About the structure of "warlocks den" site..

[Theleb]

They get a message when a thread is Deleted - they always have done.

[Maltyrius]

Originally Posted by Firepit

Sorry, if I upset anyone.

I don't think anyone is upset; I'm certainly not - just trying to provide some insight to the thought process of 'why this as opposed to that?'

[Malboro]

Originally Posted by Theleb

They get a message when a thread is Deleted - they always have done.

Oh i know Theleb

My point was not the message (i know you even email). The point of the post was: when we do a search, even closed threads show up. Sure people can see its a closed thread and, 90% of the time, mods or Akasha close it before it gets over 1 page long. But it can happen, and provide bad info. Also, it increases enormously the number of pages we find when we do a search

[Akasha]

We're at the mercy of those who takes the time and effort to draft information in a coherent way. Or, choose not to.

Nail. Head. Bingo!

I have lost count of how many times I have asked (nay, begged, pleaded and groveled) for people to help out. Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to think it all falls back on me. Summer approaching (ie nicer weather) + Savannah more mobile and requiring more attention + real life day to day stuff + financial stress and problems at the moment = no time left. Currently, any time I do manage to scrape aside for myself is put into the site, but it's not as much as I'd like. I don't even get to play WoW really at the moment.

That said, I'm not the only one capable of putting together informational, perfectly organised and laid out posts. Especially about Wrath of the Lich King. In fact, I'm probably the last person to do it because I'm so detached from WoW at the moment, I don't even know what's coming with Wrath of the Lich King. So something like the "Patch 3.0.2 Priest Survival Guide « A Dwarf Priest" would take me forever to do because I'd first have to actually research what is changing.

I don't have a beta key, and I'll resist the urge to complain about Blizzard's lack of gratitude for what this site gives them for another day. I posted a thread back when Beta was first released to compile the information. I asked people to post in that thread and I would happily collate it. What happened? About three people posted in there, once.

I'm at your mercy.

Regarding multiple posts on a topic, It's an awkward balance. When we close redundant threads people complain and call us board Nazis. When we don't close them and there is 'too much information' people complain they have to work to find information.

I'll delete my big comment commenting on this issue and just leave it as a 'quote for truth'. I will say that a lot of the reason threads are being duplicated is because I have actually stepped away from the moderating side lately, leaving it in Theleb and Malty's hands. I got so sick of people complaining for something as simple as a thread move that it was either step away, or explode.

Ironically, people are still unhappy, but for different reasons.

Ultimately the issue is that we're (as with so many sites at the moment) in a period of flux due to the imminent arrival of Wrath of the Lich King so we're left with several choices - none of which will satisfy all the board members.

We could remove all the information apart from one thread on each subject. We could allow multiple threads with divergent points of view and some tangentially similar information for fear of once more being called Board Nazi's, or we could simply carry on as we are until Wrath of the Lich King hits and we can prune every single extraeneous thread - a completely fresh start.

I'm personally of the opinion that the latter represents a workable solution at which point we can address our options and posting strictures.

Yup, another nail...head.. thing. I've actually got a list going (yes Pernicous, another list, no you're not on this one. ) about all the things I need to do once Wrath of the Lich King comes out. It's another reason for my decreased presence on the site. I'm doing a lot of 'preperation' work, and a little bit of a break because I'm going to be super busy once Wrath of the Lich King is released.

Once Wrath of the Lich King is out, the single section is going to be removed. The same thing happened with BC.

Short answer: There's a lot of changes, cleaning up, moving around etc. I'm just waiting for the right moment.

Ok, now 2 moderators have chimed in, so I will shut now. Sorry, if I upset anyone. I love the site, it's great, seriously. And Theleb, I agree with your Latter statement.

We post because we care. Unlike other sites I have used, I always set out to ensure that the 'staff' were approachable, accessable and involved. I'd much rather be able to chat to you all about your feelings on the site than have you ignored. I've always had the moto that 'it's your site too', which is why I always ask for feedback, start polls or threads when changes are made. It affects you guys more than me most of the time.

I agree that the site does need some cleaning up. I would like to suggest something though. Closing threads, isn't really an answer. The mistake is there, just isn't allowed to grow. I think deleting the threads with an email or personal message to the OP, is the answer. Also, how many threads can there exist about "affliction specs at level 80" - as example?

I used to actually delete threads out of view and let the OP know it had been removed, why it had been removed and a link to the right place. I got SLAMMED by people because threads were just dissapearing on them. People started accusing me of all sorts of things, claiming that they were too scared to post because "I randomly deleted threads for no reason". Yes, that's a quote from one persons email.

So, I decided to stop doing it all privately, and instead, did it publically. That way people could see why a thread was closed.

[thorlock]

Well, irrespective of the organization of the site, it is the best lock site... by far. It certainly isn't the responsibility of Akasha to write guides for us, and as far as we know, she could be like me, a purely recreational player that just happens to run this site. In fact, you wouldn't want to read any guide I would write, because I don't know enough to write a decent one. Leave that to the "power-locks" that really spend the time researching the game.

My only complaint is that, because of the volume of posts on this site, it is frustrating to search for things. And when you don't wade through the dozens and dozens of posts of varied usefulness, moderators get grumpy. I can honestly say that short of the guides, searching this site is not very helpful.

So, my recommendation is that the moderators identify exceptional posts (<5%) and place them in a read only location. Everything else is deleted after 30 or 60 days. Pooff, you're organized. You might lose something of value, but that was buried in all the crap that most of us post anyway or is outdated. Ideally the one judging the exceptional post should be one of those power-locks.

Just something to think about.

[Akasha]

My only complaint is that, because of the volume of posts on this site, it is frustrating to search for things. And when you don't wade through the dozens and dozens of posts of varied usefulness, moderators get grumpy. I can honestly say that short of the guides, searching this site is not very helpful.

I have to say, it honestly baffles me when people say the search is not helpful. And I mean really baffles me. To the point I have to wonder if they are either not using the search and just using that line since most forum searches (on other sites) don't work. Or if they haven't used the search feature recently, and by recently I mean some time in the past 6 months. Or if they are searching for such common words that it would obviously make it hard. Which really, isn't the fault of the search engine.

I've used the search feature, constantly. Most of the time it's how we find that threads are duplicate. Something rings a bell when I read a new thread, and 30 seconds later I discover why - when my search results in the existing threads.

A part from the fact the stock standard quick search works well, the Advanced Search provides you with so many narrowing options to search for specific things, within a specific time frame, under specific forums, that really, the whole 'returns 500 results' just does not apply here. On top of that, there is the Tag Search. Those tags are automatically generated by the thread titles, so if the word you're looking for is part of a thread title, it will be a tag as well.

If THAT doesn't work, then there is the Google Custom Search, which has now also been integrated into the search menu. This doesn't use the vBulletin search engine, it uses the google search engine. So I'm sorry, but I just can no longer accept the 'searching is too hard' theory any longer. If the site search, advanced or tag search, OR goggle search doesn't work for you, then clearly it's not the fault of the engine.

So, my recommendation is that the moderators identify exceptional posts (<5%) and place them in a read only location. Everything else is deleted after 30 or 60 days.

That's pretty much 100% against the idea of a discussion forum.

[Altoeen]

hello,
i gotta say, please keep up the great work that you as the owner and the mod's do.i use the search.if i dont find what i need.i try again.if i still don't find what i need i try again,and on and on it goes till atlast i find what i need.easy! again keep up the great work.

-A-