Suggestion to Improve Topics

[492]

This is

[Crispy]

That is a LOT of moderation overhead. Not to mention this is not supported behaviour in SMF (the software that runs the boards)

Other forum software has tools that do things like this (and other things that boost the signal:noise ratio), but NSF is not changing forum software any time soon.

[DavidH]

SMF does have an Ignore Thread plugin. That would be a HUGE help!

There is so much activity that I can't possibly keep up. Considering most of it is noise, argument, and speculation, it has reduced how much time and energy I can spend on NASA space flight

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Crispy]

That is a LOT of moderation overhead. Not to mention this is not supported behaviour in SMF (the software that runs the boards)

Other forum software has tools that do things like this (and other things that boost the signal:noise ratio), but NSF is not changing forum software any time soon.

A lot?

Yes really a lot! Every single post read by a moderator, who has to assess the content and then apply a tag. And posters will disagree with the category their posts get given.

[Lar]

We are not going to have moderated cage matches.  Or complex tagging systems.

[Steve G]

The only thing I'd like, for historical spaceflight, is to have them organized by subject, such as Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, MOL, Saturn rocket family, Soviet 1960's missions, Salyut, Mir, spy missions and concepts, etc. This is a tremendous thread with tremendous resources but needs to be broken down to more navigable units.

[Nomadd]

 Mars seems to be getting more action than the rest of the solar system combined. Maybe giving Mars it's own section and moving missions from other countries there would make more sense that having a separate U.S. Mars section.
 Since there's so much international input to U.S. missions and so much outside input to other guys missions, they're sort of all international anyhow.

[philw1776]

Ignore Thread is a very useful tool to clean up choices.

Update Thread Warning as one clicks on reply would save some of us from cluttering excellent Update Threads.

[Arb]

Ignore Thread is a very useful tool to clean up choices.
...

Where "Ignore" = "Hide", can't like enough.

[bish48]

That is a LOT of moderation overhead. Not to mention this is not supported behaviour in SMF (the software that runs the boards)

Other forum software has tools that do things like this (and other things that boost the signal:noise ratio), but NSF is not changing forum software any time soon.

A lot?

Yes really a lot! Every single post read by a moderator, who has to assess the content and then apply a tag. And posters will disagree with the category their posts get given.

The person creating the post assigns the category tag, not a moderator. A moderator only needs to intercede when someone complains the tag is wrong. Maybe a lot at first, but there is no need to be perfect from the beginning, and people will soon figure it out, and then there will be less required moderator effort than before tags.

New posters will be schooled by the old. A moderator only needs to intercede when the original poster refuses to correct their tag. And maybe a poster can not change a tag, after a moderator sets it. This will encourage people to assign an appropriate tag.

Maybe give every post the comment tag by default when the post is created. Then the experienced posters will change to the correct tag, and the new bees will be comment posts until they figure it out.

The need to moderate flame wars will be greatly reduced; confine them to the comment tag, and let the posters roar, while the rest of us get to ignore it all. Without an audience, many will stop. As in, "You can flame if you want, but only outside of the normal conversation, where "no one" will see it."

Maybe a quoted tag is passed to the quoting post.

Is it possible to give people a default tag (so they don't have to remember to tag their posts). Maybe then only moderation of individuals default tags needs to happen eg if I claimed to be anything above #2  on that list.

[catdlr]

Recently, many new members posted remarks in Update Only threads (Public and L2).  Is it possible to add a "Would your reply be better suited in the discussion Thread?"  when a member presses the "Quote" button in an Update Only Thread to respond to a post? Or better yet insert the post directly to the associated Discussion thread automatically and notify the user with the following message  "Your post has been automatically posted in the Discussion thread".   

Thanks for your consideration, It would reduce the moderators' time to move such posts and then go back and post an explanation to the originator.   Cheers, Tony

[Metalskin]

Recently, many new members posted remarks in Update Only threads (Public and L2).  Is it possible to add a "Would your reply be better suited in the discussion Thread?"  when a member presses the "Quote" button in an Update Only Thread to respond to a post? Or better yet insert the post directly to the associated Discussion thread automatically and notify the user with the following message  "Your post has been automatically posted in the Discussion thread".   

Thanks for your consideration, It would reduce the moderators' time to move such posts and then go back and post an explanation to the originator.   Cheers, Tony

I'm not sure how much this software can be customised, but maybe it would be better just to have an obvious banner in the comment section when it's an update thread saying something like:

"Update Thread Only - Do not make comments here"

Idea would be a bar across the top of the comment with the background in orange or red.

Even better would if it included a link to the appropriate forum for commenting...

[Lar]

Recently, many new members posted remarks in Update Only threads (Public and L2).  Is it possible to add a "Would your reply be better suited in the discussion Thread?"  when a member presses the "Quote" button in an Update Only Thread to respond to a post? Or better yet insert the post directly to the associated Discussion thread automatically and notify the user with the following message  "Your post has been automatically posted in the Discussion thread".   

Thanks for your consideration, It would reduce the moderators' time to move such posts and then go back and post an explanation to the originator.   Cheers, Tony

It's a perennial wish. Maybe someday?  (not a prediction!)

