Idea to stop "new" useless threads!

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BenSpecialized
Ok ive had about as much as one person can take with all these "new" threads popping up here and there. Ive come to realise that people will not search no matter how many times we ask them too. So rather than make the new members go to the search button can we not make bring the search button to them? If its plausable then all members with under 200 posts ,or maybe even as little as 50, upon pressing the new thread button will be presented with a simple question "Have you tried searching?" along with the search feature we all know and love. This would leave no reason what so ever for people to post silly posts like THIS , there was another post in the drift forums where i showed the person who started the thread that his thread was 1 thread below what he was looking for, and could be enforced more strictly. There could be a button at the bottom of the page which would redirect people to the new thread editing screen for those who have searched or are making threads which dont need to have been searched for ie competitions etc

This kinda links to what has been said HERE but should be re-addressed due to the rise in new "un-searched" threads

I dont think this would need much work to set up however my web design/strucure knowledge is a little limited.

What you all think?

Spec....
 
well, I certainly agree based on the recent history of the Drift Forum. Swift has been busy removing locked threads so that productive ones float up to the front page.... but there have been times where there's been more moderator locked threads on the first page of the drift forum, then there are open ones.

We've seen a dramatic increase in the amount of people with 'New member' titles viewing the forum. I'm not suggesting that all of these so-called 'useless' threads originate with them - but it is an overwhelming majority. The New member/Drifter Intro thread has helped out somewhat to reduce the emergence of these threads, but things could always be better. I'm sure other areas of the site would feel benefits of such a feature as well (minus the rumble strip, perhaps).
 
Certainly seems like a good idea 👍 Isn't there a "have you tried a search?" page when you first try to create a new thread? But if it's the only one, then newbies won't remember it for long.
 
I think something similar used to be in place in the GT4 forum (and sub-forums) close to the release time of GT4 (when there were a lot more "useless" threads than there are now).
 
Boundary Layer
You're thinking of the moderator approval of threads
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That's right, but also in that message it said "have you looks at the FAQ's, ect" and "have you searched".
 
Boundary Layer
You're thinking of the moderator approval of threads
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I'm not, but moderator approval would obviously cut down spam (but waste a lot of time too). There's a poll somewhere about mod approval.
 
G.T
That's right, but also in that message it said "have you looks at the FAQ's, ect" and "have you searched".
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right - it was part of that whole 'mod approval package', for lack of better terminology.
So it's definitely possible to integrate such a feature again [with or without actually pushing all new threads through the mod squad].
 
A restriction on thread starting might work, as well. Meaning you have to be here for x-amount of time, and have x-number of posts before the system will allow you to start a new thread.
 
Jedi2016
A restriction on thread starting might work, as well. Meaning you have to be here for x-amount of time, and have x-number of posts before the system will allow you to start a new thread.
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This could be a viable alternative to what i first mentioned but it still would not stop people from posting previously made threads. the whole point of what i said is to make newer members aware of the search facility and encourage them to use it. Also im not trying to take away the ability to start new threads as that would be contradicting the whole point of a forum anyway.
 
1. Why are there 3 pages in the Drifting forum?

2. It's kinda on-topic, but how does an archive forum (like the one in the WRS forum) to store all these drift photo comps and video comps and the like?

3. There should be a page where it's like the Drift FAQ, but it is shortened and confined to the big topics, like "Best track to drift" and "Best car to drift", and "How to drift", and then if the problem still consists, you could always implement the moderator approval.

My 2 cents.
 
We do have a Drift FAQ [here], I've just recently PM'd Swift with a new collection of links for it [Sneak Peak].

...that archive subforum sounds like a good idea to me...
 
Boundary Layer
...that archive subforum sounds like a good idea to me...
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Yes that does sound like a good idea. I shall talk to the powers that be.


EDIT - ok to further my point this guys been on gtp for a matter of hours and he posts this.
 
I've been thinking about why so many people start pointless threads as well, and I had to learn that a lot of people do it just because they want to. They know that the answers in their thread won't tell them anything, nor will they help anybody. They open the thread, because they just want to be a part of the forum. They need the feeling that they have become a vital part of the forum, by starting a subject other people talk about. They don't care if this has been covered before, and if anybody even cares about the subject. In my book, almost all of those "what's the best/worst/prettiest/ugliest/fastest/slowest/... car in GT4"-threads belong to this group, amongst many others.

