Rename forum?

Since the 'Help and Feedback Forum' forum regularly gets photo-related

questions, perhaps renaming it might clarify things for visitors.

 

How about something along the lines of 'Photo.net Administration Issues' ?

Renaming this forum was suggested awhile back for the reasons you mention. If the "brain dead" that post off topic questions here can't understand or won't bother to read the description and purpose of this forum that they get when the go to post a question, what makes you think they will be deterred by a different name? Don't think anything will help except moving them to the proper forum or, if that gets to be too much work for the moderators, just delete them with an automatic message sent by a robot to the poster as to why.

Given that this is listed as a 'Help' forum, without any introductory preface explaning what that actually means, confusion might be expected of visitors or new users or people unfamiliar with BBSes.

<i><b>Help and Feedback Forum - Post a New Message</i></b><p>

 

<i>This forum is for questions, suggestions, criticisms, complaints, or just comments on the photo.net site itself, its user interface, and its mechanics.<p>

 

It is not a general Help forum. If your question relates to photography, camera equipment, etc, please place it in another forum. If your question relates to photo.net itself, this is the right place.</i><p>

Other than putting this in a larger bold red flashing font I really can't see how anything more could be done. It's pretty damn clear don't you think?.<p>

I also think changing the name to what you suggest is going to deter some legitamite posters since they <i>are</i> looking for help on Photo.net issues and giving feedback about Photo.net itself. <p>

Note also that we have questions and suggestions posted in the general forum that should be posted in Help and Feedback. Renaming the forum to "Photo.net Administration Issues" is going to aggravate this because it makes the purpose of the forum sound narrow and vague. About the only posts you will have then is from people forgetting their passwords.

"Other than putting this in a larger bold red flashing font I really can't see how anything more could be done. It's pretty damn clear don't you think?"

 

Yes, yes I do. And you know what, Hal? I missed it! (At least I knew the purpose from having read the forum prior to posting.) Some people need flashing and blinking, I guess. <smile>

 

Or at least need to have that description at the top of the forum page <http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a?topic_id=1562>

 

In fact, that could help other forums as well. The moderator of the 'Pentax 67' forum recently bemoaned how some 35mm Pentax users periodically pop up to post 35mm-related questions, apparently unaware of what a Pentax 67 is. A brief note at the top of that forum page might help -- as long as they aren't as "brain-dead" as me, that is.

Ok, I would agree that making the purpose of forums more prominent would help. Since where it is given now doesn't seem very effective, a better place for a description would be <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/unified/q-and-a-post-new" target="newwindow">on this page</a> after each forum name. <p>

I think most people use the unified view to see the forums so the page you suggest probably won't be seen by most although a description wouldn't hurt there too.