forum idea

[alan m]

hi there.
just a quick idea to make the forum better

could you put catagories in so that there would be a special section for all the different types of ideas.
as a newcommer to the forum (not to the idea thow ) i am finding it very hard and annoying to find the info i want and a dont like having to trawl through all the threads to find the qwirkier ideas
i am only half way through the pages and am sick of reading the same questions over and over.
i think have the forum layed out like this would help keep members here and get them posting about other dc shop improvement
i am sure there are some great ideas that are lost to the depths of the 28 pages

i am thinking along the lines of

• basic design principles
  frequently asked questions section
  shop vac sized baffels
  4" top inlet
  4"side inlet
  6" top inlet
  6"side inlet
  ducting
  dust colection for tool
  trouble shooting
  unusuall designs
  building materials
  construction methods

thanks alan

[phil (admin)]

What are you going to do if something fits into two categories?

[alan m]

not sure . dont think it would be a problem . almost all the 15 pages of threads i have read would fit into those catagories.
a quicke bit of pliicing would keep the new threads in the right place. in the while that i have been registered here i have not seen anynew threads  (except my own) .
the more i look at that list the more i think those sub sections would be exclusive and have no overlap into the next one. a 4"top inlet is very different from a 4"side inlet and so on.

i know it would be a lot of work to organise the 28 pages but the black hole that that is will only get bigger

thanks alan

[cts1085]

There may be another idea - maybe there is a way to "tag" the posts by the predefined keywords.  If someone would provide a dictionary and then when people posted they could add the tags then a search feature could report all of those posts that delt with say " A tophat design for 5" inlets"

This way you could have posts that spanned multiple topics and still see them.

Just a thought....

[phil (admin)]

I'm open to suggestions, just keep in mind that I work 60-70 hours a week, and don't have a ton of time to invest in organizing stuff.

Also, I've come to the conclusion that while half of the people may think a change is great, the other half is going to object.

[alan m]

how about  creating the sub sections and an archive section and put all the current stuff in there to be sorted at some future point or not.
from then on  all new threads would be organised.
i dont think any one would complain about being able to find the info easier

[phil (admin)]

how about  creating the sub sections and an archive section and put all the current stuff in there to be sorted at some future point or not.
from then on  all new threads would be organised.
i dont think any one would complain about being able to find the info easier

Having reflected on this a bit, I think trying to categorize would be a nightmare.

There is just too much overlap.

[alan m]

i dont think i have read a thread in the 15  pages that i have thougally read that wouldnt fit into the catagories that i came up with. maybe an electronics catagory .
the best about your design with all its different designs is that they all fall into 5-6 groups .

[Bulldog8]

I first became interested in the Thien baffle after reading of another persons tophat separator on another forum. The OP linked to Phil's site and I read thru that specific build and then several others. Many different people have tweaked the original design seeking to improve or more commonly to work with a specific piece of equipment or requirement due to their own shops needs. Therefore, it seems like a person could find information from several areas to incorporate into their own design. True the basics remain the same, but inlets, outlets, baffle material, sidewalls and virtually every piece of the baffle has been fabricated from a myriad of material based upon someones ideas and the material they have on hand.

If the forum were to be broken down to specific types and I was building a 6" side inlet separator, I may only read that section and could miss an innovation from another section. So a new to the subject user would likely read through all of the sections anyway. When a person first finds the Thien baffle they don't know what "Top Hat" means or if a side or top inlet would work better for them. Reading through the threads of other experiences seems to help each person in their own design process. Then many "myself included" ask questions and seek feedback for what we/they have done.

Bottom line is that Phil invented the baffle and has been gracious enough to not only share the concept, but to run a website to aid others in building the separator for their own shops free of charge.  For this I thank Phil and all of the contributors to his forum.

Steve

[alan m]

i  think this will make a big difference to the newbe.
as one myself i just skip read through all the pages and read any that jumped out at me.
if everything was in sections i would have read more at the start.
i think if there was sections for dc on other tools  and ducting etc members would be more inclined to post in those sections , they would be contibuting info that they normally wouldnt.

i think there is a problem on this forum of retaining members and their knollagge on dc.
the more members the more ideas and wider info base. also those members that are oddball types and think of the craziest ideas only come allong every now and again. you want to try and keep those types here coming up with qwirky ideas.
i have read some very interesting concepts in all those pages that i dind read the first time around. and i probably wouldnt have if i wasnt planning the dual inlet design.


i dont see how doing this will harm anything. it can only improve the forum.


maybe if there was a few moderators here it might lighten the load off of phil.

