Does anyone else feel lost here?

[Ksc]

you need to give moderators the ability to ban members. there are a lot of members popping up with a handful of posts and most of them are negative/rude/dumb. heck even "tenured" members should be on the chopping block....

example:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13131#p120044

depending on the forum layout, you should be able to ban a member's IP address. I have had bad days and posted some mean comments but come on now.

I'm no soldier but I love my guns and my free speech and every other privilege that our soldier have fought and died to protect.

 

[ianwood]

Thank you Adam. I can appreciate the time crunch! My vote, FWIW, is mods do:

• Moving misplaced threads
• Maintaining stickies/FAQ threads
• And to be used very seldomly: closing threads, warning/banning repeated trollish behavior

My suggestion for stickies is to have a FAQ sub forum for each product forum. In it, only the mod can start threads but everyone can reply. The mods will only prune FAQ threads. In the main product forum, there is one sticky with links to all the FAQ threads.

For the P2 (non-vision), I can see about a dozen FAQ threads already:

Which FPV?
Installing your FPV
Avoiding flyaways/crashes
Shooting good video on the P2
Futaba 8FG and 14SG installation and configuration
Futaba 8J/10J, Tarranis, etc.
Calibrating the compass
Should I get those cool looking carbon fiber knock off props?
Installing ground station
Using ground station
Why doesn't my OSD show any data?
Controller calibration
Why did my P2 just fall out of the sky? Vortex Ring State
Why does my P2 not fly straight? Compass declination issue
Can I control the GoPro while I am flying?
etc. etc. etc.

Yes, I just nominated 2 of my own threads for stickydom!

 

[C-Mac13]

you need to give moderators the ability to ban members. there are a lot of members popping up with a handful of posts and most of them are negative/rude/dumb. heck even "tenured" members should be on the chopping block....

Agreed.

I don't find myself lost but like all new forums this one has reached a point that requires more mods for it's success. Too many people don't search and just keep posting the same questions. I have reached a point of not even looking at them all anymore cause how many times can tell people that the aftermarket props suck for example.

While this is the case I find it disrespectful that some one would start a thread like this, tell everyone he's done, point them to another sight only to find out he is one of the mods of the sight. Just my 2 cent.

you mean SITE not SIGHT.
site is short for website and sight is done with your eyes.

at least make your two cents show that you finished the 3rd grade.

you even went back and edited your post 3 minutes later..... how did you miss that?

 

[jondrew]

For the P2 (non-vision), I can see about a dozen FAQ threads already:

Which FPV?
Installing your FPV
Avoiding flyaways/crashes
Shooting good video on the P2
Futaba 8FG and 14SG installation and configuration
Futaba 8J/10J, Tarranis, etc.
Calibrating the compass
Should I get those cool looking carbon fiber knock off props?
Installing ground station
Using ground station
Why doesn't my OSD show any data?
Controller calibration
Why did my P2 just fall out of the sky? Vortex Ring State
Why does my P2 not fly straight? Compass declination issue
Can I control the GoPro while I am flying?
etc. etc.

That's a really good start. Covers 90% of the issues I've asked about over the last few months.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

The header is fixed. Looks nice.
Hopefully the first of many changes for the better!

 

[Pull_Up]

Finally, the cynic in me suspects there may be a financial motive in setting up the new site. I really hope I am wrong and it was done for the greater good of all but if it starts to become festooned with adverts as some other r/c sites are, I will be off immediately !

Actually I disagree with you there a little. I think Adam deserves to monetize this site - the guy's already got 2 day jobs and it's unfair to expect anyone to devote a lot of time to anything without at least getting running costs covered plus being able to take a reasonable "hourly rate". A forum of this size with this amount of traffic is going to have some bandwidth bills to pay and personally I wouldn't mind a few targeted AdSense ads or relevant manufacturer/supplier sponsorships dotted about if it means the site owner therefore has more time to put into improvements, updating software, etc. The current standalone banners aren't affiliate links and have been around since the year for so I'm assuming they only bring in a small monthly fee or there was a one off payment made a while back. I'm not advocating festooning anything, but everyone's entitled to a reward for ideas and work and certainly shouldn't ever be out of pocket over something lots of people are benefiting from for free.

