# Reorganisation of ASF forum structure



## Joe Blow

Over the next couple of days, I will be moving all threads on specific stocks to the three subforums you can see on the forums index page: *Stocks A-H*, *Stocks I-P* and *Stocks Q-Z*.

This reorganisation is intended to make threads on particular stock easier to track down as ASF grows and the number of threads increases.

At the moment, some threads (mostly earlier ones) have been moved to the subforums and some are still in the main ASX Stock Chat forum. After all the stock specific threads have been moved out of this forum (ASX Stock Chat), it will only contain all of the more general and sector specific threads, along with things like the stock tipping competition threads.

Please bear with me while this reorganisation continues.


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## ob1kenobi

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				Joe Blow said:
			
		

> Over the next couple of days, I will be moving all threads on specific stocks to the three subforums you can see on the forums index page: *Stocks A-H*, *Stocks I-P* and *Stocks Q-Z*.
> 
> This reorganisation is intended to make threads on particular stock easier to track down as ASF grows and the number of threads increases.
> 
> At the moment, some threads (mostly earlier ones) have been moved to the subforums and some are still in the main ASX Stock Chat forum. After all the stock specific threads have been moved out of this forum (ASX Stock Chat), it will only contain all of the more general and sector specific threads, along with things like the stock tipping competition threads.
> 
> Please bear with me while this reorganisation continues.




Sounds like a good idea Joe. I hope you're not doing it though on your birthday!


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## cashcow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Yep, thumbs up for this move.  

Cheers
CC


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Will move the rest of the threads tomorrow... ooops, today!

I think it will make the forums much better organised and make it much easier to search for specific threads as the forums become bigger.

It may take a bit of getting used to though.


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Okay, just an update on this process:

I have transferred all of the threads on particular stocks into their respective subforums. However, there is still a little bit of cleaning up to do in the default ASX Stock Chat forum which, from now on, is for general market commentary and all other non-stock specific discussion. Threads that compare two or more stocks may end up in there too.

When starting a new thread on a stock for which no thread currently exists please try and remember to start it in the correct subforum. 

Just a note about using the search function: Don't forget that there are two ways of searching for information on ASF. There is the sitewide search which you will find in the navigation bar near the top of the page:







And then there is the individual forum search which just searches the forum (or subforum) you are currently in. You will find that search just below the page numbers on each page of that particular forum:






Searching within a forum will return fewer results as there are fewer threads to be searched. This will hopefully help you to find what you are looking for quicker.

If you have any comments or questions regarding the new forum structure, which I hope will make ASF more user friendly, please don't hesitate to post them in this thread!


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## The Once-ler

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Just a bit of feedback,....

I hate the new ASX stocks A-H, I-P etc.

Makes it a lote more time consuming for me. Could just check out all the posts in one go. What was wrong with how it was?

Cheers.


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				The Once-ler said:
			
		

> Just a bit of feedback,....
> 
> I hate the new ASX stocks A-H, I-P etc.
> 
> Makes it a lote more time consuming for me. Could just check out all the posts in one go. What was wrong with how it was?




The Once-ler, I appreciate the feedback.

I made the change after realizing how cluttered the ASX Stock Chat forum was getting and receiving some feedback to that effect. I decided that the best way to deal with the issue was to separate threads that discussed specific stocks from threads that were more general or sector related. Since most people already know the stock/s they are looking to discuss I felt having a few subforums that split them up alphabetically would make those threads easier to home in on... especially as ASF grows over time and the total number of threads increases exponentially.

I also felt that over time the usefullness of the search function would diminish with the current forum structure. A forum search in the ASX Stock Chat forum for 'AMP' will pick up every mention of the term 'AMP' and bring up many, many threads. Going into Stocks A-H and doing a forum search for 'AMP' will bring up less results and allow people to get to the thread they are looking for much quicker. 

However, we will continue with the way things are as a trial, just so people can get used to the new system and give it a fair chance. If I receive a significant amount of feedback along similar lines as yours I may consider reverting to the old system. But to be honest, I think in six months and another 500 stock related threads later I think that members will be glad that stock related threads are separate from more general market observation and sector analysis threads.

Time will tell but, as always, I am always open to more feedback on this issue.


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## The Once-ler

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Thanks for the reply.

Just as a thought. If cluter is a problem, I would prefer if stocks were divided into financials, Resources and others, or maybe big cap/blue chips, and small cap/specs or along those lines.

I would still prefer it how it was though.

Cheers.


