Moved FAQ threads not appearing as permalinks in main Resorts board

[andrewilley]

Moving the resort FAQ threads to their own sub-board is a great idea so people can easily find ones that may have dropped off the first page in the main Resorts board. Thank you mods!

However the message that @Lynne M posted on Sunday (LINK) says that there should be permalinks (by which I am assuming shadow topics) visible in the main Resorts board, but these don't appear to have worked. Here's a view of the main resorts board right now, followed by what is shown in the FAQs board. Even though there are a number of recently updated FAQ threads, none of them are also visible as shadow links within the main Resorts board list:







This will obviously quickly become counter-productive to the purpose of the FAQ threads, as users (especially recently joined) will start to fill up the main board with assorted new threads about specific resorts, rather than asking in the correct FAQ threads as intended. And we all know how many people read all the pinned messages before posting...

Andre

 

[Lynne M]

The links are working as they should. Once a thread is moved, while a link remains on the originating board, it no longer gets bumped up on the board each time a response is posted to it. So moved threads will slowly drift down the board. That's the way it worked on the old board software, too.

If moved threads continued to be bumped up, that would kind of negate the purpose of moving them. Let's say that someone mistakenly posts a question about Pirates of the Caribbean on the Resorts board. I move the thread to the Theme Parks board, because it has nothing to do with Resorts, and really doesn't belong on this board. If the software worked the way you described, and the Pirates thread turns out to be a hot thread and gets a ton of posts, the permalink would continue to sit on the first page of the Resorts board.

Theres no rule or requirement that specific questions about a resort have to be posted on the FAQ threads. Any resort-related question is welcome on the Resorts board. The FAQs are such a great option for people who want to participate in an ongoing discussion about their resort stay, but if someone wants to just ask a quick question on the Resorts board, that's fine, too.

 

[andrewilley]

Thanks for the response and the explanation. I guess I missed the point of the move; I assumed it was to make a place where all the dedicated FAQ/information threads were quickly accessible just in case they dropped off the first page or two of the Resorts board (since making them all Sticky would be overkill). If they are just going to quickly vanish from sight within the main board then it's probably not worth permalinking them at all - just move them into hiding in the Community section and be done with it (although that is not exactly the first place a newcomer would look for a focussed informational thread, as that is hardly a "community"). Sadly, I don't really have the time to read everything that is posted in the Resorts board (much less the rest of the DIS) but I do manage to maintain and respond to one or two specific threads, for which I'm notified via Watched Threads (which is my DIS landing page) whenever anything new is posted.

Not quite sure how Pirates ride threads come into this though: if such a message was posted in the wrong place, such as the Resorts board, then it should surely be removed from the Resorts board completely and put in the Theme Parks board instead, without any permalinks back to the board where it didn't belong in the first place?

Personally, I think I'd have done it the other way around, and have the permalinks listed in the sub-board, and the main informational threads kept in the main board, but hey it's your site not mine - if you prefer lots of separate new threads instead of smaller numbers of tidily focussed ones, then that is of course up to you.

Andre

 

[crazy4wdw]

Just my two cents worth - I think there may be confusion for people looking for the resort FAQ's given that the sub-board is labeled "Resort Community Threads & Photo-Video". It seems like the Resort FAQ's have just been thrown in with the sub-board that once contained only resort photos/videos. Seems like to me the sub-board should have a different label/title which makes it clear that this is where the resort FAQ threads are located.

 

[Lynne M]

Just my two cents worth - I think there may be confusion for people looking for the resort FAQ's given that the sub-board is labeled "Resort Community Threads & Photo-Video. It seems like the Resort FAQ's have just been thrown in with the sub-board that once contained only resort photos/videos. Seems like to me the sub-board should have a different label/title which makes it clear that this is where the resort FAQ threads are located.

I'm already working on getting the board name changed to indicate that the FAQs are there. Unfortunately, it takes a little while to get a board name modified.....stay tuned.

 

[andrewilley]

Thanks Lynne, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is concerned that this move has effectively sidelined some of the most useful resource threads on the DIS. FAQ threads are certainly nothing to do with being any sort of individual 'community', and all to do with creating an easily accessible single location for guests to find the information that they need about their chosen resort, or to ask questions if that information is not already there.

Could I suggest that the new sub-board title fully reflects that purpose, perhaps something like "Frequently Asked Questions Threads for each Disney Resort" (don't further obfuscate it with the words Community or Photo/Video at all).

