BadMac
26-08-2007, 09:01 PM
Not sure when it changed but the FAQ is not as logical as it used to be. When I first started around here the FAQ was very well organised and interlinked. Now it seems to be in the main the default stuff that comes with the software and some of the links in the nicely written by real humans on this forum bits go to weird places.
For example, go into the FAQ (by the link at the top of the page) search for "Post Count" (I wanted to recheck which forums didn't qualify). It returns a page with hits highlighted in Red, scroll down to the second section "Why does it say under my member name: "Has Not Contributed to the Forum" and (about 4 line) and theres a link which is titled "How to get your post count up" click on it and you go into uncharted territory. The actual section is 3 more boxes down, but for newbeis they won't know to scroll rather follow the link.
You have to search because you can't get to the good info easily from the menu anymore (try to find which sections count towards your post count, from the top level menu the only one which looks like it may be right is "Reading and Posting messages", then "How do I get my post count up", it takes you to the top of the section, you need to scroll down to find the right heading. On most screens the right section will be off the bottom of the page so easily missed when you read the heading "Are there any special codes/tags I can use to format my posts?" rather than the "How do I get my post count up that you expect when clicking the link. Newbies won't search well as they don't know what they are trying to ask, I mean its obvious to people who have been a few years to ask "how to I get my post count up, or search on Post count" but for a new user it quickly becomes too hard.
There are other links that also go to seemingly random places, sorry I didn't write them down. Almost like the FAQ got broken and lost some of its good content and isn't put back together fully yet. Maybe I just remember it differently, haven't used it in a while.
For example, go into the FAQ (by the link at the top of the page) search for "Post Count" (I wanted to recheck which forums didn't qualify). It returns a page with hits highlighted in Red, scroll down to the second section "Why does it say under my member name: "Has Not Contributed to the Forum" and (about 4 line) and theres a link which is titled "How to get your post count up" click on it and you go into uncharted territory. The actual section is 3 more boxes down, but for newbeis they won't know to scroll rather follow the link.
You have to search because you can't get to the good info easily from the menu anymore (try to find which sections count towards your post count, from the top level menu the only one which looks like it may be right is "Reading and Posting messages", then "How do I get my post count up", it takes you to the top of the section, you need to scroll down to find the right heading. On most screens the right section will be off the bottom of the page so easily missed when you read the heading "Are there any special codes/tags I can use to format my posts?" rather than the "How do I get my post count up that you expect when clicking the link. Newbies won't search well as they don't know what they are trying to ask, I mean its obvious to people who have been a few years to ask "how to I get my post count up, or search on Post count" but for a new user it quickly becomes too hard.
There are other links that also go to seemingly random places, sorry I didn't write them down. Almost like the FAQ got broken and lost some of its good content and isn't put back together fully yet. Maybe I just remember it differently, haven't used it in a while.