Hotrodders.com engine forum thread quality
(New page: A summary of the ideas to improve the quality of discussion in the [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/engine Engine forum] on the [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum Hotrodders Bulletin Board]....) |
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| − | + | ==Summary== | |
| + | The quality of discussion in the [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/engine Engine forum] on the [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum Hotrodders Bulletin Board] has been coming under question lately. This wiki article is intended to summarize the problem, examine solutions, and implement them. | ||
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| + | ==Specific issues with engine forum discussions== | ||
| + | *Not enough threads are being moved into the [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/hotrodding-basics Hotrodding Basics forum]. Ideally, the Engine forum is held at an intermediate-advanced level, and basic/beginner questions are moved into the Hotrodding Basics forum. | ||
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| + | ==Examples of low-quality or too-basic threads== | ||
| + | *How much HP... | ||
| + | *My brand rules, your brand sucks. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Use of the phrasing "beginner" and "basic"== | ||
| + | It might be best to move away from use of the word "beginner", as it's potentially more likely to be perceived as derogatory. "Basic" is the preferred term. If there are suggestions for other wording, please add them to this section. | ||
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| + | ==What can be adjusted now?== | ||
| + | *This page: [http://www.hotrodders.com/help/board/forums.html Placing questions in the proper forum] can be adjusted for wording. Specifically, the use of "beginner" can be adjusted to "basic", and describing the Engine forum as suitable for "all" questions is no longer appropriate. | ||
| + | *The description of the Engine forum on the [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum main forum page] can be altered to adjust the use of the word "all". | ||
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| + | ==Subforums== | ||
| + | Several different ideas for Engine and Basics subforums have been proposed, including: | ||
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| + | ==="Race" and "Street" subforums=== | ||
| + | *Might reasonably separate the more professional discussion from the hobbyist discussion. | ||
| + | *Potential ambiguity with cars that do double duty as daily drivers and weekend racers. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==="Hot Rod Basics" and "Hot Rod Engine Basics" subforums== | ||
| + | *With this solution, the Engine forum could be changed to "Advanced Engine", or "Pro Engine Builders". | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Miscellaneous== | ||
| + | *We must cater to the advanced users, because their knowledge/experience is extremely valuable. However, we can't ignore the less knowledgeable users. By catering to the masses, we alienate those that add great value to the community. | ||
| + | *This affects all Hotrodders.com forums, but the Engine forum is the only one that currently has the post volume to make the problem obvious. | ||
| + | *Compliance is the problem, ignoring the infraction is not a solution. | ||
| + | *Per human nature, the forum guidelines are rarely read anyway. | ||
| + | *Rather than framing this as a rule/compliance issue, we can stress how useful the Hotrodding Basics forum can be. We can change the descriptive text, highlight it better, etc. | ||
| + | *To move or not move into Hotrodding Basics is a judgement call. | ||
| + | *The moderator workload has to be reasonable. | ||
| + | *The newbie-ish aspect of the Hotrodding Basics forum discourages posting -- users are made to feel like lesser members of the hobby. | ||
| + | *We should clearly enunciate a list of the types of questions that qualify as "Basic". | ||
| + | *Maybe we should try aggressively moving threads into Hotrodding Basics for a month or so, and see how it turns out? | ||
| + | *We could make sure that there are plenty of mods who moderate in both the Engine and Basics forums. | ||
| + | *Sometimes an initially "Basic" threads turns advanced. | ||
| + | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| + | *http://www.hotrodders.com/help/board/forums.html | ||
*http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/new-sticky-engine-forum-150531.html | *http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/new-sticky-engine-forum-150531.html | ||
*http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/new-rule-engine-forum-please-read-150533.html | *http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/new-rule-engine-forum-please-read-150533.html | ||
*http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/you-must-read-before-posting-engine-forum-150530.html | *http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/you-must-read-before-posting-engine-forum-150530.html | ||
| + | *http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/engine-board-getting-out-hand-149172.html | ||
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