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Tons of forums

L

lukepighetti

Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2016
Messages
57
I have noticed that as a niche forum there are a LOT of forums. I wonder what the community would think about slimming it down significantly right now we have:
  1. Announcements
  2. Saddle Information for New Users
  3. Deer Hunting Contest
  4. Welcome
  5. Anything saddle related
  6. Climbing methods and platforms
  7. Sattle improvements and customizations
  8. Product reviews
  9. Deer hunting
  10. General hunting discussion
  11. General Discussion
  12. Scouting and Setting Up
  13. Backcountry Hunting/Camping
  14. Scent Control
  15. Hunting for other game
  16. Videos
  17. Suggestions for the site
  18. Trail Camera’s and Trail Cam photos
  19. DIY
  20. All things cooking
  21. Classifieds
  22. Mapping

I'd like to start the conversation by recommending:

  1. Welcome
  2. Saddles
  3. Hunting
  4. Camping
  5. Cooking
  6. General
 
I don't think it's a bad idea. Simplicity is always a good thing. Honestly, I never really pay attention to different forums anyway. I browse via "new posts". However, as someone new to the forum, I could see where it was a bit overwhelming.

@redsquirrel what do you think?
 
g2outdoors said:
I don't think it's a bad idea. Simplicity is always a good thing. Honestly, I never really pay attention to different forums anyway. I browse via "new posts". However, as someone new to the forum, I could see where it was a bit overwhelming.

@redsquirrel what do you think?
Click to expand...

I have found browsing difficult with the current setup. It seems like a lot of the organization could be handled with stickies. :)
 
On most forum websites you can spend lots of time sifting through posts to try and find what your looking for. The search helps but is not a sure bet to find exactly what you are looking for. All forum and their categories are going to include all sorts of conversation, but when applicable it would be nice to have a final cliff notes version of the best way to do things once the idea is mature and ready for mass production i.e. Customized SitDrag Saddle, Customized Saddle Platform, Food Plot Best Practices, etc. Obviously this would take some thought on how to go about doing this but it would be a great way to package existing content and get members (new and old) to the right content when they need it. I thought of this when I first joined the community and was looking for saddle options.

My story starts with saddle hunting in general. I own a GW but was looking for a more simple saddle (less is more type of thing). I was also looking to get both of my your boys involved in saddle hunting as well. Not knowing how much my boys would use the saddle I did not want to purchase something for $300 to $500 and multiply that by 3 hunters. That's when I came across SaddleHunter.com and the SitDrag. Watching G2's video of his customized SitDrag got me thinking I could build the ultimate saddle for $200 each (I know they can be built cheaper). My first stop in the shopping mall was at George's SitDrag Saddle Shop. I bought four of them. Than I purchased a Speedy Stitcher and sewing essentials. Than BOD Harnesses, Cobra Buckles, Yale Bandit Rope, Ropeman 1's and HS Carabiners. With a little effort and a little sewing instruction from grandma I was in business! Last night I sat in my new SitDrag saddle filming my son for 3.5 hours. It went well but I have a few things to work out before my next saddle hunting adventure.

I had to sift through lots of information and ask plenty of questions to get to this point. This is an example of something in my opinion that could be packaged (SitDrag Saddle, What to purchase, Where to purchase and How to build it) and shared with everyone. Ultimately, this would help folks save time and provide even more value to the community. It would take some time but there seem to be plenty of members that are willing to provide helpful advice including myself. Hope this helps!
 
Thank you crb for a well packaged summary of what you found and your strategy. This type of information is gold and really accelerates a newcomer's understanding of standard operating procedure within a new hobby. Cheers!
 
Not that it's worth anything but my opinion is if you condense everything into 6 categories things will be grouped more and I think you would have to spend more time searching for the info you are looking for. I'm in favor of more categories or at least sub categories under the main ones. As time goes on and the more information that is on here, the harder things will be to look up if it's all grouped up.
 
I agree. I just think we could have a sub category under each category where everything that is finalized would go.
 
lukepighetti said:
Thank you crb for a well packaged summary of what you found and your strategy. This type of information is gold and really accelerates a newcomer's understanding of standard operating procedure within a new hobby. Cheers!
Click to expand...

What your requesting is the same thing I was looking for. I will get you a list of everything with links later today. What I will post is the very thing that needs to be put somewhere so its not somewhat duplicated again and again. Just my 2 cents.
 
Thank you crb, I look forward to reading it!

As per the discussion at hand: a lot of subtopics can be handled with threads and stickies. For example, within the hunting forum, there can be a thread dedicated to the 2015 deer hunting competition.

A common issue with having lots of different forums is some conversations apply to multiple forums, so things can end up in unexpected places.
 
Good point. It's easy for good information to be found under a variety of topics.
 
Excellent point. @redsquirrel (the forum owner) and I are starting to work on this very thing. We'll need your help for sure.

We started a "saddle hunting for beginners" forum. It will basically be a saddle hunting 101. I think we're going to lock it down where only admins or moderators can add content. The idea is that we can "round up" all the best ideas and pertinent information regarding a certain topic,For example the SitDrag, and have 1 thread that points new members in the right direction.

Hopefully that scratches the itch. What do you think?
 
