Message/forum/info cleanup

[parsec]

Browsing the forum, and especially when searching it, a lot of old and now obsolete posts appear.

 

Would it make sense to delete posts and messages that have more historic value, than anything else.

Or will that be bad taste or something like that ?

 

It could be done by moderators, or the posters themselves, I don't really have an opinion on that

 

An example of something I would delete is a thread I started a little while ago: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=479.msg3150#msg3150

 

[WeeboTech]

I thought the example post was informative.

The respondents showed there are two reasons not to get temperature readings.

1. The drive may not be spinning.

2. The bios may not have SMART enabled.

 

 

Perhaps information like this should be put in a FAQ/Knowledgebase, then remove the thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jumperalex]

Or perhaps some sort of Working Information Knowledge Index? 

 

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[trurl]

It's not really that much of a problem when searching.

 

I don't see how to decide what is obsolete without reviewing each post. Better to put effort into the wiki.

[garycase]

I agree with NOT deleting the old posts.    There are many pearls of wisdom buried in a few ... and sorting out which ones to keep and which ones to discard is simply too much effort.

 

Getting the Wiki more up-to-date is a far better idea.    The more info in the Wiki, the less searching of old posts will be necessary ... but if they're all still available, then those who really want to read through them will have them available.

 

On the other hand, if a thread has been carefully evaluated for relevant info, and any such info has been added to the Wiki, then there's no reason to not go ahead and delete it.  But I wouldn't make a concentrated effort to clean out all such threads.

 

[bkastner]

It might be a good idea to try and get a community driven challenge to get the WIKI up to date. Maybe lay out the relevant categories that need update and have community volunteers for various sections.

 

Since no-one has been jumping in to update that in forever (at least that I've noticed), maybe by making it into bite-size chunks we can start to get it up to date and reduce the type of information everyone is searching for.

 

[BRiT]

It might be a good idea to try and get a community driven challenge to get the WIKI up to date. Maybe lay out the relevant categories that need update and have community volunteers for various sections.

 

Since no-one has been jumping in to update that in forever (at least that I've noticed), maybe by making it into bite-size chunks we can start to get it up to date and reduce the type of information everyone is searching for.

 

I disagree. This drive should not come from the community.

 

The sort of information that is truly valuable should be in the official LimeTech manuals. As such, that is something only they can and should do. They do (should) have a documentation specialist that deals with this.

[bkastner]

Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda... the bottom line is that 95% of information on UnRAID is derived by the community, and the answers to all relevant questions are usually found in the forums (posted by the mods and other helpful people).

 

Even the existing, completely out of date Wiki has an Official Documentation section and a User Contributed Content which covers everything from compatible hardware, through a complete installation walkthrough and a ton of How-To documents.

 

I agree 100% it would be fantastic if the Wiki was completely up to date, and accurate and managed by LimeTech, but seriously... when do you see this happening? Also, look at who benefits? Who answers the same questions ad naseum (how to I upgrade, why can't I access files post upgrade, how do I troubleshoot, x, y, z). It's the forum mods/members who do this, and who will benefit the most from an accurate Wiki.

 

LimeTech just moved recently from a one man team to a four man team with 3 techs and a marketing guy. I don't see them investing in a documentation specialist any time soon, though I do hope they continue to grow to a point where this is feasible. As it stands, where do you want them investing their time? Coding, or writing documentation / collating existing material.

 

There are already a number of users who contribute daily to helping the community, and I am sure a number of them would be willing to write their answers once, with nice formatting into a Wiki rather than have to answer the same question multiple times a week.

 

I may stand alone on this position, but I think it's a reasonable approach to an issue that is not going to get resolved any other way.

 

[garycase]

I agree with bkastner -- Limetech is not large enough to employ a dedicated documentation specialist; and Tom is far too busy developing UnRAID to spend the time it would take to really get the documentation in order.    He wrote a fair amount of basic documentation, but this forum has significantly expanded that with many "how to's" ... and in addition the many add-ons and plug-ins that aren't officially part of UnRAID need their own documentation as well -- something that UnRAID is clearly not responsible for.

 

[bkastner]

I agree with bkastner -- Limetech is not large enough to employ a dedicated documentation specialist; and Tom is far too busy developing UnRAID to spend the time it would take to really get the documentation in order.    He wrote a fair amount of basic documentation, but this forum has significantly expanded that with many "how to's" ... and in addition the many add-ons and plug-ins that aren't officially part of UnRAID need their own documentation as well -- something that UnRAID is clearly not responsible for.

 

Even for the sections LimeTech should be responsible for hasn't been updated in forever. I've been here almost 3 years and I would be shocked if any revision to either Wiki has happened during that time. Hardware compatibility list is a great example, there are 2 LGA 1156 and one LGA 1150 boards under motherboards. Everything else is AM3 or LGA 775 or earlier.

 

Trust me, I hate documentation as much as every other sane person does, but I also think that if it's not done by the community it won't ever get done.

[Harpz]

Regarding the community effort to get the wiki up to date.

 

How about some sort of incentive scheme. Earn points which get you simple rewards. Sometimes it worth spending time to get the carrot.

 

Just an idea.