There are several questions that seem to pop up pretty regularly on this site. "What year is my bike?" How do I make sure my timing is right?" A reference section could be a great one-stop resource for a lot of people and could reduce the number of posts (the site will run out of room at some point). It would be a good bit of work, but could be done over time to make putting the info into it a manageable proposition. A list of years/VIN numbers. EMO's magic tune up recipe. Even a simple description, by year of correct items for specific bikes such as chain guards and fenders on CL's. I know a lot of that is covered in the Silvers books, etc, but it seems like most folks who post basic questions don't have any idea that the Silvers books even exist, let alone what they are. This could extend beyond CA, CB and CL, but since this is the 305 website, that seems like a logical place to start.
Another idea is to divert disputes off of threads and into a "Take It Outside" section. That might take some referee action by the web master, but when guys want to mix it up, they probably should have a way to sort things out without cobbing up the threads. While there is often some entertainment value to the jousting, sometimes it does cross the line and get a little nasty.
Happy to engage and explain these ideas further as desired.
Reference Section and "Take It Outside"
Hi,
I agree for 100% on your first point, I mentioned it a few times in the threads too. Some basic questions are just too basic to answer. I have deep respect for people who answer these questions again and again, like Ed, Dave, Rustyrench, (e)Steve and others. I also think it's a good idea to have a moderator who is responsible for the threads in a certain section. Since a sharp discussion is useful from time to time, it expands the knowledge of the forum, I understand that sometimes the collisions are getting nasty. In general most of the times the collisions appear between people who are very seriously interested on the subject. There is a chance that when the discussion is stopped or banned too soon, the threads won't go into the deep, and everything stays on the surface. Most of the times that's a good thing, but not always. Since I'm one of the guys who is "entertaining" the threads I take that personal. I think that Ed and myself found a way to handle that. He's choose not to respond on my input and I'm will not ask for his input anymore, a truce, so to speak (no communication). Time will learn if that will work, and time will learn if a moderator / referee is necessary. Thanks for the input and idea's Combs, Jensen assembly of Japanese motorcycles requires great peace of mind (Pirsig)
I agree. Maybe an FAQ section is in order that covers a lot of the basic stuff for each bike section (i.e. superhawk, scrambler, dream, etc). The current FAQ section is a bit lacking in specifics.
I would imagine common problems should be easy to round up for those that have been on this board for a while and know what questions get asked over and over. A few off the top of my head would be: paint codes for each bike jittery rpm/speedo needle types of tires loose kick start header pipe style correct badge type correct handlebar type I ran an S2000 board for several years and had something similar that addressed common questions and concerns throughout the model years. I also had a separate thread that was a collection of aftermarket and OEM parts dealers online. In my opinion, those parts should also be stickies in the forum somewhere and not on the left side as I think most people bypass that and just search through the forum for answers. Making them threads also makes them easily editable and allows room for people to make suggestions or comments on the results. Just as a side note while I'm on the subject, I think the marketplace should be changed to a for sale section of the forum (similar to the parts wanted section) instead of the classifieds section that it is. It makes it more visible and easier to correspond or post responses to items. I know there are a lot of people that have parts lying around everywhere yet the classified section is really lacking. Making it a thread would probably give it more traffic and action overall.
The forum does have a moderator.
Stoic is his name. Ya can contact him at any time. I for one don't mind how the forum is set up and to make changes requires someone to do it. Sort of like "why do new members join and give a name but No Location". Info for this is at the same place ya join. ..........................lm
Reference SectionLM,
First, a big THANK YOU. The time you devote to this site has helped a huge number of people and I am one of them. You were obviously one of the guys I had in mind when suggesting the reference section. The time you and others have devoted to this site must be a pretty big imposition. While you are right that it does take someone to do the work in making changes to the site, it doesn't have to be done all at once and when a thread with a repeat topic comes up, if you could make a post in the reference section (probably through Michael Stoic), over time the reference section could become pretty complete. You could quickly post in the applicable thread for the person asking the question to see your addition to the reference section. Another thing is that I would guess many people come to this site infrequently. If they could go to the reference section, they could probably find the answer to their question more quickly in many cases. That would serve the broad 305 community a little differently and perhaps better. Finally, the search function for the site seems to have some limits. Maybe I just haven't figured out how to use it, but it is not for lack of trying. For example, I recently posted a question about Ohtsu tires. Nothing showed up when I searched "Ohtsu". Am I really the first one to ask about them? I find that hard to believe, but it is possible. But, searching "tires" is not useful because too many threads and posts come up. A reference section showing original equipment tires for different models would have answered my question. I realize that maybe nobody knows the answer to my question and a reference section might tell me that as well, kind of like which badges are correct. Again, Ed thank you for all you have done and still do for the 305 community. I have benefited greatly. This section of the site is for suggestions and I have made mine. Maybe that will help someone, too.[/quote]
Re: Reference SectionI like your attitude and ideas for sure.
This forum is a Real Treasure for those who "Just bought a CB/CL72/77 Real Cheap" and want to have a Rare Valuable Bike. Now I don't say that all are that way but sure are many. As to repeated questions ya may have noticed how those who respond often are not me or other OLD TIMERS on the forum but ya could sort of refer to them as "New Blood" folks who have learned from this forum and now can/do/will share what they have learned. I've been asked why I don't publish what I know of these bikes and I reply "Anything in Black and White can't be changed once it is published. Keeping that in mind realize that as much as I know of these bikes I do learn more as time goes on. Not as often as once was!. .................lm [/quote]
Re: Reference SectionThe 'Search' function within The Forum sweeps with a very broad brush. Try using the Search link within the honda305.com homepage, near the bottom of the left-hand yellow pane; it's much more accurate at finding and filtering keywords.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||