To be honest, I still don't quite understand the logic of moving these threads at all, as the root list of the Resorts board did seem the most obvious and logical place to find them - perhaps you could let us know the thinking behind this sub-category? (Maybe there have been issues with some threads that I'm not aware of, as I'm afraid I only have time to monitor and respond to the Port Orleans ones? Feel free to PM me if there's an underlying reason that you'd prefer not to discuss in open forums).

Andre

 

[crazy4wdw]

I'm already working on getting the board name changed to indicate that the FAQs are there. Unfortunately, it takes a little while to get a board name modified.....stay tuned.

That's good to know. As Andre mentioned in his post, I think the resort FAQ's are probably the most valuable threads that we have on the Dis, especially for new members who are trying to decide which resort to choose for their upcoming trips. I would be a shame if these threads are not easily accessible because they're been moved to another location.

 

[andrewilley]

Actually I'm even more puzzled now. The new sub-board is now full of all the same sort of general resort-oriented questions that the main Resorts board contains. (e.g. "Poll: Which Epcot Resort for F&W?", "Rooms with queen and bunk beds", "Fireworks from beach at Poly", "Recent experience at Swan/Dolpin suites?", "New Guest Laundry Equipment at Resorts?", "Which Moderate With A 5 Year Old???", etc.

Those (and hundreds like them) are all general resort questions. There seems to be no logic as to what belongs in there and what belongs in the main Resorts board, and all that seems to be happening is a fragmentation of what topics are being posted where, which can't make it easier for anyone to find what they are looking for. Sorry if I've missed something, but I can't quite see the logic behind this?

Andre

 

[Lynne M]

Sorry, I've been tied up with work for a couple of days and haven't been able to keep up with the thread moves. I'll do my best to get caught up today.

 

[MickeyT]

What? This isn't your full time job?
Seriously Lynne thanks for all you and your fellow moderators do!

 

[andrewilley]

What? This isn't your full time job?
Seriously Lynne thanks for all you and your fellow moderators do!

Indeed, it takes a lot of work to keep a site like this maintained and tidy.

Andre

 

[germ539]

I personally liked them on the main thread better. They were easier to find and I'd be afraid that future "lookers" for the thread won't even think about looking anywhere else. They seemed easier to find on the main thread.

Just my two cents.

 

[Lynne M]

We are working on a solution that I think will make it much easier to find the FAQs.

 

[andrewilley]

Thanks Lynne, not sure the current method is quite working yet.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

Hi Lynne, I do hope your proposed solution is not to try to turn FAQ & Information Threads into innane chatrooms. I try my best to keep all the off-topic chatter and clutter out of my FAQ threads (to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and allow people to more easily find answers to questions) so I don't WANT social chatter in there, which the new thread titles are only going to encourage. I created it to be a focussed information thread, not Facebook! Who is responsible for this please?

"Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter Social Club" ; "Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside Social Club" --- ?!?!?!?!

Andre

 

[Lynne M]

Please see this thread on the Resorts Community board. Thanks.

 

[andrewilley]

Thanks Lynne, yes I'd already seen that message but I thought it was locked when I first saw it. Looks like its available for responses now anyway.

Andre

 

[she who must read]

I have been on Dis for about two years - but am still "new." Had I not already "watched" the POR thread (awesome, by the way) before the move to the above category - I would not have been able to find it where it was moved. I thought it had disappeared - but I remembered I was "watching," so I could get there from that connection.

I LOVE that the POR thread is so positive and informative - and NOT full of chatter about other things. It has a wonderful tone and is a place to turn for quick and reliable help. I would want new Dis-users to be able to find it right away - right in the line of vision…rather than start another thread to get a questioned answered. If I had been looking for it in the last few weeks, I would have been at a loss.

I am sure the move was intended to help make Dis more helpful, but I am afraid that for me, the move made it harder to find. Moving it again? Hum...

Just a "newish" user perspective - and thanks, Andre, for your work on the POR thread…it is wonderful.

 

[andrewilley]

Thank you for the kind comments "she who must read" (love the username by the way). I think a lot of people seem to have felt the same way, and while the experiment of using a separate sub-board was a valiant attempt to tidy up the main Resorts board, it perhaps lost sight of the main reason that all those FAQ Threads were created in the first place, which was to focus all the questions about each individual resort into specific places, where common questions are already answered and new questions can be quickly seen and answered, rather than having lots and lots of individual threads which often get missed or lost.

Thanks to the mods/admins for their work in putting all of these useful resources back in place where people can easily find them, I'm sure everyone appreciates it.

Andre

 

[WDWKOOK]

The Resort Information and FAQ threads have been moved back to their original home in the Disney Resort forum and "Social Club" has been removed from all thread titles. I started a thread regarding these positive changes HERE.