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2 suggestions to reduce clutter in the MBP forums ...

eVolcre

eVolcre

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 7, 2003
1,979
587
Seems like there is a huge influx of members joining on or after WWDC and posting the same questions over and over again. Added to that is that at least 50% of the threads on the first page of the MBP forums should really go into the Buying Tips/Advice section.

No offense meant but the new 13" MacBook "Pro" has brought in a lot of inexperienced Apple users and the forums are getting stale.

My two suggestions :

1. New users need to wait 48 or 72 hours before they can post a thread. This should make them use the search feature more aggressively.

2. We need more moderation in the MBP forums to either a) close duplicate threads or b) move them to the appropriate section.

MR has become very popular and is only poised to grow. Apple is bringing a lot of new buyers and users into its fold. It's time that the forum got a little strict with the rules to make it a good experience for everyone. I've been around here for more than 6 years and this is the most 'annoying' its been. Repeat threads, wrong forums, posters bashing each other or otherwise being immature.

I understand that mods are overworked volunteers and maynot have the time to keep a closer look at the forums. In that case, the site should consider adding new moderators to help divide the load. There are plenty of long time members who care about the board and will gladly donate some time to make sure it remains usable as a source of information for new users and a place for discussion for the people who have been around the Apple world for a longer period of time.

Cheers,

eV
 
eVolcre said:
Seems like there is a huge influx of members joining on or after WWDC and posting the same questions over and over again. Added to that is that at least 50% of the threads on the first page of the MBP forums should really go into the Buying Tips/Advice section.

No offense meant but the new 13" MacBook "Pro" has brought in a lot of inexperienced Apple users and the forums are getting stale.

My two suggestions :

1. New users need to wait 48 or 72 hours before they can post a thread. This should make them use the search feature more aggressively.

2. We need more moderation in the MBP forums to either a) close duplicate threads or b) move them to the appropriate section.

MR has become very popular and is only poised to grow. Apple is bringing a lot of new buyers and users into its fold. It's time that the forum got a little strict with the rules to make it a good experience for everyone. I've been around here for more than 6 years and this is the most 'annoying' its been. Repeat threads, wrong forums, posters bashing each other or otherwise being immature.

I understand that mods are overworked volunteers and maynot have the time to keep a closer look at the forums. In that case, the site should consider adding new moderators to help divide the load. There are plenty of long time members who care about the board and will gladly donate some time to make sure it remains usable as a source of information for new users and a place for discussion for the people who have been around the Apple world for a longer period of time.

Cheers,

eV
Click to expand...

Good ideas! Try and talk to a mod about this
 
I thought it would be better if these suggestions started a discussion. I could be wrong. Not to mention, there's going to be a "you are an elitist, my 13' is a PRO and I'll post where I want" objections. May as well keep it public :)

If nothing else perhaps the mods could do a 8 hour blitz and move threads to the relevant sub forum. Assigning a couple of people to creating a set of stickies might also help.

eV
 
My 2¢

They just added a boatload of new Moderators, so that isn't likely
Keep reporting posts... that is the best moderation strategy for now
I know coverage in the middle of the night is sparse, but it does get cleaned up

And forcing a time limit on posting would really hurt those who come here for some tech advice immediately... big turn off

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
As far as #1 goes; that'll never happen. Making the search feature more prominent or linking to Mroogle would be better, but those have already been discussed at length and nothing has been enacted so far.

#2: Just report the thread you think is a duplicate, if possible include links to the threads you think it is duplicating.
 
And forcing a time limit on posting would really hurt those who come here for some tech advice immediately... big turn off
Click to expand...

Other points are valid but on this one ... I'd say 90% of questions asking for tech advice could be answered with a quick search. Heck, scrolling down the list of threads for a day or two will probably find what you're looking for.

eV
 
I love idea number 1. I think it encourages more "serious" membership instead of one-timers that join only to ask a question(that's probably been answered already).
 
eVolcre said:
Other points are valid but on this one ... I'd say 90% of questions asking for tech advice could be answered with a quick search. Heck, scrolling down the list of threads for a day or two will probably find what you're looking for.

eV
Click to expand...

