Your Thoughts/Feedback On How To Organize Existing Threads?

[CGP]

There are over 16,000 threads in this forum covering many different topics. Some threads are superb. Others not so. But they are all a part of this history of this forum and many of the threads are ripe for ongoing discussion and comment.

The question is - how to best organize and archives these threads? A few months back when the forum was growing there was a call for more subforums and for grouping/archiving threads according to topic. This led to the proliferation of subforums and development of the "main room" for current topics and new threads.

Is this way of archiving threads useful? Is it helpful and easier to find old threads if they are broadly grouped according to some kind of topic/theme? If this is not done, threads are at a much greater risk of being buried and never seen again. Would fewer subforums/divisions be more helpful?

Interested in your thoughts and feedback as users of this forum.

[endodoc79]

Wouldn't it be great if every thread had a keyword or two that you could search and look back. Would work very much like gmail and archiving.

[CGP]

Wouldn't it be great if every thread had a keyword or two that you could search and look back. Would work very much like gmail and archiving.

The forum software will be upgraded soon and the latest version of VB has enhanced search functions apparently.

[endodoc79]

I look forward to the increased functionality!

[Ace]

The threads are fine as is right now though I think an Action Center area should be created.
For instance for Digging purposes, e-mailing specific people, having need to know resources all in one place, etc.

[Morgan]

I think it is well laid out as is. I needed some information, went to the sub forum, searched and it came right up.

[CGP]

I think it is well laid out as is. I needed some information, went to the sub forum, searched and it came right up.

Great. Or should I say miraculous you found something in this jungle!

[ginamc]

The threads are fine as is right now though I think an Action Center area should be created.
For instance for Digging purposes, e-mailing specific people, having need to know resources all in one place, etc.

I suggested the Action Center when I first joined the Forum. That was when there was Rapid Responders. but, I feel that an Action Center is really needed -- a place where we can go for action items. Otherwise, one of things that I would suggest is that you have a few more sub-forums and that would greatly reduce the threads that you have seeming so voluminous. For example: one sub-forum would be Daily News articles, and there could be threads within that sub-Forum. There seems to be such an incredible amount of articles that seem endless sometimes, and that seem to congest the flow and ease of reading the Forum, sometimes it's hard to keep up.

Murray, go to www.weightwatchers.com -- it's a great Forum/Messsage Board, one of the best I've seen around. It is so well organized and there are tens of thousands of daily users in their community. And, it is never confusing.

Keep up the EXCELLENT work, Murray. I highly commend you for your hard work and dedication to maintaining the Forum. THANK YOU!

[Hoosier]

It would be nice if all new threads had a date.

[Santiago]

It would be nice if all new threads had a date.

They are generated in the first post but you are right, if it was auto-generated/visible in the thread title that would be helpful. Maybe in the upgrade?

[ZY123]

I've already mentioned what I think ;-)...less sub-forums. I think all you need are three forums: a Hillary Forum, the Main Forum (GE Stuff/Political Stuff), and a General Forum. I think less is more and it will be easier to get people involved in the General Forum if it's only one of three. People can only process so much at a time in my opinion and sometimes with all the sub-forums good things get missed. Also a lot of people are too lazy to search, or maybe are just now-aholics and want to post in the forum with the most action...less forums means the action in all is increased...in my opinion.

Personally I'd like a more active General Section. (This is especially nice for those of us not as interested in JM or BO.) =)

EDIT: In my experience the less forums have been very successful....the popular threads float to the top and the less popular threads fall. A search always does the trick if you're looking for something specific. I think the idea of less scares people at first but in the end it works.

...too many topics and forums leads most people to click Main and that's it.

[Soren]

First - great forum
Next - great question! Thanks!~
It's great the way you have stored the posts. Fantastic.
It could be even more useful as a constant column down the left side of the screen. The software might now allow you to do that, but it would be nice.
Here it is as it is now, avec shorter titles provided by moi:

MAIN ROOM & HEADQRTSMain - New
Main - temp
Main - intros

GE

Gen'l
Puma
Dem Party
Rep Party
HILLARY - KEY ISSUES

Gen'l
News & Blogs
Media
Gender - Women
Backers
Experience
VPs
AA, Hisp, LGBT

Policies
Polls
Vids
Websites
HILLARY CAMPAIGN
Gen'l

Polls Petitions
$$$$
Lobbying
Protest
Calls
Bloggers
HILLARY State by STATE

all changes for GE when Hillary is our Nominee
BARACK OBAMA

Gen'l
News, Blogs
Wright, Race, Relig
LGBT, Sinclair, Young
Michelle
Policies
Campaign
Elite
Rezko
Flips
Cult
Electability
Vids
Sites
BEHIND THE SCENES
Forum
Tech
Life
Humor
Entertainment

Maybe an update looks like this:
MAIN ROOM & HEADQRTS

Main - New
Main - temp
Main - intros

GE
Gen'l
Puma
Dem Party
Rep Party
HILLARY - KEY ISSUES

Gen'l
News & Blogs
Media
Gender - Women
Backers
Experience
VPs
AA, Hisp, LGBT

Policies
Polls
Vids
Websites
HILLARY CAMPAIGN
Gen'l
Polls Petitions
$$$$
Lobbying
Protest
Calls
Bloggers
HILLARY State by STATE
Just change this
section to get ready
for Hillary being
our Nominee
BARACK OBAMA - ahem, this section changes a lot
Gen'l
News, Blogs
Associates
Judgment
Consitutional Rights
Religion, Church, and Faith-Based Politics
Taxes
Jobs
Women of the world
Middle East
Foreign Policy - other
Chicago politics
Chicago dirt
Michelle
Odinga & Kenya
Fuel
Policies Other
Campaign - GE
Campaign - Primaries
Ethics
Elite
Flips
Flops, FUs and bloopers
Cult behavior
Electability
Vids
Sites
BEHIND THE SCENESForus
Tech
Life
Humor
Entertainment
Contributions to Forum
Forum in the News

