Bill Ryan's thread

[WarriorServant]

Originally Posted by Bill Ryan

I can see this thread growing to monstrous proportions (if I can keep this up every day!) and so it's going to get more and more difficult with questions being asked which have already been answered - and responses to answers which have been missed or misread with all the good intentions in the world.

Here is my logical suggestion:

One thread is not suitable for all the information and "branches of information". You need a "forum section" of your own, where you can post information regarding various topics. This forum section should be set to "reply only" (and there are settings for that in the administration area of this forum). A reply only forum means that members do not even have the option to create new topics in that section. They can only respond to existing topics, created by "yourself". That way you can post information in the most appropriate thread, that you have created "for" the information.

To keep member to member banter to a minimum (and I see that your thread is full of it), members can post questions in the topic that you have created, but should be restricted from conversing with "each other" (exceptions would be made for "crucial" information such as "corrections". If it's not crucial, and just a personal comment - it gets deleted. People will soon get the idea.). ie: There's a whole forum with dozens of sections for members to talk with "each other" should they choose to do so -- and they should do it there. That way, you you have all the information in the appropriate sections (which is easier to find and refer to), people are able to ask questions, you are able to respond, everything is much faster and more efficient.

edit:

I would like to add that I am a full time web developer, programmer and web administrator by profession, and have built and run literally hundreds of forums over the last decade. I am well accustomed to forum behavior and how to moderate and deal with problems (which is why I am always flapping my arms around this place). What I have suggested may seem difficult at first glance, but due to my experience, I must insist that my suggestions will cause everything run more efficiently. The first objection that I think might cross your mind is: "Oh but it would all be too messy having different threads to monitor". I would suggest that the case would be quite the contrary. As the information grows, it's going to be hard to go back through a single thread full of dozens (hundreds?) of topics that's hundreds of pages long. It will be much more beneficial for not only yourself (to be able to go back to find / edit / correct / amend information), but also for people that haven't kept up with everything and are interested in a particular topic -- and want to read it without having to wade through pages and pages of unrelated material and banter.