While that may be true, first time visitors are not necessarily Forum-savvy
God knows I was terrified when I first posted here

"Wrong forum n00b!"
"Search douche bag!"
"Everybody knows that newbie!"

I had no idea how a Forum worked or what to do
I didn't know where to look, how to search or anything
I just knew I needed some help

I think we are a little hard on some of the new posters at times
Now granted... some deserve what they get, but there are others that are just not that savvy

We were all new at one time, and I for one, never want to forget what that was like

Sometimes we seem to take it personally if someone asks a stupid question, doesn't search, etc. We don't have to read their posts... nobody forces us. If it is irritating, we can move on without necessarily being snarky. Being on the Forum boards is a privilege, not a job. We could all probably stand to be a little more gracious, kind and forgiving at times... me included.

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
I don't see #1 happening. It's discouraging to new members and would probably be more frustrating than it's worth.

#2 can be fixed with your help. Report the posts/threads. We might not get to it right away but we will get to it. It is very helpful if in the post report you provide a thread it can be merged to. While you might hang out in the MBP forums mostly, the mod on duty might not go in there very often. In that case they might not know it's a common thread posted or may be unable to find one. If we can't find a thread to merge it with via a search we may close the post report.

You'd be surprised how many people state in a thread "you should go search!" but don't actually do the search themselves... sometimes the search can be finicky.
 
Duff-Man says...duplicate threads and/or not searching is a huge problem (imho) and has been for some time. Even now we still get a least a few threads every week "will my buddies 10.5 Macbook discs work in my iMac" - imagine what it'll be like right when 10.6 is released?

Maybe not allowing newbie threads or moderating newbie threads is the answer but as the Dawg sez it's not fair when a newbie has a legit new issue or idea or tip.

I think the current members can help with the problem in a couple ways:
1 - report the duplicate threads
2 - when the response in a thread has been "please search as this has been covered a million times" don't reply with the answer otherwise they've not learned a thing.

And I think the mods'n'gods (that already do a pretty ace job imho) can help by locking (not necessarily wastelanding in every case) the duplicate threads instead of letting them gather replies.

There's always those that say "don't read the dupicates if it bothers you" or "just don't reply" but I think they are missing the point - forum clutter. Poor newbie that has a new legit thread gets his lost in a sea of same old same old. Maybe it sounds a bit harsh but as the forum grows it just becomes necessary otherwise the place just becomes a useless mess....better to nip it in the bud before it gets too out of control...oh yeah!
 
Duff-Man said:
2 - when the response in a thread has been "please search as this has been covered a million times" don't reply with the answer otherwise they've not learned a thing.
Click to expand...

We'd actually prefer people not post just that. Otherwise the threads end up being:

"How do I do blah blah blah?"

with a response of:

"That's already been answered. Search!"

Eventually (in a year let's say) when people do a search, all the threads pertaining to their subject tell them to search... we'd much rather you posted a link not just to a search but the relevant thread(s). Otherwise people do a search for a new user but don't even look at the results and the results are useless also.

I understand that that is a lot of work though too... in which case I recommend not posting in the thread at all.
 
eVolcre said:
1. New users need to wait 48 or 72 hours before they can post a thread. This should make them use the search feature more aggressively.
Click to expand...

I definitely agree with this suggestion and I think it would indeed limit a lot of problems including spammers. Although, I wouldn't be completely opposed to preventing any kind of posting 48 or 72 hours after signing up.

In terms of the moderation I think that it could be done better; however, I understand that this is a large forum and there's only few moderators. Needless to say, catching everything is impossible. Maybe appointing moderators to certain forums only - like have one person for the digital photography forum and maybe having two-three dedicated ones for the iPhone forums. That would free up the overall mods to be able to spot check all the forums and pick up anything that stands out.
 
jrotunda85 said:
In terms of the moderation I think that it could be done better; however, I understand that this is a large forum and there's only few moderators. Needless to say, catching everything is impossible. Maybe appointing moderators to certain forums only - like have one person for the digital photography forum and maybe having two-three dedicated ones for the iPhone forums. That would free up the overall mods to be able to spot check all the forums and pick up anything that stands out.
Click to expand...