In my optinion, it depends on how you understand an internet forum. If you take this as granted and agree that it belongs to a place made for conversation, you can live with it. I see this differently - for me, a forum like this primarily is a source of information and a place to discuss specific things. If you open a thread just for having opened a thread, you can as well keep your mouth (or keyboard) shut and just read. Call me pedantic, call me German, or whatever. That's how I understand a forum, including this place. As a result, I'd very much welcome a thread opening restriction. 👍

Regards
the Interceptor
 
but then again, what's there to stop new members from just clicking "yes" when they're asked if they've searched?

I mean, most of the times it's easier to post a new thread (not that I've done it), be flamed by people who get ticked, but also getting a straight answer from people who aren't ticked than it is to go through 10+ pages of search results.
 
Specialized
If its plausable then all members with under 200 posts ,or maybe even as little as 50, upon pressing the new thread button will be presented with a simple question "Have you tried searching?" along with the search feature we all know and love.
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I think we had something like this in the GT4 forum when GT4 first came out (woah, did anybody else realize that that was about a year ago?). I’m not sure if it can be tied in with post counts, but I’ll let Jordan answer that.
 
Diego440
but then again, what's there to stop new members from just clicking "yes" when they're asked if they've searched?

I mean, most of the times it's easier to post a new thread (not that I've done it), be flamed by people who get ticked, but also getting a straight answer from people who aren't ticked than it is to go through 10+ pages of search results.
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Then the could be issued with a warning of some sort. The "yes" option would be at the bottom of the screen, a little inconvinience i know but it would make people think before posting threads like, " look at my green wheels on my yellow car" in the main gtp thread. The would be presented with the search option, they might even search for relevent articles if it all works out then there thread would end up as a post in its correct place as opposed to useless thread with a padlock on it


@Sage, Yep i did notice that and also been using it when replying to people who havnt searched detailing that fact that gt4 has been out for around about a year now so pretty much all questions would have been asked several times before. Time sure flys though :)
 
meh, I like the idea. I'd just like to think it's plausible and not another feature we wish we had.
 
Specialized
Then the could be issued with a warning of some sort.
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I think a warning would be a bit too far really. Lets say it's a members first time using a forum (like I was here), you are a bunch of nerves, so you didn't really search properly. If you got a warning, that would just put you off.
 
the Interceptor
In my opinion, it depends on how you understand an internet forum. If you take this as granted and agree that it belongs to a place made for conversation, you can live with it. I see this differently - for me, a forum like this primarily is a source of information and a place to discuss specific things. If you open a thread just for having opened a thread, you can as well keep your mouth (or keyboard) shut and just read. Call me pedantic, call me German, or whatever. That's how I understand a forum, including this place. As a result, I'd very much welcome a thread opening restriction. 👍

Regards
the Interceptor
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You're a pedantic German. :dopey: Sorry, couldn't resist.

I sort of agree with that, though. This place is part information-giving, part conversation; if it was soley for information, we'd just have a big Wiki. Which we now do. So now, I see it as the Wiki is the GT information source, and the forums are now for stuff that isn't in the Wiki and all non-GT stuff. The objections we have are to people who don't look in the sources of information first.

Judt looked in the Wiki and there isn't anything to do with drifting in there - might be worth putting a drifting thing in the FAQ section.

Diego440
but then again, what's there to stop new members from just clicking "yes" when they're asked if they've searched?

I mean, most of the times it's easier to post a new thread (not that I've done it), be flamed by people who get ticked, but also getting a straight answer from people who aren't ticked than it is to go through 10+ pages of search results.
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The thing is, on many of the threads started, you don't even need to search. There's a great big FAQ sticky thread and all the answers are there. If you've searched adn tried to find it, fine, no problem, we don' mind; it's the ones who just ask a very commen question without looking in the obvious places to find the answer.
 
G.T
I think a warning would be a bit too far really. Lets say it's a members first time using a forum (like I was here), you are a bunch of nerves, so you didn't really search properly. If you got a warning, that would just put you off.
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yea ok maybe a warning would be a bit to much but just a mod to say to them "Oi, what you think your doing" kinda thing.
 
Roo
Judt looked in the Wiki and there isn't anything to do with drifting in there - might be worth putting a drifting thing in the FAQ section.
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I've appraoched Jordan about putting drift content in the Wiki, he had no problems with that. I've since applied to be a wiki contributor... but I'm still waiting for my email with login info [though, I may be to blame there - I had an old deactivated email in my profile for a day or so]
 
I'm not trying to be another "noob" hater, contributing to this thread. But i have to say, my patience wears thin when it comes to pointless threads.

