Mark,

Why are only vendors allowed to respond to posts in Vendor Announcements? I realize that many threads get moved there after being in "civilian" areas and already have replies. But, once the thread is in the vendor area, it ends all discussion. Is there a way (perhaps with the new forum softare) to allow only vendors to create NEW posts, but allow everyone to respond to them?

 

Andy,

The way you described it is the way it's suppose to be working. Is that not the case for you?

I checked the forum and this thread was moved to Vendor announcements and was posted to by "civilians" after the move.

Dave

 

Not to be too cynical, but with the literal term "Vendor Announcement" isn't it obvious enough that there doesn't need to be "civilian" feedback? If you have a question about the product, then contact the Vendor. If you'd like to start a discussion about the product, then by all means start a thread about it in the appropriate forum.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

DID wrote: If I try to reply to that thread, I get a message saying "Only forum administrators and moderators are allowed to post in this forum"

 

Ryephile wrote: I see what you are saying, but if that's the case, why aren't cilvilian comments removed from the thread when it is moved to Vendor Announcements? As it stands now, cilvilans have a chance to respond only up to the point when the thread gets moved. Then, it is locked to everyone but moderators.

 

Actually it looks like I have created some confusion (I often don't get enough sleep ).

In the past I have seen a couple of cases where people have been able to follow up to threads in the VA area. This morning I did some testing and see that this is not working. I will resolve this when we get to the new software platform (if Christmas doesn't run me over first). In the meantime Vendors are recommended to post their product/sales/information gathering announcements in the VA area and create a related thread in the appropriate forum. Ideally I would like to have vendors create posts in the VA forum and have members be able to follow up there rather than the other forums which are intended largely to be consumer to consumer posting (with vendors being able to reply but not create posts).

Sorry for the confusion.

Mark

 

Mark,

Thanks for clarifying that. I like your idea very much.

 

There have been a few occasions where i had a question or needed a clarification of a posting in VA and was forced to use PMs (which often dont get answered). Sometimes one question and response will clear things up for many who might have the same question. My only concern is that a thread in VA were to become another Plasma Booster witch hunt, but dont the vendors have their own mod function there?

Keep up the good work, Mark!

 

>> My only concern is that a thread in VA were to become another Plasma Booster witch hunt, but dont the vendors have their own mod function there?

Vendors currently have mod privs in the VA forum but that is only because of limitations in the software we are using. There is no way to allow only vendors to start threads there without configuring them as mods. In the next version of the site I hope to be able to provide vendors with thread creation capability (while normal members will not). Also I want to allow members to post replies to threads that the vendor created. The opposite would be true in the other forums....

members can start and reply to threads where vendors will only be able to reply

...at least that is my thinking right now based on how I've seen members and vendors interacting in the forums

Mark

 

>> My only concern is that a thread in VA were to become another Plasma Booster witch hunt

I like the latest proposal by Mark.

I'm a little upset about the "Witch-Hunt" comment.

I'm not using the term "Snake-Oil", so please remain civil.

 

The only concern I would have is that from a vendor's prospective, the va area is a very valuable area as there are not tons of new topics in it, so for a few days a topic a vendor posts is in the top 5, which is also displayed via the front page of NAM. If it turns into a discussion area there will more then likely be several hot topic threads where either people are very interested in it, contesting it, or even have the thread go way down hill...once that happens to a few threads those threads will dominate in there and on the front of the site where new vendor threads are displayed. This will cause the area to lose some of its appeal to vendors as new topics they post immediately get pushed down the list. I would prefer to see either threads linked to a discussion thread in the forum that it belongs, for example a new performance product announcement be linked to a discussion thread in the performance forum for general discussion, or have a forum called Vendor Discussions which you could have threads for discussing vendor announcements...this would create an area where these discussions can take place, while still keeping the appeal of the vendor announcement area there for vendors. Additionally I would also consider in the vendor area to have threads not bounce to the top on new replies from the vendors...this way vendors would feel more free to update threads in there without being concerned with dominating that area which in turn will help keep all of Mark's sponsors equally happy which is very important in keeping this site running. This would allow a very fair and equal grounds for posting for vendors and give them the ability to post many updates with out having other vendors upset with Mark.

Thoughts or ideas?

 

Casey,

If the concern is that the display of the announcement changes on the home page relative to how active discussion is in the thread itself I can assure you that the way that the announcements appear on the home page is not based on the number of posts or how active the thread is. The only criteria for display is when the thread was created and therefore continues to be displayed on the home page for a full seven days. Obviously if you clicked on "Vendor Announcements" forum itself you would see a display based on activity but I don't believe many access the forum that way. I believe that people typically just click on the subject line on the home page to read the announcement. Let me know if this doesn't address what you were requesting as I'd like to find better ways to serve both the membership and vendors. Thanks!

Mark

 

Currently with the use of phpbb and the very obscure URLs it uses it is difficult to directly jump into the forum without going to some random url remembered, bookmark, or via the frontpage or pulse. With vB when the site is convereted over the URLs will be much cleaner and I believe will enable more and more people to just type in http://www.namotoring.com/forum/ and by pass the site...since the forum is the largest part of the site, many people come directly to that and skip the other areas as they don't change as often, and when they do someone in the forum will mention it and then people go check it out. So with that being the case I woudl guess most prolly do view the announcements via the forum, and a others via the frontpage, but the number from the front page I can see decreasing with vB running things. So while the front page is important so is the order via the va forum view. I just really hate to see things in the VA change as this is truely one of the main perks sponsoring here gives you as I have very little faith in banner ads and feel that most like me learn to zone them out and ignore them.

Plus now to find the same discussions regarding performance products, you need to look in two areas and keep track of both forums instead of just one forum.

Additionally while the front page does show all threads in the last 7 days, but i tested it and the order is still changes based on most recent reply...so while it may still be on the front, it can easily be pushed to the bottom of that list.

Pop me a message over IM Mark and we can chat a bit more about it .

 

>>I like the latest proposal by Mark.
>>
>>I'm a little upset about the "Witch-Hunt" comment.
>>
>>I'm not using the term "Snake-Oil", so please remain civil.

That comment was not directed at you, Trippy, or anyone else in particular. It was simply my way of describing how a thread that starts off with a technical give and take ends up with personal attacks from all sides, vendor bashing, name calling, etc. It's been happening with alarming frequency lately and has driven people away from this site. I end up having little interest in participating in Performance Mods threads as a result and have been seeking information in other places in addition to (or instead of) NAM. I do this because some of the best people we had have headed out to get away from that stuff.

NAM has done a great deal for me in the past and I hate seeing it turned into a war zone. I have a slew of mods planned for my car and want to find out what's best out there. I'd like to get that info here, and share my experiences here as well.