• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

How to avoid 53 page Review threads???

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,741
Likes
241,989
Location
Seattle Area
In that case, what about a locked review thread + a separate 'conversation' thread both referencing each other?
No can do. There are critical comments on the review itself that need to follow it. Readers can do this anyway by just ignoring the rest of the thread.
 

Grooved

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
682
Likes
441
Forum System auto arranges posts by date/time stamp. No method exists to defeat that arrangement at present.
If not arranged the whole thread, they are options sometimes to be able to display the top post (the ones getting more "likes")
 

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,741
Likes
241,989
Location
Seattle Area
If not arranged the whole thread, they are options sometimes to be able to display the top post (the ones getting more "likes")
No, there is no mechanism for that. You could blame me for using a forum platform for structured reviews. :)

There is an option for making review threads look like reviews plus comments that go on forever. I don't like that but the option exists.
 
D

Deleted member 23424

Guest
No can do. There are critical comments on the review itself that need to follow it. Readers can do this anyway by just ignoring the rest of the thread.
Ok. Top of every page: Sort Thread By Date/Likes/SpecialBoffinStars?

There must be some kind of filtering method available somewhere?

Seriously, I spend time on here, I read all sorts of threads that I'm not necessarily directly interested in and learn in the process, I enjoy it.

I read several pages about headroom in DACs today that went 90% over my head, enjoyed every word, possibly expanded my knowledge, definitely stretched my grey matter.... and.... I'd guess 346% of folk on here have/had an RME.

Yet despite all of that, I was off on other sites looking for info recently as the thread on here was so hard to fathom; the latter pages a mixture of folk unwilling to face all 12 billion pages and folk fed up of folk unwilling to read all 12 billion pages.
 

Zensō

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 11, 2020
Messages
2,753
Likes
6,772
Location
California
I really enjoy the reviews and some (much?) of the discussion that follows, but so many of these run so far off topic (or worse no topic - along the lines of "great review, thanks!" that could be more efficiently/effectively done thru like button) that the discussions run far too long to ever wade thru. For instance, the NAD M33 review is currently at 53 pages. I'm sure that there are some interesting points lost in there somewhere, but who has the time to wade thru 53 pages?! I'm sure this is a complex problem, but what might we do?
Why not just read the review and stop there if you don’t want to participate in the discussion? I guess I don’t really see the problem here.
 

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,741
Likes
241,989
Location
Seattle Area
Ok. Top of every page: Sort Thread By Date/Likes/SpecialBoffinStars?
We are using a third-party platform for this site. As such, the only thing I can do is configure it. I have no ability to change its functionality. The system is designed for forum discussions where everything is sorted by date. I will look to see if there are any add-ons that do what you say but I am not very hopeful.
 

phoenixdogfan

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
3,343
Likes
5,277
Location
Nashville
I kind of like that these threads sometimes become loose, baggy monsters. Presents an experience akin to wandering down a back alley in some foreign city looking for a good coffee and/or souvenir shop, and only to find something more interesting and unexpected.
 

JSmith

Master Contributor
Joined
Feb 8, 2021
Messages
5,241
Likes
13,565
Location
Algol Perseus
I kind of like that these threads sometimes become loose, baggy monsters.
Agree... I'm not a fan of censorship or over moderation. Other forums have gone down that road and are either gone or a pale imitation of what they once were.


JSmith
 

TheBatsEar

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 16, 2020
Messages
3,195
Likes
5,216
Location
Germany
No, there is no mechanism for that. You could blame me for using a forum platform for structured reviews. :)

There is an option for making review threads look like reviews plus comments that go on forever. I don't like that but the option exists.
Best to not change anything unless you have to. I think what you do is very practical.

Here is my proposal to solve the problem of facts hidden in long threads:

Add a Wiki, enthusiastic members will then be able to collect all the facts hiding in the pages into a very condensed form. I'm not proposing that the review happens in the Wiki, just that the review contains a link to the Wiki (https://subdomain.domain.topleveldomain/dacs:topping:e30). A Wiki is a communal knowledge database, something all the Forums try to be sooner or later, but fail.

For example, the Topping L30 has hundreds of pages now. 256 to be precise. Good luck searching for the serial numbers of the flawed versions in there. Would there be a Wiki linked, one would read that directly after the review and get the important knowledge of all the 256 pages.