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## GreatPig

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Joe,

Might it perhaps be better if you just made the three sub-forums main forums instead?

One less click then to get to the stock threads.

[Edit: oops... looking again, I see the sub-thread links are directly available from the main page.]

Cheers,
GP


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## crackaton

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

quiet frankly there are way too many threads. My sugestion.. Go through and work out every ticker code for the asx. make a forumn. assign a thread to each of these. disallow any new threads that contain these tickers. all searchs in the asx should then lead to these.


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## Rafa

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Hi Joe,

I am finding the new system a lot more messy to use...
Before I would just check once a day in the main ASX thread, and all threads that had new posts would come up first... it was great...

Now i have to check each of the sub forums for them...

I understand your point about the search... but I think if the search engine is clever enough, then we should be able to find the post we are looking for... (the theory behind the use of database structures is to store every thing in one place and rely on the search query to find the right results.... folders are a thing of the past, before the time of databases and search engines)

The main problem about sub folders is that you have to rely on people posting in the right sub folder (or you will have to move it later...) Plus if you start the search from a subfolder, you won't find the thread if its in the folder above... So the best way to find a thread is to search from the top of the tree, which means we are back to square one.

My suggestion would be to go back to how it was before, with maybe an improved search engine to find what we are looking for...

Thanks

Rafa.

PS: these are only my thoughts, i'll be visiting the forums regardless...


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## Happy

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

This way, with sub-forums we have a chance to see more ads


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				Rafa said:
			
		

> Hi Joe,
> 
> I am finding the new system a lot more messy to use...
> Before I would just check once a day in the main ASX thread, and all threads that had new posts would come up first... it was great...
> 
> Now i have to check each of the sub forums for them...
> 
> I understand your point about the search... but I think if the search engine is clever enough, then we should be able to find the post we are looking for... (the theory behind the use of database structures is to store every thing in one place and rely on the search query to find the right results.... folders are a thing of the past, before the time of databases and search engines)
> 
> The main problem about sub folders is that you have to rely on people posting in the right sub folder (or you will have to move it later...) Plus if you start the search from a subfolder, you won't find the thread if its in the folder above... So the best way to find a thread is to search from the top of the tree, which means we are back to square one.
> 
> My suggestion would be to go back to how it was before, with maybe an improved search engine to find what we are looking for...
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Rafa.
> 
> PS: these are only my thoughts, i'll be visiting the forums regardless...





Thanks Rafa!

The mods and I will be doing our utmost to make sure that the threads are all in the correct forum so people will be able to find the threads they are looking for. Give this system a go and see if you become more comfortable with it as you use it more. I will be monitoring the feedback and will review the current arrangements after everyone has had a chance to get used to it.


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				Happy said:
			
		

> This way, with sub-forums we have a chance to see more ads




Happy, without the ads, ASF would be long gone. Only a handful of members have ever made a donation to the site and to be frank the running costs far outstripped my ability to pay for them personally many months ago.

I try very hard to maintain standards at ASF but as the memberbase increases the demands on my time also increase. I easily spend six hours a day working behind the scenes at ASF to try and keep everything organised and maintaining the site. I would like to stress that ASF does not provide me with a full time income. I have to earn a full time income separately to my work with ASF. This is what I do in my time off.


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## GreatPig

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Joe,

I would guess that most people spend far more time browsing than they do searching, so making the browsing most efficient would probably be more useful.

Personally I also prefer it as it was without the sub-forums.

Cheers,
GP


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## Happy

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

All of the sudden I became subscriber to all threads I opened.
How did I do that?   Without knowing it?  Is it automatic new feature?

I unsubscribed, but what did I do to subscribe without intentionally doing it?


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## BraceFace

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				GreatPig said:
			
		

> Joe,
> 
> I would guess that most people spend far more time browsing than they do searching, so making the browsing most efficient would probably be more useful.
> 
> Personally I also prefer it as it was without the sub-forums.
> 
> Cheers,
> GP




I agree with GP.
As a user who mainly browses the ASX Stocks area of the site, the new subforums make browsing a more cumbersome process.

Either way Joe, keep up the good work, your time and efforts are appreciated.


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## Narkov

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Yeah sorry I don't like it either. If you must split it up I would suggest Blue Chip/ASX200 and then Small caps. I don't see how cutting it up by letter makes any sense.


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## TjamesX

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

The subforums definitly make it harder to browse stocks, especially when you just want to see the latest updated threads (which is what I usually do).....