[RCOX]

I have to agree with Bulldog8 on this subject. Phil designed this separator and willingly shared his design and his ideas. He has answered questions for most if not all of us, and DID NOT throw a fit when people started re-designing his invention. Now, you ask him to re-design HIS website. I read through all the posts, then re-read them and again. I picked up a different idea each time I went back over these posts.

Personally, I think if you are too lazy to scour the info you want then it may be a good idea for YOU to re-do the website.

My opinion only. As we all know, opinions are like rectums. Everyone has one and some smell worse than others.

Once again, this is my opinion and has nothing to do with the management of this establishment.

Raymond

[alan m]

i agree  that phil did a great job designing his baffel and i am truely greatfull to him for sharing the design with us free of charge.

scouring throught  the info isnt the problem  it is finding the bit you want  when you want it. it has taken me days to read through all the threads  and  i would hate to have to do it again.
i am sertanly not lazy and it is very ignorant of you to sugest that.

i agree that every time you read through a blast of threads you will find something new or something explained slightly better etc.


this issue isnt for me it is for all the members of the forum.
when i will have my baffel design sorted i will  disapear into the past like most  other members here.
there is nothing here to keep you here after you build your baffel.

all of this is just my opinion .
but as usuall it is ignored  ::)

i will leave this topic as nobody cares

[phil (admin)]

all of this is just my opinion .
but as usuall it is ignored  ::)

i will leave this topic as nobody cares

I always appreciate the input of others.  And I did spend time contemplating your suggestion.  I thought about other forums I've used where they do seem to break things down into many sub-categories, and realized I didn't like this so much because any sense of timeline between the categories is lost.  I prefer that posts be in chronological order, and the subjects serve as a filter for people looking for what to read.

I suggest any anyone reading this forum that they would probably want to click on the "Replies/Views" column heading once or twice, which will sort subjects based on activity.  The place to start is probably the threads with lots of activity.  Once they've read a bunch of those, they can start using the search feature to narrow any areas of interest.

[retired2]

all of this is just my opinion .
but as usuall it is ignored  ::)

i will leave this topic as nobody cares

Alan,

I have been following this thread for a few days and have not responded because I didn't see any way of implementing your idea without it becoming an overwhelming task.  However, I now feel the need to share my thoughts, and you might find some of them a little harsh.

First, I think your poll is poorly structured.  You ask if sub-sections or categories would be a "great asset", but then you offer responses to a different question.  Personally, I don't think categories would be a "great asset", but the closest response you offered was "I would not like it".  There is a subtle difference between those two responses, but you only offered the latter, so that is what I chose.  In fact, with a negative response that strong, you may be leading respondents to the opposite answer, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Second, I think your quote above suggests you need to recalibrate your expectations.  You've only been a member here for two weeks and you are insulted because Phil and others have not embraced your suggestion to restructure the forum.  To do that job right, all the information and knowledge from past posts would have to be captured and categorized.  That would be a daunting task, and I suspect it would land totally on Phil.  I don't think any established forum member would expect this of Phil regardless how great the benefit!  And at this point, I think the primary benefit of categories is to newcomers who don't want to invest the time to research the wealth of knowledge that exists here.  If you are going to spend several weeks building a separator whose basic design was given freely, then I don't have a lot of sympathy for having to invest a few days searching for more information.

I also don't share your belief that a different forum structure would retain members and keep them more active.  The fact of the matter is many people use the forum to get the information they need to build their separator, and then they move on.  I'm not criticizing those people because sharing of information is at the heart of this forum's existance.

Hindsight is wonderful, and I'm sure if Phil had known how this forum was going to grow, and how the Thien separator was going to morph into so many variations, there might have been things he would have done differently.  But we are where we are, and it is what it is, and only an army of librarians or technical writers could dissect all that is here and reassemble it differently.  And note I said differently, not necessarily better.

I think the thread I created to document my separator build is a perfect example of the difficulties and questions that would arise in any attempt to categorize things.  My thread currently has over 8000 views, so obviously a lot of people find it valuable.  However, many times I thought about how much more useful it would be if I were writing it from scratch knowing everything I know now that the project is finished. 

My thread has nine pages of posts.  The discussion meanders as my build progresses and new ideas evolve.  Some of those ideas were actually hatched and discussed in earlier threads.  Some times along the way, I changed my mind about the meaning of my own test data, and so later posts contradict early posts.  If you don't read the entire nine pages, you might go away with some bad information.  There is no doubt in my mind that I could distill those nine pages of posts down into a document that would be much easier to use and would lose nothing from being condensed.  Why haven't I done it?  Too much work! 

