Jump to content

Thaivisa New Help Section - Do You Like It?


Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)

Where is the calender?

This board features it's very own calendar feature, which can be accessed via the calendar link at the top of the board.

Edited by MrRed
Posted

Agree with TB. List has duplicates of some areas: members and personal messages are given twice, for example.

Needs to be more succinct.smile.png

Posted

It's good, thx, but I think some of the topics (which, in themselves are useful could be nested to make use easier.

Posted

Since you asked ....... I know this is usually not allowed ..... but since you asked ....... I don't any section about moderation which I think should be near the top of the list. so people don't make off topic posts or whatever else might get their post removed or a vacation as they say. I think moderation is one of the main things people complain about because they never read the "forum rules", which I guess is our own fault. but if you put it there as well it might help both the moderators and the customers.

Posted

Agree about the comment made regarding "Moderation" I also think there should be a "complaints" procedure" and "appeal" procedure for bans etc if it is felt a moderator has acted unfairly or punishment given is a little harsh for the breach in rules.

Posted

Agree about the comment made regarding "Moderation" I also think there should be a "complaints" procedure" and "appeal" procedure for bans etc if it is felt a moderator has acted unfairly or punishment given is a little harsh for the breach in rules.

There is one. Contact support.smile.png

Posted

I'd agree that the help section is too big. Maybe it needs a specific search facility. I still can not find a url for the mobile version of TV blink.png

Modding is a nightmare for any forum, and I reckon TV guys get it as right as is reasonably possible. If someone thinks they got an unjustified holiday they can go to support. I did and I got reasonable responses. How to become a mod is probably something mods/admins don't advertise too much whistling.gif

Posted (edited)

Looks good to me.

One suggestion for the 'Posting' guidelines.

There could be a more detailed description for using Quotes/insert quotes. A few people seem to struggle with this and it can be confusing on a thread

Edited by BookMan
  • Like 2
Posted

Ok, I will make a legitimate post this time. :) Is there any way we can include (1) how to embed (youtube or other video) and (2) maybe include an FAQ (which would include you can link articles from such and such publications) but not from such and such other publications. If I want to link an article I have to pull up the rules to find out what can be linked and what cannot be linked.

  • Like 1
Posted

Agree about the comment made regarding "Moderation" I also think there should be a "complaints" procedure" and "appeal" procedure for bans etc if it is felt a moderator has acted unfairly or punishment given is a little harsh for the breach in rules.

There is one. Contact support.smile.png

I think what he's saying is include details of this procedure in the Help.

Posted

Hi George, all very informative, good support forum! Submaniac has mentioned the one point I saw missing, and that was the different ways of Uploading to a post.

May I make a suggestion that you decrease the list by taking advantage of sub-topics, Something along the lines of this (including Upload section with sub-sections):

REGISTRATION

how to register

registration benifits

PERSONAL SETTINGS

My assistant

Your personal messenger

your control panel (my controls)

personal messenger

your settings

email notification of new messages

logging in and out

topics and forums

viewing active topics and new posts

posting

SEARCH FUNCTIONS

searching

searching topics and posts

Members list

viewing members profile information

members

DOWNLOADS

Downloads

Download manager

UPLOADING (not currently included?)

Documents to posts

Photographs to posts

Links to articles

Rules on linking

contacting the staff

contacting the moderating team & reporting posts

Calendar

cookies and cookie usage

recovering lost or forgotten passwords

topic options

Community blog

Using the gallery

This would obviously cut down the length of the topics and help keep the person looking for help focused. IMHO.

Posted (edited)

Seems like the help is generic help lifted directly from the IP Board forum software. Is it possible to edit it or exclude sections? There are loads of areas not applicable to Thaivisa, such as the now defunct add.png and delete.png reputation buttons, there's a whole section about a gallery feature which we don't have, a section on community blogs, download manager, and more that aren't on TV.

On top of this, there are some TV features not included such as Classifieds, mobile apps, and smaller things such as the procedure for contacting support, where to find the forum rules, etc.