What?! We're perfect in every way! :D

Actually we have moderators assigned to every forum; you guys! (queue lame Kodak moment) As long as you have an account you have the ability to report a post. Trust me... we look at every single post report. We may not agree with you so you may not see anything done but we do look at them. But we can't possibly read every single post out there.

During events we do tend to watch over certain forums over others a little bit more though.
 
SilentPanda said:
We'd actually prefer people not post just that. Otherwise the threads end up being:

"How do I do blah blah blah?"

with a response of:

"That's already been answered. Search!"

Eventually (in a year let's say) when people do a search, all the threads pertaining to their subject tell them to search... we'd much rather you posted a link not just to a search but the relevant thread(s). Otherwise people do a search for a new user but don't even look at the results and the results are useless also.

I understand that that is a lot of work though too... in which case I recommend not posting in the thread at all.
Click to expand...

Duff-Man says...yes, good point indeed...oh yeah!
 
If you report a thread as a duplicate but don't give the URL of the original, that really doesn't help that much unless the original is obvious (like on the front page, or stickied). So please include the original thread URL when reporting duplicates :)
 
Wow. Lots of differing opinions. I'm going to have to reply in detail later. Watching :apple: porn right now*.

Trust me... we look at every single post report. We may not agree with you so you may not see anything done but we do look at them. But we can't possibly read every single post out there.
Click to expand...

Prepare to open the floodgates. I'm going to go crazy tonight. :p

eV

* setting up my unibody 17" as it sits next to my classic 2006 MBP 17". In with the new .. out with the old ...

eV
 
I agree generally with the OP, but I don't know if it can be fixed. I mean there has been at least one new thread on someone trying to find a 1TB External every other day...
 
Duff-Man says...somehow - and I don't know what the answer is - people need to be made a little more aware of the rules. The "new thread" window maybe should have just a bit more to it, but not too much so that people don't read it (I know, they don't now...), but just something to cover two of the more common issues like "piracy" and "marketplace" - violators should maybe get a short time-out along with a link to read the rules again...I don't know, it's difficult to manage as I've said before, but I think *something* should be debated and given a try....oh yeah!
 
miles01110 said:
...

#2: Just report the thread you think is a duplicate, if possible include links to the threads you think it is duplicating.
Click to expand...

kainjow said:
If you report a thread as a duplicate but don't give the URL of the original, that really doesn't help that much unless the original is obvious (like on the front page, or stickied). So please include the original thread URL when reporting duplicates :)
Click to expand...

Yes, yes, and again yes. It's a HUGE help to include links to duplicate threads. A linkless post report that only says "this has already been posted a zillion times" is difficult to do anything with.
 
By making new members wait 48 hours you are:

1) Punishing new members who do actually use the search feature

2) Not encouraging anyone to use the search, as people who don't use the search don't do so as they are lazy. Thus they will just go on another forum and post their already asked question there, meaning less customers for macrumors.

The only solution is to keep encouraging people to use the search feature. Usually when asked once, new members use it in future.
 
Probably the best would to just divide the notebook section into 12", 13", 15" and 17".
 
OttawaGuy said:
Updating the Guides and more stickied FAQ's would help I think.
Click to expand...

frankly, I think there are too many stickies as is. If there's one sticky, people think it must be important and take note. If there are 6 or 8, people don't bother to even read the titles. You gotta account for short attention spans. ;)

cube said:
Probably the best would to just divide the notebook section into 12", 13", 15" and 17".
Click to expand...

Hmm, I would agree but for the fact that would lump the MBA in with the MB/13" MBP. I think the air needs its own forum because it's a different beast. So I would do:

legacy (PPC) notebooks
MBA
13"
15"
17"

yeah it's a lot of subdivisions, but so what? The iphone forum is heavily subdivided, and it helps keep discussion on track.
 
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