Subforum suggestion

[CaffeineAddict]

I have a suggestion for forums.
I noticed several members have posted various how-to threads, problem is these threads get lost and if somebody happens to find them it will by using search engine (more likely) than using forum search.

Therefore it makes sense for a new subforum where how-to's can be posted, similar to tutorials subforum except tutorials to which everybody can contribute their how-to's.
Problem with tutorials subforums is they're old and nobody writes new ones.

I can go find few forums where this already exists, one example debian forums.
I can also find forums where there are 100's of tutorials and new are written on daily basis.

 

[KGIII]

problem is these threads get lost

That's why people should use the search feature.

That said, I'm not opposed to such a sub-forum. I just don't see any great benefit to having it.

I'd probably modify it a bit and call it 'User Written Tutorials', stuffing it into the existing sub-section.

 

[Condobloke]

The search feature is a pain in the butt. If you are familiar with it, the search terms you use will produce good results.

If you are not familiar with it, the results will be hit or miss depending on the individuals luck on that particular day.

The main reason people come here, is to learn something related to Linux....and almost inevitably, their initial question may be:...how in &^%, do I do such and such...eg make a bootable usb stick, dual boot with windows, etc etc etc....the list of question would likely be as long as your arm, if not longer.

A dedicated, moderated, organised, easy to find, forum would be the absolute bees knees in Linux.org

I remember that very thought crossing my mind when I first joined in 2017

A very worthy addition. Good one, @CaffeineAddict

 

[Trml]

On the front-page there are always the thumbnails of latest original tutorials and articles.
They appear linked from the separate top-level group, which itself has per topic subgroups: https://www.linux.org/categories/linux-original-content.170/
Content in some of these is pretty old (not outdated), but few new is added.

Would it not be nicer, if a moderator moves a how-to a user posts into one of them?

This way the how-to content is grouped together and it could be selective (e.g. there may already be a topic article, joining may make sense, etc). I'm not sure a hotpot of 'User Written Tutorials' would provide an adequate structure.

I'm not quite sure how the forum software works, but i'd imagine if I subscribe to a thread, the subscription follows once it is moved.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

That's why people should use the search feature.

Nobody uses search feature, it's far easier, faster and more accurate to search for "term site:linux.org" on search engine, but even that not many do.

I just don't see any great benefit to having it.

Benefit is:
1. It encourages writing tutorials and how-to's
2. It's easier to link to a tutorial in threads where users ask for help instead of repeating how-to in every support thread
3. It overall adds to content of forums
4. It's a normal and desired thing on many forums because good how-to's attract new visitors via search engine.

Would it not be nicer, if a moderator moves a how-to a user posts into one of them?

Yes, if subforum is made it would make sense to move all existing how-to's to it, there is good amount of them.

 

[bob466]

I've never liked the search feature either...I have some how-to's in the Mint section of this Forum but you'd never know especially those that are a few years old.

 

[Condobloke]

how-to's in the Mint section of this Forum but you'd never know especially those that are a few years old.

Amen, My point exactly

 

[KGIII]

The search feature is a pain in the butt. If you are familiar with it, the search terms you use will produce good results.

It's far from perfect, but there are also dedicated search engines. We rank pretty well in the search engines, so some searches will lead here. Others will lead to more popular guides.

Still, that's why we have search. It's definitely not perfect. (Nothing will ever be perfect.)

Yes, if subforum is made it would make sense to move all existing how-to's to it, there is good amount of them.

Yeah, no... No, I don't see any of us mods/admins spending more time to find and move threads.

I'd say that you could find and suggest the threads be moved, but if you can do that then you can already find those threads and don't need a sub-forum for them.

It'd very much have to be a 'from now and moving forward' type of thing. None of us has additional time for that sort of thing. Collectively, we're already investing/giving large blocks of time.

Again, and to be clear, I'm not opposed to the idea.

Hmm...

What would be not a bad idea would be if you people go through each sub-forum to create a list of all the how-to guides. You'd then make a post that indexed all of the guides that you found in the sub-forum. Then, you'd make a post with all of those how-to guides. That thread would then be stickied in the individual sub-forum. You'd then maintain that post by adding new links as they happened or as you found them. Then, we'd just sticky a post in the sub-forum for specific how-to guides on that particular subject.

 

[Condobloke]

ill, that's why we have search. It's definitely not perfect. (Nothing will ever be perfect.)

not perfect....yes....Yes, you got that right.!

Yeah, no... No, I don't see any of us mods/admins spending more time to find and move threads.

Is that a group decision, or a KGIII decision ?

you people

Its been a long time since I have been referred to, or as part of, 'you people' ......LOL

I think it is a bonza idea. Is there a way that a search can be put in place that would search for certain key words ?

 

[KGIII]

Is that a group decision, or a KGIII decision ?

It's clearly me. I said "I don't see". I can't speak for the rest. That was relatively clear by the use of 'I'.

If others wish to spend a bunch of time on hunting down old threads and moving them around, I'm all for it. I'm unlikely to help out with that. I give more than enough of my time to this forum. I simply can't allocate more time.

you people

Would you prefer a different name for the group? I didn't mean to offend but it refers to those who aren't in the mod/admin group. It's not that we're special, it's that we're a specific category. Categories are useful for discourse.

If you're looking for reasons to be offended, I'm not sure how to help you.

 

[Rob]

Is that a group decision, or a KGIII decision

The mods here are purely doing it out of their love of Linux.. we don't need/want to add anything to their plate.