[Eer]

The solution would be an access control list for posting to updates, so unauthorized users can quote but not post to updates. That (unauthorized attempt to paste to update topic) that offer to paste instead to a linked (automatically found via admin linkage attribute on the update thread). Of course that link would need to be to the last thread in the sequence.

So, it’s not straight forward and would want to rely on a baseline access control list mechanism.

[Bob Shaw]

I would also like an *Ignore Thread* tool.

[catdlr]

Recently, many new members posted remarks in Update Only threads (Public and L2).  Is it possible to add a "Would your reply be better suited in the discussion Thread?"  when a member presses the "Quote" button in an Update Only Thread to respond to a post? Or better yet insert the post directly to the associated Discussion thread automatically and notify the user with the following message  "Your post has been automatically posted in the Discussion thread".   

Thanks for your consideration, It would reduce the moderators' time to move such posts and then go back and post an explanation to the originator.   Cheers, Tony

Thanks to Metalskin, Lar, and Eer for your quick and intrusted response to my query.

[Ken the Bin]

I would also like an *Ignore Thread* tool.

Yes, that would be very helpful.

But it needs to provide a way to view a list of ignored topics and unignore selected topics.

[Greg Hullender]

I have a much simpler (I think) request: I want a way to flag people who've made posts that earned my respect so I can give them the benefit of the doubt when I see other posts from them.

The simplest way I can think of would be to use the existing "buddy list" mechanism for this. All that's missing is to have some visible signal in threads to let me know who's in my buddy list. (E.g. a star next to the name.)

[jak Kennedy]

Not exactly a Topic suggestion but it would be nice when viewing a post to see a list of who has replied to it and maybe a link to those. That would cut down on many people posting a similar reply that has been covered.

[Llian Rhydderch]

I have a question re NSF improvement.

Where is the forum for respectful & constructive discussion on improving the NSF audio of NSF Live events?  (this is not about improving NSF Forums or NSF forum software)

[Star One]

Ignore Thread is a very useful tool to clean up choices.

Update Thread Warning as one clicks on reply would save some of us from cluttering excellent Update Threads.

This is the only forum I use that doesn’t have the ignore or the report function activated.

[Llian Rhydderch]

I have a question re NSF improvement.

Where is the forum for respectful & constructive discussion on improving the NSF audio of NSF Live events?  (this is not about improving NSF Forums or NSF forum software)

Hmmm. No one has any info to add in over a week.

Does this mean?
  — there is no place in the massive NSF forums where such topics might be discussed?
 OR
  — that there is just a very small audience of readers who might ever look at this particular forum thread?

Any input will be helpful.

[chopsticks]

I have a question re NSF improvement.

Where is the forum for respectful & constructive discussion on improving the NSF audio of NSF Live events?  (this is not about improving NSF Forums or NSF forum software)

Hmmm. No one has any info to add in over a week.

Does this mean?
  — there is no place in the massive NSF forums where such topics might be discussed?
 OR
  — that there is just a very small audience of readers who might ever look at this particular forum thread?

Any input will be helpful.

Yeah, I wonder how much crossover there is with the forum members here and those who are in YouTube chat community.

I did have a few thoughts on the interview with Andy Lapsa.

[Hobbes-22]

I have a question re NSF improvement.

Where is the forum for respectful & constructive discussion on improving the NSF audio of NSF Live events?  (this is not about improving NSF Forums or NSF forum software)

Hmmm. No one has any info to add in over a week.

Does this mean?
  — there is no place in the massive NSF forums where such topics might be discussed?
 OR
  — that there is just a very small audience of readers who might ever look at this particular forum thread?

Any input will be helpful.

I'd put that discussion in the Site Improvement section.

[freda]

Two ideas to update, refine, and strengthen NSF Forum categories:
1) Eliminate categories such as "international" and "other".  Why?  Look at the global NSF footprint.  What does "international" mean anymore?  And the "other" category?  Simply state the relevant country, organization or topic; it's not as if many exist.  And when small-country-X launches, simply add them as a category; not to an ambiguous "other" or "international".
2) Get more eyeballs on the NSF asset which is the Forum.  What if... rather than the ultra-tiny 5-forum-topic window current on the NSF home page right sidebar, there was something on the NSF home like the dynamic view available at this link.  https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=activetopics  Why?  Squeezing everyone through the small 5-forum-topic restriction does just that; it restricts routine human visibility to this great NSF asset.  Imagine the added user-visibility and user-interaction to this valuable asset of NSF that would result.

[catdlr]

Two ideas to update, refine, and strengthen NSF Forum categories:
1) Eliminate categories such as "international" and "other".  Why?  Look at the global NSF footprint.  What does "international" mean anymore?  And the "other" category?  Simply state the relevant country, organization or topic; it's not as if many exist.  And when small-country-X launches, simply add them as a category; not to an ambiguous "other" or "international".
2) Get more eyeballs on the NSF asset which is the Forum.  What if... rather than the ultra-tiny 5-forum-topic window current on the NSF home page right sidebar, there was something on the NSF home like the dynamic view available at this link.  https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=activetopics  Why?  Squeezing everyone through the small 5-forum-topic restriction does just that; it restricts routine human visibility to this great NSF asset.  Imagine the added user-visibility and user-interaction to this valuable asset of NSF that would result.

Freda,
I love the option of the active topic.  NSF could maintain the sidebar but include a link to get this active topic page.