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b NOT!!!
I’ve been hanging at Breaktime for a coupla years. I used to think of Breaktime as a valuable database of building information, with the added feature of being able to throw questions out for comments by the general population. With 5 or 10 posts rolling in per hour, what we seem to be moving toward is a chart room environment where actual “Fine Homebuilding content” is somewhat thinner. Someone asks a question on oak floor finish (for example) , and 4 threads later, someone starts a new thread about finishing oak floors. People ask questions about bird houses and pet urine. Is that Fine Homebuilding? OK so we all want to be helpful and answer whatever question. So, we go over how to cope crown molding and what are the best windows every month. Maybe nobody wants to use
i Search
because there is so much redundant information?? I guess what I’m saying is that, perhaps this environment is straying from what (at least I perceive) to be the purpose of the forum – for pros and people with knowledge in building field to learn more building techniques and methods, to learn how to build more eloquent houses, to learn to how to be more successful in the building trade., to share building war stories, to discuss non-building related issues in “The Tavern” with other people in the industry, and to share what we know. Either that, or the Breaktime format does not lend itself to the current user load – unless you like the chat room environment. All we have is a long list of topics with absolutely no organization. I think one of the reasons many people don’t use the subfolders is that they don’t know they are there, or they don’t understand what they are.
OK, those are my beefs:
Now, here are my solutions (some have been suggested before):
- Reiterative Questions:
- FAQ (Popular Topics) folder that is maintained by the general population
- Remove the “Post a New Message” hot link from the top of the screen, leaving the one at the bottom of the screen, meaning that a new user must at least scroll down the current threads to get some idea of what the content is before firing away with a question.
- Modify the “Post a New Message” script/screen with a little message like “Please use the Breaktime “Search” function to find the information you need
b before
posting a new question. or: Have you used the search function (Y/N)? ___” N = exit to main screen! - Make the search button/link more noticeable. – larger font, maybe one of those virtual buttons, etc.
- Non-use of subfolders:
- Modify the look of the main screen so that the subfolders look like something other than Threads displayed in large print, or at least set apart from the regular threads with a space and a title of “Subfolders” above the list of subfolders. A hierarchical chart would be really cool, each box representing the main folder, or a subfolder. You would click on a box to go to a subfolder. See sample drawing attached below. Perhaps, even the Breaktime entrance page could be the chart.
- Modify the “Post a New Message” script with a little message that says “What is the topic classification of your new thread GENERAL, BUSINESS, ABOUT BREAKTIME, Tips & SUGGESTIONS, etc. Once you selected your topic classification, you would automatically be switched to that folder, before your thread was posted.
Sorry, I know some folks will see no function to any of the above, but let me ask you this:
Have you ever been to a web site with everything on one page, a scroll bar about a mile long, and no apparent organization? Real fun to try to find something. hu?
See ya in the chat room
Matt
Replies
*
b NOT!!!
I've been hanging at Breaktime for a coupla years. I used to think of Breaktime as a valuable database of building information, with the added feature of being able to throw questions out for comments by the general population. With 5 or 10 posts rolling in per hour, what we seem to be moving toward is a chart room environment where actual "Fine Homebuilding content" is somewhat thinner. Someone asks a question on oak floor finish (for example) , and 4 threads later, someone starts a new thread about finishing oak floors. People ask questions about bird houses and pet urine. Is that Fine Homebuilding? OK so we all want to be helpful and answer whatever question. So, we go over how to cope crown molding and what are the best windows every month. Maybe nobody wants to use
i Search
because there is so much redundant information?? I guess what I'm saying is that, perhaps this environment is straying from what (at least I perceive) to be the purpose of the forum - for pros and people with knowledge in building field to learn more building techniques and methods, to learn how to build more eloquent houses, to learn to how to be more successful in the building trade., to share building war stories, to discuss non-building related issues in "The Tavern" with other people in the industry, and to share what we know. Either that, or the Breaktime format does not lend itself to the current user load - unless you like the chat room environment. All we have is a long list of topics with absolutely no organization. I think one of the reasons many people don't use the subfolders is that they don't know they are there, or they don't understand what they are.
OK, those are my beefs:
Now, here are my solutions (some have been suggested before):
Reiterative Questions:- FAQ (Popular Topics) folder that is maintained by the general population
- Remove the "Post a New Message" hot link from the top of the screen, leaving the one at the bottom of the screen, meaning that a new user must at least scroll down the current threads to get some idea of what the content is before firing away with a question.
- Modify the "Post a New Message" script/screen with a little message like "Please use the Breaktime "Search" function to find the information you need
- Make the search button/link more noticeable. - larger font, maybe one of those virtual buttons, etc.
b before
posting a new question. or: Have you used the search function (Y/N)? ___" N = exit to main screen!
Non-use of subfolders:- Modify the look of the main screen so that the subfolders look like something other than Threads displayed in large print, or at least set apart from the regular threads with a space and a title of "Subfolders" above the list of subfolders. A hierarchical chart would be really cool, each box representing the main folder, or a subfolder. You would click on a box to go to a subfolder. See sample drawing attached below. Perhaps, even the Breaktime entrance page could be the chart.
- Modify the "Post a New Message" script with a little message that says "What is the topic classification of your new thread GENERAL, BUSINESS, ABOUT BREAKTIME, Tips & SUGGESTIONS, etc. Once you selected your topic classification, you would automatically be switched to that folder, before your thread was posted.
Sorry, I know some folks will see no function to any of the above, but let me ask you this:
Have you ever been to a web site with everything on one page, a scroll bar about a mile long, and no apparent organization? Real fun to try to find something. hu?
See ya in the chat room
Matt