Can you simplify the forum

[beardedone]

Just my observation that there are too many categories to lose material in. I find find myself searching a lot. For instance I once saw a list of members truck/trailer weights and now I can't find it. There just seem to be too many areas to stash information and it takes too much time to go into each category to review.

 

[jimtoo]

Gerry,

If you go to the top line of the forum page where it list User CP, FAQ, Forum and go on across there is a search button there also. Click on it and there you will find an "Advanced Search" . Open this search up and you will find that you can search the whole forum, not just one thread. The default is to search the whole forum.

Hope this helps.

JimM

 

[RubiconAg]

I somewhat agree with Gerry...

It seems that information regarding the different coaches, i.e. Appliances, Electrical and Plumbing can get lost in the HOOT, or Modifications sections.

The three forums for trucks (diesel truck, tow rig, trailer/truck weights) could all very easily be in one forum containg Tow rig information.

The HOC can also get lost with the General forum, etc.

IMHO, it seems there is quite a bit of redundancy and information gets spread incredibly thin. My .02

 

[BJ'sDad]

Also noticed we now have 2 Recipe sections?
I didn't want to say anything, but it is a bit aggravating now with the amount of scrolling you have to do since all the new sub sections have been added..too many sub sections for redundant info is gonna be very confusing to say the least. When the server is a bit slower than usual, it also makes for long waits for the pages to load.

 

[mrcomer]

Hey all,
I will not take sides on this but I do want to add something. From the beginning of this forum it has been a hobby and not a fulltime job. I know that Jim and former admin Jeff started this many years ago and it has grown tremendously. As such, trying to keep things concise and organized can be very time consuming. I too feel that sometimes information finding can be challenging but the really cool thing is how much traffic we do get here and how wonderful all the active user are. I hope that you can bear with this as I know Jim,Michael and the newly appointed moderators will do what they can to keep this invaluable website running as best as they can.

Now that Jim is a fulltime employee of Heartland he can actually schedule his time for the forum.

Thanks for your opinions and welcomed comments,

Mark

 

[RubiconAg]

Oh gosh, I hope my words didn't come off wrong, I completely enjoy everything on this site!

Just wanted to add some observations.

 

[jbeletti]

Hi all,

Hey - thanks for the feedback on the forum layout. I do appreciate it. Longtime members like Mark remember the humble beginnings and few sub-forums and little content. Boy have we grown!

With that growth came many requests for this forum and that forum to be added. For example, it really made sense to give Tow Rigs their own forum and get those conversations out of the Trailer Tires forum.

So as we went along and amassed a huge amount of data across so many aspects of an RV, it "seemed" to make sense to create specific trailer forums and sub forums under them.

But - this may not work for everyone and this is why I appreciate hearing about it. I'd really like to get some specific ideas from many of you on a new way to organize the forum. We are open to change if that change fits the masses.

Thanks in advance for some ideas.

Jim

 

[irvin56]

food for thought????

Just some thoughts

Trucks/Tires/Towing
Anything to do with trucks-trailers-weights-hookups-hitchs-brakes-sway controls- tires-etc

Insurances for rv/truck/heath/travel
companies and personal

Campgrounds/Clubs/Memberships
anything to do with campgrounds

Modifications/Do it yourself/Help line
Stuff you have done to your units that is better for you

Recipes/bbq's/cooking accessories
What do you like

Safety/propane lines and tanks/Regulators
What to watch for and check

Points of interest/ Must see places/Special holidays
What you seen and what other might like

Services and Warranty work/ Dealers /Factory
Place to tell other about work done. Problems and how it was solved or made better

Items for sale/Wanted/give away
What are you looking for or have to get rid of

Fulltiming/Work camping/ Seasonal/ Winter camping
Where do you go for winter. Tips and tricks for year round enjoyment with camping wheither full or part timer

Exterior/Awnings/tanks to drain
Anything outside of unit. Setup tear down,, level,water and drainig.ETC

Interior/Appliances/ tv's
Stuff inside that needs attention or is better used this way ???

Winterizing/ dewinterizing/ storage of unit
Anything to do with storage, short or long term



Just some idea's that might make it a little easier to navagate site


Thanks everybody this site is remarkable
Only been here for a short time, but learned a lot

 

[leftyf]

Been there, done that, and didn't get the T-shirt

Well to sound like the old stick in the mud that I am...I just have to ask...who do you assume will do all these "simple" little mods? Are you experienced/capable enough to do them? And, are you trusted enough to be allowed to do them all by yourself? Would you allow me to remotely work on your personal computer, in your home, while you are gone? If the answer to any of these questions is "NO"...let's drop the subject and go back to talking about Rving cause we can't get there from here.

Work on these things isn't done with the wave of a wand. And, often, the simple changes are the most difficult to do...and might involve taking the forum down for a couple weeks plus.

And, I'll be willing to bet that the changes would involve changes in the code in whatever this forum is written in...and no matter what it is...it ain't gonna be cheap timewise...and it ain't gonna be easy. Not knowing the format of the forum databases, I can't speak to compatability issues when it comes to data integration. This ain't counting the possibly weeks of work to be done to get the forum beaten back into useable, stable shape.

Experience has shown me that it would be easier to start over from ground zero and have a blank forum and let it just fill up normally, rather than address all these invisible aspects. Which means that all the information they currently have here will go bye-bye. And, I used LinuxKidd's satellite worksheet to beat Lakeshore RV into submission. Where would I have been if I did not have this place? These things are like icebergs...there's a lot more on the bottom than there is on the tops.

