Recent Activity

[Laylow]

I feel like I may be missing out on a lot of recent activity because I never see it.  Also, I think that old topics that might have new activity just die because no one ever sees the new activity.  I know that it is proper etiquette to search the board to see if your topic has been covered but it doesn't do you any good to contribute to that thread when you are doomed to never receiving a response there.  Your only option is to recreate the thread.

Anyway, I wish that the Recent Activity link was a full heading just like the Everything or Home Brewed Electricity links instead of being stuck on the sidebar.  Also, I would like the ability to move back chronologically through the posts but I am limited to a fixed number and there is no link to previous comments.

[Nando]

I have about the same complain.

My suggestion is to have the capability, within the group, to able to send a copy of the message to the desired party.

Many need to like such capability, but everyone need to connect to the group to get all the responses that sometimes are read too late due to personal problems in accessing the group.

There are many items available for improvement and many times the Yahoo site is quite inflexible.

Can the ADMINISTRATOR give some comments to this thread ?.

Nando

[Laylow]

There is a poll attached to this thread as well.

[wdyasq]

You can always start your own board if you don't like this one.  One must assume you are refreshing using "everything" and the recent activity and hotlist articles you care to keep up with.  

Personally I am glad many of the posts are killed.  I think damn near every topic concernign practical electrical production and quite a few impractical non-solutions are posted here ever month.  

I know some folks are ignorant and want enlightenment and others are just wanting to argue.  There are a lot more folks here who claim to be experts than there are experts. Many spout the qualities of products when they have no idea of the engineering required to assure safe operation.  

I hear folks bragging they can build certain things and - you folks are right, they are never heard from again. Or, they go to a new topic and confuse the ignorant there. When you folks build your own forum you can cure all these woes.

Good luck,

Ron

[jimjjnn]

I like the board the way it is. When I want to look at a thread, I just click pn the menus at the top of the page.

I also, keep in mind what the members of the adninistration of the board have done and problems they have solved to get this forum online.

I am surprised that they have been able to keep it going as well as they have considering that they have had weather problems that have knocked out their sattelite systems. These guys are working stiffs that cant be changing the forum setup at everybody's desires or whims.

[ADMIN]

I can't move the 'recent activity' page to the top -- it's restricted to registered users only because it takes a lot of CPU time, and stuff at the top is visible to ALL users, including anonymous.

I don't understand why you are not able to go back chronologically -- you should be able to do this for all postings or any individual sections, all the way back to posting #1 a few years back! Link is at the bottom of each page (next 20>>, <<previous 20).<p>
The big decision we made years ago when setting up this board is to NOT have new activity on a posting bring it back to the top. We had the 'recent activity' page custom-coded for us to make up for this. The first thing I do when logging in every morning is check 'recent activity' to see if anyone replied to my posts or comments -- and it keeps track in perpetuity, so If someone replies to my comment from 2 years ago, it still shows up there.

If something's really important and interesting to you, don't be afraid to bring the original posting back -- that's not a problem with us.

Another option, as Nando stated, is to email the poster. Because of privacy and spam concerns, we can't force the board on this issue -- if they want to be contacted by email, they'll have the email field in their user prefs filled in.

Any more suggestions appreciated, as always. We are limited by the features in our software, so some things are impossible without custom coding, and some things end up being very easy to change.

ADMIN

[finnsawyer]

Insofar as the 'recent activity' page is concerned any recent comments to old postings or comments are quickly pushed of the page and can easily be missed. Consequently they get buried further down in the list of responses to my comments.  They're not in reverse chronological order.  Nor are they color coded for easy recognition.  You have to wade through the whole list to find them.  At least that's what I find.

[Laylow]

wdyasq,

I was not complaining and I like this board very much.  That is why I finally decided to join this one.

I feel somewhat offended by your comments but I think that they stem from some other resentments that you have that I actually have very little to do with.  I also detect a sentiment that I have seen in others posts that seems very elitist to me.  I can appreciate wanting a forum that is only full of good information but the price is the stifling of free and intuitive thought.  Am I allowed to ask questions?  Am I allowed to be wrong?  Am I allowed to have crazy ideas that turn out to be total flops?  It makes me feel like if I am not producing electricity with a wind turbine that I am barely tolerated here.  If that's the case, please trash the everything pages and I'll leave.

