Current NSF Forum Feedback Thread 2

[ChrisC]

There isn't a thread here* in the NSF forum for meta-discussion about NSF's Youtube activity, and I'm still resisting getting a Youtube account and commenting there, so I'll post it here: thank you Das et al for enabling the dual-audio capability so that we can continue watching the Starabse videos with ambient audio.  I see from the video comments that everyone else luuuuuuvs the new narration, but I do not :/  I mean, I love your update videos with the talking heads working from a script (and special thanks go to the writers), but for these Starbase highlight footage videos I prefer the ambient audio (and brief captions) over the unscripted commentary   So I'm thrilled that you all got that audio option working!

About a month ago, these audio options stopped being available.  In a couple subsequent Starbase videos, Das explained that it was a Youtube problem that they were working with YT on fixing.  In the last few videos there's been no further mention of the problem, but the problem continues.  Have you all reached a dead end on fixing this with Youtube?

Unrelated, from the same post above:

* see my whining about this back in 2022 ...

This link to an old forum post comes up as broken -- "missing or off limits".  I also saw this a day or two ago on some other link to an older post.  Is there a known problem with these links?  Maintaining old links is a hugely important feature of any forum, and this particular 2022 link isn't even that old.

[Chris Bergin]

Youtube support is useless. Das mentioned this on the last stream he was on. They even suggested he rebooted his router to see if languages was fixed.

Basically they've turned it off and forcing AI translation on channels.

[Metalskin]

From a discussion about the difficulty T2 users of NSF forums have with photos, I wondered if this forum software has a tagging system?

The idea would be to crowd source the tagging of photos. In theory (if the forum software supports it), tags could be restricted to just the author, an approved group of users, or all users. I would assume a list of predefined tags, and maybe people can create new tags.

I should note that tags are very powerful search enablers.

The other idea I had was using the EXIF info from the photos and provide a map view of a release of photos. People could see where and what direction photos were taken. An optional timeline would enable people to look at historical photo drops.

I assume that there wouldn't be any bespoke development here, but if the various solutions being used support some of the above, then maybe it's something we could implement?  Happy to help out however I can with advice and designs from a UX/UI pov.

As an FYI I'm a Lead Product Designer at a consulting company, currently working with some large mining companies on managing mine closure and progressive rehab. This includes being able to search historic data and find photos done via repeated surveys of 10s of years. Some of the concepts would be applicable here.

[ChrisC]

Just going to quickly say it again (scroll up four posts to prior mention): I really miss the ambient audio option on NSF's Starbase Summary videos.

[Paul451]

Youtube has broken a lot of stuff that people depended on. And they seem to be pushing harder to break new things.

(It's a shame the alternatives never really take off. Youtube badly needs a healthy rival.)

[Chris Bergin]

Just going to quickly say it again (scroll up four posts to prior mention): I really miss the ambient audio option on NSF's Starbase Summary videos.

Yeah, we'd have both if YT hadn't taken away the multitrack option. However, you will get some of these by default given Das is travelling for a lot of October.

[ChrisC]

And we've multitracks back too!   Das on holiday, so Alex with English, and Spanish and Ambient is back! We'll have German and Dutch too pending Adrian and Marty availability.

Hoooooorrrrraaaaayyyyyy!  Das is great, no sarcasm, but in this context I don't want to hear his extemporizing tangents   The ambient sound (aka nat sound) is useful.  Thanks for staying on it for three months!  Evidence below:

About a month ago, these audio options stopped being available.  In a couple subsequent Starbase videos, Das explained that it was a Youtube problem that they were working with YT on fixing.  In the last few videos there's been no further mention of the problem, but the problem continues.

EDIT: and with all that said about how I prefer the nat sound version, I just listened to Alex's voicing and it was fantastic!  Dude you just go ahead and talk as fast as you want, we'll get it!

[catdlr]

And we've multitracks back too!   Das on holiday, so Alex with English, and Spanish and Ambient is back! We'll have German and Dutch too pending Adrian and Marty availability.

Hoooooorrrrraaaaayyyyyy!  Das is great, no sarcasm, but in this context I don't want to hear his extemporizing tangents   The ambient sound (aka nat sound) is useful.  Thanks for staying on it for three months!  Evidence below:

About a month ago, these audio options stopped being available.  In a couple subsequent Starbase videos, Das explained that it was a Youtube problem that they were working with YT on fixing.  In the last few videos there's been no further mention of the problem, but the problem continues.

I just saw it, I'll post in the Starship section in a few minutes.

[ChrisC]

Over in a public thread, after a duplicate thread was created about something, I posted:

We don't need another thread for this.  I'll ask a mod to merge (I'm not skilled at that yet) into the existing thread in the Space Policy section here:  https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=61990.0

And the original poster (of the duplicated thread) said:

Only L2 members can post in the Space Policy forum (...I learned last week)

Really?  That doesn't sound right.  I can't test since I have L2

[SpaceLizard]

Over in a public thread, after a duplicate thread was created about something, I posted:

We don't need another thread for this.  I'll ask a mod to merge (I'm not skilled at that yet) into the existing thread in the Space Policy section here:  https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=61990.0

And the original poster (of the duplicated thread) said:

Only L2 members can post in the Space Policy forum (...I learned last week)

Really?  That doesn't sound right.  I can't test since I have L2

As a non-L2 I can confirm only L2 members can post in the Space Policy section. It's supposed to reduce excess bickering and political mudslinging.

