How about a general discussion thread for the site feedback section

[Akira AC]

I been looking over the forums,and these forums have a really good structure,a bit of spam over here and over there but nothing to complain about, although I think that a "general purpose thread" managed by the moderators will reduce the amount of spam among the forums,like threads based on simple asks and so on,I know that people needs to read the AUP before join the forums,but once they join they need more guidance(in some cases of course).

So instead of using this whole section to answer simple questions,why not use a single thread for answer users questions and other topics of less importance.

I known that it might be unnecessary at this point,but it seems like the simple questions take aside more important topics(i.e. site news,updates and other features introduced to the forums).

So this is a simple idea that might relieve some of the work that moderators have to do every day,apart from that I believe that it might reduce the amount of unnecessary threads spread all over the forums.

So what do you think GTPlanet staff.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

This is just my personal opinion, so other staff members may think differently - but the amount of duplicate threads on topics we've covered, and even stickied in some cases ("why can't I get into chat?"), shows that some people just can't be bothered to search for their answer when they have the option of creating a new thread. Having a general-purpose thread where all the answers are buried on different pages, meaning they'd have to put in even more effort, doesn't bode well .

 

[Pupik]

GTP is not a moderated question-and-answer session. No forum has anything and everything spelled out on Page One, and very few are patient enough to answer simple questions. Using the search feature, and being patient enough to wade through a little bit of irrelevant information works wonders at any internet forum.

It used to be that the credentials for Internet usage was that it required people to actually read. Now, nobody has time even for that anymore.

 

[Jordan]

I'm not sure I understand your question, akira, could you perhaps explain it in a different way with more examples on why this would be appropriate for the Site Feedback forum?

Anyways, as a general rule, I strongly dislike monolithic threads, as they run counter to the elegant, logical, and natural organization of a message board.

 

[Akira AC]

This is more an idea than a question,for example in this section some threads like "Does bad grammar deserve a warning","issues with the search" and "Ban on intentionally generic thread titles? " are,in my opinion,threads that could be avoided if a general questions thread exists,but as SlipZtrEm point out,having a single thread to solve all questions may result in a more problematic job for moderators,and as Pupik point out GTP is not an Q/A forum,but people do not use the search option properly,and as for the "monolithic thread" I do believe that it will be problematic to hold all questions in a single thread.

I do understand why this might become more work for the moderators,but all the time duplicated threads always pop up,specially here,for simple questions that were done before and have been pull back by duplicated threads,and if you think about it,a single thread will avoid the generation of unnecessary threads,besides,this planed thread will probably have duplicated question,but this duplicated question will be a post instead of a thread,something that helps to keep more important threads afloat,in this section of course.

As I said before this is just an idea,and it seems to be rather unnecessary,but due the size of the site I think that might come handy at some point,specially for new members and old members with simple questions.

 

[Hugo Boss]

If I understand you properly you'd like a sort of general Q/A thread for 'simple' questions?

The problem is that the majority of the people that come up with the type of questions/thread titles you mention are too lazy to use the search function or gave up after one poor query. My concern is that with a general Q&A thread, you end up with both a long and inconvenient Q&A thread and separate threads created by people that even refuse to read stickied threads. These days we have smartphones with apps that do the thinking for you and when there's no app available the brain seems to remain in standby mode...

In the Weekly Race Series subforum (which is relatively small) we have stickied all the important threads. Even there people come up with new posts and threads containing redundant questions on a regular basis. Imagine that with larger subforums, it will simply not work.

Luckily I still see new members create well considered threads, after having used the search function.
Also in some cases it might be more useful to contact Jordan or one of the admins/mods, depending on the question. I'm sure any staff member is willing to help you if have a sensible question to ask.

So like the other staff members so far, I don't support your suggestion either. A clearer overview and less cluttering is surely wished for though. Maybe Jordan still has something up his sleeve since he knows more about forum structures.

Still, thank you for thinking along 👍

 

[Hun200kmh]

I think the site feedback forum is a great one as it is. For some reason, newcomers don't seem to notice its existence so the atmosphere here is usually very polite, people show consideration to one another and the issues raised are usually well-considered and not dismissed as pure rubbish.

Also, and more on a personal note, generally speaking, I like the simple "Question asked ---> answer given" threads. And usually that's also what happens here.

Now, would it be a good solution to have a GTPLANET FAQ thread here? Don't know, maybe the five stickied threads offering help on specific subjects (the sicxth being the "Banned User Log") could be either expanded (five FAQ threads about different aspects of gtplanet membership and how to's) or condensed (into one big FAQ thread). In my opinion, however, more stickied threads is too much, reduicing them to one only would be confusing (I think).

In short, I think it's fine the way it is