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| Is merging threads that involve the same "general" issue a good idea? |
| yes |
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55% |
[ 5 ] |
| no |
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44% |
[ 4 ] |
| I don't care |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 9 |
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Bigun
Advocate
Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 2196
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 Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:11 pm Post subject: Merging threads |
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I have somewhat of a beef with this.
If you have 20 people that have a different, individual issue with one single program, I personally think it is a very bad idea to post/merge it into one thread.
You end up having a thread 50 pages long, mucked up with people talking over each other and becomes extremely confusing to read in a hurry. Plus, finding a your issue in a 50 page thread, then finding the solution is an even bigger hassle. You end up having to read 26 pages just to find what you are looking for.
Just wondering what everyone else thinks about this, and if there is a better solution if some people do agree with me.
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mark_alec
Bodhisattva
Joined: 11 Sep 2004
Posts: 6066
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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Moved from Gentoo Chat to Gentoo Forums Feedback.
I agree that currently the ultra-large-many-part threads are not particularly useful, however unless you are offering a suggestion that is better I can't see what we can do. |
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Dieter@be
Guru
Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 314
Location: Wetteren, Belgium
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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| mark_alec wrote: | | however unless you are offering a suggestion that is better I can't see what we can do. |
just keep every different problem in it's own topic 
if there are more topics about the same problem, with the same software, they can be merged, or if there is one big topic with the solution and a new small one arises, the latter can be closed with a link to the former (this is what you guys already do afaik)
but i'm pro merging several "<software> is released", "hey check out this cool app",... threads
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Bigun
Advocate
Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 2196
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Dieter@be wrote: | | mark_alec wrote: | | however unless you are offering a suggestion that is better I can't see what we can do. |
just keep every different problem in it's own topic
if there are more topics about the same problem, with the same software, they can be merged, or if there is one big topic with the solution and a new small one arises, the latter can be closed with a link to the former (this is what you guys already do afaik)
but i'm pro merging several "<software> is released", "hey check out this cool app",... threads |
Problem with this is here:
Problem 1) Has been address 19.25 times... we merged it into one thread
Problem 2) Looks similar to problem 1, but is different... ends up getting merged then lost in the muck, never gets addressed
I'd almost say creating a temp sub-forum would be a better solution
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at240
l33t
Joined: 12 Aug 2005
Posts: 603
Location: UK
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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| I think that, generally, support requests are often better kept in their own separate threads. The downside of this, though, is that they can be comparatively more difficult to locate: people title them in idiosyncratic ways, for example, and the search function doesn't always help you find what you're looking for. For all the silliness of the many-page partitioning or grub sticky threads, at least you know where to find them. If this visibility issue could be addressed, then separate threads would be a much more elegant solution, I think. |
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think4urs11
Bodhisattva
Joined: 25 Jun 2003
Posts: 6659
Location: above the cloud
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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as always this depends on each individual issue aka this lies in the eye of the beholder.
I would agree that it isn't too useful to generate 'monsterthreads' with 25+ pages as the benefit would be minimal (if at all).
From what i can remember over the years the mods in general do show good common sense here.
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Beefrum
Apprentice
Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 234
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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Historically these situations ended up as an "FAQ" so we can all point to the "FUCKING MANUAL". Easier to do if it has been brought together.
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mikegpitt
Advocate
Joined: 22 May 2004
Posts: 3224
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| Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:14 am Post subject: Re: Merging threads |
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| bigun89 wrote: | I have somewhat of a beef with this.
If you have 20 people that have a different, individual issue with one single program, I personally think it is a very bad idea to post/merge it into one thread.
You end up having a thread 50 pages long, mucked up with people talking over each other and becomes extremely confusing to read in a hurry. Plus, finding a your issue in a 50 page thread, then finding the solution is an even bigger hassle. You end up having to read 26 pages just to find what you are looking for. |
I agree with this totally. The most recent one I had to wade through was the modular xorg thread, and after looking though all the pages I couldn't find my particular problem.
In same cases threads should definitely be merged, but not in cases like I just mentioned. |
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