Deleted Sticky Threads in F/S Subforum

[Corran]

I know moderators have slightly different forum views than the rest of us, so I just thought I'd point this out.

There are currently 3 deleted threads (unreadable) that are "sticky" in the F/S area, which is not only an eyesore but also provides 3 less thread spaces for us to see what is being posted in that forum.

Since they are unviewable anyway, can they just be completely deleted or un-stickied, so they will go away?

For reference, those threads are:


Sticky: Sub-forum to go read-only starting at 10:00 MDT
Started by Ralph Barker, 3-Apr-2016 11:29
1 Deleted Post(s)
Thread deleted by Ralph Barker
Reason re-opened

Sticky: New rules concerning bumping
Started by Ken Lee, 22-Mar-2015 17:33
1 Deleted Post(s)
Thread deleted by Ralph Barker
Reason Superceded by new rules

Sticky: New Guidelines
Started by rdenney, 28-Apr-2013 21:06
2 Deleted Post(s) You are subscribed to this thread
Thread deleted by Ralph Barker
Reason Superceded by new rules

[Sal Santamaura]

T'would have been far more efficient to simply send all that information directly to the moderators via the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of every page. Posting it in a thread comes off as showy-complainy. :)

[Corran]

I consider the "Contact Us" link to be used for something of utmost importance. This they can handle whenever someone happens to be on the forum. Rather than getting an email blast.

I really don't know why you needed to post that.

[Sal Santamaura]

I consider the "Contact Us" link to be used for something of utmost importance. This they can handle whenever someone happens to be on the forum. Rather than getting an email blast...The moderators cannot and do not read every thread. They are happy to receive useful information via "Contact Us" rather than need to stumble on it.


...I really don't know why you needed to post that.Could I have been more clear?


...Posting it in a thread comes off as showy-complainy...

[Oren Grad]

Bryan, it's fine to bring this to our attention here - thanks! I agree that it's a nuisance and will look into what, if anything, we can do about it.

[Ralph Barker]

The threads have been removed from the general view. Thanks for the suggestion, Bryan.

[seezee]

Oren, Ralph, am I missing something, or have the F/S Subforum new guidelines also disappeared?

[Oren Grad]

There's a brief summary in the fine print at the top of the page in the standard subforum view, but to see the full details you need to go to the guidelines/FAQ page:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/faq.php?faq=vb_faq#faq_gen_rules_faq_item

[seezee]

Could we maybe add a link to that in the summary text? Thanks.

[Oren Grad]

There is a direct link to the guidelines through the "Usage Guidelines" item in the main menu bar that runs across the top of the page in the standard Forum view. When I view the FS subforum, I can see that main menu bar directly above the subforum header area with the summary description.

So that I can define exactly what problem we would be trying to solve here, are you able to see that menu?

EDIT: screen clip added

149682

[seezee]

I design UX/UI for a living. I looked all over the page expecting a direct link to the F/S Sub-forum guidelines — did not ever occur to me that they were part of a larger document, and that the link would be in the main navigation, since the obvious place for such a link would be the red text that says to read the usage guidelines for that sub-forum.

One of the cardinal rules for such things is, get the user to the desired information in as few clicks as possible. Another is, make it easy for the user to find the information. You're close on the first item — it's only one click. But since all of the usage guidelines are on a single document, the user still has to hunt for the specific info. Maybe better to do one or more of the following:

1. Break up the guidelines into separate pages for each main topic (also good for SEO, making it more likely someone will find the information via organic search)
2. Place an index at the top of the page and use anchors to jump to the desired section — be sure to include a "return to top" link
3. Use an accordion for each topic
4. Use tabs for each topic

None of these suggestions is urgent. But they might make the user experience better.

If you do decide to include a link from the summary, it would be best to use a url fragment, e.g., /forum/faq.php?faq=vb_faq#faq_gen_rules_faq_item_forsalefortrade so the user arrives directly at the relevant section of the Usage Guidelines.

I do want to thank you and all the moderators for the timely responses to user concerns and to all the work you put into the forum. You get a lot of griping and precious little gratitude for all your volunteering, and I want you to know that I appreciate what you are doing for the LF community.

[Oren Grad]

Thanks for elaborating. Your points about UI are certainly well-taken. There are limits to what we can do within vBulletin without resorting to custom coding, which brings its own problems, but it should be possible to make some improvements along the lines that you suggest. We'll investigate and see what we can do.