This is the forum that is the closest to what I would want.  You are the people that I want to associate with.  This is the community that I want to belong to.  Please don't drive me away because I neglected to do a calculation or I asked a dumb question.

I can also see where you have a very serious concern about safety and I have to agree with you.  I see a lot of things in the DIY community that I find questionable, or I wonder why they touched on a topic but didn't go into the obvious safety concern that should've been expanded upon.  Was it because they didn't know or just didn't take the time?  I am afraid that someday the DIY community could become the target of several law suits that would effectively crush our ability to do anything outside of some corporate structure.

Yes, there's all kinds of folks and some have good info and some have worthless info and some just want to argue and some pose as experts when they really aren't.  Speaking for myself, I think that I can tell who is who.  And you will meet these people in this forum and other forums and in person.  The great thing about having a community is that we don't have to rely only on our own judgement to find out.

As for my comments on the Recent Comments, I think that Admin put the subject to rest.  Been there, done that, nuff said.  I tried searching the forum to see if it had been a subject in the past but I never found anything.

I should probably post this as its own rant since I don't mean to entirely direct it at you but I'm hoping that you will understand.

[dinges]

Like the board the way it is too; am glad I don't get e-mail every time a message is added too... Very simple & not too much frills. Like it that way.

As far as I'm concerned, more messages may be deleted; especially the kind that show the FAQ hasn't been read (BTW, how about ONE faq file, that's also suited for offline reading? That would have some added value over the individual HTML-linked questions as they are now), or questions that show someone has not been paying attention (like 'why 3phase over 1phase', 'should my magnets be N-S-N, etc. Read & learn before you ask). This doesn't have to become a board for experts, but beginners (or anyone, for that matter) should at least have the decency to do their own homework before asking others. So, as far as I'm concerned, more clipping I wouldn't complain of.

Just my opinion on matters. BTW, this is the only board I like so far, and the only one I subscribe to...

Peter,

The Netherlands.

[wdyasq]

Laylow,

You can direct it at me any way you feel like.  I am not elite but I have taken the time to research and have built things all my life.  These have included solar and wind projects for over 30 years. At one time one had to actually DO research, not be spoon-fed and not bitch when the feeding wasn't too hot, not bitch when it was too cold and not bitch when someone disagreed.

I have see children several years old who would not grab a glass or use a spoon because a gardian of some sort did all that for them. It became a lot easier for all involved when the children learned to feed themselves.

I have had to supervise folks who asked the same question - over and over through a project.  I have been an employer and KNOW if you make it a rule they listen a lot better.

Sure, folks are alowed to be ignorant.  Folks are allowed to make mistakes. What happens when all the STUPID make enough mistakes where your elected represenitives pass laws that state you must have a license to put a rotating structure over a subjective number off the ground? How about you are not allowed to hookup any electrical devices unless one is certified.  It will NOT be caused by responsible folks doing well engineered projects with proven methods. I only wonder if the law will be used for protecting, a revenue enhancement or just plain tin-hat gawd meanness.

IIRC, the 'posts to the back, I don't like the way the board is run' was hashed out late November or early December 2004 and one time before - but too far back for me to remember.

Ron

[Laylow]

Okay, I can agree with a lot of what you said here but I don't recall saying that I don't like the way the board is run.  Those are your words.  I suppose this incident that you are talking about might have gotten pretty ugly but I don't have anything to do with that either.  Admin hasn't taken any offense to my post, at least I don't think so.  

Anyway, sorry if I've offended you somehow.  I don't want to make any enemies although I have to admit, sometimes it's tempting.  And no, I won't be falling for your bait and trap name either.  ;]

[wdyasq]

'I have about the same complain.'

Nando's remark ... careful reading .... and that is a bait, stab kill and stomp til done acronym.

Early in my time on the internet I was trying to sign in to a forum and 'no I don't want RonB74856 or any other of the stupid names your frigging name generator spits out' wdyasq.

I doubt you will offend me.  I prefer clarity to agreement.  I would rather know how and where someone's thoughts beliefs come from as I may be the one who is wrong.

There is nothing wrong with thinking outside the box.  But, one should examine what is in the box before they venture into the unknown.  There may be a tool in the box they need.

Ron

[Laylow]

I just figured english was a second language to Nando.

I've been sitting on a gmail invite forever now because I can't come up with a user name that meets all of my criterea.  I can think of some good ones but not any that I would want everyone to know me by.

Anyway, I think this horse is dead.  See you around.