Too many categories?

@Octoberon Please stop moving stuff? If you went on a track day today on a triumph, you did it on your triumph today. Why move it to 'track day ’ category to be lost if you are browsing around?
Personally, there are way too many categories already (for me) and it kinda puts me off even posting stuff.
By far (for me anyway) what have you been doing with your triumph is the first thing I look at.
Yes, i know its ironic that i’ve just added one!

Aye a wee bit OCD there perhaps @Octoberon :rofl: but I do agree, I’d like to see things get left alone a bit more instead of organising everything to obsessive levels. I like to see threads go off topic etc. Part of the fun and craic of a good forum. Call it character. Its more appealing and less sterile. If a bit of good banter is going on and it gets moved, well it kinda gets lost and forgotten too.
Don’t get me wrong though. I applaud you for the work you’ve put in. Lots of hours and effort! It is very much appreciated by myself and you clearly are a good man for the job, much better than I could manage!

I kinda made my point earlier :slightly_smiling_face:

Sorry steve, i can’t find it… :grinning::wink:

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Not being an IT guy… I suspect that one thing that gets a forum some weft on’t internet, is to have a strong and diverse base of “regular” postings but plenty of new thread creation … so if there’s only 10 posts that have lots of varied content, it’s probably disheartening to the admin to see quality material not being spread out on the forum and just being contained in the regular threads.
I can’t speak for Saul, but what I personally try to do (to the encourage a bourgeoning wealth of material to read), is… when I participate in a thread, but think of a parallel thread potential, is to answer the original thread, but then create a new thread on the thought process it inspires… so the original thread continues it’s ponderous way and I add to the community a new thread that can weave its own pathway…

A forum with only 10 well used threads or one with 10 main threads with multiple minor but interesting/fun threads… it’s what we make it (contributors and admin alike).

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I just post stuff and let Saul sort it out after :+1:

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We have hit upon one of the conundrums all forums like ours faces, namely, how do you balance organisation with socialisation.

As we all know, TMF is primarily a social forum where we also try to lay out content logically, so information can be found by people browsing for specific things. And there are people browsing - the page hits for the site are much higher than the number of members we have and the hits from external sources, including search engines, is slowly rising. While the signed-up members are the priority, I try to keep that other silent group in mind as they may well decide to become new members if they find the place useful and interesting.

Just to be clear, while things are set up to keep the site well organised, my view of the ‘freeform’ threads is that they’re essential to the community spirit of the forum, because they’re more like the conversations we have down the pub. I believe these threads are what encourages people to drop in regularly to see what’s going on and add to the conversation. The trick is deciding where to draw the line so too much content doesn’t drift to just a few endless threads. You might as well be on Twitter at that point.

Sometimes there’s a good case that a post is probably going to sit better as a separate topic under a relevant category. I recognise that while some posts are arguably describing (say) a rideout, really they’re just a quick update on what someone’s been up to; commuting rides (like @MrsVisor’s) or visiting a dealer to pick up some parts, for example. However, a wander through the countryside on your way to that dealer, with pictures added, may sit more appropriately in the ‘Rideouts’ section, because it’s substantial enough to be a new thread; interesting and readable.

So how do we strike the right balance? My suggestion/request is that people consider whether they’re just writing a quick update, or something more substantial when posting. Alternatively, pop a post in ‘What have you been doing…’ and mention that you’ll be writing up something for the archive (as it were) later. Best of both worlds.
As the admin/moderator, I do have to keep house but it’s not my intention to pigeonhole every post or shift loads of content around all the time. I reserve the right to do so but I hope by now that everyone knows I’m happy to discuss things and open to any and all opinions. Well almost all… :wink:
If I move something to another category it’s still easy to find because it’ll be in the same place in the ‘Latests’ view. That’s what everyone sees by default and I suspect most people haven’t changed it (you can, in your profile settings).

I know I won’t be able to please all the people all the time. :man_shrugging:

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I do have a day job, you know. :joy:

Yeah but it’s not like you’re lying on your side 700ft underground pecking out coal is it?

@Octoberon you have done an amazing job getting the forum up and running and my guess is that things will settle down in the coming months. Yes there are many categories but now that they are there it is easy to navigate. Allow a little latitude for members can only enhance the overall experience. So let them have a little fun and unless they go way off topic, just go with the flow mate. :slightly_smiling_face:

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There are all sorts of posts I would probably have dropped in to another category myself but there’ll always be grey areas. I leave them where they are most of the time so the ‘flow’ is generally maintained. Quite a few threads go off-topic but if they were sliced-and-diced all over the place it would be too disruptive. It’s also true, as you allude to, that forums settle down over time.

No one should take any housekeeping as an admonishment. I just want to make that clear. I also don’t want everyone to always be thinking 'am I doing this right?", especially new members. I think I make that point in the ‘welcome’ email. Generally, if I move a post to its own topic it’s because I think it deserves a higher profile and not to be lost in a rambling thread. It serves the people browsing the site better.

Anyway, back to the bikes. :slight_smile:

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We know what happens when there’s no housekeeping, that’s why we are here :+1:

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Thanks, Pat. I think that’s a perfect post to end the thread. :clap:

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