It's hard to edit in here, so that's the best I could do: red for way it is now and blue for some new categories That would be great. the text field is wide - most of us have wide monitors, so HAVE IT DOWN THE LEFT PANEL at all times if you can. then rather than just voraciously following the "new" we could be tempted more easily into research from the great threads you have woven together in this history.

Great job, Murray!

[Borlah]

Haven't been on here for awhile because of heartbreak :) but mostly cuz we have been super busy around here with kids sports and extended school year education. I keep trying to peek in when I can but I still feel that I am missing so much. I belong to another forum that is VB http://forums.cincybengals.com/cmps_index.php

The two don't compare :D but maybe you can look around here to see features that you like.

[xfiles]

I have a PUMA CalltoAction forum I recently started to try to organize and colsolidate efforts so we are sure things get blogged, emailed, etc. I also have contact links in 2 threads, etc. It is the first link in my signature! Also.

http://www.freepowerboards.com/PUMACalltoAction/index.php

Anyone can join and post, take action, etc. Please pass this link along to others.

Regarding the forum threads, a better search feature would be very helpful and maybe grouping the posts under 8-10 categories such as videos, etc.

The threads are fine as is right now though I think an Action Center area should be created.
For instance for Digging purposes, e-mailing specific people, having need to know resources all in one place, etc.

[Pepper]

I think it is all good here as everything is in the right spot etc., though a better search feature would be great (though I assume that will be added with the update). I like how sections are categorized.

[ZY123]

Also I think what we think we want isn't necessarily the same as what will work best.

[mjno7777]

If a date was generated with new software for title threads that would be wonderful. I also think if WE all made an effort to search before posting it would eliminate alot of duplicates. Also, if the title was more descriptive it would help. Titles such as IMPORTANT or LOOK AT THIS are not very helpful.

GREAT FORUM, GREAT MODERATORS.

[PCFS1]

I love it here, plus the mods help us out sometimes with adjustment or corrections or duplications. Thanks Moderators for all your help.:)

[Calico]

Typically, I only use the "Main Room" and seldom go to the other areas. And, this is what I find that I do on other forums as well. People are naturally drawn to "where the action is located." It is imperative that items are organized and easy to use. I believe that this forum is one of the best, if not the best. It is growing and has a wealth of information, helpful members, enthusiasm, and great insight. We can be a powerful force!

But, with everything, improvements can always be made. It seems like a lot of efforts are duplicated, which is not an efficient use of time (and, we don't have a lot of time between now and the convention or even November). Hopefully, these organizational suggestions might help.

My suggestions would be, a specific place, preferably in the "Main Room", so it would be easily seen and accessed, for:

1) Action Items. We need a one location for posting action items that need attention. They should be listed with a date and have a place to respond to that the item has been completed or other related details/information.

2) News Articles. We need one location to post news worthy articles. Many of these articles get buried in the dynamics of the threads and never seen again. Articles should be listed with a date, a concise summary of the contents, and link to the source. Some articles continue to be relevant, while others are not, but they all should be in one place for easy access.

3) Contact Numbers, Web Addresses, and E-mail Addresses. We need a location for listing contact information. I have seen contact information listed, but it also gets buried within a thread and never seen again. It would be really nice to have a location with all the contact information for all the US newspapers, radio stations, television stations, Super Delegates, State leaders, and others. When we need to send letters, it would make it easy. This would help in a "Fifty State Strategy" to reach everyone that we can possibly reach in a fast and efficient manner.

4) YouTube Videos. A separate location for all videos would help in the organization. Again, title, date, short summary, and location would be listed. I have seen this on another forum and it seemed to work well.

5) State Specific Area. This would allow members to help out with state specific issues and find nearby help on an issue, if needed. This could also help in setting up local organizations and meetings.

6) Polls. An area just devoted to the polls with the date, poll data, and source cited. Having this in one area will allow for trends to be easier recognized.

7) Flyers, Pamphlets, Letters, Etc. This would be a place to post flyers, pamphlets, sample letters, etc. that could be distributed (perhaps by using the contact list in suggestion #3). There have been threads that contained these items, but they are buried.

Thanks, Murray, for all that you do!

[CGP]

Thanks for the feedback.

Over the coming weeks I will find some time to re-organize a few things.

[Agent 00½ FL]

A date automatically being generated would be great, especially for people who do not log in everyday, but would like to review threads and comment. Thank you for all you do, you are appreciated Murray.

[Kbentleyis]

Having all of those catagories is okay. But, as in a new important posts for that day and when clicked on, takes you to that catagory.

A section for history a date and subtopics.

Gee Murray, I'm not technical at all. I'm the type of person, if a neon sign isn't flickering I'll never find it. Sadly, I drive like that too. I'm forever missing exits, etc.

I'm totally no help.