I know you weren't suggesting re-writing threads to improve their content, but I could envision my thread fitting into nearly a dozen discrete categories, and if you use too few categories you haven't accomplished much - you will still be reading thread after thread to find some lost idea or fabrication detail that is buried in a category that gives no clue of its existance.

Bottom line, I simply don't believe the view is worth the climb!

[alan m]

all of this is just my opinion .
but as usuall it is ignored  ::)

i will leave this topic as nobody cares

Alan,

I have been following this thread for a few days and have not responded because I didn't see any way of implementing your idea without it becoming an overwhelming task.  However, I now feel the need to share my thoughts, and you might find some of them a little harsh.

First, I think your poll is poorly structured.  You ask if sub-sections or categories would be a "great asset", but then you offer responses to a different question.  Personally, I don't think categories would be a "great asset", but the closest response you offered was "I would not like it".  There is a subtle difference between those two responses, but you only offered the latter, so that is what I chose.  In fact, with a negative response that strong, you may be leading respondents to the opposite answer, either intentionally or unintentionally.

sorry if the question is a bit oddly frased. im a big dylexic  and i thought it sounded right like that. it should be something like do you want subsections.

Second, I think your quote above suggests you need to recalibrate your expectations.  You've only been a member here for two weeks registered for 2 weeks but poping in and out for a year or 2and you are insulted because Phil and others have not embraced your suggestion to restructure the forum.  To do that job right, all the information and knowledge from past posts would have to be captured and categorized.  That would be a daunting task, and I suspect it would land totally on Phil.  I don't think any established forum member would expect this of Phil regardless how great the benefit!i agree it would be a lot of work  and shouldnt fall on phils shoulds  And at this point, I think the primary benefit of categories is to newcomers who don't want to invest the time to research the wealth of knowledge that exists here.i dont think the people that just want a basic design and dont care too much about all the little small things we do will invest any time into a forum  If you are going to spend several weeks building a separator whose basic design was given freely, then I don't have a lot of sympathy for having to invest a few days searching for more information. i agree

I also don't share your belief that a different forum structure would retain members and keep them more active.i strongly disagree, it would do exactly that, people would read thread that they wouldnt normally have or see a concept that they had never though about,
eg pressure release valve, most wouldnt have thought about it but seeing those types of things in their own catagory will show them the the person and more likely to build one. then they will ask questions about the design or their ideas for one. hopefully posting their designs as well  The fact of the matter is many people use the forum to get the information they need to build their separator, and then they move on.  I'm not criticizing those people because sharing of information is at the heart of this forum's existance. that is what i am trying to stop

Hindsight is wonderful, and I'm sure if Phil had known how this forum was going to grow, and how the Thien separator was going to morph into so many variations, there might have been things he would have done differently.  But we are where we are, and it is what it is, and only an army of librarians or technical writers could dissect all that is here and reassemble it differently.  And note I said differently, not necessarily better.catagories wount improve the info  at all. unfortunitly it would take an army to disifer the 28 pages.  i dont see why you couldnt put all that previous stuff into an arcive and let it be what it is

I think the thread I created to document my separator build is a perfect example of the difficulties and questions that would arise in any attempt to categorize things.  My thread currently has over 8000 views, so obviously a lot of people find it valuable.  However, many times I thought about how much more useful it would be if I were writing it from scratch knowing everything I know now that the project is finished. 

My thread has nine pages of posts.  The discussion meanders as my build progresses and new ideas evolvethose meanders should be put into new threads to develope the idea further and keep it in the right section.  Some of those ideas were actually hatched and discussed in earlier threads.  Some times along the way, I changed my mind about the meaning of my own test data, and so later posts contradict early posts.  If you don't read the entire nine pages, you might go away with some bad information.  There is no doubt in my mind that I could distill those nine pages of posts down into a document that would be much easier to use and would lose nothing from being condensed.  Why haven't I done it?  Too much work!  no body is asking for anything like that to be done

I know you weren't suggesting re-writing threads to improve their content, but I could envision my thread fitting into nearly a dozen discrete categories, and if you use too few categories you haven't accomplished much - you will still be reading thread after thread to find some lost idea or fabrication detail that is buried in a category that gives no clue of its existance.i agree  the problem there is that the thread names dont reflect the contents. on lots of the other forums i regularly visit and live  they often rename and move threads to where thay should be or split off a meander into a dedicated thread for that idea. having threads in catagories is a lot of work to starrt with  but easy enough to manage especially when there isnt a lot of new threads

Bottom line, I simply don't believe the view is worth the climb!yes but you will never know without climbing it