>> 3) They are usually way better organised into sub- and sub-sub-forums,
>> rather than just a huge list of threads
>
> Yeah right.

You obviously visit forums that are badly moderated then, the ones I used a 
very well laid out.  Example: http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/

> In NNTP, you'd create povray.radiosity.

That would be excellent, we should also have povray.general.lighting, 
p.g.textures, p.g.csg, p.g.whatever and the most important point, posts 
should be moved if they are made in the wrong group, and the subjects should 
be changed if they don't give a good description of the content.  Does this 
ever happen in NNTP? No.  Will it ever happen? No.

> In a web forum, there's a
> "The official 'I need help with radiosity' thread" with ten thousand 
> posts.

Err, not based on my experience, there would be a "radiosity" sub-forum, 
with a few locked stickies and then posts would have meaningful titles and 
not generic ones like "i need help".

>> 6) "Sticky" threads always appear at the top of the list with things like
>> the FAQ and anything else related to the subject
>
> Wrong tool for the job. Get a wiki!

Sure, some stickies might link to a wiki, but in NNTP you can't have 
stickies.  Actually you could post with a date 20 years in the future, but 
that would depend on how each user has their client set up.

Post a reply to this message

scott wrote:
> Sure, some stickies might link to a wiki, but in NNTP you can't have 
> stickies. 

Yes you can. The FAQ gets posted automatically every week. Surprise, it's 
sticky! :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

Post a reply to this message

On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:17:49 +0200, scott wrote:

> posts
> should be moved if they are made in the wrong group, and the subjects
> should be changed if they don't give a good description of the content.

Actually, as a moderator of forums that are available both on the web and 
via NNTP, I dislike the moving of threads (because it doesn't reflect 
through the NNTP side) or changing the subjects.  That promotes IMHO lazy 
thinking on the part of the users, because they don't have to get it 
right.

I prefer to redirect the users and make them do the work, that way the 
next time, they'll think about where to post, even if only to reduce the 
amount of work they have to do.

Jim

Post a reply to this message

> Actually, as a moderator of forums that are available both on the web and
> via NNTP, I dislike the moving of threads (because it doesn't reflect
> through the NNTP side)

Is it impossible to move threads on NNTP?  I guess not if the thread has 
already spread around the world...

> or changing the subjects.  That promotes IMHO lazy
> thinking on the part of the users, because they don't have to get it
> right.

On the forum I use you always get a PM from a moderator to say that they 
have modified your subject (automatically sent probably), and it includes 
guidelines of how to write a useful subject line - ie do not write "Need a 
function" in pov.general, but put "Nonlinear spherical-like function needed" 
in pov.general.isosurfaces.  It makes it much more pleasant for people 
browsing the forums or search results (where only the subject line of each 
thread is displayed).

> I prefer to redirect the users and make them do the work, that way the
> next time, they'll think about where to post, even if only to reduce the
> amount of work they have to do.

Yes, that could work too.  Or give them 48 hours to improve the subject text 
else they get banned for a while :-D

Post a reply to this message

>> Sure, some stickies might link to a wiki, but in NNTP you can't have 
>> stickies.
>
> Yes you can. The FAQ gets posted automatically every week. Surprise, it's 
> sticky! :-)

If you post a FAQ to an NNTP group, every time someone posts a new thread 
the FAQ will move down one place - that is not sticky!

Post a reply to this message

scott wrote:
> If you post a FAQ to an NNTP group, every time someone posts a new 
> thread the FAQ will move down one place - that is not sticky!

NNTP doesn't have an "order".

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

Post a reply to this message

On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:44:17 +0200, scott wrote:

>> Actually, as a moderator of forums that are available both on the web
>> and via NNTP, I dislike the moving of threads (because it doesn't
>> reflect through the NNTP side)
> 
> Is it impossible to move threads on NNTP?  I guess not if the thread has
> already spread around the world...

On the backend, most NNTP servers do not provide this functionality.  A 
"move" is not actually a move, but a cancel/repost or a supercede of 
individual messages.

>> or changing the subjects.  That promotes IMHO lazy thinking on the part
>> of the users, because they don't have to get it right.
> 
> On the forum I use you always get a PM from a moderator to say that they
> have modified your subject (automatically sent probably), and it
> includes guidelines of how to write a useful subject line - ie do not
> write "Need a function" in pov.general, but put "Nonlinear
> spherical-like function needed" in pov.general.isosurfaces.  It makes it
> much more pleasant for people browsing the forums or search results
> (where only the subject line of each thread is displayed).

It might be that that happens, I may need to play more in my vBulletin 
sandbox forums.

>> I prefer to redirect the users and make them do the work, that way the
>> next time, they'll think about where to post, even if only to reduce
>> the amount of work they have to do.
> 
> Yes, that could work too.  Or give them 48 hours to improve the subject
> text else they get banned for a while :-D

LOL, that seems heavy-handed to me, but different forums do it different 
ways. :-)

Jim

Post a reply to this message

>> If you post a FAQ to an NNTP group, every time someone posts a new 
>> thread the FAQ will move down one place - that is not sticky!
> 
> NNTP doesn't have an "order".

How can threads be sticky then?

Post a reply to this message

scott wrote:
>>> If you post a FAQ to an NNTP group, every time someone posts a new 
>>> thread the FAQ will move down one place - that is not sticky!
>>
>> NNTP doesn't have an "order".
> 
> How can threads be sticky then?

By reposting them at intervals shorter than the expiration date.


-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

Post a reply to this message

>>> NNTP doesn't have an "order".
>> 
>> How can threads be sticky then?
> 
> By reposting them at intervals shorter than the expiration date.

Sticky means they stick in place - not that they don't expire.

Post a reply to this message