Where vB is going wrong

[pcoskat]

Originally Posted by Rich

I can also say that things have changed. I feel that most of the problems I have seen stem from new users not reading anything. They tend to just post questions wherever they want.

I run a very large forum, and it would be silly of me to blame 'problems' on users who are new to the forum. On large boards, it's often hard to see where certain posts should go.

That's where SITE STAFF come into play. A large board should have mods who regularly and POLITELY police their forums. Ie: Moving threads to more appropriate forums, posting links to threads that will answer a question that has already been asked.

Animosity towards newbies is not only silly, it's a good way to kill a forum. Plus is demonstrates a lack of professionalism, imo.

Originally Posted by Rich

I myself am tired of visiting the site only to see "new releases" that are nothing more than some user posting a question as a release. It completely defeats the purpose of having a forum structure when the new users aren't using it.

Volunteer to be a moderator
Create a post with 'quick links' to frequently asked questions, and ask the current mods to make it a sticky
Stop visiting this site
Create your own community and see if you can do it 'better'

Originally Posted by Rich

Threads being posted in the wrong forums is so frequent now, I decided to just add my response in my signature. Its THAT frequent and THAT annoying.

Not as annoying, as whining posts like ^that^.

While I agree that there are problems here...they aren't the ones you've voiced.

As with any site, as it grows, the site owners need to re-evaluate how the site is navigated, and how to serve it's members - which NOW fall into two subsets: Old Timers and Newbies.

One way around this is 'FAQ Quick link' threads which are stickies at the top of each forum. This solved a LOT of our problems at my board.

When a newbie comes in, and asks a question that has been asked a billion times, a mod can just say: check here (with a link to the quick links)

Another solution is to re-evaluate the board structure

Lastly...a good set of mods who are patient, vigilant, polite, and don't get their panties in a wad over people not using search.

Me? I can deal with all of the 'problems' if I could just get 3 or 4 master coders to call on when I need mods created and installed. Seriously: If you're good, reliable, PM me. I pay fair rates via paypal, and always have a ton of stuff to be done.