Here is how that could be implemented, in practice: A Dokuwiki gets installed into a subdomain, like wiki.audiosciencereview.com. A few wiki Admins get installed, they can make changes to the Dokuwiki settings (Theme, Title, license of contributions). A few Content Admins get installed, they do what they do around here, remove unwanted users, move things around into the right categories and so on.

The the Users, the most important people: The Users are allowed to edit everything. Some will only login to fix a typo. Some will be enthusiastic enough to condense all the information from an old review thread. Some will collect FAQs. Some can link to research papers for certain topics. Some can write about the basics and options of record cleaning. Only rule would be that everything has to be rooted in facts. Discussion will be in the Forum, not the Wiki.


Technically i would recommend Dokuwiki over a Forum-plugin (which you will regret comes update time) or MediaWiki. It's actual content is stored in text files, which means they can be manipulated/parsed by shell scripts, or read in by PHP software. I run a Dokuwiki in my LAN for about 18 years or so. I also have installed Dokuwiki as a knowledge base in a few companies, with good success. Everyone is able to add value after a five minute introduction, even non-techies. Try that with MediaWiki ;-).

Picture time! :DThis is the index page of my personal Wiki that i run at home since 2004 (has it really been 18 years?). Just a list of topics i wanted to makes notes for, really:
1645530496682.png


This is what the LVM site looks like, exquise the german language:
1645530398879.png


And this is the edit view of that same page, pretty basic, formatting i use mostly are headings (which the wiki then makes in a TOC) and commands (two spaces in front), there is more, but i don't use much of it:
1645530885906.png


Here is a last picture, a script i wrote for a customers monitoring system 10 years ago:
1645531038391.png


So this is my proposal. I would consult to get it running and onboard the first Admins and create a sensible first structure, something i have done for a few companies before. You would link to the Wiki from the review and the Users would do the rest.

If it works, it works and will be a monument to our great wisdom. If it fails, we delete it in a few month and deny it ever existed.:)
 

Xmech team

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2021
Messages
32
Likes
14
I will look to see if there are any add-ons that do what you say but I am not very hopeful.

Hey Amir, what happened to posting reviews on the "Review Index" page? Nowadays I have to search you or a particular unit to see what you have reviewed lately. I was even surprised that you reviewed the AVM 70 and Emotiva's new processor after searching and checking your posts.
 

RickSanchez

Major Contributor
Cartographer
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
1,168
Likes
2,492
Location
Austin, TX
Hey Amir, what happened to posting reviews on the "Review Index" page? Nowadays I have to search you or a particular unit to see what you have reviewed lately. I was even surprised that you reviewed the AVM 70 and Emotiva's new processor after searching and checking your posts.

Good question but OT. Where you want to go is over here ...
 

AdamG

Helping stretch the audiophile budget…
Moderator
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
4,764
Likes
15,801
Location
Reality
I the Spirit of a low Moderation site, that Amir desires. Review Threads as well as any/all threads with suffer conversation drift. With one you get the other.

In the short term, and until we find some acceptable solution, we could fix this ourselves practically overnight. How? Membership Policing is how. You see off topic posts in an Official Review Thread, use the Report function. This will then task the Moderation Team to engage and start deleting/moving off topic posts. A low moderation Forum means the Moderators are reactive and typically don’t get involved unless we get Reports or spot something nefarious or socially way out of bounds. Therefore the answer to keeping Review Threads clean and on topic is in the hands of our valuable and incredibly capable Members. It’s the solution we have right now. It does and can work. This is not a problem we can toss to a small group to fix. This problem requires the active engagement of the entire ASR Crew.

Official Review Threads should be the focus of everyone’s attention. These threads are our bread & butter in terms of draw and Forum value. If we as a group decide to fix this we can. Use the Report function and Peer Pressure to keep fellow Members on topic. Tossing this work on Amir to find a solution when we are sitting on a ready made solution just creates busy work for our only Test Engine. He is better utilized elsewhere.

We can fix this today if we all chip in. This is nothing more than my humble opinion as an ASR Member and an active member of the Admin Team. At the end of the day, this is a Member created problem. Therefore it is also possible that the Members can solve this themselves. ;)
 
D

Deleted member 23424

Guest
I the Spirit of a low Moderation site, that Amir desires. Review Threads as well as any/all threads with suffer conversation drift. With one you get the other.

