Forum sections - suggestion

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W3DRM
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Forum sections - suggestion

Post by W3DRM »

This probably needs to be addressed by a forum administrator but I'll throw out my idea so all can read it and make comments as they see fit.

QUESTION: Have you ever tried to find forum posts on pen turning using the search word of "pen"? Try it and you will find that you will get a result of zero items found. Perhaps I don't understand the search function but in any other forum I frequent, it would give me any forum post that contains the word "pen". That does not seem to be the case in this forum.

SUGGESTION: Add a "Pen Turning" entry as a forum by itself. It would certainly make it easier for everyone looking for information on pen turning to find without having to scroll through the entire SS Forum.
Don - W3DRM - Minden, Nevada --- SS 510 (new 2005), Bandsaw, Jointer, Conical & Standard sanding disks, & DC3300
Carson Valley Weather - http://www.carsonvalleyweather.com
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admin
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Post by admin »

Because we have thousands of posts the default for the search function is has a minimum of four letters. I got 178 results for "pen turning" and 14 results when only searching in titles.
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paulmcohen
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Post by paulmcohen »

I would like to see a forum where we can discuss usage and installation of various Shopsmith accessories. Similar to the review section but focused on how to. I am going crazy trying to figure out the Kreg Fence and don't seem to know where to post the question to get an answer. I have resorted to emailing anyone claiming to own one.
Paul Cohen
Beaverton, OR
A 1982 500 Shopsmith brand upgraded to a Mark 7 PowerPro, Jointer, Bandsaw (with Kreg fence), Strip Sander, Ring Master and lots of accessories all purchased new
12" Sliding Compound Mitre Saw, 1200 CFM DC
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dusty
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Post by dusty »

I too get 178 returns. Look no further than the first one and you should understand the frustration. The search returns on this:

The demo would have to be compelling even at $295.50. Again, I do hobby work. If I was turning out projects that have to satisfy a customer and be competitive at the same time I would be inclined to invest more freely.

Not the result one would hope for. This one example returned 5 pages of posts and after scanning all of them "manually" we find there is nothing about "pen turning". Question: Are the quotes suppose to do something to limit the search?

What am I doing wrong? I've posted this question before and got nowhere so I just shutup but it seems I might not be the only one who needs tutoring in the "search function".

A second example of the search function for "pen turning": I am no electric motor tech, but I often hear exactly that noise when turning off many electric motors. I can not say what it is, but I think it might be a normal noise. You might want to contact the SS toll free technical help line for their opinion. 1 800 762 7555.
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Dusty
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W3DRM
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RE: Forum sections - suggestion

Post by W3DRM »

Well, it looks like perhaps I am not the only one having problems with the search function. No where is it mentioned in the FAQ's or in the search area itself that there is a minimum of four characters required to perform a search. The results certainly don't even give a hint that there are any such limitations.

Furthermore, as DUSTY has said, the 178 hits on "Pen turning" don't all pertain to pen turning. It appears that with or without the quotes around the desired search doesn't make any difference.

Lastly, I also suggested that a "Pen Turning" topic be added to these forums. No one has replied to that request at all. Having only a very few basic forum topics is what is causing these search issues to come to the forefront. Since the Shopsmith system has so many varied capabilities, I would think topics on the various attachments and functions would really be helpful to everyone.
Don - W3DRM - Minden, Nevada --- SS 510 (new 2005), Bandsaw, Jointer, Conical & Standard sanding disks, & DC3300
Carson Valley Weather - http://www.carsonvalleyweather.com
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dusty
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Forum sections - suggestion

Post by dusty »

In all fairness to the Shopsmith website crew - they do have a project underway to revise the forum categories. These things take time and are handled according to priorities.

I have gone to two other forums to do research on the search function. They all work the same way - with regards to the qoutation marks.
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admin
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Post by admin »

When using the advanced search choose "sort by relevancy" and only in the titles, that should get you a better result since the default is "sort by date". You can mess around with the other advanced search functions and get a little further. Out of the forum software programs out there this one was by far the best, but the search is not exactly Google...however you can also try this approach to getting better results

go to google.com and type this into the search box

site:www.shopsmith.net pen turning

OR

site:www.shopsmith.net any other search term
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Bruce
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Post by Bruce »

drmcroberts wrote: Lastly, I also suggested that a "Pen Turning" topic be added to these forums. No one has replied to that request at all.
I personally have nothing against pen turning, but it does not interest me in the least. I wonder what percentage of SS users would have an interest in such a thing. You could post a poll if you wanted to know. Then SS would have some numbers to use to make their decision on creating another forum. I do believe we need more forums, but having too many would be worse than too few, if you ask me.
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W3DRM
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Post by W3DRM »

dusty wrote:In all fairness to the Shopsmith website crew - they do have a project underway to revise the forum categories. These things take time and are handled according to priorities.

I have gone to two other forums to do research on the search function. They all work the same way - with regards to the qoutation marks.

Okay, it's now a month later and no progress is apparent relative to adding new categories to the SS forum. Whether my comments are fair or not is purely subjective. My personal feeling is that this forum is not very user friendly relative to being able to find specific areas of interest solely due to the lack of adequate available categories. Adding to that is the fact that the search function simply doesn't work to a level that would make it usable. Am I being too critical? Perhaps, but try finding specific items and you'll find you can't really get to the subjects that are relevant to your search - "pen turning" is just one example of the shortcomings as has been mentioned in the replies above. If we had additional categories, the ability to find pertinent information would be immensely improved.

Sorry to be so negative but until this issue is resolved, I will not be doing much searching or reading in this forum.
Don - W3DRM - Minden, Nevada --- SS 510 (new 2005), Bandsaw, Jointer, Conical & Standard sanding disks, & DC3300
Carson Valley Weather - http://www.carsonvalleyweather.com
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W3DRM
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Post by W3DRM »

Bruce wrote:I personally have nothing against pen turning, but it does not interest me in the least. I wonder what percentage of SS users would have an interest in such a thing. You could post a poll if you wanted to know. Then SS would have some numbers to use to make their decision on creating another forum. I do believe we need more forums, but having too many would be worse than too few, if you ask me.

Bruce,

I don't diagree with you at all. Your comment only adds to the reason for adding additional categories (not forums). Additional categories allow you, me and the other participants in this SS forum to read and reply to those areas we are interested in. It also eliminates our having to wade through the topics we have no interest in. I'm not trying to add to the complexity of this site, I am merely attempting to get some additional topics added so we can more adequately support the needs of the users of this forum.

I am the webmaster for numerous websites and am fully aware of the overhead and effort it takes to maintain forums and to tailor them to the needs of the individual users. It's true you can't possibly address all issues and desires of every user but, oversimplifying a forum by only having a few categories or topics only adds to the frustrations users have when looking for information.

I'll close by simply asking two questions:
  1. What is the purpose of the SS Forum?
  2. If the users can't easily find the information they need or are looking for, then what good is the forum?
Don - W3DRM - Minden, Nevada --- SS 510 (new 2005), Bandsaw, Jointer, Conical & Standard sanding disks, & DC3300
Carson Valley Weather - http://www.carsonvalleyweather.com
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