Categories and 'Infinite' Threads

Forum Business
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A remimder for all members, please, that the Speakeasy exists for topics unrelated to motorcycles. Descriptions are included in each category to help guide your posts to the right places. If you’re still unsure, just post where you think is the best place. Housekeeping will be along later.

We have a few ‘infinite’ threads (they’re not infinite, there’s a system limit) that are a good place for people to drop in a quick update or reply, but that’s all they should be used for. Posts should still follow the guidelines for the category and not have long ‘internal’ threads. If you think something you’re going to post may generate a conversation, start a new thread.

There are a few reasons for this:

  • Members tend to gravitate to the threads because they’re regularly updated - ultimately this can make the forum structure too tall and thin.
  • New members may browse categories for interesting titles and read the posts, which is a better experience than scrolling through thousands of small posts.
  • Forum searches may be less effective in helping people find older content
  • We lose out in the search engines that prioritise topic titles when ranking results.

Happy posting!

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I was in two minds about putting my metal bending into the Workshop category but as it was fairly trivial put it where I did. Will consider things differently next time…

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No worries. It’s not an exact science; keeping things roughly organised is enough. :+1:

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It’s inevitable how these topics grow in a “what I did today” type thread. Somebody adds a mundane comment not worthy of or intending a standalone thread, another adds a reply, and then somebody else another, and so it balloons into a life of its own. :slightly_smiling_face:
Only down the road can you see a stand alone topic emerge, and of course as soon as Saul hives it off to it’s own thread it will immediately die a death. :joy:

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It happens because the rules are relaxed here about staying on-topic. Some forums aren’t so forgiving - it depends on the moderators.

In some cases we can make a reasonable guess at whether our post is likely to spin off in to a conversation. Not every tme, obviously. I’m just saying, keep it in mind.

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You’re doing an awesome job, Saul. Cheers.

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