Judging Interest for New Sub Forums

Guys,


Just curious if you would like/take advantage of DSM specific sub forums. We have been debating adding vehicle specific sub forums to the most heavily visited places on the board. Since the DSM forum is one of them, I though I would start here.

Pretty much the sub forums would be along the lines of:

Engine
Interior
Exterio
Audio

Stuff like that. If you think this would benefit our community let me know, if not, let me know.

Also, if you have a suggestion for a sub forum, please post it!

Thanks,
-Jacob

i feel it would be a be a good thing because it would make searching the forum faster and easier. plus i think people would get better responses to their questions because i beleive it would elliminate some of the people who have to post in every thread they see. my :2cents:

I think its a bad and good idea...I kind of like the idea that there is one big board where everyone asks questions of different specifications. I think this gets peoples questions answered more quickly. If you are going to have a list for the forum you should have a list like: Comsetics, problems and repairs, DSM talk, and purchasing, etc. something along the lines of this. Well, i hope this helps!

I still agree with what JoeWagon said a while back--that we don't have enough thread volume for separate categories. We would have like 2 audio questions a week, if that, and maybe one new non-performance question a day. I don't think it would make searching easier, and I don't think it would help newbies considerably.

I do think there is something to be said for having subforums so the more experienced members don't have to scroll through every question about getting the sound of a bov without having a turbo. This would help guys like Kevin and Lando with limited time on this forum get to the important questions like performance and problem diagnosis.

If I had to divide the forum, I would say it should have the following sub-forums:

-Newbie Talk
-Performance Talk (parts, tuning, techniques, etc.)
-Non-performance Talk (audio, exterior, interior, etc.)
-Problem Diagnosis

This would keep the sub-forums down to a few major ones, while eliminating the experts' need to scroll through bullshit questions about painting your interior.

yep i agree with him ^

thats a good point but whats to keep the newbies from posting in the other sections? hey Jacob is there a way to set a post count before you can enter a certain sub-forum? like the newbies that register should have say, 10 posts before they can enter or post in the sub-forum. just throwing out suggestions cause along with being a heavily visited forum, we also are heavily infected with newbs! but yes i like Joes plan about the newbie talk, performance talk and so on... but my main concern is all the people that post stupid shit and its already been asked/answered 5 posts down.

Another of the advantages I see in doing a few subforums is the ability to have multiple stickies. We could have major stickies and announcements, obviously in the opening menu where you can choose your forum. We should certainly still have a hangout somewhere, whether it is a separate forum or just a sticky thread at the top of the forum list.

But, in the individual forums I mentioned we could have different stickies according to their necessity. I think the Newbie forum should be entitled "Newbie Talk (Post Here but Search First)" or something to that effect. The only way I see to stop noobs from being annoying is when they post a retarded question the first time without searching, to have a mod pm them and let them know that it's not kosher, and that if they continue to do so they will be banned. Of course we don't want to scare them off immediately, but just be firm enough to dissuade them from doing it again.

This rule should even apply in the Newbie forum so we don't have the same question 3-5 times in a single thread page.

I also really like Jake's idea about having a minimum thread count before you can post in forums besides the Newbie forum. That seems like it would minimize the problems with the parts of this forum that are so valuable now, namely the experts' abilities to get to the questions that matter. :2cents:

the only thing i can think of that may benefit the use of sub-forums would be perhaps a non-turbo and turbo forum, or like RS/GS; GS-T/X; Spyder. but then we get into ''segregation'' and ''fair but equal'' stuff... you know that old story... lol

but then again most of the older hands in here have dual knowledge already and handle it pretty well. mabey if you got like a ''ricer'' sub-forum in the Honda section we could send some peeps from here into... [the devil made me do it]

overall i think that we are just fine in the mix the way it is. almost every thread gets answered in a timely fashion, and i don't want to be hopping around from forum to forum. too lazy for that :)

the only thing i can think of that may benefit the use of sub-forums would be perhaps a non-turbo and turbo forum, or like RS/GS; GS-T/X; Spyder. but then we get into ''segregation'' and ''fair but equal'' stuff... you know that old story... lol


I dont think there would be enough people in the NT forums. Maybe we could just have two sections Engine/performance and Interior/exterior.
But with catergories we will have noobs posting in the wrong section, so... I say leave it the way it is.

I think subsections are a good idea, but only if we keep it at a minimum. Its prob smart not to have more than 2-3 subsections, this way we wont have to jump from one section to another. I like Joe's idea :thumbsup: !

i think we should have sub-forums, but not n/t and turbo, because it would become too crazy, no one would visit the n/t and most of the people that know alot about cars have turbo cars, and wont visit the n/t. cents

But at the same time poeple that have dedicated say 5 years to the turbo cars may not know much about the NT cars. I always find myself trying to help, but saying things like "well on the turbo cars...... Not sure if its the same but...." I think that we could narrow it down to 3 sections, turbo, NT, and non-specific. Things like exterior parts, suspension, seats, etc, that apply to both turbo and NT could go in the non-specific forum. And I think most of the members have NT cars by a pretty wide margin, though they may not post as often.

