Breaking the Message Board into Categories?

I think this was mentioned before but it is better to have filters and a ratings system than subcategories.

You would have the main random page which everyone loves. Then, for example, if I am in the mood to look for serious running advice, I click a checkbox (or multiple checkboxes), click refresh, and the threads I don't want to see drop away.

Now I have a page that looks the same as the main random page but without the garbage threads. Then if I want to I can sort by rating and, voila, the best training threads are at the top of the page.

This is better than search in my opinion, but you still need the search function (an improved one since the current one sucks).

Maybe another filter option would allow you to ignore posts by a specific handle. Then the 430miler haters could filter him out, or the 430miler lovers could filter down to just his posts.

Another thing I would like to see is an option that allows me to select the number of threads that show up per page. Typically I scan the first 3 pages to see what has been going on, but if I could select "200 threads per page" then I would never have to leave page one.

I also agree with the people who don't want the goofy avatars and other garbage that clutter up the page.

Also, if you implemented the filter system, the way to get the old threads categorized would be to bump them up to the front page and then have users start selecting relevance tags for them. You would flag or color code the thread and people would know it is an old topic but in need of categorization. You have a ton of viewers, so if just a small percentage of them open the thread to help categorize it, it would be pretty accurate.

This has a dual benefit. Revisiting old topics may bring up new discussion about them.

You wouldn't want too many old threads cluttering up the main page, so I would say bump up 3-5 threads per hour. Or have them separate at the top so people know they are not current topics. After a few months you would have a lot of stuff categorized and the filter system would continue to get better as people helped categorize old stuff.

One of the nice things here is that there is no authoritarian moderator or no pateralistic guiding hand helping you along. The climate at, for example, T&FN's boards is irritating, and there's so much time spent talking about the proper administration of the board ("shouldn't this be in the other forum?").

Of course, through history there have always been proclimations that things are worse than they have ever been before. That said, I have noticed changes in the 4 or so years I've been coming here. Part of the problem, I think, is that in the absence of strict control, many people have begun to abuse the relative freedom of posting. Many of the atributes that people seem to love here--random threads, the stock charactors, obviously fake arguments--work as entertainment only when they are deviations, not the norm.

Put simply, if everyone tries to be funny or wants to have a go at playing troll, it doesn't work anymore. Stricter governance won't necessarily help. People need to understand that if they want the board to be more intelligent or full of fewer "fake posters," that change must be made by the posters themselves. Don't abuse the freedom you've been given here. Just because you can do just about anything you want around here doesn't mean you should.

Don't divide the board. I can easily decide which threads interest me...I don't need you to decide for me.

I think there is a good blend of serious and entertaining posts. If you do not think so, you can add some intelligent threads yourself. Or you can easily visit other forums out there.

wejo-

I do think the search function should be improved and I like dfsdf's filter idea. Other than something small like that, I don't suggest changing it. I think the majority of us like it how it is and that's why we come here. There may be room for improvement on other parts of the site, like adding more videos, interviews, original articles, etc., but please do not divide the message board.

coolrunning.com

Wejo, can we take an official vote now?

So far it seems that the serious options are:

No changes but better search function

Two categories: running and non-running

Subforums for everything

Filters and rating system

car wrote:

coolrunning.com

Be careful wejo, you're messing with success. I suggest having a feature that allows posters to check off general subjects for their post. For instance, a poster could have the option to check any of the following subject matters of their post:

training

college running (can be broken by division or m/w)

road racing

track

high school

marathoning

injuries

you could think of dozens of categories.

It's all good and fun to talk about the message board, but why not expand your reach of the site in general. For one thing, the link to get to the message board should be much larger and visible. There was a period of 4 months or so back in high school when I didn't realize there was a message board on this site because the link was so small. Then it was some time before I got into it because the current system is not at all aesthetically pleasing. Everything looks so convoluted now that it could turn off potential readers. I understand the grassroots running forum concept, but if you're looking to make improvements you're going to want to make a better looking messageboard (and site in general for that matter).

I would also invest in advertisements for a few months in order to see how the returns on them work out. If you've never done so before, it would be interesting to see if and how much you can turn a profit using them.

May I also suggest a LBO of another running site? Or selling shares to users in order to pay back your debt? Or giving yourself debt to pay for TV spots?

I can see it now:

Robert and Weldon, the heavy hitters!

I vote for the single flat message board style, with tags for a few topics (6 or 7 tags) some good ones have been presented by others), and an improved search function...

I always get lost when I go to other forums and never find anything interesting...

drunner wrote:

I vote for the single flat message board style, with tags for a few topics (6 or 7 tags) some good ones have been presented by others), and an improved search function...

I always get lost when I go to other forums and never find anything interesting...

Yeah, that way it basically keeps it the way it is, but if I want to find some current threads about.. vo2max training or Allison Stokke, I can just click on the tags and it could bring up only those tagged topics.

Do not break up the board.

Better search function.

NEVER change the logo.

Thanks!

It's amazing the amount of pussies acting like it's some great burden for them to use letsrun as it is.

How many threads have we seen here about the military and Bush fighting for "our freedom"? Isn't it amazing that you have the privilege of posting on a web site that has freedom to talk about anything you want, there are so many whining for controls and supervision?

I agree totally with Capt Spaulding. If there could be some sort of syetem implemented to that the LR community could institute "punishment" for those who stink up the joint, that would be pretty interesting and may go long way towards improving the negatives associated with LR.

better search capabilities.

thats all we need.

I am addicted to letsrun

only thing Weldon cares about-$

JEH wrote:

I agree totally with Capt Spaulding. If there could be some sort of syetem implemented to that the LR community could institute "punishment" for those who stink up the joint, that would be pretty interesting and may go long way towards improving the negatives associated with LR.

I've seen on some boards a subforum for banned/punished members. They can only post in that forum until they meet a certain requirement after which they're reinstated. For example, the requirement might be that they'd have to start 5 serious running related threads.

people always complain about and fear change. whenever a website redesigns, you frequently hear complaints about how people liked x or y and don't like how you have to do z this way now. lasts about a week. people adapt. i seriously doubt anyone is going to be driven away by *gasp* two forums. if anything, it's going to increase traffic and make it easier for new people.

One way to break it up, and a nice first trial is to have an Off-Topic Board and a Running/T&F Board. I suppose that you could also have a Doping Board. In some places, having a Historical Board also makes sense, but for this crowd I would try the first experiment and see how it goes.

Another possibility is to request that within the two or three main categories, people post with a beginning prefix, such as HS, DI, DII, etc; this is a 'long shot' idea.

Finally, you might want temporary boards that are melded back in after the event. The WCs are an example. We often get a large number of original posts and the discussion gets fragmented. Partly, this is due to having to look through so many titles. If the WCs were in one sub-board, then you could even provide the thread titles: m5000, m10000, mTJ, wPV, etc and these original threads will tend to attract the posters on a topic.

Thanks for listening

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Problems that can be solved through the use of Powerpoint