If you need to limit threads, I would put my hand up for *1* thread per stock, with the stock code and name in the title - then if you want to search for a stock, search on thread title.

TJ


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## Odysseus

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Alas, Joe, I join the crowd in finding the arrangement utterly confusing. There are far too many links this way, and you literally don't know what you get into when you try them. Unworkable, however well-intended ... Thanks for all your hard work, though.


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

So I guess the obvious question to ask at this point is: Does anyone find the new subforums more useful than the old system?


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## Julia

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

I've just caught up with this thread after being immersed in my computer problems earlier.

I'm quite easy about it either way.  Whatever most people want is fine with me.

However, possibly beside the point:  There are a few members who have expressed appreciation to Joe for his efforts to constantly provide improvements and modifications which make this site more enjoyable for all of us.  I just wonder how many of the majority who consistently use and enjoy ASF have actually considered making a financial contribution towards the running of the site instead of just offering criticisms of, for example, the minimal amount of advertising featured.   I wouldn't like to be in Joe's place, particularly when it comes to refereeing squabbles amongst warring members, coping with "Analyst" type crazy stuff , along with keeping all the background technical stuff happening smoothly.

Just seems to me to be a bit unfair to always take for granted that everything will always be as we expect it to be, without considering the possibility that just maybe one day Joe might say to himself:  "I think I'll just stop providing this forum - it's all just become too stressful".

Just a suggestion.

Julia


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## surelle

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Hi Julia
I tend to agree with you about Joe. I think we should just show appreciation, rather that criticism....
cheers


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## BraceFace

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				Julia said:
			
		

> I'm quite easy about it either way.  Whatever most people want is fine with me.
> 
> I just wonder how many of the majority who consistently use and enjoy ASF have actually considered making a financial contribution towards the running of the site instead of just offering criticisms of, for example, the minimal amount of advertising featured.
> Julia




Julia, I think you should stop sitting on the fence. Either you like the new format or you don't. I think Joe is looking for feedback either way.

Your suggestion about making financial contributions towards the running of the site is very sentimental but quite unrealistic. Perhaps you might be the first person to offer him a donation?

Although I'm sure we all obviously admire Joe's unselfish efforts, no-one (apart from yourself maybe) is going to set up a donation fund for him (Sorry Joe). Obviously the few people who chose to donate would be subsidising the forum for all the rest of us freeloaders.

To make it fair, and help fund the forum in an equitable manner, there would have to be a subscription fee for all "members". 
No way Jose. The forum would die overnight. 

So lets get real here. The forum is great how it is. Joe does an awesome job running it. We appreciate his time and efforts and we all encourage him to keep up the good work. But.... we must all be cognizant of the fact that it is not his full time gig and the forum may have some shortcomings.


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## Julia

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				BraceFace said:
			
		

> Julia, I think you should stop sitting on the fence. Either you like the new format or you don't. I think Joe is looking for feedback either way.
> 
> Your suggestion about making financial contributions towards the running of the site is very sentimental but quite unrealistic. Perhaps you might be the first person to offer him a donation?
> 
> Although I'm sure we all obviously admire Joe's unselfish efforts, no-one (apart from yourself maybe) is going to set up a donation fund for him (Sorry Joe). Obviously the few people who chose to donate would be subsidising the forum for all the rest of us freeloaders.
> 
> To make it fair, and help fund the forum in an equitable manner, there would have to be a subscription fee for all "members".
> No way Jose. The forum would die overnight.
> 
> So lets get real here. The forum is great how it is. Joe does an awesome job running it. We appreciate his time and efforts and we all encourage him to keep up the good work. But.... we must all be cognizant of the fact that it is not his full time gig and the forum may have some shortcomings.




Braceface:

1.  I am not "sitting on the fence" as you put it.  I simply do not care which way I access stock information.  Simple as that.  

2.  I don't see anything "sentimental" about showing appreciation for something I value, whether it be in a verbal or financial form.  For your information I have made and will continue to make a financial contribution towards the running of ASF.  There is nothing unrealistic about that.  Joe has always made it clear that he will keep ASF fee free so as not to disadvantage those who cannot pay.  I have no different an attitude towards this as to many other situations - when I value something I'm happy to express that.

Your attitude is yours.  You are welcome to it.

Julia


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## Rafa

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Take a deep breath everyone...


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## Happy

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Just a thought.

We have 3 sub folders in ASX one and just last post shown.

Would it be possible to show the latest one from each sub folder?


