It's a recurring theme on most all message forums -- frequently asked questions by members, and how to best get them to notice them.

Some people search and read stickies to find the answers themselves, and if they don't find the answer will ask. We love these folks.

Some others have a little patience, so they search once or twice, but not finding the answer in a couple minutes will post to ask. They're on the right track, and probably just need some guidance on how to better find things -- or we need to improve whatever systems we have to make things easier to find. This is probably the bulk, and where much time is focused.

Then, there's those users who pass right over every sticky, pass right over search, and just post without looking for anything themselves. These are the ones you see in this forum every day, asking why their post count isn't going up and such. We still want to help these people, but we also tend to ride them a bit to hopefully steer them on the path of being able to use the site in the most efficient manner. We want these folks to be able to find things themselves; they're ultimately happier being able to get the information they want, and there's fewer repetitive posts with the same questions for others to wade through. The question, is how to most effectively manage this. Well, I have a new idea -- moderators can now use the infraction system. I've added a 1 point, 10 day infraction to the system that lets a user know he asked a question that was answered in a sticky. At one point, the infraction really doesn't DO anything -- you don't get banned, you don't lose any privileges. It does give the user a notification though, and hopefully provides a little "reminder" to look for the answers next time. If the user is one of those who simply refuses, those infraction points will eventually add us, and then eventually would result in some loss of functionality on the site (undetermined at this point). The goal is not to cause users any pain, rather the goal is to make an impression on the user on how to seek information rather than "taking the easy way out" so to speak.

So, do you folks in here think this will help? Do you think it's a bad idea? Any suggestions?

 

oooo makes me all tingly inside!!! i like it!

oh maybe not like 10 infractions cuss that takes to long.... maybe 5?

 

I like the idea. I can see people whining when they get warned, but the threat of getting a vacation may smarten them up. I think 10 warnings is maybe a little much also, 5 may be better.

So, will the mods be have this power in all forums? For example, in the "Forced Induction" section:

"What's better, supercharger or turbo?"
or
"Found this turbo kit on Ebay!"

These topics are started about once a month and locked as soon as they're noticed by a mod.

I say go for it.

 

I think after the 1st infraction is given, they earn a pop-up window whenever the new post button is clicked.

"Did you try searching first or read the sticky threads in this forum?"

Yes or No

After about 20 posts, the pop-up can go away again.

 

lol. this will cause a new way of going about things.

 

as say good as long as you let me/us know it is in a sticky. i read the stickies and still miss some stuff.

 

i think this would be a great idea. maybe its just due to the amount of time i've been spending on the board as of late, but it seems like some of the above stated questions are getting posted much more often that usual.

i mean i think after 5 new threads like that... the perfect result would be to take away their ability to post and/or start new threads for a period of time... then they would HAVE TO SEARCH to find out any information they were looking for.

 

I think this is a wonderful idea!

 

I like the idea of the infractions, also I think the pop up that Nine Ball suggested sounds good. I also think a PM (or pop up?)when someone first joins telling them about the stickies and the mass amount of information that is in them would be a good idea. just my .02

 

Im down w/ the idea. But everybody do themselves a favor and look at their first 20 threads/posts. I gaurantee that you said/asked something stupid. For instance, two weeks after i got my car i started a thread "408 + 300 shot, what parts?." Aside from being in way over my head, it was helpful when "nine ball" (or maybe one of the other mods) told me in a nice way to crack open a case of beer and start reading. Helped me determine some reasonable goals, and start to learn about these cars.

 

you know the stickies pretty much inside out once you've been here long enough, that and having to keep refering people to them and POINTING at which post number it is....you read them enough times to have them down in memory

 

Sounds fair to me. Maybe a pop up after the first 2 warnings that asks. "Is what you are about to post sound stupid to your wife/ mom? Is it in the stickies? If so do NOT post it."

 

thats really not fair because everything on this site sounds stupid to my mom and girlfriend.

but i love the idea. i think it will especially hit home to the newbs who get an attitude when we tell them to search for info on SLP lids or ebay lt's.

 

I agree with this also. My first post was about LQ4/LQ9 in my camaro. That was followed by a completely uniformed cam thread. I think the fact that so many of these threads have popped up recently is how many sections have restructured their sticky threads in an attempt to, "clean them up."

 

I'm really digging the idea. And hopefully with my post count it shows that I read stickies and threads. However I don't usually post because most of the times the answer has been provided (so why ***** and run my post count up?)

 

Brains is suggesting that simply getting an infraction will be enough to get it through the really dense skulls, examples of which he gave, that they need to search and read the stickies. Other than its name, it has little to do with any form of punishment (i.e. banning). Like Brains said, "The goal is not to cause users any pain; rather the goal is to make an impression on the user on how to seek information rather than 'taking the easy way out' so to speak."

I agree with this system, and the principal behind it. You know some people will get pissed off though, and that's the same with anything. However, I hope the LS1Tech staff expects this and takes a good attitude about it.

I've been told that the mods keep a list of sigs that have been deleted. As a guideline for the mods, why not make a list of frequently asked questions, perhaps by section, that should receive infractions? You could let the users make it. For instance, I would be willing to contribute for some sections. Just saying "any question that's in the FAQ" would work for most sections, but I'm telling you right now it won't work for others. For instance, I still want people to be able to ask clarifications about cam specs, even if it's in JRP's Cam Guide, you know?

I would strongly suggest only the lightest enforcement of this policy in the New LS1 Owners - Newbie Tech forum.

Brains, thanks for asking us for our opinions on this.



BTW, what really gets me is when people ask a question that's been answered on the front page, sometimes even more than once. That should really get infractions.

 

Great idea Brains.

 

In for this

 

I'm all for it - 5 infractions and then you get a nice autominder saying "use search and read the stickies you fawkin noob, or you get a vacation!"

 

Nope. I intend to use a HEAVY hand in that section, issuing multiple infractions daily (maybe hourly). 10 or 12 people will probably get banned every day. If you don't like it, I don't care.




LOL! Just kidding. All in good fun.

When it comes to the new tech section, most threads are redundant in some way or other, and whether or not we let one live usually depends more on *how* a question is asked, rather than *what* question is asked. For example, someone starts a thread like "what lid is best", and in the body all they write is something like "I want a lid. Which should I get?" Well, that thread is useless and should be locked. But if the thread says something like, "I'm considering a lid for my first mod, I've read about the different brands and realize a lid is a lid, but I'm wondering what sort of gains I can expect now, and what it'll be worth with xxx mods in the future. Also, what suggestions can you give me for the lids that tend to fit best?" Granted, all that info can still be easily covered by a search, but considering some actual thought went into the post, and clearly they've done a bit of research, I'd let that live in the New Tech section.