Hi guys and gals,
As promised, here is the compiled list of FSM Forum functions that members would like to see improved. Let's keep off-topic commentary off the list and stick to specifics.
1. Search needs improving - Brogar says: "For example, I go to the main Forum and Community Forum page and type in "gap filling" into the Search the Community pad on the right of the screen (using quotes in the search too). The search returns 759 results and the results are listed by thread title. Many of those titles seem irrelevent to information regarding gap filling. To find any information about gap filling, each thread must be opened and READ entirely.
"The older search that Finescale Modeler used to have would highlight or change the text color of the key words searched for contained in the threads which made it a breeze to scan several threads in a short time to find what information, in this case gap filling, that pertiained to the searchers circumstances.
"Bottom line is make the search look for key words, make those key words visible while scanning through threads, and have a way to refine the search. Some examples would be search for key words in titles only, search for key words in the text only, sort by relevancy, etc.
"Searches need to enable the person the ability to do so quickly with some amount of accuracy or the information will be inaccessable to many users.
"I hope my input will help you produce a better search function...I'm all about being part of the solution!"
Stikpusher says: "Ok, I cant recall the specific thread title right now, but a couple weeks back I typed in two of the three words that I knew were in the title and came up with scores of unrelated hits. And I knew what thread it was in and the time period roughly of the specific post that I was looking for. In the end I gave up on the search and manually paged through until I found the post that I was looking for.
"The older search engine had the ability to target specific forum areas, e.g. "aircraft", or "armor", which I dont think the current engine does. When you know its in a particular forum area, that ability cuts down on all the immaterial returns."
2. Mark as read function - Don Stauffer says: "I like to see only the 'unread' threads when I open a particular forum. For about half of the forums I follow, I selected "unread" at one time, and they then open up the next day showing only the unread messages. The other half, however, keep reverting to 'recent posts.' How can I save the 'unread' option in these forums? I have explored the 'community settings' and do not find anything on this there.
"Another problem that I have mentioned is using the 'mark as read' function. First, it doesn't always work. Sometimes when I use it, the messages continue to pop up again days later as unread, even when there are no new posts
"Second, the function is too far down in that right side sidebar. This is a very commonly used function in forums, and one should not have to scroll that far down to get to it, then have to scroll back up to move to next forum. It should be near top."
3. Link to Recent Posts page from any page on the forum - Maybe added below the "Your Discussions" link.
If you have additional suggestions or comments, PM me and I'll add them to this list. Be as specific as possible when you're describing the issue you're having or what you'd like to see changed. As I've said before, reverting to the previous forum version is not an option, so I won't list it. The hope here is to open a dialog so we can either get what's broken fixed or inform everyone how to get the best results possible.
I'm on vacation right now, but I'll check in every few hours or so to update this post with new information. When I get back into the office next week, I'll send what we've come up with to our online team to see what we can come up with. I'll keep you guys in the loop and post progress reports into this thread.
And, as of right now, my son came in complaining of a stomach ache. Gotta go!
Tim