Wow! A huge amount of discussion on this. My two cents as a new user and new Hatt owner:
1. The forum is absolutely an invaluable resource of information
2. I do not think the search function is robust enough. I have had battery problems recently and the search engine won't let me search for things like 8D or Group 31. Even when it does return results with other terms, there are far too many irrelevant hits.
3. Many of the frequent users are here multiple times a day, and I can understand why they like the forum the way it is because they have the pulse of it in their head. For the newbie or infrequent user, I don't think it works as well. That seems to be the root of the debate; frequent vs infrequent user. Who is the forum for?
4. I think we need to at least try to post more things to the FAQ section. I would have loved to see a "Everything about Batteries" section instead of sifting through hundreds of posts when entering the search term "batteries." There are 2 threads I found that could go there now.
Just some suggestions to help others following my path.
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Thread: Forum categories
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12-13-2007 05:33 PM #31
Re: Forum categories
Looking for another boat...not a Hatt
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Re: Forum categories
I think you have a GOOD point here. Batteries and fiberglass fuel tanks are two of a few things that come up a lot. Maybe more of these should be moved there. It has two thread on a 53 frig but nothing on batteries and Inverters which come up a least twice a year.
I guess this means a moderator needs to do this so we wait to hear their views.Dan
End Of The Line II
1967 34C
EOTL II Rebuild Web Page
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Re: Forum categories
the FAQ section is more for things like procedures... it's hard to explain... but for instance batteries are often a matter of personal preferences or opinion there isn't a right and a wrong answer. some prefer to stick to 8Ds, others prefer golf cart even for starting. both work.
the search works pretty well but most search engines do not allow using too short word or single characters, for obvious reasons. 8D is hard to search.
one work around is to use google with site:
ex : 8D site:http://www.samsmarine.com
this will return all post on the forums about 8D
i dont' know if doug can tweak the forum search engine to allow shorter keywords, I am guessing there will be server load issues if someone search for a common short keyword...
Threads are moved to the FAA section when we notice some good ones, not always easy... members can also email moderators when they spot one that we may have missedPascal
Miami, FL
1970 53 MY #325 Cummins 6CTAs
2014 26' gaff rigged sloop
2007 Sandbarhopper 13
12' Westphal Cat boat
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01-04-2008 11:02 AM #34
Re: Forum categories
I can understand a place for procedures that are complete in a single thread. The current FAQ forum could be for that.
I also think a new forum could be created for each of the "hot" topics so multiple threads could be posted underneath it. In my example, create a forum for "Everything about Batteries" and then collect all the relevant threads there. The differing opinions are exactly what make the collection of threads valuable.
Obviously, we don't want 50 additional forums, but I think everyone could agree on 5 or 10, for starters (common topics from my months here)
Everything about Batteries
Everything about the Head (toilets/holding tanks/waste pumps, etc)
Fuel Tanks
Repowering
Everything about Detroits
Buying a HatterasLooking for another boat...not a Hatt