Improving PF: A Call for Member Input on Upgrades and Growth

[Danger]

Thanks, Evo. I guess that explains some of my double messages. When they disappeared, I retyped them and hit 'yes' because I didn't know that they'd been sent.

 

[loseyourname]

I rated it "good." PF is one of the most congenial forums I've been to that still has in-depth discussion, and it also has some of the most knowledgeable posters I've seen at any forum (outside of the Tolkein and language scholars over at One Ring).

There are several categories of suggestions that I would make:

1) Technical

• Enable the tags in every forum and enlarge the allowable file size for attachments. I know it's a bandwidth issue, so perhaps you could run some sort of pledge drive above the normal contributor option. On a side note, I'll be back on the contributor list soon enough.
  [*]While everyone else is asking for more smilies, I would personally like an option to not see any in the posts I view, sort of how one can turn off avatars and signatures and all that jazz.
  [*]When one uses the screen interface to format text, rather than inserting the tags manually, formatted text always goes to the bottom of the post. If it would be possible to have the text insert where the cursor is placed, that would be nice.
  [*]When one views the RSS feed for the entire forum, it would be nice if the forum title was displayed along with the thread title. Also, this might just be my problem, but the clock on the RSS feed is six hours ahead of the forum clock.
  [*]A pared-down skin offering would be appreciated, something without the header and graphics on the index pages.
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  [b]2) Content[/b]
  [list]
  [*]Everyone else has already suggested this, but a thread directory of some sort would be nice. GD has the GD classics thread; I'd like to see something like that in every forum. A good template for this is the Jedi Council forums (I know I'm making a real geek of myself referring to this [i]and[/i] the Tolkein forums), where they have a stickied directory of all the major threads at the top of every forum. P&WA could use this in particular, where a lot of the same topics are brought up over and over again.
  [*]I think the course threads idea is a good one, and I'd second that (kudos to honestrosewater). Including a directory of short tutorials, like the intro to formal logic that Tom posted (I think ZZ might have something like this in his journal) at the top of the forum index with the other links might be a good idea.
  [/list]

 

[Moonbear]

If you hit "cancel" when it asks you if you want a receipt, the message will send, it will not delete. I know, it's confusing.

Yes, good point. It would be better if it read "no" instead of "cancel" so people would know they weren't canceling the sending of their PM if they didn't want a receipt.

 

[Evo]

P&WA could use this in particular, where a lot of the same topics are brought up over and over again.

Great suggestion! I could create one like the GD Classics. Will you help me with it?

 

[loseyourname]

Great suggestion! I could create one like the GD Classics. Will you help me with it?

Send me a PM over the weekend to remind me and I can help out.

 

[honestrosewater]

How about a 'best of PF / hall of fame / FAQ-in-progress' section where we can collect those threads containing especially good explanations, discussions, answers to FAQs, etc. that are currently getting buried? Something like the Links section and GD's Classics thread. I imagine the benefits are pretty obvious. For quality control, perhaps members could nominate threads to be included in the section, but a staff member would have to approve them before being added. It could be a list of linked (possibly amended) thread titles organized just like the forums. ??

Is anyone else thinking about this again? I'd help out in any way I could.

 

[matthyaouw]

I'd be willing to help out too, though I'm not sure of what use I could be. The subjects I've covered most thoroughly rarely (if ever) seem to come up.

 

[GCT]

n fact if anyone gets their professor or teacher to sign up I'll give you premium membership
______________

yeah, that would definitely be a plus, a next step for PF. We've got a couple of TAs/graduate students and high school teachers around here, and it would be great if we had more of them.

 

[werner heisenberg]

It just couldn't be better!

 

[Huckleberry]

I love this site! It's one of the first forums I've been to and after checking out a few others it is still the best. I like the atmosphere and the people. The staff is right on top of things. The few times I've contacted them the replies were within a minute or two and the problem was fixed! People are generally helpful and friendly. There is room for all kinds of people here, from GD regulars like myself to hardcore physics gurus and everything inbetween. Good variety makes for interesting discussions.

It's hard to say what could be improved on. One thing I noticed is that when I'm writing a long post or one I'm considering for a long time I hit the post button and find out that I've been logged out. I hit back to retrieve the information and am told that the page has expired. That is a little upsetting. I guess I could type it out in another program and paste it into the post but I rarely do. Is there a feature that would allow us not to be disconnected if we are posting?

I remember when I was new to the site and forums in general I had a lot of questions. I've adapted to this site now and it is hard to think of ways to improve it. Perhaps newer members would have more insight in this area and could offer more ideas on how to streamline the forum? Just an idea.

Thanks for the site Greg and Warren! Huckleberry loves you.

 

[honestrosewater]

It's hard to say what could be improved on. One thing I noticed is that when I'm writing a long post or one I'm considering for a long time I hit the post button and find out that I've been logged out. I hit back to retrieve the information and am told that the page has expired. That is a little upsetting. I guess I could type it out in another program and paste it into the post but I rarely do. Is there a feature that would allow us not to be disconnected if we are posting?

Unless you don't want to for some reason, you can just check the Remember me box when you log in.

 

[Nucleonics]

How about a 'best of PF / hall of fame / FAQ-in-progress' section where we can collect those threads containing especially good explanations, discussions, answers to FAQs, etc. that are currently getting buried? Something like the Links section and GD's Classics thread. I imagine the benefits are pretty obvious. For quality control, perhaps members could nominate threads to be included in the section, but a staff member would have to approve them before being added. It could be a list of linked (possibly amended) thread titles organized just like the forums. ??

I'll add my name to the list of people who support this idea! I have been copying and saving several certifiably classy posts by ZapperZ, Space Tiger, et al to my harddrive to help my studies. A single place to find all the great posts would help me a lot.

 

[Les Sleeth]

I voted "great." I didn't think "good" really covered it. I like the emphasis on teaching, and I like it that someone always seems ready to pounce on you if you don't make sense or if you post inaccuracies. Sometimes it is a pain to take all the hits (right or wrong), but it sure does force one to write carefully.