PSA: I'm moving my guides to the Resources section

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Ericloewe

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Thanks to @JoshDW19, the Resources section seems to be working (thanks again)!

Over time, I'll move the guides I've written to the Resources section. I've already done quick and dirty migrations of the X10/X11 FAQ and the X10 RAM FAQ. The Resources section still needs some polish (some categories, visual fixes...) and I'll try to adapt the old guides to the new format.

I might also add PDF versions, if there's interest, since that seems to be easy there. Other details like 96x96 icons for each one will also take time, so no promises there.

Any suggestions are appreciated.
 

Mirfster

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I think most (if not all) of the items that are stickies or considered guides would benefit from being relocated there. Right now, they are scattered in different sub-forums and kind of a PITA to locate at times.

I would at least recommend the ones in my sig for starters, but there are many more that should go there as well IMHO.
 

BigDave

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I think most (if not all) of the items that are stickies or considered guides would benefit from being relocated there. Right now, they are scattered in different sub-forums and kind of a PITA to locate at times.

If this is considered, might I also suggest separation into Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced sections...

It would be awesome to point those often asked noob questions to the Reference section, this idea
has a lot of merit IMHO
 

Ericloewe

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I think most (if not all) of the items that are stickies or considered guides would benefit from being relocated there. Right now, they are scattered in different sub-forums and kind of a PITA to locate at times.

I would at least recommend the ones in my sig for starters, but there are many more that should go there as well IMHO.
Definitely.

I'm kinda trailblazing with the new format, hoping that it'll acquire momentum with the move.

What I really like is that it allows for easy separation of content from a discussion thread. Those are very often useful, but they get sidetracked a lot, which is annoying if you're a reader trying to figure out what's relevant.

If this is considered, might I also suggest separation into Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced sections...
It'll definitely need categories. I don't know what features the thing has in that regard, but some basic categorization would be nice, for a start.

One other thing that's bugging me is a certain fear that it might be overwhelmed by poor-quality content. Say someone shows up and randomly writes a dozen "guides" with content similar to your average YouTube video. I'm going to refrain from LinusTechTips jokes, as I don't want to be blamed for aspiration of coffee into the nose.
 

BigDave

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One other thing that's bugging me is a certain fear that it might be overwhelmed by poor-quality content. Say someone shows up and randomly writes a dozen "guides" with content similar to your average YouTube video. I'm going to refrain from LinusTechTips jokes, as I don't want to be blamed for aspiration of coffee into the nose.
I would think a reference section would simulate a library of physical volumes of information.
i.e. "Thread closed to further replies"
This would separate discussions, from reference material, while still
allowing discussions to be edited and posted as reference material when warranted.
 

Ericloewe

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Isn't this one reason why forums have moderators?
Yeah, but I can definitely see the mods having trouble deciding in a more nuanced case. Imagine we're not talking about Linus any more. Or heck, let's take him as a hypothetical forum user:

Say he comes in and speaks wonders of this new Asus (just an example, nothing against Asus) board and writes a bunch of References on it, implying it works fine. Let's assume the written material is of good quality, but the board is known to spontaneously destroy attached disks (an Asus board wouldn't do this, but bear with me). Should the forum keep that content? What if the board is just known for not interacting well with users whose name does not end in "*nus" (I guess that leaves the Linuses of this world) and the documents don't actually say that?

It's a tough job deciding what to do in some cases.
 

Robert Trevellyan

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I get it, but I don't come here looking for perfection. Moderators will do their best, posters of misinformation will get discouraged, the world will continue to turn.
 

Mirfster

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Agreed, so for now the best course of action would be to go for the "low hanging fruit" (blah Managerial phrase). Those that are tried and true. Of course I agree that prior to that a solid (or best effort) foundation is decided upon to organize the content.

Side note, on some of those items iftmay be best to only include the material that is pertinent to the Guide or How-To and leave out some of the comments that are considered "fluff".
 

BigDave

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IMHO if you allow posting in a REFERENCE section (uncontrolled), it will quickly turn into wasted space.
Closed stickies (deemed worthy) from the other areas of the forum only.
 

Ericloewe

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Agreed, so for now the best course of action would be to go for the "low hanging fruit" (blah Managerial phrase). Those that are tried and true. Of course I agree that prior to that a solid (or best effort) foundation is decided upon to organize the content.

Side note, on some of those items iftmay be best to only include the material that is pertinent to the Guide or How-To and leave out some of the comments that are considered "fluff".
To me, the obvious solution is to keep the actual guide (most of them are semi-regularly updated when needed, with help from the discussion) in the References section and leave the whole discussion thread in the main forum.
 

Jailer

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IMHO if you allow posting in a REFERENCE section (uncontrolled), it will quickly turn into wasted space.
Closed stickies (deemed worthy) from the other areas of the forum only.
This
To me, the obvious solution is to keep the actual guide (most of them are semi-regularly updated when needed, with help from the discussion) in the References section and leave the whole discussion thread in the main forum.
And this
 
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