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Proposal: Split UA into multiple child forums

Proposal: Split UA into multiple child forums

 
Old Mar 12, 2009, 6:26 am
  #1  
 
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Proposal: Split UA into multiple child forums

I don't know about anybody else, but I find it difficult to follow the UA forum.

Maybe the talk board should consider creating multiple child forums inside the UA forum. The cut on that will be the difficult part, but here's some suggestions:

UA Forum
- Complaints about UA Management
- Complaints about UA gate agents
- Complaints about the ICCs
- Complaints about UA ticketing agents
- Complaints about late flights
- Complaints about lost baggage
- Complaints about ramp personal
- Complaints about how UA screwed me
- Complaints about high fares
- Complaints about low fares
- Complaints about NC/NF/XC/XF availability
- Complaints about how my upgrade didn't clear. (includes all "will my upgrade clear" questions).
- Complaints about matrons
- Complaints about pilots refusing to turn on channel 9
- Complaints about IAD
- Complaints about flying in Ted configured aircraft
- Complaints about anything not covered elsewhere
- Everything else

ok, that list was joke, but please read the rest of this for the real proposal

hahaha, ok, but I'm really serious, only the talk board will have to figure out how to make the cut.

For one thing, I would really like to see anything MP related in one child forum, and anything not MP related in another. You can fine tune it any way you want to to make it easier on the mods, but it's impossible to keep up now. If anybody is really interested I can try to come up with a better cut, or other people can make suggestions.

Or has this come up before and been rejected?

-David

Last edited by LIH Prem; Mar 12, 2009 at 3:28 pm Reason: clarify that there was some humor in the beginning of that post, but there is a real proposal at the end.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 10:53 am
  #2  
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As an occasional UA forum visitor, may I ask whether it really is as bad as it's made out to be? Sure I can appreciate it's one of the busiest forums on FT so there is bound to be some oft repeated topics or a seemingly frequent complaint issues but I don't have that much trouble allowing for those realities when surfing this forum. It all depends on what you're looking for or how much time you spend on the UA forum, but it doesn't seem the waking nightmare your describe, at least it doesn't IMHO FWIW.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 11:16 am
  #3  
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The only logical division I can see is between miles discussion and non-miles discussion. Even that division is somewhat artificial. Even if things were bad enough to consider this, I doubt that the cure would be better than the disease.

Topic filters a la fatwallet would help you, but our vbulletin software is different from what they use.

If you see a serious problem, have a private discussion with the moderators of the forum. If they agree with you, you might set up a plan of action whereby you Report Bad Post on complaints and other threads that should be merged into existing threads.

Limiting the proliferation of new threads on similar topics improves forum readability for people whose interest is more focused. However this is a lot of work for the moderators. Having reliable extra sets of eyes reporting the need for merging threads is a huge help for the mods. My current co-moderator curbcrusher did this for me for years.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 12:48 pm
  #4  
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I'm a regular on the UA forum, and I agree with the OP that the same topics do tend to come up again and again in slightly different iterations. And since there are only a finite number of MP-related topics, the discussion does tend to drift toward the airline more than it does the FFP.

But I do NOT agree with the implication that UA forum has become untied[dot]com. There is some grousing, sure, but lots of informative and helpful things about the United experience as well, even in the complaint threads!

I think the Mods to a pretty good job of merging mega-issues (like the 'upgrades are getting harder to get' thread) while letting other similar but distinct threads run their natural course.

Overall, I don't really see it as broken. It just requires a little more patience than some other forums.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 12:49 pm
  #5  
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What is tough to keep up on in that forum? I visit that forum regularly... and have no problems. Posters are pretty good about having descriptive titles, the moderators do a great job of merging like subjects... and other members are quick to try and help (usually!). If there is a certain thread you think needs to be merged, use the "Report Bad Post" feature. I have found the UA mods to be quick in responding.

For the life of me, I cannot understand the need for entire forums for every category of complaint. Isn't that overkill?

William


Originally Posted by LIH Prem
For one thing, I would really like to see anything MP related in one child forum, and anything not MP related in another. You can fine tune it any way you want to to make it easier on the mods, but it's impossible to keep up now. If anybody is really interested I can try to come up with a better cut, or other people can make suggestions.

Or has this come up before and been rejected?

-David
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 12:52 pm
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Seems fine the way it is.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 1:29 pm
  #7  
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Originally Posted by wharvey
For the life of me, I cannot understand the need for entire forums for every category of complaint.
Maybe you should post that in the new Meta-Complaints forum. @:-)

J/K.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 1:41 pm
  #8  
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Originally Posted by nsx
***
***
Limiting the proliferation of new threads on similar topics improves forum readability for people whose interest is more focused. However this is a lot of work for the moderators. Having reliable extra sets of eyes reporting the need for merging threads is a huge help for the mods. My current co-moderator curbcrusher did this for me for years.
Writing as an individual UA forum moderator, let me offer a few points, without wanting to influence the outcome of the OP's views:
1) We're an extremely active forum. Often an entire page of threads represents just two hours of forum activity and we'll often have 250+ readers and members on line. Members really want to discuss this airline's operations and programs!

