definitive postings

[owen]

I think it would be a good idea to have a separate listing for definitive posts on any subject. i know all replies are useful but there are some which are so full and informative that it is a pity they are then lost. some mwhich come to mind are those on glass fibre repairs by oldsaltoz,diesel repairs by reading college and many others. i know you can search on a subject but i wonder if this would be more useful. a posting could be voted as definitive by us the punters-

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[jimbouy]

Something like an FAQ, often found on other forums around the net.

<hr width=100% size=1> "It is a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, normal to ignore it"

 

[mirabriani]

Good idea Owen.
I sometimes spend a while looking for an answer on a particular subject.
In the same way I sometimes have a dozen or so PBO"s on the floor, looking for an article. I always become immersed in another article before I find it. Is there an index published once a year?
It would certainly save dearheart tripping over me and reminding me of that little job "If you have nothing else to do"
Briani

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[AndrewB]

Disagree.

This possibility has been suggested several times in the past. (You haven't searched that much then!). There are two big drawbacks.

The first concerns how it should be decided that a particular posting merits being classed as 'definitive': by implication better than other people's views or contributions on a topic. I find it hard to see how voting might work. The second is that the existance of a 'definitive' posting could tend to stifle fresh inputs to a problem.

One of the great merits of a forum is that, unlike a mag article, it encourages divergent thinking on a topic. As one who has followed sailing forums and BBs for 15 years now, it has been interesting to see how ideas on many topics have evolved, often in advance of "orthodoxy", even on what might be thought of as very cut-and-dried subjects such as anchoring. So what may have seemed like a definitive answer once, actually becomes dated quite quickly.

Rather than having a formal 'definitive' posting section, what I think would be helpful are longish review postings taken on by anyone who cares to contribute, summarising what they themselves think are the best and most useful contributions on a particular topic over the 3 years covered by the present forums.

 

[John_Clarke]

Re: Disagree.

I fully agree with you. I now copy any postings which I find useful and relevant into a Word document which is classified into dozens of major and sub headings. I also include the source, author and date.

This has been invaluable to me and a very useful reference. I include items which I think might become relevant to my boating in the future. It is interesting to see how even an individual poster's ideas on a particular topic change over a couple of years.

I also do the same thing with magazine articles recording the references in a notebook. It would be nice to have these on the PC but it is not handy when I am reading a magazine.

I like your idea of review postings; it would need someone dedicated with plenty of time to do it.

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[tcm]

Re: third problem

the third problem is of course the monstrous amount of time that it could take...hence your suggestion that someone (else?) make the summary posting

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[Jeremy_W]

I regard anything posted by Mirelle about the shipping industry as definitive.

Whether knowing Costco from Maersk or Ocean from Blue Funnel will make my final moments more enjoyable as a VLCC runs me down in perfect visibility is another matter.

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[ongolo]

Re: Disagree.

I think Owen has a good idea.

PBO (as many other magazines) had until a few years ago every January the Index of the previous year. This was then stopped.

Even before it was stopped, I entered all relevant and interesting articles page numbers, issue and author into a silly little dos database called seekeasy.

This database is the most forgiving for misspelling , upper or lower case. It will find "fish" even if you type fffiiissshhh.

The database is not up todate, but it will be done when I loose my permanent Internet connection one of these fine days.

A friend of mine living in the UK had a more modern approach. His idea is that we use yahoo's geocities as archives. We get 20mb storage free and can invite interested parties. Richard of richardandtracy also participated, until he became very quiete due to work commitments which he says will be over in june or july.

We simply post any information we have and which might be of general interest to anyone.

Usually it is related to a current project. I am prepared to send or post my at present (for the last two years) incomplete database. Especially much of the old stuff going back to the 80's is in there.

However, for somebody to catch up on the last 20 years or so would be a lot of work, but if one were to start now and put the good posts into a file and post it in an archive geocities, it would be a small routine and not a major task.

One thing I also do, is I make a particular post a favourite.

My favourites are grouped: into navigation, projects, anchoring, gps, radar and so on. That way I can go back to specific posts here and on other fora.

Just putting some ideas forward, it would be unproductive that work should get duplicated if other people feel there is a benefit of references.

regards ongolo


<hr width=100% size=1>1000 dream about it, 100 talk about it, 10 start and 1 completes it

 

[tome]

Re: Disagree.

If only!

The same questions come up regularly, and even if one knows the answer it isn't easy to re-post without suggesting a vague search. We all chip in from time-to-time, but there are times when we're too busy. A FAQ would be great, but I've seen it suggested before and suspect it would take someone with time on their hands to get it running.

Agree Milelle is a star, and pleased to note now flying the red duster and blue Chichesters.

Anyone who finds an answer will be a worldfolorum star!

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[Trevor_swfyc]

Questions that can be answered definitively normally are within the first two or three replies once the replies get past ten it is clear not many even read the contributions above before contributing let alone judge them.
If somebody asks what is the PH of my battery acid the definitive answer of 1 is hardly interesting, but it is exact, distinct, short and to the point. I prefer questions like should the wearing of life jackets be compulsory when afloat and who would police it. This in my view prompts thought and discussion and a better forum for all, but who am I to judge.

Trevor


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[mirabriani]

Re: Agree

Good idea Ongolo
Would appear to be the best way to take Owen"s idea forward.
Regards Briani

<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by mirabriani on 14/05/2004 13:03 (server time).</FONT></P>