Suggest we have sub-topics

[+K7CJS]

When someone has a post about a specific GPS or software it would sure be nice to have a sub-topic for it so we only have to read thru the ones that pertain to our GPS and software. And it would be much easier for people to find the answer to their post if they didn't have to wade thru or search thru tons of posts that have nothing to do with them. We seem to get the same questions posted over and over and I think this would cut down on that. Also, I like posts emailed to me as they are posted and it would cut way down on my emails if I could choose to only receive ones that have to do with my GPS and software. Anyone else what to try to push this through????

[Motorcycle_Mama]

No offense, but spamming the forums by posting the same thing in multiple places, isn't really the way to endear yourself to the site owners/administrators.

[+K7CJS]

No offense, but spamming the forums by posting the same thing in multiple places, isn't really the way to endear yourself to the site owners/administrators.

 

Sorry. My post had to do with 2 completely different topics. Some people who subscribe to one might not subscribe to the other. I'm not sure I'd consider it "multiple" when it pertains to 2 separate topics. the other was to the website people.

[robertlipe]

At first blush, it seems like a good idea (and at one time, I was in your camp) but a couple of realities factor in. One, there is huge overlap in various products. (Garmin has > 35 Nuvis. A question about a 350 almost always applies to a 360, too. CO and OR have large, but not total overlap. Does a question about Mapsource on a Mac to a 60CSx go in Mapsource, Mac, or 60CSx?) Two, the more places you give people to search, the less likely they are to do so and get the results they need.

 

We do indeed have a huge amount of repeat traffic. Posters that don't search for existing discussions, poor subjects, failure to consult the pinned FAQs, and such all contribute to this.

 

We get a lot of traffic here, but we also have a really active body of folks answering questions so it's not clear that making it harder for everyone involved would actually increase the amount of knowledge changing hands, though it might reduce the number of bytes flowing over the 'net to do it.

[+K7CJS]

I see what you are saying and am just hoping there is some way to thin things out. Maybe the real problem is all the questions asked over and over and over. I know I have been frustrated at times trying to use the search option. Maybe that's the reason so many keep posting items already covered. So, do you think a better search engine would help?

 

I still think there's got to be a way to have some, even if just a few, sub-topics so that we don't have to receive every single post in Getting Started and GPS/Technology. I'm not saying a detailed breakdown of every model or every software title. And there would still need to be a "General" sub-topic. But how about sub-topics for: Routes, Choosing a GPS, Creating a Cache, Paperless - now there's a few that would really take alot of posts out of the "General" area.

 

I agree that we have a ton of great responders when you need help. And I'm amazed that they continue to read through post after post that have already been addressed. I have to give them alot of credit for that.

[Neos2]

There is a lot of redundancy in the forums, especially in the Getting Started forums. And there probably always will be.

 

For many people it's the first time they have used message boards. They may not understand how message boards work. Some people seem to think message boards are some kind of list serve, where messages automatically go out to everyone subscribed to the list; other people seem to think it's some sort of chat room, with dozens of people sitting there waiting for a chance to respond to their question.

 

Thankfully, most people realize the message board is simply a place to place a message, hoping someone with time on their hands to read the boards will be intrigued by their topic title and respond with an appropriate answer.

 

I disagree that there need to be fewer new threads created for a couple of reasons:

 

1) GPS technology changes rapidly and what was true two months ago may be on it's way to being obsolete now.

When I began (just a few years ago) the eTrex Legend was the low cost workhorse of the Garmin line, the "x" and "H" models had not yet come out, the Oregon and Colorado units weren't thought of, no one talked about DeLorme or Lowrance and the biggest argument on the forums was "Magellan or Garmin"?

 

2) Most people have questions specific to themselves.

If someone is asking which Garmin unit will work best with a PDA for paperless caching, the responses will be very different than if they want to know which garmins will act as a PDA for paperless caching, or which PDAs will take a gps attachment so they can be used in a pinch for caching.

 

3) New folks can't use the search engine to find answers to their questions because they don't know enough of the terminology to be able to use the search engine.

 

4) While you may be annoyed to see multiple threads started on the same topic, many others are weary of seeing the same old threads resurrected from the dead to add one tiny questions that vaguely relates to the original topic. Threads can get very long, and no new person will want to wade through 7 pages of responses to ferret out the one tiny little scrap they are missing. Often it really is best to begin a new thread.

 

If the redundancy annoys you, it's probably time for you to spend less time in the Getting Started forums. Not everyone has the patience to answer the same questions one more time (or see them answered) with that fresh twist that will exactly answer the question posed.

 

In fact, most of us don't subscribe to the forums at all, we come in here to read through them when we have a little spare time. It takes less time to skim through the forums and click on only the few topics that interest me than it would to continually read every email that comes in to see if it's something I'm interested in or not. We might occasionally subscribe for a short time to a hot topic that we are interested in seeing every post that comes through, or to a thread that will rarely get a response that we think we may forget to check in on now and then.

 

Perhaps you'd be happier too if you just read the forums and subscribed only to the few threads that interest you?