It is definitely easier for posting to have less subsections but the time line on tapatalk takes care of that concern. Honestly, I like the sub filing of major topics. It's the future. Now just needs to catch up.
 
g2outdoors said:
Excellent point. @redsquirrel (the forum owner) and I are starting to work on this very thing. We'll need your help for sure.

We started a "saddle hunting for beginners" forum. It will basically be a saddle hunting 101. I think we're going to lock it down where only admins or moderators can add content. The idea is that we can "round up" all the best ideas and pertinent information regarding a certain topic,For example the SitDrag, and have 1 thread that points new members in the right direction.

Hopefully that scratches the itch. What do you think?
Click to expand...

G2,

I think that would be very helpful. Whether it's Saddle Hunting 101 or something else I think we should take the best of everything under each major topic and lock it down. I'm willing to help if needed. I'm going to post everything I did for the SitDrag with links later today. If you want to use that feel free.

Thanks,

Charles
 
g2outdoors said:
I don't think it's a bad idea. Simplicity is always a good thing. Honestly, I never really pay attention to different forums anyway. I browse via "new posts". However, as someone new to the forum, I could see where it was a bit overwhelming.

@redsquirrel what do you think?
Click to expand...
99% of the time I browse through the new posts also, either on the site or through tapatalk. At least for me it makes sense because I read every single post that goes on the site.
blbloomquist said:
Not that it's worth anything but my opinion is if you condense everything into 6 categories things will be grouped more and I think you would have to spend more time searching for the info you are looking for. I'm in favor of more categories or at least sub categories under the main ones. As time goes on and the more information that is on here, the harder things will be to look up if it's all grouped up.
Click to expand...
BassBoysLLP said:
It is definitely easier for posting to have less subsections but the time line on tapatalk takes care of that concern. Honestly, I like the sub filing of major topics. It's the future. Now just needs to catch up.
Click to expand...
I agree with these guys on this. I prefer to have more sections. If the backcountry section has only 13 topics I think its easier to find something there than if it was grouped with something else.

lukepighetti said:
I have found browsing difficult with the current setup. It seems like a lot of the organization could be handled with stickies. :)
Click to expand...
crb said:
On most forum websites you can spend lots of time sifting through posts to try and find what your looking for. The search helps but is not a sure bet to find exactly what you are looking for. All forum and their categories are going to include all sorts of conversation, but when applicable it would be nice to have a final cliff notes version of the best way to do things once the idea is mature and ready for mass production i.e.
Click to expand...
I hear what you guys are saying. First I want to let you know that the search feature works great. I'm not sure if either of you were here before the upgrade about a month or so ago, but it is WAY better and we have come a long way.

We are currently working on putting some pertinent information into a central location. You will see that I've created the section for new saddle users. That being said, a lot of the ideas out there are fluid. For example, ideas involving the sit and drag and the DIY platforms are still pretty new ideas and they are constantly changing. Look at how many different DIY platform threads have popped up over the past month with new ideas.

The site is always changing and evolving. I appreciate your input and please don't think it is not taken or goes unnoticed.
 
I'm sure it takes a lot of effort to make the site what it is today. Thanks for that! I'm just sharing my experience as a new member of the community and how it could be enhanced. Forum software is fairly standard today but how you categorize the information and present it to members is key. I think all the categories we have makes perfect sense. I just think we need to have a forum or sub categories under forums for things that have matured. For example, customizing a SitDrag seems to be at this point. I understand things can be tweaked on a user by user basis but the basics are pretty much the same. Having an area to explain the basic SitDrag Saddle along the various options should someone want to implement them, what components to purchase, where to purchase them and instructions on how to build it would have really been helpful. That way this type of thing is never duplicated. Just my 2 cents. Hope this helps!
 
I do have to say I have no experience with XenForo but I am absolutely stunned with how good it is. And thank you @redsquirrel for responding and all of the work you put into the forum
 
g2outdoors said:
Red is a great moderator guys. Running this forum takes a lot of work. I certainly appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Seconded. It's a lot of work to keep up with every post. We all have busy lives and it's incredible how well he does especially with a baby! I took a short hiatus from the site and am back to share and view Hunting stories and tips.

As for the OP - I work in IT and information management is always a challenge. The one thing I've learned is people find, read, understand information differently. You'll always find different thinking as to how it should be organized. Personally, I read the new posts in Tapatalk and don't go through the forums/sub-forums, but that's what works for me. I can definitely follow your line of thinking and consolidation can help to find things. The search option is also a good way to find posts in multiple areas. When researching topics it's best to search in order to find all the information available (again that's just how I think).

Kurt




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thank you for the kind words guys. As most of you know, this site is a labor of love for me. I love hunting out of a saddle and obviously I think its the best way to hunt. The site is purely a hobby. I try to do do the best I can to keep it going (which can be tough sometimes between the baby, work and oh yea, actually hunting!), and I love the great community it has become. I had a vision of meeting like minded people when I created it and it has already exceeded my expectations. I honestly think I've made some new lifelong friends here.

I do the best I can to take everyone's input into consideration, and that is why I have the site suggestions forum. Unfortunately, everyone sees things differently and you can never please everyone. I do read and consider all input though. :blush:
 
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