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Forum Topic Headings.


Buzzy

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As our community of owners grows, I can see the need to examine our topic headings to facilitate easy retrieval.  That realization hit home when Jason created a separate heading for the Oliver Technical Service Bulletins.  What a great approach!  No need to dig through multiple topics or engage the search function.   Are there other headings needed?  What about a separate heading for videos, Word documents, etc.?  Not sure if our Forum Moderators can create new headings for us.

 

Seems we are constantly welcoming new owners, which is a good thing, and they frequently have the same questions/concerns as previous owners.  I am not sure if our headings or subheadings are as helpful as they could be.  As a contributing member on our Forum, I struggle to find my own previous postings which might help new owners.  The postings are all there, they just get buried under a topic heading which is not always what would be my search topic.  Oh well, maybe it is just me.

 

Buzzy

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Buzzy


2016 Oliver Elite II - June 9, 2016
2016 F150 Lariat 3.5L EB, Max Towing

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Buzzy,

 

Not just you.

 

I rely heavily on the "search" function.  But, that requires that you first guess the right search word  and then possibly wade through a bunch of additional posts that just happen to have the same search word in them.  Indeed, even some posts that are in a general sense not related to a particular topic that you are looking for just might have a mention of something that you are looking for - I'm thinking of my Hohenwald, Natchez Trace, New Orleans post where you asked about the blocks under my jacks.

 

Bottom line is that I too believe it would be helpful to have more topic categories, but, I'm sure that we both could agree that given the room that there is to work with, all our problems will not be solved.

 

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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Thank you Bill!

 

Recently, I found myself struggling to find all the pieces of knowledge regarding solar system discussions in an effort to help a new owner.  As we continue to expand the number of discussion threads, the ability to "mine" the data will become more challenging.  Interestingly, it is not just topics like the solar system.  Last fall when I was determined to construct a procedure for winterizing my Ollie, I spent many hours hunting through categories and threads to find the information I was seeking.  Eventually, I created a Word document and now I would not know how to help a new owner find it within the many categories or threads.  There has got to be a better way to do this!  Oh well!

 

Buzzy

Buzzy


2016 Oliver Elite II - June 9, 2016
2016 F150 Lariat 3.5L EB, Max Towing

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I think there are several things that will improve this forum. First, kudos to Matt Duncan and Jason Walmsley for moving the forum to a faster platform. Pages load much faster, and searches are better.

 

I think an improved search function would do wonders. Many forums, such as FGRV, have a granular search page. You can search for a keyword within the post, and more importantly, you can limit your search to Titles of the posts. You can also search by User Name, to search for posts written by a specific person. Finally you can search for both criteria simultenaously. Suppose I vaguely remember something Buzzy posted on Solar, and I wanted to find it. Search for User Name: Buzzy and Keyword Within Title: Solar, and I might find it. If I did not find it, I could repeat the search with Search for User Name: Buzzy and Keyword Within Entire Post: Solar.

 

Other useful search features include date ranges, and the ability to sort the search results by specific criteria.

 

Auto-complete is a term used in web site design, and we have all seen it at Google or Amazon. I noticed that the User Name field at FGRV has auto-complete, so that if I type in b-u-z, all of the user names beginning with buz appear in a drop down menu. This is standard technology, and would be useful here.

 

Finally, I think it would be good the forum offered the user the ability to subscribe to a periodic summary (weekly or daily?) as an email.

 

Thanks, David

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David Stillman, Salt Lake City, Utah

2016 Oliver Elite II  Hull 164    |    2017 Audi Q7 tow vehicle. 

Travel and Photography Blog: http://davidstravels.net

 

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