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				Happy said:
			
		

> Just a thought.
> 
> We have 3 sub folders in ASX one and just last post shown.
> 
> Would it be possible to show the latest one from each sub folder?




Hi Happy,

If you click on the 'ASX Stock Chat' forum you will see each of the subforums listed separately at the top, each with its own 'Last Post' shown.

With regards to the reorganisation of the 'ASX Stock Chat' forum generally, I will keep it going for another couple of weeks to give it a fair chance and then will create a poll and put it to a vote. I have always respected the wishes of ASF members and will continue to do so.


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## Richard Willoughby

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Hello Joe,
like most i liked the old better however i have been using the "new posts"
to browse if that could be limited to "new posts stocks" only i would be happier.   appreciate your efforts here, and will be returning anyway.
   cu richard


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## Happy

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

On the other hand we could thank our lucky stars it is not 26 Sub-Forums

Did anybody think of 2, or I am the first one?


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## Happy

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Joe,
Is there a way to jump between: A-H, I-P, Q-Z subfolders without having to go back to ASX Stock Chat?

Maybe there is, but I have extra talent in not seeing and finding things, so apologies in advance, if I make a fool of myself again.


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				Happy said:
			
		

> Joe,
> Is there a way to jump between: A-H, I-P, Q-Z subfolders without having to go back to ASX Stock Chat?




There certainly is Happy. If you scroll down the page, toward the bottom on the right you will see the 'Forum Jump' drop down box (see attached pic). Simply select the forum you wish to 'jump' to, and you're there!


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## Happy

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Thanks Joe,
Found it, actually I new it existed, but somehow didn’t click before asking my question.

But I have 1 more wish.

Could you put the button on top of the page?
Because everything aligns to top of the page and this way, suppose I can change to ‘last post last’ configuration so I can be more often on the bottom of the page.

Well, it is no crime to ask.


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## Joe Blow

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



			
				Happy said:
			
		

> Could you put the button on top of the page?




Hmmm... this may be a little trickier. I will have a look but can't make any promises.


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## Whiskers

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Is it just my computer or is the forum server faulty?

Whenever I click on new posts from the general discussion thread, the list does not include at least some general discussion threads, maybe others, but when I click on new posts again it does, include a bigger list.


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## Ves

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



Whiskers said:


> Is it just my computer or is the forum server faulty?
> 
> Whenever I click on new posts from the general discussion thread, the list does not include at least some general discussion threads, maybe others, but when I click on new posts again it does, include a bigger list.



The "ASF how do I do it?" thread has a discussion about the changes to this that you may find answers your question.


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## Shaker

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Hi Whiskers

First click = stock related
2nd click = the rest

Shaker


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## Whiskers

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*



Ves said:


> The "ASF how do I do it?" thread has a discussion about the changes to this that you may find answers your question.






Shaker said:


> Hi Whiskers
> 
> First click = stock related
> 2nd click = the rest
> 
> Shaker




Thanks guys!  

A relief... thought maybe I was up for a new computer.


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## nulla nulla

*Re: Reorganisation of ASX Stock Chat forum*

Ah grasshopper, first one click, then two. All will be revealed.


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## Joe Blow

I'm sure that you have all noticed by now that I have made some fairly significant changes to the way the individual forums here at ASF are categorised and structured.

I have made these changes primarily because the old forum structure had remained essentially intact since ASF was first established back in 2004. After nine and a half years with very few changes, the time was ripe for a re-evaluation and a restructuring. I felt there needed to be a little more order in what was essentially a relatively random forum display order. I wanted to see the discussion of stocks at the top of the forum list to make it easier for newcomers, followed by other market related forums, and then non-market related forums at the bottom of the list.

I realize these changes might be a little disconcerting initially, but I am sure that it won't be long until everyone adapts to the new system.

I welcome any feedback on the changes.


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## nulla nulla

Joe Blow said:


> I'm sure that you have all noticed by now that I have made some fairly significant changes to the way the individual forums here at ASF are categorised and structured.
> 
> I have made these changes primarily because the old forum structure had remained essentially intact since ASF was first established back in 2004. After nine and a half years with very few changes, the time was ripe for a re-evaluation and a restructuring. I felt there needed to be a little more order in what was essentially a relatively random forum display order. I wanted to see the discussion of stocks at the top of the forum list to make it easier for newcomers, followed by other market related forums, and then non-market related forums at the bottom of the list.
> 
> I realize these changes might be a little disconcerting initially, but I am sure that it won't be long until everyone adapts to the new system.
> 
> I welcome any feedback on the changes.