If it can't be edited at all, I would say it's maybe a bit too generic as-is, and might cause some confusion with the differences between Thaivisa and the help that's described.

Edited by dantilley
  • Like 1
Posted

First, I removed quite a few off topic posts. We're looking for help here.

Ok, I will make a legitimate post this time. smile.png Is there any way we can include (1) how to embed (youtube or other video) and (2) maybe include an FAQ (which would include you can link articles from such and such publications) but not from such and such other publications. If I want to link an article I have to pull up the rules to find out what can be linked and what cannot be linked.

The article links are quite simple. This is the main one (listed in the rules, that as mentioned above, few members read):

31) Bangkok Post do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on Thaivisa.com. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to Bangkok Post publications will be deleted from the forum. Please note that this is a decision by the Bangkok Post, not by Thaivisa.com and any complaints or other issues concerning this rule should be directed to them. Quotes from and links to Phuketwan are also not allowed and will also be removed. In special cases forum Administrators or the news team may use these sources.

Here's a fairly obvious one:

17) Not to post links to pages that contain objectionable material. This includes, warez, cracks, pornography, pyramid schemes, referral ID's, eBay listings and requests for donations. Discussion of file-sharing of pirated material is prohibited, however file sharing for legal purposes is allowed.

Here's another regarding links. Again, these are all in the forum rules:

22) Not to post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles).

Posted

@craigt3365: Depends on if this thread is asking for more help or asking for things to be included in the Help. The way I read it, comments such as those from @submaniac aren't saying "how do we do this" but suggesting, "why not include instructions/guidelines for how to do this in the Help". I guess the lines between the forum rules and the help system could become blurred though.

Well put. Maybe we could put a link to the forum rules as well as this one:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/254949-forum-netiquette/

Of course we have this one pinned:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/468924-policy-in-general-regarding-thailand-political-discussions/

But it didn't seem to work! sad.png

Any suggestions?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/254949-forum-netiquette/

Posted

. I guess the lines between the forum rules and the help system could become blurred though.

I believe the forum rules inclusion is under consideration. Does look like a major rewrite is needed for the Help section and good suggestions so far.

Posted

Well moderators thank you for bringing this up. And yes Dantilly was correct (thank you) about what I was trying to say. It's like this. I was not asking how to do it but more how to make it simpler to find out how to do it. I am not a newbie. All of the things I mentioned, I already know how to do. I've been here a while and I got it figured out. What I am saying is that there are alot of new people joining the forum (which I am sure the administration of this forum wants), that the simple and most basic important stuff should be in one central location, like an FAQ or in the new help section you are trying to create.

I'll give you an example of what I am talking about. Like with different versions of Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat. On the older versions, I studied the procedures when I first got it. I learned the layout from use, and I became proficient. In order to sell a new version or updated versions, the software developers added new features so they can claim "you can now do this with our product". The problem is when they added the features, they rearranged the older features and layout. I prefer to use the older versions because I knew how to do what it is I wanted to do. And 99% of the "new and improved features"...I don't use anyways. I have, through the years, seen Thaivisa evolve as a website. It has added a great deal of new features. However, alot of the great new features I don't necessarily use. Unfortunately, it may have been easier to find some information back in the old days. There's a lot more buttons and bells and whistles that you have to sift through.

The moderators/administrators know the Thaivisa site like the back of your hand because you've developed it, and use it everyday. You know where to find stuff, so YOU think it's easy to find on the website.

Now try looking for somethin from the perspective of being a newbie to the forum or not technically inclined. A newbie doesn't want to use the more advanced features. They just want to know the basic stuff like: how do I post a picture? How do I link a video? It's great that you have it pinned. I, as a regular user, know where to find pinned topics. The newbie may have to search the forum. And let's say the person is viewing the visa section, or motorcycle section. Having stuff pinned in general may mean it is not available immediately off hand, because you have to go back and search for it. Like having the most important stuff on an FAQ section that you could click on from the pull down menu would be great.