I know nothing of what's actually going on of course - there may be financial deals going on in the background and Adam's on his private island all the time and the internet connection's a bit intermittent...

 

[OI Photography]

My vote, FWIW, is mods do:

• Moving misplaced threads
• Maintaining stickies/FAQ threads
• And to be used very seldomly: closing threads, warning/banning repeated trollish behavior

My suggestion for stickies is to have a FAQ sub forum for each product forum. In it, only the mod can start threads but everyone can reply. The mods will only prune FAQ threads. In the main product forum, there is one sticky with links to all the FAQ threads.

I second all of that

 

[ianwood]

Not all those who wander are lost

Actually I disagree with you there a little. I think Adam deserves to monetize this site - the guy's already got 2 day jobs and it's unfair to expect anyone to devote a lot of time to anything without at least getting running costs covered plus being able to take a reasonable "hourly rate". A forum of this size with this amount of traffic is going to have some bandwidth bills to pay and personally I wouldn't mind a few targeted AdSense ads or relevant manufacturer/supplier sponsorships dotted about if it means the site owner therefore has more time to put into improvements, updating software, etc. The current standalone banners aren't affiliate links and have been around since the year for so I'm assuming they only bring in a small monthly fee or there was a one off payment made a while back. I'm not advocating festooning anything, but everyone's entitled to a reward for ideas and work and certainly shouldn't ever be out of pocket over something lots of people are benefiting from for free.

I know nothing of what's actually going on of course - there may be financial deals going on in the background and Adam's on his private island all the time and the internet connection's a bit intermittent...

Well said. Forums aren't exactly big revenue generators. And while there may be an exit with some money attached someday, I wouldn't be holding my breath for it or the onerous conditions that will invariably be attached. We should all be able to tolerate a few well targeted ads (not inline though!) to help offset costs. In fact, I'd be willing to take it a step further and throw in a nominal contribution to offset operating costs.

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

Ok so we have got a promise of mods in place by this sunday. I will be watching that like a hawk. All of you who are prepared to be mods should make that fact clear now in this thread.

 

[Seahorse]

I want to be very clear the the PHPBB changes required...

Thumbnail
Search
URL posting
Theming

immediately spring to mind...

 

[Kelso Kubat]

Its proving hard to keep up with the posts that really interest me these days. Every time I look they are lost in a sea of new posts most of which are about subjects that have been asked a thousand times already. I don't blame the posters they need help, but I do detect a rapid fall off in replies from the more energetic helpers.

this forums Search Engine is POS.... buff said... :shock:

 

[xgeek]

Yeah the search is quirky, but still usable if you know what you are doing.
As an example search on NAZA is not an option as its too common, but search on NAZA* works okay. Would be nice to see the default search replaced with the Google site search option.

 

[Bigbells]

I certainly lack the RC quad expertise found in so many here but I am an experienced board moderator and volunteer to be a moderator here if needed or wanted.

 

[kydan]

I can mod if needed. My quad exp is above average, but more importantly I can leave feelings out the window and mod fairly and assume positive intent when necessary.

Preferably I only want to mod this forum, General Discussion. I don't visit the other threads.

 

[IrishSights]

I can mod if needed. My quad exp is above average, but more importantly I can leave feelings out the window...

I'm not convinced that leaving feelings out is a positive trait.

Sent from Samsung S4 via Tapatalk

 

[twodips]

I agree. We need to some stickies. How many times a day does someone post a new thread titled "What FPV Should I Buy"?

Each of the main model forums needs a FAQ sub-forum where topics can only be added by the admin or nominated people but everyone can reply to those topics. The thread owner maintains the first post with the latest, most comprehensive and correct information. Some suggested topics.

