Would it be possible to change the name of this sub-board?

[AngiTN]

It almost seems that someone in charge here has an issue with the Resort FAQ threads and wants to punish them and the users by giving them trivalous names and moving them to make them harder to use. For the life of me I can't imagine why. They provide excellent information when it comes to researching which resort to choose and then learning about that resort once you make a choice. How are they are bad thing? These threads are one of the most positive threads on this message board overall, not at all bad.

 

[Eastern]

I couldn't find them at first, either. I was scrolling and scrolling through the pages on the opening thread before I looked here.

 

[andrewilley]

I brought up this exact point during last night's discussion about the changing of the FAQ Thread names to Social Clubs, but that discussion thread has since been deleted now that they have resolved the issue. I did receive an apology from one of the site admin staff about the whole situation by the way, which was a very welcome and genuine gesture and I thank them for that.

My main point was the general impression presented over the last few months, an impression which still seems to broadly prevail here, is that the DIS now seems to regard these FAQ Threads as basically social/chat outlets which they wish to be somehow sidelined and kept away from mainstream view, rather than useful resources to be actively promoted and utilised.

I spent quite some time trying to work out a viable suggestion for a solution that would work well for everyone, but it got deleted when the thread was removed. In essence it hinged around the fact that these FAQ Threads should be encouraged as the primary places for users (both new and old) to ask and answer resort-specific questions within the Resorts board, so new posts can be quickly seen by the various people who can most easily provide accurate answers. I don't know about anyone else, but I have the DIS bookmarked so my browser lands straight in my Watched Threads page, so I see immediately when a question or comment has been asked in one of my own managed threads - but I rarely have time see other random messages elsewhere on the site unless I happen to go looking, or I just have some spare time for a browse.

I also feel that social/community chatter in these FAQ threads should be gently discouraged (but without resorting to overly heavy moderation) in order to improve the 'signal-to-noise' levels. And most specifically, these FAQ Threads should definitely not be sidelined and hidden away to languish in a vaguely titled "Community" sub-board, they should be in the main Resorts board where people can see and use them.

I also made some other, hopefully helpful, suggestions regarding links in the Sticky posts at the top of the main Resorts board, but won't repost that discussion here as it's a bit off-topic.

Andre

 

[WebmasterJackie]

It almost seems that someone in charge here has an issue with the Resort FAQ threads and wants to punish them and the uses by giving them trivalous names and moving them to make them harder to use.

This couldn't be farther from the actual reasons behind moving the threads that have been known as "FAQ" threads for years. The bottom line is that those threads are indeed very valuable to our site and the goal was to make them stand out on the Resorts Community board with a name change. We realized, very quickly I might add, that we'd made a mistake with the name we chose and corrected that right away. We are all human after all and we do not claim to be perfect.

We realize that change is hard sometimes and while we don't like to change things too often around here, we are always striving to keep things as organized as possible making it easier for folks to find what they're looking for. It wouldn't make any sense whatsoever for us to "punish" the folks who create these lively threads or to "make them harder to use" as you said. That's simply not why our site exists and we do not spend our time that way.

As always, please feel free to contact me directly via private message or send an email to us at admin@wdwinfo.com with any questions or concerns you may have.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Thanks, Jackie. Can you now move the threads back to their original homes on the main Resorts board? For what they are, they really make more sense to be there than on a Community board.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We realize that change is hard sometimes and while we don't like to change things too often around here, we are always striving to keep things as organized as possible making it easier for folks to find what they're looking for. It wouldn't make any sense whatsoever for us to "punish" the folks who create these lively threads or to "make them harder to use" as you said. That's simply not why our site exists and we do not spend our time that way.

Thank you for responding, Jackie, and thank you for this. I can appreciate wanting to keep things as organized as possible and making it easier for folks to find what they are looking for.

That said, you have many long time DISers here saying that moving the threads to the subforum actually made it more difficult to find these threads. And we knew they were here in the first place! I can't imagine it would be any easier - with where these threads are currently located, as well as the name of the subforum - for any newbie - who didn't even know to look for them - to find them if long time DISers are having problems finding them.

