An idea for Airwarriors.com

[psrogers]

Hey John,
I have a little idea
A lot of people come to the site to ask really basic questions about getting into OCS- starting topics with names like 'What are my chances?' and 'HELP- I don't know anything about getting into OCS.' Maybe some permanent strands, like the one that displays 'Stats and Scores' could be created to display or link towards the Navy's stated standards for the different designators. They could be placed under their relevant heading, like Naval Aviator or Marine ... or whatever. I don't think it is too much to ask those who post here to read and inform themselves at least a little before 10 people from all walks of life bombard them with advice. There could also be a permanent list of those who have been accepted- like the 'How many SNA's do we have on the Forum' (or whatever it was) for each designator to build a humble set of statistics, listing vital stats and their OCS dates.

Of course, I'm not even suggesting that you personally spearhead all this, but if some others would be interested in helping, which I'm sure there are plenty around here who would, including myself if I knew how- it sure seems like we could make searching it a lot easier for those who know nothing to get what they want. Of course, half the fun is the interaction too... I know these are sort of bold and laborious suggestions, but I thought they were good general ideas to help organize the site as it continues to grow and prosper.

Sincerely,
Paul Rogers

 

[webmaster]

Paul,

No, those are good ideas, and are definintely a direction that I wanted to go in, but being on deployment, and with a 56k connection, limits my time on the forum, to barely an administrator role and keeping it up and running. The other admin (Gatordev) has also been tied up, so the board has been "neglected" by us for better use of a work for a little while. We have empowered a number of moderators, that have been doing a good job on policing the forum, and notifying us of anything that needs our attention. Quite frankly, the board with the number of posts/topics it is generating now-a-days needs ppl to help police/moderate/and maintain it.

Ok, first idea. One of the problems I have seen with the forum, is the continual repetition of data, or forum threads, the board has been running for 4 years, and there are certain topics that repeat over and over. Each time, ppl keep adding some great info, I do not want to limit that, and anyways, information changes. I am quite sure that API and Primary are different than when I left them 4 years ago. I think making threads "sticky" and putting them at the beginning of forums is the way to go in one respect, and save some people some time. Another route that I have been thinking about enabling is a FAQ/ARTICLE section that goes into detail, or we post some of the "best of" from the posts and topics.

As for the statistics, I coded a page that pulled out everyone's stats, or info that they added to their profile, and a text field, that ppl could scroll through, to see what others had, vice the never ending Stats page. I would like to resurrect that, one of the reasons I killed it was the upgrade in the forum awhile ago, plus I didn't like how it tied into the main profile info.

I think one of the main strengths of the forum is the wide spectrum of ppl on the site, from retired, reserves, ppl in the fleet, those in training, to those wanting to apply. Like you said, the info is here, ppl have posted thoughts, but a lot of it for a better word has been "buried" over time, and it would help to bring it to the front. One of the initial things I did, was the "most viewed" and "most replied", while not an accurate solution, brings some of the topics to the forefront. Others options would be rating a thread, though I don't think there is a mod out that currently does that for this forum, I could be mistaken.

As you said, I don't have the time at the moment to do some or all of the above. If anyone is interested in tackling a certain idea, or compiling a faq, or working on a corner of the site, I have no problems opening that up, and making that person a moderator, or whatever behind the scenes action is necessary. This isn't "my" site, I helped create it and manage it, everyone that posts and visits has a say in the direction it goes, and things they would like to see.

Thoughts? Volunteers?

All the best,

John