I rarely venture out of the Drifting forum. and in that sub-section alone we have had numerous amounts of new guys posting pointless, pre-talked topics in their threads. In the forum alone, we have something like 4 stickies, dedicated to new guys alone. It still doesn't get the message through to them.

I'm saying previous said information i know, but spec's idea could be valuable. Though possibly a little more thought could be put into it.

First we need to know restrictions to web design, before we brain storm some ideas about how to get the point across to the new guys without being force full.
 
DRIFTN
I rarely venture out of the Drifting forum. and in that sub-section alone we have had numerous amounts of new guys posting pointless, pre-talked topics in their threads. In the forum alone, we have something like 4 stickies, dedicated to new guys alone. It still doesn't get the message through to them.
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Not that I'm trying to single you out or anything, but lately it seems that most new members go directly to the drifting forum. I mean, they've finished GT4 or don't find it challenging enough and they're looking for new ways to play it, hence the drift. I was talking with Specialized the other day about it; apart from the month following GT4's release, I'd never seen so many new/pointless threads popping up so fast. I also mentioned that I think Swift must have the record for closed threads. At a certain moment there were more closed thread on the first page than open ones.

Perhaps we should require new members to post their full address and when they post a useless thread we hunt them down, rape pillage and burn their hometowns... anyone with me on this one? No?, aww shucks.

But seriously now. I think the "have you searched" button Spec mentions could be a great addittion, but only as long as people use it. At first maybe it could work, but after some time it'll probably become another click on the way to creating a new thread.
 
Diego440
Not that I'm trying to single you out or anything, but lately it seems that most new members go directly to the drifting forum. I mean, they've finished GT4 or don't find it challenging enough and they're looking for new ways to play it, hence the drift. I was talking with Specialized the other day about it; apart from the month following GT4's release, I'd never seen so many new/pointless threads popping up so fast. I also mentioned that I think Swift must have the record for closed threads. At a certain moment there were more closed thread on the first page than open ones.

But seriously now. I think the "have you searched" button Spec mentions could be a great addittion, but only as long as people use it. At first maybe it could work, but after some time it'll probably become another click on the way to creating a new thread.
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I agree, in the past there has always been pointless threads made, but as of late... or latish, there has been a much larger amount of guys checking out the drifting forum (i think it's cause the section is better than anywhere else ;) ), and as you said. the cause could be for trying something new. We're not against the new guys coming in IF they contribute accordingly.

But to be honest, some of the guys in the forum, not going to name any names (ahem. "BL" and "spec".. ahem.) have turned the pointless threads into some what of a game, in their turn adding all sorts of pictures and what not, getting the point across to the owner of the thread. It has been quite humerous... So maybe the pointless thread making can be fun... Or not.

Possibly we could give the new guys a lengthy quiz, upon the pressing of the "new thread" button.. and it might throw them off of the whole idea. Making them think it's to much effort, or just plain confusing them. It could work.
 
Diego440
But seriously now. I think the "have you searched" button Spec mentions could be a great addittion, but only as long as people use it. At first maybe it could work, but after some time it'll probably become another click on the way to creating a new thread.
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On that page you're describing, it could say, "This forum has thread approval by moderators activated. If your thread has a valid point, it will be approved. In the meantime, please use the search function to look for any existing threads that have what you're looking for, so you'll have what you want a lot faster."

It may give some of the n00bs more incentive.
 
DRIFTN
Possibly we could give the new guys a lengthy quiz, upon the pressing of the "new thread" button.. and it might throw them off of the whole idea. Making them think it's to much effort, or just plain confusing them. It could work.
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I think the idea is being lost here slightly. The idea is not to totally prevent them from posting any new threads. There are some very good new members that have popped up as well and have been productive in recent discussion [j8mie, and road kill immediately come to mind, among others]. I've got nothing bad to say about new members that have taken time to read through some of the stickies and ask meaningful questions on topics that remain confusing for them even after reading up on them. I'll talk with members like that all day until they understand, no problems. The problem is with the members that come on expecting to be spoon fed everything without putting in any of their own time.... or ask if it is possible to drift with the DS2, etc
 
Boundary Layer
The problem is with the members that come on expecting to be spoon fed everything without putting in any of their own time.... or ask if it is possible to drift with the DS2, etc
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That sums up the entire idea of this thread in one sentence.
 
Boundary Layer
I think the idea is being lost here slightly. The idea is not to totally prevent them from posting any new threads.
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Sarcasm BL, nothing more... i wasn't being realistic.

Hence the comment before hand:
DRIFTN
We're not against the new guys coming in IF they contribute accordingly.
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