G'day Joe

Does this mean there will be three clicks now on "new posts" instead of the recent two or are we reverting to one click and having to sift through the lot?


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## Joe Blow

nulla nulla said:


> Does this mean there will be three clicks now on "new posts" instead of the recent two or are we reverting to one click and having to sift through the lot?




I am working on a new system where people can choose whether or not to include General Chat threads in "New Posts". It will hopefully be a simple matter of checking a box and everyone's choice will be remembered.

The default setting will be to allow General Chat threads in "New Posts" but if you check a box that says to exclude them they will not show up. This way everyone gets to choose the option that suits them best and hopefully everyone will be happy.


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## tech/a

Joe Blow said:


> I am working on a new system where people can choose whether or not to include General Chat threads in "New Posts". It will hopefully be a simple matter of checking a box and everyone's choice will be remembered.
> 
> The default setting will be to allow General Chat threads in "New Posts" but if you check a box that says to exclude them they will not show up. This way everyone gets to choose the option that suits them best and hopefully everyone will be happy.




I feel a tick coming on.

Good work.


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## pavilion103

+ 1

Good idea


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## pixel

tech/a said:


> I feel a tick coming on.
> 
> Good work.




ditto.
Would it also be feasible to add a tick box to "Subscriptions"? Currently, I'll have to subscribe or unsubscribe to individual threads. And my adding to one can (does) automatically subscribe me for it. It would be useful to unsubscribe (or subscribe, for that matter) to entire Forums.
I would then unsubscribe from all General Chats, but ask to be notified whenever someone adds an opinion about a stock.


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## Joe Blow

pixel said:


> ditto.
> Would it also be feasible to add a tick box to "Subscriptions"? Currently, I'll have to subscribe or unsubscribe to individual threads. And my adding to one can (does) automatically subscribe me for it. It would be useful to unsubscribe (or subscribe, for that matter) to entire Forums.
> I would then unsubscribe from all General Chats, but ask to be notified whenever someone adds an opinion about a stock.




This may be a little more complicated, and I'm not sure how feasible it is simply because it will require new functionality that currently doesn't exist. As a consequence there would be a lot of new coding required to make something like this work.

One problem I could see is that if you subscribed to an entire forum that gets a lot of posts you could suddenly end up with 50 or 60 new subscribed threads. Perhaps more. 

However, I would be interested in finding out if this was something that a lot of members would use. To all members: Please let me know in this thread in you would use such a feature.


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## MrBurns

Joe Blow said:


> I am working on a new system where people can choose whether or not to include General Chat threads in "New Posts". It will hopefully be a simple matter of checking a box and everyone's choice will be remembered.
> 
> The default setting will be to allow General Chat threads in "New Posts" but if you check a box that says to exclude them they will not show up. This way everyone gets to choose the option that suits them best and hopefully everyone will be happy.




You mean recently updated posts ? New posts should only include stock talk..........by default and no other options should be available. Not site talk nothing but stock talk


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## MrBurns

Is it possible to make the general chat threads only visible to registered members ?
There's a case for that, though now you've moved it down the bottom it's looking much better, much better


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## MrBurns

Expand - Australian Stock Discussion

Show latest posts or links to threads , run it down half the page , 

Market Related Forums should come after that, Stock discussion is the main game and should get more real estate on the homepage.


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## Joe Blow

MrBurns said:


> You mean recently updated posts ? New posts should only include stock talk..........by default and no other options should be available. Not site talk nothing but stock talk




What I am trying to do is give people more choice. The only controversy surrounding the "New Posts" link is whether or not it should include the General Chat threads. At the moment it doesn't. However, I'm sure there are many ASF members who would like it to include them.

It seems to me the best way to go about this is to give people a choice about whether or not "New Posts" includes General Chat threads, and if the solution is a simple check box, then that should surely satisfy everyone?



MrBurns said:


> Is it possible to make the general chat threads only visible to registered members ?
> There's a case for that, though now you've moved it down the bottom it's looking much better, much better




I would prefer if everyone can see everything, registered or unregistered. However, those who remain unregistered are missing out on a lot of features that make ASF far more useful, such as posting, searching the website, thread subscriptions, private messaging etc.


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## Country Lad

Joe Blow said:


> To all members: Please let me know in this thread in you would use such a feature.




I wouldn't Joe, this feature exists on other forums but I have never used it. 

