Forum Moderators: open
They become very long with people posting x has changed and then oh no it hasn't etc.
My suggestion is to put a new section in the Google Forum which just covers the updates and does not count towards users total posts (just like FOO).
That way all update discussion can go on in one forum, and people who wish to discuss other things can do so in peace.
EDIT IN
The title of the thread should read - New Forum Suggestion not No Forum Suggestion!
Furthermore, if, as poster after poster is suggesting, and as postulated by Brett, the monthly update may be headed for the attic - we'll end up with a rolling index watch. So, as a title for such a forum, howabout 'Google index watch' or 'Datacentre status' - something like that?
I’m surprised GG even bothers looking at them anymore, how many time has he repeated himself
If we have a rolling update, I can imagine some people posting on a daily basis with their new rankings and sob stories and theories explaining the "algo". There needs to be a place for all that.
A filter could be set to trap any post containing the word "update" or (worse) rubbish like "sj", "fi". If people try to post in the "Google News" section (largely devoid of news these days), it is automatically sent to the Update forum.
By the way, No change on www here in Thailand :)
(Sorry, it just slipped out)
This is a very good point in the thread title.
Posts do not count in Foo and Community, so why not exclude them in the Google updates - the technology is in place.
One philosophical point is that, if most of those of us posting here have given up on the upadate thread, then who are the hundreds of posters that appear to post there?
Also, could the update threads be removed from recent posts after a day or so? If they were in a seperate forum, people could still find them - and lets face it, any update threads aren´t likely to be orphaned, so most posts would be answered.
Scott
PS - how about giving the update threads a -1 post value..... ;)
How about a legal divorce and the following property division:
The Spam reports questions or finger pointing.
Where to report spam?
Is this spam?
Should I report this spam?
Does Google do anything about spam reports?
I reported that spam a month ago and it's still there!
Hey GoogleGuy here is more spam, do something, now!
Are totally unconstructive and wont make anyone do a better job or get a better rank. Such topics go south as soon they are posted and should not be allowed anywhere on the board. Such posts should be nuked on the spot, no questions asked. A generic message pointing to the Google News charter [webmasterworld.com] should be sent to authors of such posts. And repeat offenders should have theyr posting privileges suspended.
The repetitive questions.
What is Page Rank?
How do I know my page Rank?
When/where should I submit to google?
Is ODP better than Yahoo for my Page Rank?
My new site was there for a few days and then dissapeared!
How do I get in Google?
What is www2 and www3?
We see such posts everyday. The Google News forum became so noisy, that new members can't find previous posts about the topic. After a brief answer, they should be encouraged to use the library [webmasterworld.com] and use the site search [webmasterworld.com] feature to do some digging on their own, instead of beeing hand fed.
The off topic posts.
Windows freezes!
Did anyone tried program XYZ for email, is it any good?
Sweet GoogleBot eat 10 of my pages today!
What is Robots.txt?
Where do I get my log file?
Such posts are generaly from new members who still think WebmasterWorld is Google News. They need to get out more.
I think some 'Google Update' forum is a good idea. I also strongly believe we need a "New to Google" forum, where Google update discussions could be held. Read only access to Google News should be granted to all, but posting into it would require to pass some basic test.
I think we could turn the WebmasterWorld Google Knowledgebase V2 [webmasterworld.com] into a form...
Regular members are flocking away from the 'Google News' forum because of the noise. Something must be done.
How about an "is your thead really neccessary?" message, tailored to the appropriate forum, whenever some hits "post new thread"?
That could both stem some of the needlessly recycling themes, and redirect the new poster to the info they want now rather than them having to wait for the first reply.
Not going to solve every problem, but every litle helps.
I agree that something like this is needed, seems that a lot of good posts get buried mighty fast and unnoticed these days.
Our Community Has a 2nd Generation
It's true, we're now 4yrs or more old and we have a split, a generation gap if you like.
So, what do we want to do about it?
Nick
Posts such as these demonstrate a lack of professionalism. I find it difficult to distinguish between those that post these messages with the intent of capturing someone's attention and those that they are attempting to expose.
Glad to see that I'm not alone on this subject.
[webmasterworld.com...]
[webmasterworld.com...]
I have not ventured out into the other realms of WebmasterWorld in the last 3 or 4 months. Every ounce of my free time is consumed trying to keep forum3 running proprerly.
I'm pretty confident that we will see some changes to the structure of the Google forum in the near future.
I can also promise you that you will be seeing a much more aggressive approach from the Mod/Admin crew. If it's off-topic, it will be removed. If it's a duplication of an existing thread, it will be spliced, locked and/or removed. If it's just plain noise, it will be removed.
But we can't do it alone. We need some of our veteran members to step up and return to forum 3. We can't restore the quality without first restoring those responsible for the quality.
And the posts in the new forrum should not contribute to post count (Post count used to be a useful tool in judging member knowledge , but no longer it is! )
I see most of the veterans now avoiding forrum3 and Brett has do something about it NOW!
Nick , i believe there is third generation in WW , you guys are Gen #1 , guys like me Gen #2 and all those Update/Is it Spam thread starters Gen #3
<edited to add>
There should also be a "Google Monitor" Forrum for the update threads
</edited to add>