A couple of suggestions that will improve the forum

[swing_voter]

1. There are too many sub forums. Combine a dozen or so of the sub forums into one sub forum. You post in general politics only to realize that there's a Academics sub forum. Then you realize that nobody ever checks the Academics sub forum.

2. The default page of posts is too short. It only has ten posts to the page. Set the default to 50 or so posts per page. I know it burns a bit more bandwidth, but pages get added fast if the topic is popular and your post gets quickly buried. If there were 50 posts a page, it would give more people a chance to read your post.

 

[Overitall]

On 2 I think you can change that in your User Control. If I'm not mistaken the maximum is 100 ppp.

 

[swing_voter]

On 2 I think you can change that in your User Control. If I'm not mistaken the maximum is 100 ppp.

That's true, but if it isn't the default for everyone, I'd be one of the few who saw the majority of the posts. 10 posts a page isn't enough when you consider that most people only read the last page before posting.

 

[Overitall]

Yea, I feel your pain. I click a mouse button in my job and by the end of the day my finger is tired. Then to come here and have to click that dang mouse button some more just to view another page is such a bother.

 

[swing_voter]

Yea, I feel your pain. I click a mouse button in my job and by the end of the day my finger is tired. Then to come here and have to click that dang mouse button some more just to view another page is such a bother.

It's not that.

Increasing the posts per page to 40 will improve the community overall.

 

[Overitall]

I was being somewhat humorous -- at least I was trying to be. Still if the admins did as you request wouldn't we still have to click on the scroll button to view all the posts?

 

[swing_voter]

I was being somewhat humorous -- at least I was trying to be. Still if the admins did as you request wouldn't we still have to click on the scroll button to view all the posts?

Yeah, but you can have more of a conversation. Not many people check previous pages, if the thread is on post 19, they'll read the 10 or so posts on page 19 and that's it. It kind of makes it pointless to post, when you know very few will read it. If the default is 40, your post will remain visible for a much longer time.

 

[Overitall]

I hear ya. Personally speaking I look at it from the same perspective as reading the newspaper. The first or second paragraph generally tells me all I need to know. The rest is just filler. On forums such as this one I can discern from the first page as to whether I'm wasting my time wading into the discussion (and yet sometimes I'll still take the plunge).

 

[RedAkston]

1. There are too many sub forums. Combine a dozen or so of the sub forums into one sub forum. You post in general politics only to realize that there's a Academics sub forum. Then you realize that nobody ever checks the Academics sub forum.

2. The default page of posts is too short. It only has ten posts to the page. Set the default to 50 or so posts per page. I know it burns a bit more bandwidth, but pages get added fast if the topic is popular and your post gets quickly buried. If there were 50 posts a page, it would give more people a chance to read your post.

The forums aren't going to change. The defaults are in place for a reason. As has been pointed out, you can change the default (I personally changed mine years ago).

Thanks for the feedback.

/thread