Indexing Outstanding Forum Threads

If we think back, there have some excellent threads on the forum. For example, discussions among members who are expert in some aspect of large format photography. Threads that relate to equipment, or philosophically related threads. Etc.

I can recall one on scanning negatives, and another discussion on Computar f9 lenses that included Kerry Thalmann, Sandy King, et. al. There have been some very good threads on pyro development. I'm sure that we can all recall examples. But due to the nature of a forum, all threads get buried. They can resurface later as a result of a search, but searches are visible only to the single member conducting the search. (And frankly, the search mechanism on the forum has always been a bit cryptic to me. :)) Or, members can refer to these threads via links referenced in other threads.

THE POINT IS: It would be neat to have an "Index of Outstanding Threads" that could reside on the LF Home Page. An index like this could be very simply constructed and maintained. Each thread could be represented by a title, and these titles, separated by blank lines, could be chronologically listed (most recent, first) in a pdf. Of course, each title would be followed by a link to the particular thread. This is one of many ways to effect such an index. Once established, the index could by perused or searched by members.

Including a candidate thread on this index might involve a member making a recommendation on the Feedback Forum. Moderators could review these recommendations (as they occur) in the Moderator forum (not seen by regular members), and together decide whether a thread was worthy.

Again, this is one of many ways to implement an Index of Outstanding Threads. But to the basic idea of having such an index, what do you think?

Good idea, but perhaps the Mods have plenty to do

How about an independent group of users organize it first, then submit to Owner QT and Mods

and make it a set of chapters with additions possible

By searching as Dan Fromm advises I do seem to find what I need...

It occurs to me, where the LF Home Page itself is a listing of worthwhile articles on the Forum, this index would be a listing of important threads on the Forum.

Um, Neil, if you used "the list" you'd have noticed that it contains links to some interesting discussions here. The f/9 Computar discussion is one of them.

The list also contains directions for using google advanced search to look for things here. Try using google advanced search.

In my opinion, there's little here that's worth indexing. I find posters who don't search here before asking for help a larger nuisance than the lack of an index. I could be excessively self-reliant.

If you an index, instead of asking someone else to work to make something you might value, use google advanced search to look for discussions on topics you think are worth finding easily, assemble the links with annotations into a document and then export it to a pdf and ask the moderators to let you post a link to the pdf as a sticky. I did this, so can you. I like this approach. Since I own the list I can update it whenever I feel it should be updated without asking permission and without having permission to post and modify articles myself. I don't want that permission, IMO there are very good reasons for having the moderators approve articles etc. before they're put up. I don't like Wikipedia's editing wars -- the prejudiced correcting the prejudiced, the ignorant erasing those who know, ... -- and this site doesn't need them.

How to do it? There are many ways. MS Word and LibreOffice Writer will both export to pdf. I use Writer, which allows many levels of headings (it treats headings as type styles). When a Writer document is exported to pdf, the headings go into the pdf as bookmarks. Word claims to do the same thing, but for my purposes -- not for the list, for my Mexican cookbook -- Writer was the better tool.

The person who posts on photrio.com as Mustafa Umut Sarac is very imaginative, has put up many posts about his ideas with requests that other people will make them real. I find this obnoxious. If you want to use it, make it.

Not only oustanding threads, but perhaps also outstaging posts explaining some interesting concepts can be indexed, this is one from my collection:

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...l=1#post369572

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Fromm

The person who posts on photrio.com as Mustafa Umut Sarac is very imaginative, has put up many posts about his ideas with requests that other people will make them real. I find this obnoxious. If you want to use it, make it.

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Yes... yesterday I tagged one post from M.U.S. (A suggestion by Randy)

https://www.photrio.com/forum/thread...-of-art.57136/

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IMHO there are many "must-read" threads/posts that can be indexed. I guess that those can be classified depending on "Level", some "entry level" explanations may be useful for beginners if basic concepts are very well explained, and some would contain more advanced intrinsics.

Exactly. Of course, one can search for threads, but that's assuming one knows, or suspects, that they exist.

The advantage of a listing is that, it calls attention to important threads or nuggets of information. I'm sure it's possible to search for all the information on the LF Home Page. But, it's worthwhile to have them all listed in one location.

Yes, here there is an impressive vault of information, knowledge and wisdom, but also millions of posts around.

An advanced user knowing how to search what he wants often finds it quickly, but having that selected list offered one may discover interesting/important insights that one even was not aware it existed.

The question is how to implement it... Somebody should take the effort organize that index, and contributors should send him their favourite list, or the posts they are discovering over time.

Suggesting that someone (not the suggester) do the work is easy. Sorting the scarce wheat from the abundant chaff, not so easy.

Neil and Papi, you should collaborate.

Then we would have double postings of valued threads

Making search even odder

Some threads may become curated with good intentions which may not be good for our descendants

Not trying to stop anyone

Historically photographic innovation and technique has been opaque, protecting trade secrets and competitive advantage

Then there is hidden data sent by PM person to person that will always be invisible and often deleted

I expect AI and web crawlers may improve our tower of babel in centuries ahead

We will be long gone...

Peace on Earth

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Fromm

Suggesting that someone (not the suggester) do the work is easy. Sorting the scarce wheat from the abundant chaff, not so easy.

Neil and Papi, you should collaborate.

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This would primarily be a system going forward. Threads that stand out could be nominated and included as they occur.

But that doesn't mean that past threads can't also be nominated and included, as members think of them, and as they conduct their own searches for worthwhile information.

It would take a while for the listing to populate; but, I'm convinced it would become an important repository of some of the excellent discussions that we've had in the past and that we'll likely have in the future.

The same must have been true with the LF Home Page. It began with just a few articles; and then, articles were added as they were written, or included.

The proposed listing would have the same format as the LF Home Page. It would be a series of titles (i.e. descriptions), each with a corresponding link. In the case of the LF Home Page, the link points to an article. In the case of the proposed listing, the link points to an existing thread.

There have been some really excellent threads and discussions on this forum. It just doesn't make sense to me to let them fade into the past.

Perhaps this can start like Dan's list of optic information, an external list in the cloud that is linked in the first post of a public thread.

So it would be a normal thread in what anyboby may suggest an addition, then the lists managers would add the link in the right section of the list.

If there are contributions to the list often then the thread will bump to prominence often, so it would have visibility.

Later if the list reaches quality enough perhaps it could be considered placing it in the resources list, perhaps.

Perhaps a separately hosted, read only, archive of "outstanding threads"? I can imagine the great old threads you refer to becoming immediately polluted by the increasing number of newbies who never do their homework first.

If that sounds a little like "get off my lawn" ? I'll own it.