I could go either way. I get by with things the way they are, but it is time consuming if I only log in once a day, so the seperate areas might help. Either way, I'll support it.

i think maybe just a performance/tuning section and a non-performance section

Okay, from what I gather, it sounds like its best to do the following:

When you click on the DSM forum it will open up an there will be listed at the top the sub forums.

1. Performance (Engine/Drivetrain/Suspension)
2. Non-Peformance (Interior/Exterior)
3. Problem Diagnosis

Then below will be the regular posting area like it is now. Essentially we are turning the main forum into the newb talk, off topic sub forum. Then there will be the specific subforums.

What do you guys think?

-Jacob

Sounds good to me. This way Kevin can avoid the non-performance and just scan the main newb/OT.

how about this... then everyone is happy.

1. Turbo Performance
2. Non Turbo Performance
3. Non - Performance
4. Turbo Problem Diagnosis
5. Non Turbo Problem Diagnosis

seeing there is a lot of stupid n/t performance questions like turboing it and intake and exhaust questions and this would also be easier for answering questions that people do not inclued what car they have!

anybody yes/no? just a thought

maybe a sub forum just on turboing a nt? i think your idea is kinda good but i think its too many subforums. what about performance, non performance, classifieds, and turboing a nt

well i realize there would be a lot of subforums but it would make this place easier to get around and more questions would get answered. see if the performance and problem diagnosis was separated into turbo and n/t then the people that skip the n/t questions and the people that skip the turbo questions would be able to answer more questions instead of reading a thread that has to do about something you know nothing about, just like Kevin said, hes a turbo guy... trys to say away from the n/t questions and let someone answer them that knows more about them, just like the n/t guys stay away from the Turbo questions and let Kevin answer them all ;) lol makes it easier on everyone, we can also set up a classifieds thread in a non performance subforum!

Okay, from what I gather, it sounds like its best to do the following:

When you click on the DSM forum it will open up an there will be listed at the top the sub forums.

1. Performance (Engine/Drivetrain/Suspension)
2. Non-Peformance (Interior/Exterior)
3. Problem Diagnosis

Then below will be the regular posting area like it is now. Essentially we are turning the main forum into the newb talk, off topic sub forum. Then there will be the specific subforums.

What do you guys think?

-Jacob
:iagree:
i like this one best. simple and easy.

I don't think the DSM forum gets quite the post volume to fill up a whole bunch of sub forums. While I agree that as much organization as possible is best, by subdividing too much we wind up segregating members and posts which is counter productive and questions go un answered, yada yada yada.

I think that just three would be a good place to start. Jake and JoeWagon, when I get these forums put up later this week can you guys help out in encouraging members to use them and hopefully avoid to much confusion. I'll throw up an announcement before I do it. But it still helps if you guys can help on a more personal level.

Thanks,
-Jacob

Sure thing. We have been managing for quite some time, so don't feel rushed. People took to the DSM forum change pretty easily, and I'm sure this won't be too bad, either.

Ill just say what i said about this in a thread similar not to long ago. I think that although there might be barely enough threads to rationalize sub forums now, in the future i think it will come in handy. We are getting new peeps everyday in here. I definatly think this forum is in the midst of a growth spurt and this would give us room to grow.

Lets face it.. wether its a eclipse, talon, or laser these cars are unresistable and peeps are flocking to them.. its natural selection and we are on the winning end.. ok im done bs'in now.. peace

Aves, I could live with your selection. I dont mind weeding through a few NT threads if I Can avoid the non-performance or problem stuff.

Also might as well mention this. I just gave up on a bunch of forums, including my local board. Just too many pole smokers and ballbag riders. I'm only sticking with DSMlink forums and this one. So I may end up with more time available. But at the same time I started a new project. Dont drag this thread off topic though, I'll post about that in a few days ;) Moral of the story, I like this forum, and if it's in a growth spurt, thats great.

i agree with jake ,seperate the n/t from turbo

Alright,

When I get home from work today, I am going to be adding the sub forums. At first I am just going to add the 3 (performance, non-performance, and problem diagnosis). As we go, if it becomes necessary to split the turbo and NT performance forums we can always do that.

Thanks for all your feedback,
-Jacob

Thanks Jacob.

Yeaaa, judging from the content of the main page...we really need those sub-forums ASAP ;)

Yeaaa, judging from the content of the main page...we really need those sub-forums ASAP ;)
how about a mod sub and a how to sub forum? How to should have been here allready though

well whats done is done... if you need to further comment on this please do so in the IWC thread. thanks

EclipseRST