 

[AngiTN]

This couldn't be farther from the actual reasons behind moving the threads that have been known as "FAQ" threads for years. The bottom line is that those threads are indeed very valuable to our site and the goal was to make them stand out on the Resorts Community board with a name change. We realized, very quickly I might add, that we'd made a mistake with the name we chose and corrected that right away. We are all human after all and we do not claim to be perfect.

We realize that change is hard sometimes and while we don't like to change things too often around here, we are always striving to keep things as organized as possible making it easier for folks to find what they're looking for. It wouldn't make any sense whatsoever for us to "punish" the folks who create these lively threads or to "make them harder to use" as you said. That's simply not why our site exists and we do not spend our time that way.

As always, please feel free to contact me directly via private message or send an email to us at admin@wdwinfo.com with any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you. I knew there was no way it was the reason for the move. Just that it's how it feels. The changes have made it harder to find them, not easier. I used the threads before the move so I knew they existed and went to hunt for them after the change. I wonder if a new user would do that. How would they know to?

 

[WebmasterJackie]

Let me share a little bit of the vision we have for this with you guys because your thoughts are valuable to us even though we may not have expressed that out in the open as of yet.

Here's the definition of a "FAQ" as I know it:

"Frequently asked questions (FAQ) or Questions and Answers (Q&A), are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. The format is commonly used on email mailing lists and other online forums, where certain common questions tend to recur."

The "FAQ" threads here on The DIS are a wealth of information and knowledge, but they really are not "FAQs" in a standard format with the same questions listed for each of the different Resorts at Walt Disney World. There is a lot more "conversation" in these threads which was why we did what we did.

As many of you probably know, the first page of any of our boards only displays 30 threads - the ones with the most recent comments show up on page one. On our Resorts board, we have 20 of the "FAQ" threads that we've been discussing that were moved to the Resorts Community board.

What can often happen is much of the first page of the Resorts board can be filled with the "FAQ" threads which can be great, but sometimes folks just want to ask their question without visiting a big thread. Of course, big threads are not intimidating to those of us who have been around for a while, but for new posters who don't know where to start, they can be. They also might just want to simply know if they can see any of Illuminations from the Yacht & Beach Club but they don't want to look through the 273-page "FAQ" thread to see if the answer to that question is in there or not.

Also, what I've noticed is that when posters have been starting new threads on the Resorts board, other posters or Moderators will hop into the thread and post a link to the "FAQ" thread for the Resort they're asking about. It's going to be a matter of doing things just a bit differently, which is not necessarily a bad thing; just different.

We're still in the process of working on all of this, so please hang in there and know that we hear and appreciate you all!

 

[AngiTN]

That does make perfect sense. Dropping FAQ seems wise as the threads are indeed more than that. I think the name on them currently is a good compromise. I think the remaining issue would be to either give the threads their own dedicated subforum or changing the name of the current home. That particular title does make it hard for a new user to locate them. Some users may not want to ask a question, just want to read about a resort. It would be good if they knew where to go to find that info easily.

ETA - I see the Resort Information sticky. I wonder if a link to the Resort Dedicated thread could be added to those information posts? As a way to direct new users who read that to these threads

 

[Angel Ariel]

I think we all do understand where you're coming from , Jackie, and appreciate you sharing the thought process with us.

I can understand putting the FAQ threads in a subforum..but then that subforum should be named in a way that indicates those threads are there. Maybe they should have their own subforum entirely?

Every other "community board" on the DIS is a place to chat about non-Disney things, or play thread games, or have picture of the day threads. That's not what these Resort Information threads are about. Nothing about the current name of the subforum would ever indicate to me that those threads are here, and I *have* been here for almost 10 years and I know these threads exist. For people who are total newbies and don't know these threads exist, how are they supposed to find them with the current naming convention?

Regarding the FAQ threads being conversations and not FAQs....many of the thread maintainers have indicated they do *not* wish this to be the case. But they are limited in how they can prevent this, as they don't have moderating ability. Is it possible to give them control over their own thread so that they can discourage the conversation and keep it to questions?

And regarding the standardization of the FAQs (or lack thereof at the moment) - it seems as though that could be accomplished by discussing that with the thread maintainers. From what I've read it seems many of them would much rather reformat their threads to a standard format than have their threads be primarily social conversation. ETA: Though I agree with @AngiTN that the new thread names are a good compromise.