When thinking about General Chat, I think the issue is more around the inane political arguments,  the religious topics and others like climate change where the exchanges consist much of expressing personal views over and over with good dose of personal abuse thrown in.

General Chat has some good topics as well, such as CanOz budgeting, "Lest We Forget", "Music", fishing and many more which will be lost as we increasingly push the whole "General Chat" further into the background. 

I am not sure what the answer is as we can't take away the political threads as there are some members who would obviously be upset if they were no longer able to abuse one another there.

Maybe an additional General Chat titled something like "Political, Controversial and Other Rubbish Chats" and when arguments start in any of the normal General Chat topics transfer them into the Rubbish chats.  

Can't find the "tongue in cheek" icon, but it is a suggestion.



Joe Blow said:


> It seems to me the best way to go about this is to give people a choice about whether or not "New Posts" includes General Chat threads, and if the solution is a simple check box, then that should surely satisfy everyone?




Joe, it includes General Chat now, just needs 2 clicks.

Cheers
Country Lad


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## Joe Blow

I appreciate all the suggestions and feedback, so please keep them coming.

At the moment I'm focused on small, incremental changes that enhance people's experience at ASF, and give them more choice.

There will be some more changes coming fairly soon, hopefully within the next couple of months, that are mostly related to the front page, which will be getting a minor rework. But if I get more good suggestions that will be fairly easy to implement I am more than happy to do what I can to integrate them into the website.


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## MrBurns

Joe Blow said:


> I appreciate all the suggestions and feedback, so please keep them coming.
> 
> At the moment I'm focused on small, incremental changes that enhance people's experience at ASF, and give them more choice.
> 
> There will be some more changes coming fairly soon, hopefully within the next couple of months, that are mostly related to the front page, which will be getting a minor rework. But if I get more good suggestions that will be fairly easy to implement I am more than happy to do what I can to integrate them into the website.




You don't need to encourage general chat, that comes as a by product, you need to get share holders and traders in and filling the home page with that as enticingly as possible is the best way to go about it.


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## pixel

MrBurns said:


> Expand - Australian Stock Discussion
> 
> Show latest posts or links to threads , run it down half the page ,
> 
> Market Related Forums should come after that, Stock discussion is the main game and should get more real estate on the homepage.




Good idea, Burnsie.
That might do the trick.
and why stop at the home page. Why not also display all new stock-related threads on top of the Search results, chat topics below. 
I could imagine that it requires only a small modification to the Search/ Sort script, sorting the results first by Forum, then by date/time descending.


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## Julia

Country Lad said:


> I wouldn't Joe, this feature exists on other forums but I have never used it.



I wouldn't either.  I'm quite happy with just going directly to "Quick Links" and then to "Today's Posts".
Plenty there I don't want to read but I don't find it difficult to just ignore them and read what interests me.



> When thinking about General Chat, I think the issue is more around the inane political arguments,  the religious topics and others like climate change where the exchanges consist much of expressing personal views over and over with good dose of personal abuse thrown in.



Agree about how inane most of the political threads have become.  The discussion of politics in itself is not inane.  It's about how our country is run and it matters.  But, due to the absolute silliness of some of the content and the provocation and badgering by some people, most people wishing to engage in any objective discussion have just dropped out.

This goes for other topics which come under General Chat also.  Religion and climate change also are not of themselves unworthy of discussion, but when they descend as they largely have here into repetitive and increasingly strident invective, people other than the regular combatants just don't want to be involved.

Years ago there were many really thoughtful and interesting threads in General Chat, but the better contributors have dropped out for the above reasons and mostly also left the forum because of the increasingly unpleasant milieu.


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## McLovin

Julia said:


> Agree about how inane most of the political threads have become.  The discussion of politics in itself is not inane.  It's about how our country is run and it matters.  But, due to the absolute silliness of some of the content and the provocation and badgering by some people, most people wishing to engage in any objective discussion have just dropped out.
> 
> This goes for other topics which come under General Chat also.  Religion and climate change also are not of themselves unworthy of discussion, but when they descend as they largely have here into repetitive and increasingly strident invective, people other than the regular combatants just don't want to be involved.




+1

This is my issue. If I stumbled upon one of those threads and it was first visit here, I'd be unlikely to stay.

Case in point:



> Methinks you need to change the water in your bowl as you are having trouble seeing through the murky waters of your own excrement.




How does that add to anything. And I'm not picking out a specific person, it just happened to be on the front page when I was there.