1. FPV Buyer's Guide
2. Long Distance Flying
3. Aftermarket Radios
4. Preventing Flyaways
5. Common Mistakes

I can do 3 and 4 for the P2. But that's just a start. In the main forum, there is one sticky titled: "Have a Question? Read This First" which has links to all the topics in the FAQ sub-forum.

I'd like to add
6."let's talk about Gains" A real solid help (to me at least).
7.Basics of equipment needed for a P2 FPV along with the various videos showing install.
8.A solid basic pre/post flight document that can be printed.

As a newbie here and highly experienced with forums in general I think the search engine leaves quite a lot to be desired and would LOVE to see that upgraded so I'm not left to ask the 100000th stupid question again.
One of my favorite forums to look at is City-Data. Simple,easy to search with a nice layout.

 

[kydan]

I can mod if needed. My quad exp is above average, but more importantly I can leave feelings out the window...

I'm not convinced that leaving feelings out is a positive trait.

Sent from Samsung S4 via Tapatalk

I am a victim of corporate culture.

 

[scooter339]

The frequent questions problem as defined in this thread might work themselves out if there was a search function.

 

[pault]

Finally, the cynic in me suspects there may be a financial motive in setting up the new site. I really hope I am wrong and it was done for the greater good of all but if it starts to become festooned with adverts as some other r/c sites are, I will be off immediately !

Actually I disagree with you there a little. I think Adam deserves to monetize this site - the guy's already got 2 day jobs and it's unfair to expect anyone to devote a lot of time to anything without at least getting running costs covered plus being able to take a reasonable "hourly rate" .....
..... )

Not sure if we are talking at cross purposes here but just to be clear I would have no problem with Adam introducing some more targeted advertising here as he has proved (imo) that financial gain was not his main motivation for starting this site.
(providing that they do not become an assault of your eyes like another well known r/c site)

The point I was trying to make was that the new site was introduced to us as being complimentary to this one and to be a useful resource for UAV pilots and it is this stated intent that I am a bit suspicious of. As I said, I hope I am wrong and the motives are altruistic but time will tell .....

 

[DaWife]

As a former owner of a forum focusing on boxer dogs, I have a few thoughts about the "search" feature. The "search" feature is good to use sometimes but to tell new members to use the search feature instead of answering the question is a real turn off. Yes, members answer the same questions over & over and yes, it may get monotonous but if no one posts questions and no one answers them, the forum dies. When I was looking for info about the Phantom, I looked to see how active and how recently posts were made before joining this forum. It's ironic that about the first thread I read was this one when it only had 1 page of posts. I sort of backed off joining for a couple of days but I put my bullet proof vest on and joined anyway. I'm really glad I didn't need the vest.

I'm a new member have asked several questions and received a lot of good info. I did try the search feature but didn't have much luck. Also, as fast as technology changes, something posted a couple of months ago may not be the right info today. Keeping a forum whose subject is growing so quickly in popularity and is of such a technical nature is no doubt a challenge.

I know a lot of people will join just to ask a couple of questions and then poof never to be seen again and those that have invested a lot of thought & time into answering their questions feel it may have been wasted typing. Just be glad you don't have questions about breeding Phantoms. :lol:

Several of the RV forums I belong to, have sponsors. One in particular is huge and several RV manufacturers sponsor specific forums about their product. Representatives from the manufacturers are active on the forum and sometimes act as go betweens between the RV owners and manufacturers. There is also an option to donate to the forum and it's amazing how many members do that. In fact, that's something I did with my forum to help offset the costs and there are costs. The software running the forum has a licensing fee, the domain & the host server have price tags and as the forum grows and uses more data the cost can go up.

I sold my forum and got enough for a down payment on our first motorhome. Since I sold it, Facebook really took off and a lot of top posters no longer visit but post on FB instead. Other forums that I am involved with have also lost members to FB so having an active forum is becoming harder to do. IMO, FB is fun and can be helpful but getting the in depth discussions that a forum can provide offers a lot more.

I really appreciate those that took time to answer my questions!

Thanks,

DaWife