hammock introduction & instruction

[fin]

I still think this is the best option; with links on the homepage to the stickies for those that are just cruising. They can easily hit the homepage and just read the overall view of each topic, no custom code required!

If you require a search of the forums before each new thread HF will die, we tried that at the old Sticks and Stones forum and everyone hated it (or just ignored the search and posted anyway)!

I get your point on requiring a search for new posts. I guess the site isn't big enough yet to get that complex or to start throwing "required" things at people who just are looking for info. My work background makes me look at efficiency, reducing overlap and duplication. Which is nothing like me in real life!! I'm usually very mellow and laid back, but pressed for time. It does get annoying sometimes when someone starts a new thread, and the very first response is "that was covered here: >>>>link follows". But that's just me, because I want to read every thread and every post, and just don't have the time to follow everything.

I know when I first joined the site, I had lurked for months, and my first post was something that had been covered Ad Nauseum. If I had done a quick search first, I would have found my answer.

I've always been a gear junky and an extreme camper, but I switched over to Hammock Camping after a bad experience in a tent with a friend who sounded and smelled like he swallowed a lawn mower with a leaky head gasket and 5 straight days of rain 20 miles in to the BWCA in someone elses equipment (read leaky tent here.) I have lots of hours around my yard and house testing, but only a few trips to the woods with my Hammock. Thanks to this site and the great people on it, I already own 5 hammocks (2 DIY), 6 tarps, and I'm working on 4 different quilt / sock / tarp / ??? setups!!

I guess my point is that for people who are on the site every day, or have been posting here a while, we are all used to the way things work and how to find what we are looking for. But when I was a Noob, I actually would have APPRECIATED a reminder b4 I posted that told me I was an idiot , Unlike now, I've already been reminded. I also would have appreciated an easier way to find/compile/view what I was looking for when I was a lurker. I love the sticky idea, but some pre-programmed searches for Noobs or even a differently formatted start page for non-registered users just cruising and looking for info isn't that stupid of an idea. Something that you can ignore if you want as a regular user may be a godsend to a Noob. After all, we are talking about Hammock introduction & instruction, which implies the new users and the curious coming to check us out!

p.s. I love the format of jeff's site.

[alex30808]

I like the lay out of Jeff's site aswell...that's where I got all my first hand knowledge about hammocking...then I followed one of his links to somewhere that thus led me here...I agree that a "newbe" section is a good idea...somewhere, where the basics are covered...that is what I needed when I first came here...as did many of us...and yes...there is a host of knowledge posted here on a daily basis...but...often times...a thread containing the "Meat" of the question is 5-35 pages long...most folks here are a part of those pages already...but for a visitor...it could lead to them leaving because the answer is not readily available... and many of these extended pages get WAY off topic..yeah...still about hammocks....but not about the title line or what the author started. I am just like the next fella...I too get miffed sometimes at a newbe who posts the same question the last 15 newbe's posted...trust me...I see it all the time on the turkey hunting forums...but here with less than 200 posts...I am still a newbe...so I tend to read before I ask...

Stickys sound great...or a Hammock Hanging Basics area...

Great ideas folks...and glad to be a part of it.

[slowhike]

i like the lay out of jeff's site too.
from the home page you can choose a subject & from that subject page you can click on other links.

i don't know what the options are on this forum (server), but i'll ask attrol to take a look at this thread when he can & see what suggestions he has.

[attroll]

I have to admit to everyone that I do not get the time I would like to spend on this site like I would like to. I stay really busy maintaining WhiteBlaze and a few other web sites and still try to juggle my real life. I leave everything to the admins on this site and they have full run to do what they want. The problem is that I don’t think that the admins know a whole lot about HTML on this site. Not that it is required but it sure would help. To ad a table on the front page it requires some knowledge about HTML. This means it is pretty much left all up to me and like I said I have too much other stuff going on. When someone asks me to add a link to the help menu on the front page I am usually right on it and get it done. I do not have the time to read through the forums to see what links should be added. I have to rely on people asking me to add them.

If we have someone that knows a little about HTML and wants to be assign the block on the front page for help file box and things of that nature please let me know and I will see what I can do. If one of my admins knows HTML and I don’t realize it I apologize, just let me know.

The other thing that can be done that people do not realize is that people can make HTML help files of DIY documents and send them to me and I can make them a page rather then posting them in the forums. The page would look like these pages and have a menu on the left side. I think this is what everyone is talking about wanting.
http://www.hammockforums.net/index.p...e=hammocklinks
http://www.hammockforums.net/index.p...e=hammockintro
This would require an admin or someone that is a little HTML savvy.

Thread Titles
Yes I have to agree. If thread titles did contain the keywords of what the thread was about then it would make searching a lot easier. It also helps to make you search more specific by putting the quotes around the word or words your searching for like “bear bag”.

Since the site is running vBulletin you may want to have a look at installing the Zoints Tag plugin. It will give you a "Tag Cloud" box for quick navigation of popular items.

This thread discusses it in more detail than I can bring myself to care about...

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=127244

Sk8rs_dad
Zoints does have some advantages but it is a pain to deal with. vBulletin is coming out with a major upgrade within about a month or two that is going to allow tags. This will probably puts Zoints out to pasture. Until then everyone is going to have to be patient.

[slowhike]

unfortunately, i do not know HTML.
hopefully one of the computer knowledgeable folks here at HF will PM you & talk to you about volunteering their service to help put some of those ideas into action.
and i like the looks of the samples you gave links for.
thanks attrol.

[alex30808]

That "Links" page is EXACTLY what I was thinking...if a mod/adin knew how to link a thread to a topic...you could put the topic as a link with a drop down box and add the thread to the drop down box...maybe I am making this to complicated...I would have loved to have found that page when I first go on here...it would have helped a lot...but then I never go to the home page...my browser brings me streight to the forum. Maybe this page could be linked from the forum page with the title "New Hanger's Links and Info" or "Hanger's Links and Info".

[attroll]

That "Links" page is EXACTLY what I was thinking...if a mod/adin knew how to link a thread to a topic...you could put the topic as a link with a drop down box and add the thread to the drop down box...maybe I am making this to complicated...I would have loved to have found that page when I first go on here...it would have helped a lot...but then I never go to the home page...my browser brings me streight to the forum. Maybe this page could be linked from the forum page with the title "New Hanger's Links and Info" or "Hanger's Links and Info".

Good idea. I work on that.