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## MrBurns

McLovin said:


> +1
> This is my issue. If I stumbled upon one of those threads and it was first visit here, I'd be unlikely to stay.
> Case in point:
> How does that add to anything. And I'm not picking out a specific person, it just happened to be on the front page when I was there.




That's the nature of general chat, perhaps it should be only available to registered users.


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## Joe Blow

MrBurns said:


> That's the nature of general chat, perhaps it should be only available to registered users.




It's not the nature of general chat, it's the nature of a few puerile individuals who would prefer to hurl insults and provoke others rather than engage in constructive, respectful debate.

Burnsie, you have this the wrong way around. Unregistered visitors shouldn't have be shielded from the sort of post that McLovin quoted, it shouldn't be posted here in the first place. There are a handful of very immature, disrespectful individuals that frequent ASF that need to grow up and stop acting like children. If they don't, I'm going to show them the door. Enough is enough.


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## chrislp

Joe Blow said:


> There are a handful of very immature, disrespectful individuals that frequent ASF that need to grow up and stop acting like children. If they don't, I'm going to show them the door. Enough is enough.




I'll admit to being more of a lurker than a contributor but I would like to chime in on this point.

The moderation on this forum is perfect as it is IMO. I can't stand heavy moderation & arguments (even if they degenerate to insults) are what make forums interesting (again IMO). I don't think I am the only one who doesn't like heavy moderation

I can recall the PEN thread being quite active until you made a post in that thread stating that a member, who's name I can't remember now, was "trolling" & had been warned by you. Yes he only presented bearish views on the stock but he created discussion & interest which brought the bulls out. Since then the activity of that thread has dropped substantially. 

Other than that I think you run a great website.


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## sails

Joe Blow said:


> ...The default setting will be to allow General Chat threads in "New Posts" but if you check a box that says to exclude them they will not show up. This way everyone gets to choose the option that suits them best and hopefully everyone will be happy.





I think that's a pretty good solution, Joe.  You could have it off by default and then those who are interested in general chat can turn it on.

Unfortunately I no longer trade in any stocks as my trading now is primarily index options.  The Aussie options market is much to small to be posting trades.  If I had more time, I would do some option trades on the top Aussie stocks, but I simply don't have the time to give to do the additional analysis at this stage.

And just a thought on the comment posted by McLovin.  So many of the political threads have been overtaken by one poster who pretty much spams and dominates day in and day out. I believe that comment posted by McLovin needs to be taken in context.


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## Julia

sails said:


> So many of the political threads have been overtaken by one poster who pretty much spams and dominates day in and day out.



+1. Facilitated by a couple of others who continue to respond to it.


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## Country Lad

MrBurns said:


> That's the nature of general chat,




We must have had very different upbringings because we obviously have very different views of personal integrity  and good manners and what we would or would not treat with contempt.   My view on any forum has always been that you do not print anything you would not say in front of others around a BBQ or a campfire.

It is simply cowardly some of the comments and abuse seen here in the chat topics.  Would not happen face to face without fisticuffs so why should it be OK here? 

Yet it happens here and then it is Joe who has the grief and needs to change his forum because of the few people without any manners or consideration of others.


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## burglar

Country Lad said:


> We must have had very different upbringings ...




And I am so glad. 

"Vive la diffÃ©rence"


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## Joe Blow

chrislp said:


> I'll admit to being more of a lurker than a contributor but I would like to chime in on this point.
> 
> The moderation on this forum is perfect as it is IMO. I can't stand heavy moderation & arguments (even if they degenerate to insults) are what make forums interesting (again IMO). I don't think I am the only one who doesn't like heavy moderation
> 
> I can recall the PEN thread being quite active until you made a post in that thread stating that a member, who's name I can't remember now, was "trolling" & had been warned by you. Yes he only presented bearish views on the stock but he created discussion & interest which brought the bulls out. Since then the activity of that thread has dropped substantially.
> 
> Other than that I think you run a great website.




Chris, firstly thank you for the words of support! It is very gratifying to know that someone thinks we do a good job. 

I understand your dislike of heavy moderation, but one thing I have learned from my many years around forums is that once a thread descend into insults there is usually no turning back, and no real discussion of any great value follows. A lot of people tune out after the insults start flying, and if it happens too often many people will eventually drift away to other forums with tighter moderation and more focused discussions. 

