Thanks. Though it’s a small sample, it’s good to hear. The ability to browse both ways will be something we should keep.
Here’s another one – I recall this comes up episodically and then goes away. What do you think about replying directly to someone’s post, and nesting the replies that way, vs what we do have currently, which is the @thing and the blockquote button on the text field. Is it important to you to be able to quote somebody, or more easily identify to whom you’re responding?
As I think, I may toss some more out to you today.
I recall this comes up episodically and then goes away. What do you think about replying directly to someone's post, and nesting the replies that way
I’ve seen forums like that…and they are a pain to read and keep track of. Also I sometimes will respond to more then one person at a time. Now that would force me to respond to each one individually…thus taking up more real-estate.
I like being able to see who someone responded to by reading their post, but I don’t think that necessarily needs to change how the forms are formatted. Having a tiered format is only one way to do that. Another way is to put a “reply” link at the bottom of every post, which automatically adds something like “in reply to JoeMario” at the top of the reply. That way, the replies could still post chronologically, but it would be more clear who is talking to whom.
There are so many advantages to listing posts in chronological order that it seems like it would be difficult and disconcerting to change it.
please don t change the format. the chronological order is soooooo much better.
anyone can pop in and catch up on a thread easily.
I don t care much, for the quote system that some sites use either, its like he said, that she said that he said, that i said, sheesh. I already read all that once, make your point already!
back to the reply system…, it s almost impossible to keep trak of a thread that way. it degenerates into 10 different conversations. I think the present system promotes community and self policing.
Compared to other internet forums, I think Car Talk is the best. The posters are very knowledgeable and mostly polite and respectful, and the site is reliably working 7 days a week, and - this is a key part to the success – the active moderation keeps things from going off track. And it is pretty simple to use. I don’t see the need for any changes at all.
I guess if I were to change anything, it would be to further simply it, remove the “tag” feature. I don’t see much benefit. And maybe improve the search function, so you could search in just one area if you wanted, like just the “repair” forum if you wanted, vs like now, search results coming from all the forums and other places of the Car Talk website. Another improvement would be if the search results could be ordered by the time it was posted, or the time the thread was created.
Edit: The way I use the forum typically. I sign in, then look for any notifications. Then I go through the “comments” from the last time I posted. Then I click on the forum titles, gen discussion, show, repairs. I don’t use the “distracted driving” much. If you wanted to eliminate that, no worries.
I agree with the comments abovve about somehow making it easier to see which page of the thread you are one. The colors on the page numbers are now so close it is all but impossible to tell.
One other idea to consider, a warning to those who post their car problems here that it’s not possible to actually make a diagnosis via the internet. That the site is for entertainment only. The comments by the posters are just opinions and educated guesses and shouldn’t be used to actually fix a car. That the best and safest method to fix your car, visit your local professional mechanic.
Quoting @GeorgeSanJose “One other idea to consider, a warning to those who post their car problems here that it’s not possible to actually make a diagnosis via the internet. That the site is for entertainment only. The comments by the posters are just opinions and educated guesses and shouldn’t be used to actually fix a car. That the best and safest method to fix your car, visit your local professional mechanic.”
I disagree to the point that I didn’t want to just click disagree above. I have asked a lot of repair questions here, as well as giving a lot of answers. Most of the answers I get are very good. I don’t post an answer unless I’m pretty sure I have good info to give. I think most posters are the same way. There is no reason to post a disclaimer. Not everyone wants to spend the money to take their car to a shop, especially when they are capable of fixing it themselves with a little information and a shove in the right direction.
You can also file this as a request for a quote option.
didn’t pore over the comments here, but one suggestion I’d vote for:
on the mobile site, have all the comments load at once. I understand that paginating them is supposed to avoid sitting there for an hour while the whole thing loads. However, I have found myself preferring if all the comments load. I have a slow smartphone (who doesn’t). inevitably, I have to load the “Last” or next comments, then go back, looking for a particular comment.
oh also while I am here, I think users were expressing how the “disagree” “agree” and (shudder…) “like” buttons aren’t quite doing it for them. I would vote against having those buttons and also the “Off Topic” button should go. perhaps “flag” or “report” is ok…
… BTW, the bars sliding down from the top (red bar) and bottom (black bar) of the phone seem dispensable to me - not to mention how it looks like a call is coming in every time.
@wesw, they make old shows available here on cartalk.com, but I think they charge a fee for the access. However, there is a cost free alternative. If you download iTunes at apple.com (for free), you can download and keep podcasts as long as you want. You just change your podcast settings so the episodes don’t get deleted after you listen to them. I believe you can go back pretty far and download old episodes, but I’m not sure because I stopped subscribing to Car Talk podcasts when they stopped making new episodes. The podcasts are also free, butI believe you can purchase CDs of classic episodes at Car Talk’s Shameless Commerce Division on the website. What you seek is available if you’re willing to download iTunes for free or spend a few bucks.
…and on that note, I’m going to close the thread so I can pass along the results. Thank you for the thoughtful and constructive responses. I’ll surely keep you posted as things develop, and any further ideas about this subject can be written on my wall, sent in a PM, or e-mailed to carolyn@cartalk.com.