There are lots of sections and sub-sections on here already. If someone wants to post a how-to, awesome! If it's in the right section (debian, video, audio, etc..) people will find it. If we do a subsection on how-tos, it'll lead to a whole new slew of subsections under that or it'd get pretty unorganized from the get-go and we're back here again

BTW, anyone can email me ([email protected]) if they'd like an article posted on the 'main' page and in the original content sections.

 

[Brickwizard]

My thoughts.
the site has thousands of post, many of them may contain " how to/Do I " questions and answers embedded, if removed to a specific forum then the existing post may lose context. Also, to take on such a task would be many hours of work.

Search facility, I agree it could do with improving , your question needs to be exact, or it won't return answer it needs to be more flexible similar to [sorry must now swear] Google search

Nature of the beast, many of the existing fora, have pinned advisory post, how many people [especially newbies] bother to read them, [probably not many] most will just jump into the getting started or general forums, so what are the chances they will bother to plough through yet another forum.

there you go my thoughts

 

[Rob]

I do like the suggestion though .. I'll put some thought into making the how-to posts stand out more.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Is that a group decision, or a KGIII decision ?

Doesn't matter, I totally concur with David G @KGIII in that regard.

July 19 2018 I was asked by Rob to become a Moderator. I found that date by using our Search feature on my DMs.

Keywords

moderator rob

and found it on the 2nd page.

From that time to this, I have spent a minimum of 30 hours a week, and up to 60 hours a week, at this site, largely invested in administrative duties, disciplinary duties, fighting Spammers, and so on.

David would be able to say likewise, I expect.

The improvements we have already come to take for granted, during my administrative tenure here include but are not limited to:

• Establishment of the Off Topic subforum, and its (revised by me) terms and conditions (thanks to Rob's agreement)
• Hunting down extensions on the site software for better hardening of Spam Control
• Having the site Search facility enhanced, and extended to include being able to search DMs (big help for me and 2 to 3 of my Besties here)

And no, I am not running for Office, and kudos to Rob for his efforts. Rob has also tried to attract interest in a podcast, but it languished with a lack of attendance (mine was timezone-related).

Ray @dos2unix was granted writer privileges not so long ago, he may have some contributions.

Staff Writer Jarret Buse has had 24 or so articles published this year on those

the 'main' page and in the original content sections.

that Rob has alluded to above.

Thanks to the OP, and contributors, we value your input and feedback.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I'd say that you could find and suggest the threads be moved

Yes we could report threads to be moved, so much less work for mods.

but if you can do that then you can already find those threads and don't need a sub-forum for them.

I think you missed the point of how-to threads, it's not only about people searching them but also about encouraging to write them.
If I go write a tutorial I'd like it to stand out and not be lost, that feels like waste of my time and effort so why should I bother.

If we do a subsection on how-tos, it'll lead to a whole new slew of subsections under that or it'd get pretty unorganized from the get-go and we're back here again

Yes, because this forums is not distro specific it would get messy, then it makes more sense that existing sections each have it's own how-to subsection, this would address organization concern.

I do like the suggestion though .. I'll put some thought into making the how-to posts stand out more.

I always wondered what's the purpose of "Featured content" under "What's new" tab?
This section is always empty, maybe good place to make how-to threads be visible?

There are lots of sections and sub-sections on here already. If someone wants to post a how-to, awesome! If it's in the right section (debian, video, audio, etc..) people will find it.

Searching for specific things is one thing, exploring threads without search is another matter.
When you explore threads in a subsection you find interesting stuff which you didn't search for or didn't intent to search for.
This makes a section better than search function.

 

[Rob]

I tell ya .. keep replying to this thread and it'll end up on the "top 10 threads" in the weekly YouTube video

Edit: I do understand the premise of this and will look into it..

 

[Rob]

We can create a prefix 'HOWTO" (or whatever) that ppl can filter.. would that work? We'd just make that prefix available on all of the main forum sections.

(there is now a 'HOWTO' prefix available for each forum if someone would like to post something like that)

 

[CaffeineAddict]

We can create a prefix 'HOWTO" (or whatever) that ppl can filter.. would that work? We'd just make that prefix available on all of the main forum sections.

It's better than nothing but threads will still be lost with time and lose visibility.

I didn't know we can filter threads by prefix until now and I'm here for almost 2 years, so I suspect many visitors won't know either.

What ever solution you come up with I agree, it's only a suggestion for consideration, I don't demand that this be made at all costs.

 

[Condobloke]

I always wondered what's the purpose of "Featured content" under "What's new" tab?
This section is always empty, maybe good place to make how-to threads be visible?

That makes sense

When you explore threads in a subsection you find interesting stuff which you didn't search for or didn't intend to search for.
This makes a section better than search function.

Agreed

I didn't know we can filter threads by prefix until now and I'm here for almost 2 years, so I suspect many visitors won't know either.

Agreed.

Visitors will, generally, be clueless as to how this site works. Again generally, they come here wanting 'instant' answers.

 

[KGIII]

I'll add a bit more information. I should have mentioned this yesterday.

Only a small percentage of visitors interact with a site. They come here via search results, find their answer, and leave.

Less than 7% (on average) interact with the site beyond that. I do not know the specific 'bounce rate' for this site. I am not privy to that information.

So, people are finding those threads when those threads are useful.

From that time to this, I have spent a minimum of 30 hours a week, and up to 60 hours a week, at this site, largely invested in administrative duties, disciplinary duties, fighting Spammers, and so on.

I think that's more than I spend here. I'm "on duty" for ~8 hours, but I finish up the backlog and then regularly check back in. I also pay attention to when I'm getting done for the day. I like to ensure the queues are cleared for the next person (which happens to be you). That pretty much sums up most days.