With regard to the PEN thread, the poster to which you refer "dengo" was a serial down ramper. In this particular case no attempt was made at any objective discussion, and while that in itself isn't necessarily a reason to be reprimanded, much of the technical analysis he was posting was deliberately misleading, often posting extremely bearish arbitrary price targets with no justification. He was also posting "news" articles from conspiracy theory websites without explaining their relevance to PEN. He was doing this across a number of forums and had been suspended at others for operating multiple accounts. In short, he was a serial pest with an axe to grind. It is disappointing that the discussion in the PEN thread has slowed to a crawl, but I am hopeful that someone will breathe some life into it again soon.


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## burglar

Joe Blow said:


> ...  It is disappointing that the discussion in the PEN thread has slowed to a crawl, but I am hopeful that someone will breathe some life into it again soon.




The discussion probably followed the Share Price action!!


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## MrBurns

I smile now when I load ASF as the chat link is no longer there I have to scroll down.....what a great idea that was.


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## qldfrog

Joe,
I know you have enough  on your plate but  there is also one area where the presentation is in my opinion less than optimum.
The actual asx code chat display:
As is, we can see the last posted post on one (only) specific code but we then have to go to three different pages (and one in between) to check the last posts on each subset.. getting confusing in my explanation

basically if in the last 2 minutes we had comments on AA1 and AA2, you will only be alerted to one until you drill down to the A-H page
while I do not have a clear ideal solution, maybe something like:
 when in the asx stock chat page (all letters), highlight the last post for each code (whatever the letter) modified recently (ie last hour/4 h/day...not sure) (only last post  per code obviously)
This way as a user, you quickly see where new information is and jump in if the thread is of interest..
Hope you get what I see as an issue and potential solution.
And BTW great job!!! Not winging here, trying to be constructive


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## Joe Blow

qldfrog said:


> As is, we can see the last posted post on one (only) specific code but we then have to go to three different pages (and one in between) to check the last posts on each subset.. getting confusing in my explanation




Clicking on the ASX Stock Chat link will take you to the first full page of threads of general ASX stock market chat but will also show you the last updated thread in each of the three stock chat subforums.



qldfrog said:


> basically if in the last 2 minutes we had comments on AA1 and AA2, you will only be alerted to one until you drill down to the A-H page.




Clicking on "New Posts" will show both the AA1 and AA2 threads if they have had posts added in the last few minutes, along with any other threads that have had posts added since you last logged or timed out. Clicking on "Today's Posts" in the "Quick Links" drop down menu in the navigation bar will show you all threads that have been updated in the last 24 hours, which gives you a great overview of everything that has been going on at ASF that day.



qldfrog said:


> while I do not have a clear ideal solution, maybe something like:
> when in the asx stock chat page (all letters), highlight the last post for each code (whatever the letter) modified recently (ie last hour/4 h/day...not sure) (only last post  per code obviously)
> This way as a user, you quickly see where new information is and jump in if the thread is of interest..
> Hope you get what I see as an issue and potential solution.
> And BTW great job!!! Not winging here, trying to be constructive




Not quite sure what you mean when you say "highlight the last post for each code (whatever the letter) modified recently". Could you explain a little further? Am just trying to visualise what you mean. Do you mean the most recent thread in each of the stock chat subforums?

Definitely do not think of your feedback as whinging. Am always interested in ways to improve ASF and any suggestions and feedback are always welcome!


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## qldfrog

Thanks Joe:


Joe Blow said:


> Clicking on the ASX Stock Chat link will take you to the first full page of threads of general ASX stock market chat but will also show you the last updated thread in each of the three stock chat subforums.
> ->OK
> 
> 
> Clicking on "New Posts" will show both the AA1 and AA2 threads if they have had posts added in the last few minutes, along with any other threads that have had posts added since you last logged or timed out. Clicking on "Today's Posts" in the "Quick Links" drop down menu in the navigation bar will show you all threads that have been updated in the last 24 hours, which gives you a great overview of everything that has been going on at ASF that day.
> -> indeed probably not using this option enough even if I was focusing on the ASX chat only
> 
> 
> Not quite sure what you mean when you say "highlight the last post for each code (whatever the letter) modified recently". Could you explain a little further? Am just trying to visualise what you mean. Do you mean the most recent thread in each of the stock chat subforums?
> -> I mean: most recent post (1 per stock only) for each of the stock threads which has seen comment posted let's say in last 24h or/and since last visit
> basically what the New Posts does but restricted to ASX Stock Chat
> Any interest ?
> 
> Definitely do not think of your feedback as whinging. Am always interested in ways to improve ASF and any suggestions and feedback are always welcome!



Thanks Joe, have a nice week end


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