So, let's tell the bosses here...that we have just volunteered their nights and weekends for the next couple of months.

 

[irvin56]

Sorry need to add more info

on my last posting. i want to claify what I meant. I posted in a hurry before bed, so my thoughts were not lost

What I mean is ONLY THE TOP AREA OF MAIN FORUM. from BACKUP CAMERA'S DOWN (ABOUT 30 HEADINGS) TO GUEST AREA

Also all camping (6 thread headings)

General area heading is too general as it has a mixture of everything

All the rest of areas( rallies,trailer forums,districts,etc.)

AS MENTIONED BEFORE THIS IS A GREAT PLACE AND LOADED WITH EVERYTHING. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK EVRYONE

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL

IRVIN56None

 

[Shadowchek]

I have found that the reason it takes so much time to read this stuff is that there is such an abundance of great information to guide me and everytone else through problems, potential problems, solutions, design ideas, purchasing decisions, all of the various other personal aspects of The Heartland family of support and the list goes on and on. I have become comfortable with navigating this site through searches and other methods you just have to get used to it. Suggestions are a positive thing that can help things evolve to something even better but I think this is a fantastic forum as is. Thanks to all involved in running it as well as the contribtors. Where would we be without it?

Greg

 

[StevieWonder]

I'd suggest a feature that I've seen elsewhere on other forums. That feature recalls the threads you've posted on so that you don't have to search for your own most recent posts.

 

[Cheryl]

Scroll down to where it says "Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread", click on your user name and then scroll down to "find all posts by (your user name)", click and you will see all your posts.

 

[StevieWonder]

I know you can get there, but in other forums the threads show up as "recently posted" or "recently viewed". A lot easier path to the same result.

 

[L'l John]

I know you can get there, but in other forums the threads show up as "recently posted" or "recently viewed". A lot easier path to the same result.

Look under "Quick Links" near the top, right side of web page. You will find "Todays posts" & "New posts-last 24 hrs."

 

[StevieWonder]

Look under "Quick Links" near the top, right side of web page. You will find "Todays posts" & "New posts-last 24 hrs."

That helps tons for the recent stuff, but won't help much if you're looking back more than a day or so.

 

[Oldlthrneck]

The only thing that I would like to see differently is a direct link to a member's gallery. I go to another site, The Diesel Place.com. Whenever a member posts, they have a link to their gallery right under their name. I think that is cool. You don't have to go seaching for their gallery to see what pictures they have posted. If they haven't loaded any pics then there is no link there. It is automatic, I think. You can go look at a member's truck, or in our case, pictures of another member's trailer, tow vehicle, fifth wheel, RV parks they have visited, etc.
Just a thought.
Fred

 

[beardedone]

Sorry I started this but I really didn't want to stir up a hornet's nest but I sure found out a lot of people are reading the forum. If it takes a lot of time and is problematic then there is not point in causing a problem. Leave it the way it is. I haven't even got my new Landmark delivered and I'm raising -----.

 

[Oldlthrneck]

Actually, I look at it as providing some input to Jim on ways that he can make positive changes to an already great forum. Some are going to be good and some not so good. I'm not for making wholesale changes to the forum, but a little tweaking is going on all the time. I don't expect him and the other Mods to come up with all the ideas on making the forum better and more usable, all the time. Some are not feasable, but maybe they can glean something from this thread that is fairly easy to do and make it better. Jim, you guys are doing a great job, I hope none of you take this thread as a criticism of anything you all are doing. Keep up the great work.
Fred

 

[jbeletti]

Fred and others - thanks for the vote of confidence.

Gerry/Rose - thanks for starting the discussion and take no offense by input from anyone. You were sincere in your input. Long timers here know where we have come from and know how this place is organized. They can navigate it well. Over time, most people figure out how to get around. The goal of course is not to make it hard - rather to make it easy to find things.

For example, if you have a plumbing issue in your Landmark, you can go to the Landmark forum and look in the Landmark Plumbing sub-forum to see the experience of others or to post about your issue, concern, modification or praise etc.

What happens though, and more so with brand new users, is that they post all over the place. A lot of time by Moderators is spent moving stuff around. For example, it is common for brand new users to place their first few posts in the Welcome, Rules or General forums. Over time, we try to move threads out of those forums and into forums that are more relevant. Same with the ATFs (Ask The Factory) - many new threads are started there that are not really true questions or questions the poster wants answered in public. Then large discussions ensue in those threads and sorts of clogs things up. Don't anyone get me wrong on this - I love it when I see others chime in on the ATF threads, try to help. Quite honestly, product owners can answer product use questions better in many cases than the brand managers.

That all to say that I appreciate the original post here by beardedone and all the input since then. Keep specific feedback coming on how you'd arrange things if it were yours.

As Lefty, Stevie and others have mentioned, it's a ton of work to do a wholesale make-over and that is not likely to happen. But I may be up for some consolidation where it makes a lot of sense.

Once example may be to combine all the Tires forums into one and put it under the general forum. Sure, there are tire size/brand differences between some of the brands, but at the end of the day, tire issues are very similar across all brands. This is just one example of a consolidation that I have considered.

And to all - please check out the newly added Google Search feature - it is awesome!
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/google_search_box.jpg

Jim