Post by abacus9900 on Feb 20, 2011 17:52:56 GMT 1
Just want some feedback here about something I have noticed does seem to present a bit of a problem.
Although I was the one to suggest organizing various topics into corresponding sub-boards here I have began to notice that there seem to be a fair number of OT's that are overlooked and do not receive any replies, whether because nobody is interested in the topic or whether they are simply not noticed, I'm not sure. I know I tend to respond more often than not to current threads which are receiving the most attention and tend to forget ones that are hidden from the main forum. I wonder how many people do check on the sub-boards for new threads started but become hidden due to later posts in the same category appearing on the general forum page. I have just noticed several that naymissus has made which have not been responded to and some in the past that other people have made not receiving any attention and this seems a pity and possibly a flaw in the layout of this forum. It seems a pity that someone has gone to the effort of authoring an OT for it to become hidden so that it never sees the light of day. Ok, if people do not wish to respond to any thread that is their right but at least they should be given the chance of seeing it in the first place.
I can see why the old BBC science MBs displayed ALL threads 'up front', as it were, in a chronological order since it avoided the problem of hidden OTs, however it was also exposed to abuse by people who intentionally flooded the list with the attention of pushing a particular topic. Perhaps one or two subject areas could still retain their sub-boards due to the sheer number of OP's they seem to attract but the rest might be better merged into a more general board such as 'General Science' for example.
So, is the current format of this MB, on balance ok, or should a re-think be done in light of the problem I have highlighted? Things have probably gone too far now for a redesign anyway, but I was just curious about what other people might think.
Although I was the one to suggest organizing various topics into corresponding sub-boards here I have began to notice that there seem to be a fair number of OT's that are overlooked and do not receive any replies, whether because nobody is interested in the topic or whether they are simply not noticed, I'm not sure. I know I tend to respond more often than not to current threads which are receiving the most attention and tend to forget ones that are hidden from the main forum. I wonder how many people do check on the sub-boards for new threads started but become hidden due to later posts in the same category appearing on the general forum page. I have just noticed several that naymissus has made which have not been responded to and some in the past that other people have made not receiving any attention and this seems a pity and possibly a flaw in the layout of this forum. It seems a pity that someone has gone to the effort of authoring an OT for it to become hidden so that it never sees the light of day. Ok, if people do not wish to respond to any thread that is their right but at least they should be given the chance of seeing it in the first place.
I can see why the old BBC science MBs displayed ALL threads 'up front', as it were, in a chronological order since it avoided the problem of hidden OTs, however it was also exposed to abuse by people who intentionally flooded the list with the attention of pushing a particular topic. Perhaps one or two subject areas could still retain their sub-boards due to the sheer number of OP's they seem to attract but the rest might be better merged into a more general board such as 'General Science' for example.
So, is the current format of this MB, on balance ok, or should a re-think be done in light of the problem I have highlighted? Things have probably gone too far now for a redesign anyway, but I was just curious about what other people might think.