[ChrisC]

Thanks @SpaceLizard!  I realized that I should have put a finer point on the question:

Can non-L2 members post comments on existing threads in the Space Policy section?  Or are you just prohibited from starting new threads?

I'm not arguing for or against anything, just clarifying what exactly can and can't be done, as I was also surprised to hear this.  (and before someone winds up their rhetor-o-tron, I do realize how those conversations can get all wound up and start sucking up NSF admin time)

[SpaceLizard]

Thanks @SpaceLizard!  I realized that I should have put a finer point on the question:

Can non-L2 members post comments on existing threads in the Space Policy section?  Or are you just prohibited from starting new threads?

I'm not arguing for or against anything, just clarifying what exactly can and can't be done, as I was also surprised to hear this.  (and before someone winds up their rhetor-o-tron, I do realize how those conversations can get all wound up and start sucking up NSF admin time)

The only thing non-L2 members can do in the policy section is Like/Unlike posts.

[AndrewM]

Thanks @SpaceLizard!  I realized that I should have put a finer point on the question:

Can non-L2 members post comments on existing threads in the Space Policy section?  Or are you just prohibited from starting new threads?

I'm not arguing for or against anything, just clarifying what exactly can and can't be done, as I was also surprised to hear this.  (and before someone winds up their rhetor-o-tron, I do realize how those conversations can get all wound up and start sucking up NSF admin time)

I believe it's been post-restricted to L2 members since 2012.

I fully understand that since this is a private website, the owner may do anything with it as they may please but I'm just curious if anyone else is a little frustrated that Chris chose to make the Space Policy section for L2 members only on the day that the budget was released with only a four day notice that was very easy to miss.

Really sorry about the lack of notice. That was more to do with me not having the budget in mind until I saw a presser about it.

The fights that broke out on previous budget announcement days - as explained - were a nightmare to moderate, and today has been very calm with the change.

We've gone from nearly one thousand report to moderator alerts, to two, compared to FY11. No one has lost a post, no thread has been locked. And let's face it, the Space Policy area was alien to most of the forum as that was were most of the fights broke out. We nicknamed it the Wild Wild West for a reason.

Now I don't mind (as much as it's annoying) breaking up fights, but I can't willingly go to bed on a night and expect our mod to clear up such issues. Some mods we've had on here simply stopped posting because it drove them up the wall so much. I can't allow a happy member, willing to help out, to lose their passion for the site because they offered to be a mod.

While this is now likely to be the permanent for the status for the Space Policy section and may be extended to other high usage (post rates) areas of the forum in the future (IF required, right now it was just Space Policy that was the problem), please understand no one makes a living out of this site. I've never taken a cent out of it (put thousands in, however), so this isn't a force L2 membership idea, as much as I can't stress it enough that we are an expensive site to run and we need the support of its members and readers.

The only reason I'd want people to join L2 is because they want to help the site and want access to a ton of goodies. And for the record, not ONE person has joined L2 to post on Space Policy all day, so if it was an advert for L2, I'd of reopened the section by now.

This is a quality control decision. I simply won't allow this forum to go the way of so many others and balancing activity with quality is not easy.

[sdsds]

Suggestion: please consider adding a new tier level, priced identically to L2 and with all the same perks except with no access to L2 content.

[Paul451]

priced identically to L2 [...] with no access to L2 content.

If you really wanted that, you could pay for L2 and just... not use L2.

[sdsds]

priced identically to L2 [...] with no access to L2 content.

If you really wanted that, you could pay for L2 and just... not use L2.

Nope. I tried that and it didn't work for me! L2 is just too good. ;-)

The motive here is to free people from any/all constraints L2 access imposes that would prevent them from making information public. If they didn't have L2 access they must have gotten whatever info they shared someplace else.

[litton4]

I'm sure I must have asked this before:

How can I link (and display) a picture in one thread to my post in another?

Eg, wanting to reference a single picture from an "Updates" thread in the discussion thread?

I can detach and re-attach the pic, but this seems wasteful.

Quoting doesn't include the pictures......

[StraumliBlight]

I'm sure I must have asked this before:

How can I link (and display) a picture in one thread to my post in another?

Eg, wanting to reference a single picture from an "Updates" thread in the discussion thread?

I can detach and re-attach the pic, but this seems wasteful.

Quoting doesn't include the pictures......

There is one method, for example:



(CHRIS NOTE: DON'T DO THAT)

EDIT: The img tag has modifiers that can set width/height.

[litton4]

So just an "img" "/img" tag and a "copy link" from the original picture?

Ta.

[Chris Bergin]

So just an "img" "/img" tag and a "copy link" from the original picture?

Ta.

No, you really shouldn't do that. The reason is it often breaks the thread cause many people have different width settings on their devices.