In the short term, and until we find some acceptable solution, we could fix this ourselves practically overnight. How? Membership Policing is how. You see off topic posts in an Official Review Thread, use the Report function. This will then task the Moderation Team to engage and start deleting/moving off topic posts. A low moderation Forum means the Moderators are reactive and typically don’t get involved unless we get Reports or spot something nefarious or socially way out of bounds. Therefore the answer to keeping Review Threads clean and on topic is in the hands of our valuable and incredibly capable Members. It’s the solution we have right now. It does and can work. This is not a problem we can toss to a small group to fix. This problem requires the active engagement of the entire ASR Crew.

Official Review Threads should be the focus of everyone’s attention. These threads are our bread & butter in terms of draw and Forum value. If we as a group decide to fix this we can. Use the Report function and Peer Pressure to keep fellow Members on topic. Tossing this work on Amir to find a solution when we are sitting on a ready made solution just creates busy work for our only Test Engine. He is better utilized elsewhere.

We can fix this today if we all chip in. This is nothing more than my humble opinion as an ASR Member and an active member of the Admin Team. At the end of the day, this is a Member created problem. Therefore it is also possible that the Members can solve this themselves. ;)
I enjoy the review threads and don't really mind them drifting slightly off topic. But when you're trying to glean important info (such as the aforementioned L30 headphone deathboxes and subsequent serial numbers or the RME ADI variants/squeaky models etc etc etc) it's nigh on impossible without reading 4 hours of chit chat.

The wiki idea above would be an absolutely invaluable resource, and probably negate a lot of the idiot questions that idiots like this idiot keep asking.

Also, It doesn't help when I have to keep stopping to see what middle name Rick "imagine how big his birth certificate must be to fit all his middle names on it" Denney is using today.
 

AdamG

Helping stretch the audiophile budget…
Moderator
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
4,764
Likes
15,801
Location
Reality
I enjoy the review threads and don't really mind them drifting slightly off topic. But when you're trying to glean important info (such as the aforementioned L30 headphone deathboxes and subsequent serial numbers or the RME ADI variants/squeaky models etc etc etc) it's nigh on impossible without reading 4 hours of chit chat.

The wiki idea above would be an absolutely invaluable resource, and probably negate a lot of the idiot questions that idiots like this idiot keep asking.

Also, It doesn't help when I have to keep stopping to see what middle name Rick "imagine how big his birth certificate must be to fit all his middle names on it" Denney is using today.
Are you volunteering to be the ASR Wiki Manager? We get excellent pay and benefit packages from Amir! :)
 
D

Deleted member 23424

Guest
Are you volunteering to be the ASR Wiki Manager? We get excellent pay and benefit packages from Amir! :)
I want a percentage cut from all ASR advertising revenue. A good % though, not a crap one.

I'm sure there would be no shortage of volunteers. The model described above is almost self running.
 

TheBatsEar

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 16, 2020
Messages
3,195
Likes
5,216
Location
Germany
Boys, let's not forget, it was my idea. Spoils will be plenty. It'll trickle down, don't you worry. :p

Anyway, I would be able to host it in the beginning and take care of technical side. But i would prefer it to be under @amirm s control eventually. Just waiting for a go to whip something together.
 
D

Deleted member 23424

Guest
Boys, let's not forget, it was my idea. Spoils will be plenty. It'll trickle down, don't you worry. :p

Anyway, I would be able to host it in the beginning and take care of technical side. But i would prefer it to be under @amirm s control eventually. Just waiting for a go to whip something together.
We'll have a whip round to cover the additional server costs caused by @rdenney's middle names.
 

DonH56

Master Contributor
Technical Expert
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
Messages
7,921
Likes
16,767
Location
Monument, CO
At another site the review and some other threads (mainly "teaching" threads) were posted and immediately locked. Discussions went into a "Discuss XYZ" thread. I liked the idea but also means the OP must copy (sometimes with Moderator help) any changes and/or other relevant info and updates from the discussion thread into the review thread. I started creating the discussion thread myself when I posted the main article and added a link at the end of my articles to the discussion thread so the discussion was easily found and not lost later.
 
Top Bottom