And I meaning just the important stuff should be in the FAQ. Like I've read the rules. Sometimes I have to go back to read the rules again. The rules are kind of long to sift through. It would be nice if it was just an FAQ like:

Q: How should I behave on Thaivisa?

A: We are pretty open around here, but there are some general important rules. Do not say anything disparaging about the Royal family. Do not use profanity. Do not attack othe posters. These are some of the most important rules, but not the only ones. See here for the complete list of rules.

Q: How do I post a picture on Thaivisa?

A: There are two ways. You can link it directly from another hosting site in your post, or you can upload it by doing....

Q: Can I link news articles in my post?

A: Due to the fact we have agreements with certain news agencies, the following articles can be linked [insert link to accepted news services]; some of the agencies we do not have an agreement with and cannot be linked to are [here]

Even as an experienced user, I still have to search through the pinned subjects, or reread the rules every now and then. There's alot of buttons I have to go through to find what I need to know. I would like it if it could be in one single spot for easy reference. I also think that in this one spot should be limited to only the absoulute bare minimum stuff that one needs to know. If it gets too long (i.e. if you include some of the more fancy TV features which most people don't use) it will get complicated. Like the rules. It's long, and says alot of stuff and it takes a while to read through to find what you're after. Maybe a condensed version of the really important stuff with a link to the full rules may be in order.

Then again, this is just me throwing it out there. And keep in mind, I am an idiot so be careful in listening to me. :)

Posted

We have recently highlighted our new Forum Help section, located here:

http://www.thaivisa....ore&module=help

Do you find it useful?

Do you miss anything? What to add?

Your feedback is valuable.

Cheers

Well i am asking about the calender function and nobody has replied as of yet,feedback is ignored.

Posted

Sections like Gallery, Calendar, Blogs that we currently do not use on thaivisa.com has now been moved to the end of the list to avoid confusion.

Posted

Well i am asking about the calender function and nobody has replied as of yet,feedback is ignored.

This is probably an example of a feature which is described in the general IP Board Help but Thaivisa doesn't have, and therefore should be removed from the Help if possible.

Posted

Sections like Gallery, Calendar, Blogs that we currently do not use on thaivisa.com has now been moved to the end of the list to avoid confusion.

Wouldn't it have made more sense to delete those topics entirely?

Posted

First, I removed quite a few off topic posts. We're looking for help here.

Ok, I will make a legitimate post this time. smile.png Is there any way we can include (1) how to embed (youtube or other video) and (2) maybe include an FAQ (which would include you can link articles from such and such publications) but not from such and such other publications. If I want to link an article I have to pull up the rules to find out what can be linked and what cannot be linked.

The article links are quite simple. This is the main one (listed in the rules, that as mentioned above, few members read):

31) Bangkok Post do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on Thaivisa.com. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to Bangkok Post publications will be deleted from the forum. Please note that this is a decision by the Bangkok Post, not by Thaivisa.com and any complaints or other issues concerning this rule should be directed to them. Quotes from and links to Phuketwan are also not allowed and will also be removed. In special cases forum Administrators or the news team may use these sources.

Here's a fairly obvious one:

17) Not to post links to pages that contain objectionable material. This includes, warez, cracks, pornography, pyramid schemes, referral ID's, eBay listings and requests for donations. Discussion of file-sharing of pirated material is prohibited, however file sharing for legal purposes is allowed.

Here's another regarding links. Again, these are all in the forum rules:

22) Not to post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles).

It is quite simple to create a shadowbox (rokbox is good) with the forum rules in it. This will allow for people to call them up whilst they are typing their reply/creating a thread so that they can check where they stand with the rules. A lot of these shadowbox tools will allow you to add other functionality, so a basic text search would be good. Doing this would certainly allow for a lot more clarity in moderation as there would be no excuse for not checking the rules when posting (I'm going hang myself with my own noose here).

Posted

In the case of fair use it might be useful to say the first couple of paragraphs.

I know a member was warned about that a while back.

Most of us were blissfully unaware of the details of that one to be honest.

  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...