2) We find that many posts cross over somewhat any standard set of topics; so no matter how broadly or finely one would create topic sub-headings, there will inevitably be some spillover of subjects discussed in a thread. We aim to the goals, among others, of keeping the discussion on topic and having the thread moving within a direction that will help members.

3) Specifically as to nsx's point as to thread mergers, our members' wishes range the gamut from having no mergers ever to merging everything whenever possible. A number of members regularly let us know about merger candidates so we have no shortage of members to help us there. We seek to implement a merger protocol that will balance: the ability to find threads efficiently, the avoidance of too much clutter on this very busy forum, but also the recognition that some threads may present different enough variations justifying stand-alone status. It's definitely an art and judgment calls are involved.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 2:48 pm
  #9  
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Originally Posted by Ocn Vw 1K
Writing as an individual UA forum moderator, let me offer a few points,
Although Mr. Ocn Vw 1K wrote this as an individual UA Mod without our feedback or opinion, he eloquently represents my view 100 percent.

My thanks to him. ^
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 3:06 pm
  #10  
nsx
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Originally Posted by Ocn Vw 1K
3) Specifically as to nsx's point as to thread mergers, our members' wishes range the gamut from having no mergers ever to merging everything whenever possible. A number of members regularly let us know about merger candidates so we have no shortage of members to help us there. We seek to implement a merger protocol that will balance: the ability to find threads efficiently, the avoidance of too much clutter on this very busy forum, but also the recognition that some threads may present different enough variations justifying stand-alone status. It's definitely an art and judgment calls are involved.
I forgot that the busy forums have an embarrassment of riches with RBPs. On the Southwest and JetBlue forums, we are lucky to get just one or two RBPs flagging a problem, so we encourage RBPs. On a busy forum, that could be too much of a good thing.

The OP is apparently in the category of members who would prefer more merging. The mods try to strike a balance that suits most members, and I believe they succeed.

At high traffic levels, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain usability of the forum. That's why some sites have user-configurable topic filtering. Filtering might allow the user to mask most complaint threads, but we have to wait until vbulletin gives us that capability.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 3:08 pm
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The list of all the complaint subforums was a joke. Maybe everybody didn't read through the OP to the end? (Some people that replied did, some didn't.)

The real proposal was to basically split it into 2 child forums, one MP-related only and one non MP-related only as a first cut. Finer divisions are possible, but they may not be desirable, especially when the topics start overlapping multiple child forums.

I really think a reasonable division would be one child forum for anything mileage related, and one for everything else.

Filtering only works if the subjects are very specific. Today you have no idea if a topic is going to be about a mileage earning question or opportunity vs an issue or question about a flight, equipment, upgrade, etc. Some people are better than others when it comes to naming their topics. And, yes, the mods try to do a good job, but the forum is so popular and busy, I'm sure it's hard for the mods to keep up with every post. By the time they merge a thread, or fix a topic name, etc, there's 20 more new threads.

I used to try to keep up with the UA forum on a daily basis, but I've given up, because it's just not possible unless you have several hours a day to devote to it.

Sure, there's something to be said for keeping things as they are, but I think we can do better, hence my suggestion.

At any rate, at least the debate is interesting, and it's good to hear from the moderators of that forum for their perspective.

-David

Last edited by LIH Prem; Mar 12, 2009 at 3:17 pm
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 3:15 pm
  #12  
nsx
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Originally Posted by LIH Prem
I really think a reasonable division would be one child forum for anything mileage related, and one for everything else.
I see such a forum split as destroying some synergy. Therefore it would be a last resort when the forum got too big to be readable by the members and too big for the mods to manage. I hope and expect that vbulletin will give us the tools we need to maintain usability long before that point.

Besides, if the airlines keep devaluing the programs, the traffic on FT will stop growing!
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 3:19 pm
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Originally Posted by wharvey
For the life of me, I cannot understand the need for entire forums for every category of complaint. Isn't that overkill?

William
Yeah, it would be but that part of the OP was intended as humor, please read the rest of it.

Thanks,
David
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 3:19 pm
  #14  
nsx
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Originally Posted by LIH Prem
Filtering only works if the subjects are very specific.
Filtering would certainly include one option for mileage-related and one option for travel-related. So each user could create his own sub-forum based on his own preference. That's why filtering is better than splitting a forum. Rather than move a topic, mods can simply attach filter tags.
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Old Mar 12, 2009, 3:21 pm
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Originally Posted by kokonutz
But I do NOT agree with the implication that UA forum has become untied[dot]com. There is some grousing, sure, but lots of informative and helpful things about the United experience as well, even in the complaint threads!
Take it for what it's worth, but again, that part of the OP was a joke, the real proposal is at the bottom of the OP. I really wasn't implying anything. There are gazillions of complaints posted in the UA forum. Is it untied? I don't think so. Is there useful information posted in the UA forum? You betcha. I want to be able to find it easier.

Thanks for your consideration.

-David
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