I need input from the forum regulars...

[Alex]

I'm noticing something.

A lot of first time posters.

At first glance I think...cool.

Then I notice they are asking the same questions that were just answered in the last few days.

Example 1:...I went to great lengths to answer a question about a Bell and Howell camera with removeable and upgradeable side panels.

Unfortunately, that thread is now gone...(too bad, because I had a follow up post to make)

...but now a poster to this forum asks about that very same camera less than two days later....this camera hasn't been mentioned on this website before....perhaps the poster saw the earlier thread and now can't find it???? Why was it deleted in the first place?

I recently posted about John's very cool web page...and now we have another poster wishing there was a web page full of Super-8 info...?

A lot of posters with questions that have recently been answered...what gives?

There were a couple others...I can't remember them all...is someone just wanting to waste our time?


Alex







[This message has been edited by Alex (edited February 13, 2001).]

[eddie]

this sort of thing always seems to happen on good forums, its inevitable. The only solution is if hostboard created an archive of questions and answers, but I doubt they will, this is a chat forum, not a 'support' forum, and probably doesnt have the formalities in place for organising specific questions and FAQ's.
Nature of the beast mate, Im afraid
On the other hand it keeps things fresh, because new blood is always coming aboard. I think what might happen is old hands outgrow certain places and create their own, perhaps more advanced forum.
Its the nature of the net I think...

[Alex]

the other camera post was less than a week old....I must assume the "author" of the board deleted the thread since I answered the question...the problem with that is I gave good info, and he gave an excellent follow-up...it was excellent info...and now it is gone.

What a waste. He explained what was on the additional panels...good reference for others.

Alex

[pcg]

Alex,

We 're also being deluged w/ first timers who apparently do not bother to quietly read older postings before blurting out their own incredibly important questions.

Many, many of the questions are also easily answered w/ a brief web search. These are newbies who will not spend 15 minutes researching what's online.

So it is discouraging to see the low level of inquiry. But as noted in the post above, these people are also enthusiasts to S8. You hate to discourage them; yet you hate to have to answer the same queries over & over.

Some sort of working archive, a FAQ, is the best bet. But that's something for Mike Brantley to craft, & his involvement here is more like that of the Wizard of Oz...

/Pat

[mjeanes]

this IS a form of web research. this is, after all, a web-based forum, so people have searched, and have ended up here. the truth is, it's a quicker way to get an answer than digging through poorly designed or outdated or comprehensive but non-indexed sites about super8... and quick is the reason people come to the internet rather than the library. unfortunately, this forum doesn't make looking through old posts for answers terribly easy. if you have a question about a specific camera, sure, that could be looked up, but more general advice questions are harder to nail down from titles like "PLEASE HELP" etc.

alex- the only advice i can give you from my experience on other similar boards is to answer the questions you feel compelled to answer and leave the rest. it sucks that this doesn't archive or keep message much older than a week... but someone's gotta pay for the hard drive space.

matt

[rollemfilm]

The first time filmmakers seem not to want to
take the time to read a few books about filmmaking. They seem
to think internet forums are the best way to learn quick
solutions. There are so many good books; they can answer most questions.
People like Martin Baumgarten should write a book with updated super8
information. Or at least collect all the forum postings he's done,
I'm sure it would be a best seller.

[Alex]

Many of the posters who have posted recently state they have been checking out the site for the past month or two and decided to sign on...BRAVO!

There seems to be a second wave of newbies that seem to ask questions that were recently answered....but the original post has disappeared just before the newbie asks the same question...it seems wierd.

My ground zero of frustration relates to a question about the Bell & Howell MS45 camera that was posted less than a week ago.

It brought back memories of my using the camera when I attended Cal State Northridge a while back, and I spent over half an hour creating my response post.

The person who asked the original question about the Bell and Howell camera responded...and added valuable info.

Then both posts DISAPPEARED!

Was this a hit and run?

Did the original poster get what they wanted and then delete the post.?

That would be surprising (and show lack of understanding of the true nature of a forum)

...the info from both posts about the Bell and Howell MS45 would have benefited all of us. I was planning a follow-up post.

Now a new poster wants info on that exact same camera...less than 48 hours after the other post disappeared....seems somewhat ironic.

For anyone who posts here...at the bottom of the forum page are page numbers 2-6 that contain posts from the last few months....just because a post disappears from this page doesn't mean it disappears....

I wish I could say the same about the Bell and Howell MS45 post.

I like the way this forum is laid out....whenever you look up a topic, you instantly see all the conversations about that topic....

I find that "style" of forum to be superior to the ones where you have to look up each individual response to the same topic.

Alex



[This message has been edited by Alex (edited February 13, 2001).]

[pcg]

By the way, there's some misinformation bouncing around here. The site saves messages back to at least a year ago.

When you enter the site initially, there's a small rectangular box on the top right of the window that allows you to designate how many days of messages you want displayed. So nothing is lost, unless someone purposely deletes it.

The problem is one that Alex originally identified: there's no easy indexing here, & once questions have been answered well & completely, they are not easily found a month later because they are listed by unrelated titles.

/Pat

[chas_ucla]

I think the answer to a lot of this frustration could be ended if Brantley or whoever hosts this board would put up a message stating that newbies could check the Super-8 FAQ first before posting anything...I think Baumgarten's Super-8 page answers quite a few questons as well as John Longnecker's new website.
Hey, Alex, when did you go to CSUN? I did some 16mm there back in 90-91...

[pcg]

Hey, Mike Brantley!

Did you read that?? Makes great sense: all first time posters have to read your new FAQ before posting on this forum!

There are a lot of fresh ideas that have bounced around here in the last week. Are you keeping up? We all love the site, but an occasional tweak to the site would only improve things for all of us!

/Pat