 

[andrewilley]

In case anyone's interested, I have requested that the thread names have a little bit of extra wording added, which I always used to use for the titles of my own FAQ threads, thus: "Disney's _______ Resort Questions & Information Thread [Please read FAQ in first post]".

I originally did this to encourage new users to read and use the initial FAQ post first and foremost, as most of the common questions are already covered there, and only then post a new question if they can't find what they need. Otherwise people tend to just join at the end and then ask a repeat question, which runs the risk of someone replying "did you not see that your question is already answered in the first post?".

Would that additional wording be OK with the other thread owners?

Andre

 

[Dan Murphy]

In case anyone's interested, I have requested that the thread names have a little bit of extra wording added, which I always used to use for the titles of my own FAQ threads, thus: "Disney's _______ Resort Questions & Information Thread [Please read FAQ in first post]".

I originally did this to encourage new users to read and use the initial FAQ post first and foremost, as most of the common questions are already covered there, and only then post a new question if they can't find what they need. Otherwise people tend to just join at the end and then ask a repeat question, which runs the risk of someone replying "did you not see that your question is already answered in the first post?".

Would that additional wording be OK with the other thread owners?

Andre

This was also incorporated in the S/D thread title, Andre. Worked well. Also, when the rooms at the resort were all renovated, and there was no additional images allowed to be placed in the initial postings I had made (due to number of images allowed per post), I added the page number to the thread title where I added the renovated photos. It was very helpful in not having people just asking what the new rooms looked like. Both of those additional wordings were removed in the move.

I also think, if moving these threads is what the TPTB want, that having an entirely separate sub forum, 'Resort Questions and Information' would be appropriate.

 

[andrewilley]

This was also incorporated in the S/D thread title, Andre. Worked well. Also, when the rooms at the resort were all renovated, and there was no additional images allowed to be placed in the initial postings I had made (due to number of images allowed per post).

When I created my Port Orleans FAQ Threads, I reserved the first four or five posts to allow for future expansion/photos, keeping the very first post as a purely facts-only, mainly textual, FAQ and putting pictures into the subsequent posts. It just seemed cleaner that way. I really must go back and update those though, as although I've concentrated on keeping the text content up to date I've somewhat neglected the ones reserved for photos.

It seems things they are a changin' again though, getting a bit dizzy now...

Andre

 

[Dan Murphy]

When I created my Port Orleans FAQ Threads, I reserved the first four or five posts to allow for future expansion/photos, keeping the very first post as a purely facts-only, mainly textual, FAQ and putting pictures into the subsequent posts. It just seemed cleaner that way. I really must go back and update those though, as although I've concentrated on keeping the text content up to date I've somewhat neglected the ones reserved for photos.

It seems things they are a changin' again though, getting a bit dizzy now...

Andre

Good form, Andre. Wish I had done that also. The only way I can get new photos on the beginning posts of that S/D thread is to delete existing ones, which is not good either.

 

[Jennygt]

They really need there own area, the are totally lost over here.

 

[Jennygt]

I apologize as I just saw they have been moved back. Thank you

 

[ninafeliz]

have they been returned to the Disney Resorts forum where they started? I thought I saw one back on the first page, but didn't check it out. I hope so. I follow 4 resorts' threads, and I usually get to them by going to my watched threads page and clicking on ones with new replies. But I was just sending my cousin a loooong email to reply to her questions about planning a WDW vacation and I wanted to recommend that she go to disboards and read the FAQ thread on whichever resort she ends up choosing, or to help her choose, and I realized it was difficult to explain to her how to find the FAQ threads now! It would make sense to just look in the resorts forum, but then you wouldn't find them unless you know to look in the subforum they are in (which, incidentally, I didn't realize existed despite over 10 years on disboards until the FAQs were moved there). I ended up just recommending disboards.com as a great way to get info on resorts and the parks (those were our main discussions), and told her the forums to start in. Now that I know where they are I can find them easily enough, but I don't think anyone at all that is new to the boards will find the resort threads on their own. I may not have explained this well, but ust my $.02.

 

[crazy4wdw]

have they been returned to the Disney Resorts forum where they started?

Yes, they have! Thank goodness someone came to their senses and moved them back where they belong.

 

[Planogirl]

What did I miss? I couldn't find the threads and now I can. I feel like I'm in a DIS Twilight Zone.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Thanks for listening to our feedback!