PsychDoc

A couple of things. I notice that many forums get diluted when they relegate posts to too many sub-categories. Thus, you guys have decided that all nav Q's go to a separate sub-forum...wheels likewise, etc. The problem is that these sub-forums often get very little traffic and end up being a wasteland of essentially 'forgotten' posts. I've seen this happen elsewhere, most notably on Edmunds' forums. The have sub-forums for everything and if you go down their forum lists, you'll see that 90% of their forums haven't had posts for months, if not years. I think a far wiser approach would be to allow a good deal more flexibility and less sub-categorization around here than you currently seem inclined to do. Free-wheeling discussion and the open exchange of ideas about a range of topics (centered around the 4G TL, to be sure) is a very good thing IMO.

Second, you're VERY quick to pull the trigger and "lock" a thread if it's a repost. So what? By the time you close it, there's often an interesting discussion ongoing. Why close these? I mean, I could see it if the thread had been done to death and/or had deteriorated into a flame war between posters, but ones like the C&D comparo article in which the TL finished last (that you just closed) had already generated some interesting discussion. So what that the post that opened the thread up was a repost? What followed was intersting. Why so quick on the trigger to close these threads?

I hope you'll consider these points. This is a great place and I think that these couple of changes in policy/philosophy could make it an even better place.

Thank you for maintaining such a stimulating site.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Regarding question 1- Before you joined AZ, 4G was just cluttered. Admin waited until there was enough "traffic" before making subforums. When traffic increased, the 4G members wanted subforums and they got it. If we didn't make subforums, 4G would just get bigger and more cluttered and make it more difficult for people trying to find answers to their questions before posting a thread. Now that there are subforums, members can search within that specific subforum to see if their topic has already been discussed.

Regarding number 2, "if" a "good" discussion is taking place in a repost thread, then it will be left open.

Next time, PM a mod with questions. Thanks.

I'll leave this thread open for a little while...

remikinz

iTrader: (4)

If the mods did what your asking there would be...

1.) absolutely NO reason for sub-forums might as well just delete the sub-forums so you can just have a long list of threads all jumbled together with absolutely no organization. Good Luck finding a specific thread or answers to your questions by simply browsing since we all know the search works so well
2.) To add to the confusion of having an incredibly large list of jumbled threads from the lack of sub-forums we can have 10-15 of the same threads all going at once too!

Imagine the chaos think your having a hard time getting answers with the current setup?

Sorry I know Im not a mod but I just had to put in my Acurazine is probably one of the most organized forums I visit and I like that the mods keep track of the topics and merge/close/move threads when needed to help make finding specific topics easier. The sub-forums do serve a purpose.

PsychDoc

Thanks for leaving this open (I thought it would be the height of irony if you shut it down...lol). I'd be interested in hearing the opinion of others about this.

Next time I'll PM you.

Sorry, I forgot about that option.

bfrez

I'm a former 3g owner (t-boned and left for dead) and the 4g forum started as a single consolidated thread on the 3g forum. After a couple of months it was a mess. You'll find on the Acurazine forums the subforums are visited often and are less likely to sit for weeks or months without a new post.

crxb

how about on the 4G main page where it lists the subforum and a single post under each heading - instead it could show say the last 4 most recent threads (instead of just the one under each heading)?

PsychDoc

Excellent idea. I like that.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Folks, there are not going to be ANY changes to the actual setup of the subforums.

Bearcat94

Since I've had other priorities the past several days and didn't see this thread, I'm going to add my .

Site administration works hard to maintain a balance of segmentation of topics without going to far in either direction (too much or too little). The segments in this forum have proven out over time to be effective.

What we don't quite have yet is the critical mass to make the various sub-forums highly active. But they will be. Look at 3G; all the sub-forums are active. The Photo Gallery, for example, is incredibly active compared to here. BUT Acura has sold ~280,000 3G TL's. Once the 4G numbers are up, all the sub-forums will be more active and the segmentation will really start to pay off.


Regards reposts:

The ideal situation is for the thread starter seach before posting and then post in an existing thread, extending and enhancing the original conversation.

If I close a thread as a repost, I'll post a link to the original post. Feel free to continue the conversation there.

OR, if you you have a compelling argument, maybe a merge of the two threads would be an option. Personally I am more than happy to entertain such requests via PM, but understand that sometimes it's a judgement call and we won't always agree on the final outcome.