Too many pinned threads?

Discussion in 'Network Information, Suggestions and Feedback' started by Skoyen89, Jun 17, 2018.

  1. Skoyen89

    Skoyen89 Senior Member

    Isn't it time that the number of pinned threads were reviewed and some 'unpinned'? Especially when viewing on a mobile phone they seem to go on for ever when scrolling down and a number are very specific interest areas and not of general interest I would suggest. Thoughts?
     
    Lindele and Richelieu like this.
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Agreed. I unpinned a fair few awhile ago & then gave up.
     
  3. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    I understand the problem for mobile users, I hated accessing it through my iPhone when I had one, but I think it's the way the forum is browsed, rather than the amount of pinned threads.

    Recent/New posts & Watched thread/forum notifications for anything of particular interest is the way to wade through things on phones and even tablets.

    After all, this is a place of reference as well as for discussion.
     
  4. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Would have agreed a while back, but just looked and doesn't currently seem too bad.
    Most I've had to scroll is a half second spin of the wheel or push of the thumb.

    Did a fairly brutal cull of pinned things a while back. What's left is largely 'classic' threads, ones that people have dipped back into over years, or reference stuff.
    Some unit forums have a lot by mutual agreement of local chaps who specialise there.

    Any particularly grievous forums for too many red pins?
    Always happy to have another shufti.
     
  5. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy (21 Threads pinned/stickied).
    Some clearly usefully stickied/pinned, a few that are a mystery to me.

    Hobart Thread? Alanbrooke Thread? Archibald Smith Thread? Martin Long Thread? Meikle Twins?

    My suggestion would be to sticky/pin only those likely to be of general use to new users.
     
  6. Mr Jinks

    Mr Jinks Bit of a Cad

    Opinions will vary on whatever the individual has an interest in ? The Meikle Twins was/is a classic example of what can be achieved with the help of the knowledgeable people on here irrespective of the topic involved. An example of how a new visitor posting a simple general inquiry can reveal so much ?
    Everyone`s interest is different so no matter what is pinned or not pinned it will not suit all visitors or searchers.. Hats off to the `mods` who do what they can under difficult circumstances :)

    Kyle
     
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  7. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Agreed entirely about the mods--no criticism intended by me.

    But although (on second thoughts) I might well agree with your example/justification for that particular thread, the fact remains that twenty-one pinned threads in one sub-forun is unwieldy.
     
  8. Mr Jinks

    Mr Jinks Bit of a Cad

    Hi Charley no criticism implied mate, just my point of view on a tricky subject :) To pin or not to pin and what to pin ? Someone has to make the decision and how do you weed them down without drawing criticism from other quarters :)

    Just an opinion no criticism implied.

    Kyle
     
  9. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    ah leave as they are
    keeps your grey matter active searching
     
  10. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Cannot say that it effects me as I usually use the Recent Posts to browse and the search facility to find posts.

    Regards
    Tom
     
  11. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    I kind of agree with Skoyen98. I often browse with my phone, which has about the biggest screen available on a mainstream model and the first page displays like this (the second big scroll down is mostly populated with pinned polls, too).

    Screenshot_20180617-235130_Samsung Internet.jpg
     
  12. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    As a late adopter of anything new I find that many websites that used to be easy to use are now very difficult because they have been redesigned for use on phones. Obviously the smaller screen needs different displays etc.

    I think I am very technically advanced because I have a laptop for serious things, a tablet for quick googling away from the laptop and a £30 mobile phone which sits in a drawer unless I am going on a long journey (even then it has never been used. I make a call to the land line every couple of months to prevent the simcard (whatever that is) being cancelled.)

    Difficult to accommodate both ends of the evolutionary scale but I like the site as it is.

    Mike
     
    dbf likes this.
  13. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Screenshot_20180617-170238_Samsung Internet.jpg I have just made a screen shot from my Samsung mobile phone.
    I just wonder if it is down to phone settings.
    No pinned posts show for me.
    Regards
    Tom
     
  14. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Ah, yes, I wasn't clear.
    My screenshot was from the SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE sub-forum, the one with the most pinned posts.

    Edit: WEAPONS, TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT, POWs & SERVICE RECORDS look to be the only other 'pin-heavy' threads
     
  15. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Smudger is correct in that you do not get the pinned threads at the top of the list if you go first to recent posts or new posts. I always go to recent posts first.

    Mike
     
  16. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    OK I now understand the problem.
    Regards
    Tom
     
  17. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    I still think it's a matter of finding a better way to access the forum depending on what you use to browse it.

    I'd advise those checking in on the forum with mobiles to make more use of Recent/New posts and also the 'Watch' notification system for sub-forums of particular interest. That way you see only what's been recently updated or added. No need to waste precious seconds scrolling down an entire sub-forum first page ... :-P

    eg Service Records (which IMO has a fine resource of relevant pinned threads)
    Screen Shot 2018-06-17 at 17.02.48.png



    Unit History sub prob has most pinned threads: war diaries, Rolls, etc. since they are harder to search.
    The Brigade of Guards
    Recce
    Royal Artillery

    But there is also a need not only to highlight resources but to give examples to newcomers of the type of help/content available in each sub-forum.

    It's all about the balance that we try to strike, some threads are removed from time to time, while others will be added, according to need/relevance.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2018
  18. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    It all works fine for me I use a very small phone
     
    stolpi likes this.
  19. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Weapons and tech is heavily pinned because it's the forum I pay most attention to, and one of our biggest landing areas for passing Googlers.
    More than half of those threads are massive for drawing people in if the analytics are to be believed.

    Quite similar in 'Searching for someone'. Lots of major 'landing' threads there, it containing much of our core business.

    Obviously, though, over the years a pinned thread gathers more Google hits so the lines blur, but I have enough functioning memory left to recall that, eg. Motorcycles & Meikle were pinned for a combination of high interest, and substantial Google power.

    Phone or not, I'm still getting a sub-second thumb/scroll to pass the pins.
    I also suspect quite strongly from viewing visitor data that people who browse by forum are in a minority, so the pins don't affect most users who hit up recent posts or search for something specific.
    New chaps do it for a while, and hopefully see some good stuff on the pins before learning the more efficient ways to browse.

    'Not proven', is my main thought.
    We do check 'em occasionally, and they're a sight better than they were. (Especially than when loads of forums were merged/moved about in the great tidying of 08-ish... That led to some with pages of pins :unsure: )
     
    Charley Fortnum likes this.
  20. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Ps.
    I'd personally like to reduce the forum list to:
    • WW2
    • Not WW2
    • Dicking about
    But people have objected on sounding them out, for some completely unknown reason.

    That'd cause some pin issues too...
     
    geoff501 and Chris C like this.

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