gets the lion's share of the traffic. For example, we have 1500+ topics and over 18,000 posts on this "Macgregor Powersailor Discussion" forum. The rest of the forums COMBINED equal 1/6th to 1/5th of that total. Perhaps you all have debated this before and there is a reason that I don't 'see' as to why we keep them separate. But on the chance that you HAVEN"T, I'll submit a poll to see how y'all feel about it.

Frank C · Post by **Frank C** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 8:08 pm

deac,
Guess I'd agree that there's not much advantage in splitting up the debate ... but, there's one feature that you've overlooked that solves your problem.

Make sure you are signed-in with your user ID. Then, when you first view the main page where all forums are listed, scroll to the bottom. Down there you'll find the number of members who are currently browsing the board, and at the far left on the same line, you'll see the total number of posts since your last visit.

Click there and you'll get a short, composite list of ALL threads with posts that are "new to you," regardless of their sub-forums.

nemo · Post by **nemo** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:22 pm

On the topic of getting the most out of this site, is there a way to view all the old thread subjects without searching for something specific? I have many questions that I'm sure have been addressed multiple times in the past and would like to just browse the archives. What's the best way?

Mark Prouty · Post by **Mark Prouty** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:07 am

When first entering the site, there is a link in the upper right corner of the screen that says "View posts since last visit." That is what I use and it works well. Often the lines between forums are blurred but because of the link, I don't miss new postings. I'd be neutral in regards to merging forums.

Frank & Meg · Post by **Frank & Meg** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:54 am

Yup, "view posts since last visit" pretty much handles the viewing all forums issue. I would like to proffer the following suggestion however. Would it be possible to display the date that a topic was initiated in the Topics column of the search results? It would help us to know if we're looking at a recent addition to an old topic vs. looking at a continuation of a newer thread. I got all wound up the other day about Duane's "Coldless Tools" thread only to be reminded that it was 4 months old when I opened it. Similar things happen often. Fortunately, there's plenty happening on this board so my "dissappointment" is quickly ameliorated.

If it's a short putt for Heath, it would be most helpful.

Thanks Heath - you 'da man!

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 2:55 pm

IMHO, Heath got it right the first time. The only thing that I might've done different would've been to add a forum for outboards, props, etc, but then I probably would've looked back and wish I'd just specified that such discussions go in Performance and Tuning.

--
Moe

Carl Noble · Post by **Carl Noble** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 5:28 pm

Deacm,

Thanks for posting this poll. I voted No as I like the forum the way that it is, however I had never noticed the part of "view the posts since your last visit" as I was always acclimated to just jumping into the posts when I logged on. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. ( especially in computer use and of course in sailing.)

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:15 pm

My method of browsing the board - hit the "View posts since last visit." then go down the list and middle-click all the topics I want to read, opening them in new background tabs. Then go through the tabs one-by-one. Works best with a modern web browser.

I think I'll keep the different forums for now. I like having them split up by category even though most posts end up in one.

Heath

Post by **kmclemore** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:40 pm

Heath wrote:My method of browsing the board - hit the "View posts since last visit." then go down the list and middle-click all the topics I want to read, opening them in new background tabs. Then go through the tabs one-by-one. Works best with a modern web browser.

That's exactly how I do it, Heath, with Netscape (you can place the tabs within one window, too)... works a treat!

Thanks again for this forum Heath - you're providing a well run and useful service for all of us!

Happy sails,
Kevin

deacm · Post by **deacm** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 5:23 am

Thanks all, I never KNEW about that little link in the corner that would read "all the posts since my last visit'...........I just thought that meant for THAT particular subforum. I'll concede that there is no reason to merger the subforums given that. By the way, Heath, what does "Middle Click" mean?.....and this from someone who's been using computers for the las 25 years !!

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:44 am

If you don't already have one, get yourself a scrolling wheel mouse and download Firefox. When your mouse pointer is over a link, push the wheel in, just like you would one of the left or right buttons, instead of scrolling it. This should open the link in a new tab underneath the URL box on your browser. Left click on a tab to bring it forward, right click on a tab to get a menu for closing it.

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Suggestion for this great website (Merging Forums)

Would you like to merge all the forums on this site into ONE forum posting area?

Suggestion for this great website (Merging Forums)