Standard "Boxes" for Perennial Issues

It struck me that some topics recur, partly because the membership of the board is constantly growing. Issues like "what are are issues with a: 550; 355", "whatcherfavorite wax," that old favorite "floor mats" (seriously) "F1 v. stick" and tubi exhaust questions emerge again, and again, and again. Not that i am complaining, but alot gets repeated, or the querier (not that there's, oh forget it) is told to search the old board, perhaps with mixed success.
So how 'bout distilling our collective knowledge on some of these topics into permanent "Boxes" where information can be presented, caveated if necessary, certain poll results kept on a semi-permanent basis (eg user demographics, lot's of questions on age, earning power, number of other cars, profession or job, etc). Its like that old joke about how everybody knows the same jokes so well, that they each get a number, and the mere statement of "72" is met with roaring laughter.
I know this might lead to insanity. Thus, when the husband and wife owners of a Chinese restaurant came home after a long day, and she said: "What would you like to do for your Birthday, dear?" he responded, "Frankly, I'd like a little 69." Puzzled, she asked: "You want beef with broccoli?"

 

I think this is a good idea; sort of like a more sophisticated FAQ section.
(i'm referring to "standard boxes" not beef with broccoli

 

Excellent idea.

 

Great idea. Have a "Tubi vs. Capristo" box and so on. I wouldn't want to be responsible for going through the archives and putting threads in the right place, though.

 

this is a wonderful idea - the catagories, not the broccoli!

 

Rennlist.com has this type of area for each make of Porsche.......it's a pretty good idea IMHO....a generalized FAQ section wouldn't hurt here at all.

Problem is....you can do a search now and judging from Bill's post most people seem not to...so why they would bother to look up a FAQ section is beyond me.

 

whart, I was thinking all the same lines and was going ask forum members and Rob for their input. My suggestion is very similar to yours, but I was thinking along two parallel lines:

(1) Dedicated Model Mentors

It would be great to build a FAQ for each model that could be a repository of knowledge so that, as you rightfully note, we don't keep repeating answers to questions that have been asked -- and answered -- many times over. Obviously Rob doesn't have the time to collect all the useful tidbits that filter in for each model, so I thought it would be a good idea to have one or two "Model Mentors" for each model, who could focus on proactively (picking up interesting/useful information off of threads) or reactively (be the recipient should others mail stuff to them) be the point people for model info, and who could then filter it to Rob who could, say once a week, update the FAQ for that particular model.

(2) Dedicated "New and Prospective Owners Section

I have seen this successfully implemented in other enthusiast forums and have found this very useful, as have other members. Basically, this would be a catch all for questions like:

(a) What is the value of this car
(b) Can somebody do a PPI for me
(c) Can somebody run the VIN for me
(d) Am I getting a good deal
(e) Best transporters
(f) What should I be watching out for on this particular model (for which we would point to the FAQ)
(g) yadda
(h) yadda
(i) yadda

What do you guys think. Rob, what are your thoughts?

 

I don't think it's people not searching as much as it is the search engine doing a poor job. I've tried to find threads from the past that I know are there and the search engine failed numerous different attempts. Perhaps a search engine improvement would be helpful?

 

I still think the implementation of one or both of these would greatly enhance the board. People? Rob?

 

ha i actually thought i had the original idea for this untill i started searching the forum! so much for originality! anyway id love to see a FAQ for rookies like me to get more info about F-Cars. i was told to get as much info as i can before purchasing and a FAQ on this forum would be a great way to get started! now... how do we get started with all of this?

 

Wow, talk about a blast from the past -

I continue to believe the development of a comprehensive FAQ would serve this board very well. I am sure it will come down the pike soon enough.

 

How about going one step further and having someone " clean up" the threads and delete off topic conversation so that the " meat" of the thread is preserved and the BS goes by by. This would give us access to some real information especially in Tech Forums. What I hate about the search is that there are so many irrelevant posts in good threads.