A few changes to Topics

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

It's been starting to get a bit difficult to find your way around this forum, because many 'topics' have taken on a flavour that doesn't always fit their name very well.

As well as bikes, cars (and buses and lorries…) are an interest of many forum members and MEW readers! Rather than ending up with topics for each one, the new 'Bike Restoration' topic is now 'Vehicle Restoration'

'Astronomy' has become 'other hobbies' as there are many hobbies that aren't really engineering but tend to go along with it, but we can't create a topic for each of them.

I've also created 'scientific instruments', as although we get relatively little traffic on this topic it might create some and allows a legit place to discuss things like telescope mounts, microscopes etc.

'The Tea Room' will be a place for loosely engineering related chat. The popular 'what did you do today' thread will go here and is a guide to what sort of discussion is appropriate. The 'aircraft general discussion' thread will also go here.

I will stress that forum rules still apply to ALL topics and that threads should still have a relation to our common interest in engineering. For example 'Scrapheap Challenge' might be a subject for discussion in the tea room, but I doubt that 'X Factor' belongs there.

There will, NOT be a wholesale movement of various threads to get them better classified, but misplaced new threads will be moved.

Any proposals for new topics, merged topics or changed topic names can be made below.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Trying to keep the number of topics under control.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Neil,

As per my recent post on another thread; I think a Health & Safety topic would be useful.

It would allow those who are 'not interested' to avoid 'wasting their time' reading about H&S and then whining or joking about the subject.

… It may then even start to become a useful point of reference.

MichaelG.

[LambtonParticipant @lambton]

Neil,

An excellent thing to do.

I also agree with Michael about a Health and Safety topic.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Seems reasonable, but I'll hold fire on further changes as more suggestions might refine that idea.

Neil

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

Neil,

Any chance of an 'off topic' forum for people to talk about other non engineering stuff, every other web chat site has an 'off topic' section as it keeps the main forum pages for on topic material.

It's good to know you are trying to reorganise things, to be honest I gave up posting as the forum seemed to lose its way and finding interesting engineering posts amongst all the other chat became a chore.

I got the impression no-one seemed interested in 'build threads' so I gave up on mine

Peter.

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

Peter I found your build threads very interesting, did you get the “potty” mill engine finished?.
Mark P.

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

Thanks Mark,

I'm still on with the engine, I like to do a few projects at once so I'm also building a very small brass wobbler (nearly finished and runs well) and I'm well on the way with biggish double acting wobbler (24mm bore 27mm stroke) that I hope is going to make a lot of noise and mess when I run it

Peter.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Peter,

That's what the 'tea-room' is for, but while it should keep the main part of the forum concentrated on the hobby, I would hope to avoid completely irrelevant threads in there.

We have to see how it goes.

Neil

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 31/10/2015 11:43:51:

It would allow those who are 'not interested' to avoid 'wasting their time' reading about H&S and then whining or joking about the subject.

Seems like kind of a "You're either for us or agin us" viewpoint. There are those of us who are simply sick of the proselytism.

However, I do agree that having it's own topic might help …. if we can only keep it there.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 31/10/2015 17:48:10:

 

Seems like kind of a "You're either for us or agin us" viewpoint. There are those of us who are simply sick of the proselytism.

However, I do agree that having it's own topic might help …. if we can only keep it there.

.

Exactly my point.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 31/10/2015 18:02:25

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Arghh! A I have caused acatapostrophe!

Neil

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

I think an off topic would be a very good Idea, and breaking down the topics would be useful as there is some stuff I dont read but have to look through to pull out other idea's.

I must buy a Dictionary to find out what proslytism is as my grasp of the English language was never my strong point at school.

Martin P

[Swarf, Mostly!Participant @swarfmostly]

I like the 'Tea Room' idea.

We could start a 'My armchair is better than your armchair' thread!

Seriously though, I've noticed that many threads are punctuated by posts complaining that the poster is having difficulties posting photos or linking to other sites etc. If I might be forgiven for mentioning another site, Mad Modders have a 'Gallery' department with advice about re-sizing and posting photos. So, a 'driving instructions' topic could save a lot of repetitious megabytes. It could also remind posters who quote other posts to click their right arrow before starting to type their contribution – that would avoid their whole post masquerading as a quote.

I suppose it's too much to ask for a reminder that the thing that rotates is an 'arbor' while an 'arbour' is a garden seat in an alcove of shrubbery?!?!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 31/10/2015 18:03:26:

caused acatapostrophe!

It's its, isn't it

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Swarf, Mostly! on 31/10/2015 19:06:33:

So, a 'driving instructions' topic could save a lot of repetitious megabytes.

We already have a Website FAQs topic and 'posting images'; is a sticky thread at the top of the list.

As you have demonstrated, nobody seems to notice it…

[Swarf, Mostly!Participant @swarfmostly]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 31/10/2015 20:08:34:

Posted by Swarf, Mostly! on 31/10/2015 19:06:33:

So, a 'driving instructions' topic could save a lot of repetitious megabytes.

We already have a Website FAQs topic and 'posting images'; is a sticky thread at the top of the list.

As you have demonstrated, nobody seems to notice it…

Oops, my bad!!!

I guess that's because I always enter via 'Latest Forum Posts'.

I still think the 'Tea Room' is a good idea.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

[Sam StonesParticipant @samstones42903]

Whoops! And I thought arbor was the American spelling of arbour.

[mick70Participant @mick70]

how about a section or sub section for equipment making or re-furbs?

could put homemade tools in it as well.

couple of forums i am on have them and they get lots of posts.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by naughtyboy on 01/11/2015 08:49:44:

how about a section or sub section for equipment making or re-furbs?

could put homemade tools in it as well.

couple of forums i am on have them and they get lots of posts.

Should be adequately covered by "Tools & Tooling" or "Work in progress"

J

[Eric CoxParticipant @ericcox50497]

Why the need for topics. I can't do a search by Topic only I need a key word as well but I can search just by key word. Also, the latest forum postings are listed by description and not by topic.

What would be an improvement is if "posters" were more precise in their descriptions. For example, I can do a keyword search for "Northumbrian" but not see all the relevant postings because "Northumbrian" has not been used in the description.

Edited By Eric Cox on 01/11/2015 09:15:36

[Roger WoollettParticipant @rogerwoollett53105]

If you are going to create a new topic I suggest "Safety in the Workshop" or something like that. It might put off some of the elfandsafety brigade.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Eric Cox on 01/11/2015 09:02:14:

Why the need for topics. I can't do a search by Topic only I need a key word as well but I can search just by key word. Also, the latest forum postings are listed by description and not by topic.

.

Eric,

On this page every new post is shown with its Topic hyperlinked.

That should make it reasonably easy to "search" by a Topic that interests you.

MichaelG.

.

… or you could just browse the list

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 01/11/2015 09:19:31

[Eric CoxParticipant @ericcox50497]

I've never noticed the topic hyperlink before, I just see and use the prominent description.

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

I'm all for having an off topic 'Tea room' to try and keep the main forum area on topic but I do think if you create too many topic sections it starts getting a bit confusing and can be off putting.

Why close down a few of the topic sections that never get used in order to simply things a bit ?

Lets face it the 'Trams' section has had 1 thread in over 3 years, the 'Scale model railway wagons' has had 3 threads in the 2 years. It seems to me nobody reads them so why not just get rid and simply the whole thing ?

Peter.

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