How do you browse FSDeveloper?

[arno]

Given the discussion that started after the changes to the forum structure, I was wondering how you users browse FSDeveloper and read the posts that others have made. So please answer the attached poll.

I start this poll to understand better how you use the forum, not to make changes to it again .

 

[jdberg]

Hi Arno,
no changes necessary at all. It is for me the most imporant source for scenery design.
Besides the choices you predefined I naturally use the search function very often and in most cases somebody else also had "my" problem before.

Jörg

 

[GOFS_ZA]

The Search function is one item, I find very valuable when I'm looking for something in particular, be it a similar problem or something of interest.

 

[nzeddy]

Just clicking the showroom, ade forum, gmax etc.

Didn't know there was a new posts button but now I do. LOL

 

[amahran]

It depends on the time of the day, but most of the time, I just go to forums I'm skilled at in some way, such as the ADE forum.

When I'm tired, though, I end up randomly surfing the website and helping people out randomly (god knows whether my advice is useful or not though... )

 

[bobbyjack]

Wa da ya know. A new posts link.

Bob

 

[n4gix]

Wa da ya know. A new posts link.

Bob

Er, it's been there for a very, very long time. In fact, aside from the Search and Wiki functions, it's the most frequently used by me...

Understand though that I tend to read every new thread, every day even if the topic is of no immediate interest to me...

It's amazing the amount of things I learn about from totally unrelated forum posts!

 

[Gman]

The shortcut I use takes me directly to the SAMM forum where I check for any issues I may be able to assist with, and from there I click Quick Links/Todays Posts, or use the Search function to look for specifics.

I seldom, if ever, look at the Forum Categories List.

Cheers
Gary

 

[Tejal Bernardo]

As a beginer, I frecuently read post from another people, though the topic being of no interest at all, at first I liked fsdeveloper because of his structure, is very comfortable,so to say, easy to find things, the old topic searcher is not very accurate, like all, but work ,and to have here many developers is important. maybe too high level for what must be a standard web and that could be a problem I don't want to know how much people's knowledge is , otherwise only to solve my problem and as person give the thanks.

 

[scruffyduck]

I suspect there is a difference in approach depending on the breadth of your interest, and also perhaps you level of experience with FSDevelopers. New users might be more inclined to go to the forum list as might more specialist users.

As an example I always use the New Posts option - I think I do this because as an admin I need to know what is current and what is going on. I rarely log onto the ADE forum directly but I might.

Now I moderate at FlightSim and some other sites. There I never use New Posts. I have a specific rôle and interest so head straight to the forum(s) that cover subjects I might understand. If I used the New Posts option I would be hacking through a list of stuff I have no interest in or worse knowledge of

 

[Flying Officer Jevans]

I do think the search function here isn't as good as it could be - I know that's internal to vBulletin, but it often excludes search terms like UV and VC because they're too short, and it often comes up with no results. I generally use a google search with a site: parameter to focus on the forums. I don't know if you could somehow integrate Google Custom search into the forums, but that would be the only major thing I'd like to see...

And please, please don't upgrade to whatever version of VB FS.com has. I hate that new skin with a passion, and you can't go back to the one they used to have, which is the same one as is used here now.

 

[n4gix]

FS.com is a major nightmare. I can't use anything other than 100% there and that makes the display tiny...

 

[arno]

Hi,

I asked this question, because personally I only use the new posts option. I then check all new threads since my last visit. In some forums I will read all posts, in others I filter based on the title if I check or not.

Sometimes I jump directly the a forum about a specific tool, because I need to find something about it. But that is quite rare.

I can assure you we will not upgrade to the VBulletin version of FS.com. From version 4 the company that made the forum has been taken over by another company and I have read very negative things about this new version. Besides that they changed their pricing schema in not such a positive way for us as users. So we stick with the current version for the near future.

The search function can be a bit tricky indeed. By default it does not index works with 4 or less characters. That is to prevent indexing too many irrelevant words. We have added some expections to this, like GMax, FSDS, API, etc. But probably not any word you can think of. I find it an interesting idea to integrate Google search, I'll have a look at that.

 

[n4gix]

Well, that's good to know. As I said, at FS.com anything other than 100% view causes the screen to refresh painfully s l o w l y...

 

[amahran]

Are you sure it's "fs.com"?

Because I get a "Domain for sale" page when I get there...

 

[Flying Officer Jevans]

It's not. We're abbreviating for flightsim.com, which you will find is still happily thundering along!

 

[amahran]

Ah...

I've gotten used to flightsim.com's interface to be honest...

 

[JRobinson]

I usually go straight to the forum index and check Showroom, General chat, and then, sort of saving the best for last, I'd check what used to be the Scenery Design category. From there usually the gmax forum first, and then whatever looks interesting by the thread titles in the rest of the category.

I like the new structure though, it simplifies things and the grouping of the categories seems to make more sense. Now I can go straight into the gmax forum from the front page which is cool.

re: flightsim.com
I'm on dial-up here in beautiful N. Idaho, and of all the forums I visit fs.com is running the worst forum software possible for slow connections. Nothing ever caches apparently, so every page has to be downloaded in full (like when you hit ctrl+f5) and sometimes it takes 8 - 10 minutes. Please don't upgrade vbulletin Arno, this version works great!

Jim

 

[Stiz]

i dont mind the placement of the fourms etc, but i'm not to keen on the squished display, i like how the developers coffee house bit is laid out, so you have a main description with the sub forums spread out underneath it and the choice to collapse the entire lot if you want, rather than the others where the other forums are right under the title in a line. I understand that if you spread the others out the same way it'd require a bit of scrolling to get to the ones at the bottom, but thats what the collapse button is for

just a lurkers opion

 

[mdm248111]

Didn't know there was a new posts button but now I do. LOL

Haha, same here!

I personally will check the General chat and showroom, maybe ADE forum, then get off. Then 15 minutes later when I get sidetracked from working on scenery, I'll repeat