I want to get my mind clear on what the organizational intent of the F-150 Message boards are. The site has some forums organized by vehicle area (exhaust, brakes, engines ,etc), and there are also some forums dedicated for specifi vehicles (HD, L, Screw, etc). Is the intent of the vehicle model specifi forums to discuss anything relating to them or a "hang out" for those specific vehicle owners to discuss anythignthey want, or should they use another forum that would provide better information or be less cluttered. For example, here is the current list of paraphrased topics in 2004 F-150:

Backpressure
Hypertech vs. Superchips
Changes for 2005
Gas Mileage
Where is outside temp sensor?

Further down: ....I turn 21 today!

And ther list goes on. I have made some passing comments that certain topics should be placed in other areas. I don't try to be mean, but sometimes it comes across that way. However, it seems to me that some topics could provide better input in other areas. I know that the moderators have been moving some threads, and they are time contrained too. I want to clarify what is appropriate and what the organizational intent is so that I don't A) waste my time and B) I don't **** people off.

Aaron

 

Hi APT (Aaron),

I think most of us know a blatantly "off-topic" post we you see it. They aren't a new phenomenon and come with the territory on a site like this, especially in the very active forums like "2004 F-150" and "Lightning". As you stated yourself, the moderators have been moving threads that clearly belong in another forum.
Unfortunately, the moderators aren't able monitor all of the forums 24/7. They do a good job of addressing issues as they arise, while still allowing a good deal of freedom of expression for site members. It's not an easy job, but I think they handle it well. The other problem is that determining whether a thread should be considered on the forum topic is largely subjective.
For example, just citing the 1st item in your list above "backpressure", it would be easy to say that that maybe should be posted in another forum...but as a regular reader of the 2004 forum, I know that it was posted as follow up to some other recent threads in the 2004 forum that pertained to cat-back and true dual exhaust systems for the new models. (Cases of similar relevance could be made for the other threads in your list, except for the "I turn 21 today!" thread) You might say that those other exhaust related threads should have been posted elsewhere, too. I could cite other "approriate" forums for "most" of the 2004 F-150 forum threads...but that would undermine the usefulness and personality of a forum that has attracted a whole bunch a new members (and 1st time F150 owners) to F150online.com.

I agree with what I believe to be the spirit of your post...off topic threads can be very annoying. Of course, there are always some "on-topic" posts that annoy me, too. To a large extent, we need to "self-moderate" these things by (nicely and where approriate) by pointing out that there is another more approriate forum for the post, or ignore it and move on.

Having said all of that, I guess that at some point, much of what gets discussed in the 2004 F-150 forum will need to be integrated back into the rest of the site topics. I think that many of the "veteran" posters do that already.

Do you think that a sticky should be placed in the 2004 F150 forum (like the PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE POSTING IN THE LIGHTNING FORUM! announcement in the Lightning forum) advising members to consider the forum topic relevance and a reminder to use the search function before posting in the forum? It might save some aggravation for the moderators and veteran users, but it might be perceived as a little too restrictive (as dzervit might say, "The Man" keeping us down), too.

I'm just happy that every other post in the 2004 forum doesn't say "Vin check" anymore.

John

 

I think John summed it up pretty well. We can't be all places at all times...and you don't want us to be. Post your thread where you feel it is most appropriate based on our forum structure and if there are issues, your thread will be moved to a more appropriate forum. It's important to understand that moving a thread is not a form of punishment (though some take it far too personally and perceive it that way), rather our advice on how you will receive more responses to your thread.

This forum structure, while it has evolved slightly, was first put in place when we had fewer than 1000 registered users. We have 60 times that now, so you can imagine the added burden.

Similarly, if you see a thread that you feel does not belong in a certain forum, click on the "Report this post to moderator" link in the thread and let us know. 90% of the time, this is how threads are brought to our attention, as opposed to reading each and every one of them.

Hope that helped.

 

One "Wheels & Tires" is intended to discuss stock/factory issues and problems. The other "Wheels & Tires" is intended to discuss aftermarket, thus it being in the aftermarket section.

 

Thank you both for the clarifications.

 

Webmaster...what happened to the other posts that were in this thread? I thought maybe you moved them to one of the Wheels forums, but I couldn't find them. Were they deleted?

Thanks,
John

 

The other useless banter (or probably more appropriately called post-padding) was removed.