Jason in CA
TVWBB All-Star
I was wondering if this ever got going. There were some PM's sent when it came up but I haven't heard anything more since then.
Improvements to this gas grill forum?
- Thread starter Chris Allingham
- Start date
No, there's been no movement since our PM exchange. I think there's interest, but available time is the issue. I know I'm still interested in supporting changes that would improve the usefulness of this subforum.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Yes, I am a guilty party. As Chris suggests, time is the big issue. Too many grill projects, too much responsibility running a small community with hurricane preparation - and now clean up, and too many second jobs, not to mention family dynamics...
Having said that, I still wish we could try to slowly get on track and that I could help at least a little. I think the first thing is to agree on a couple key things to accomplish. Then we could divvy up the job of copying over and editing old posts to keep them on target. My personal choice would be a gas grill "before & after" section segregated by types of grills. In the last few weeks there have been a number of times having this to readily refer people to would have been a big help.
Having said that, I still wish we could try to slowly get on track and that I could help at least a little. I think the first thing is to agree on a couple key things to accomplish. Then we could divvy up the job of copying over and editing old posts to keep them on target. My personal choice would be a gas grill "before & after" section segregated by types of grills. In the last few weeks there have been a number of times having this to readily refer people to would have been a big help.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I am reviving this post, because I think the discussion on the broad thread gets lost.
It sounds like many regulars don't see it being beneficial to have a group of "subheadings" for the new Restored Weber Gas Grills subsection Chris kindly created. Based on that, I will start suggesting old threads to COPY (not move) to this subsection and assume that it is all we really need. I will be suggesting posts that show before and after and the processes used to get there. There are some extraneous conversations not relevant for this purpose in some of these threads that I hope can edited out. That's why I would rather see the old threads copied rather than removed from where they are.
It sounds like many regulars don't see it being beneficial to have a group of "subheadings" for the new Restored Weber Gas Grills subsection Chris kindly created. Based on that, I will start suggesting old threads to COPY (not move) to this subsection and assume that it is all we really need. I will be suggesting posts that show before and after and the processes used to get there. There are some extraneous conversations not relevant for this purpose in some of these threads that I hope can edited out. That's why I would rather see the old threads copied rather than removed from where they are.
Bruce
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
Chris: One suggestion for a sub forum that I would like considered is one for "HOW TO's". I think if we had a section set aside for them, more people would post up write ups on how to do something such as your lubing for the valves or the one I did for the cross member repair. I can think of a bunch more processes that would be great if someone would take the time to document and write up how to's for.
How to grind out a cook box
How to clean and refurbish Thermoset tables
How to clean a porcelain grill lid
How to remove frozen grill end handles
How to replace an LP hose and regulator
How to convert from LP to NG and vice versa
etc.....
We get a lot of newbies that come on and ask these questions and it would be nice to point them to a well written "HOW TO" instead of being fed bits and pieces all hap hazard.
I also think that you should find a member to run the subforum and set up a template and guidelines for what they should contain and how they should be formatted. And the person that handles the sub-forum would be in charge of approving the How-To's to make sure they comply with the guidelines before they get formally posted to the sub forum.
I would like to hear other members input on this as well.
How to grind out a cook box
How to clean and refurbish Thermoset tables
How to clean a porcelain grill lid
How to remove frozen grill end handles
How to replace an LP hose and regulator
How to convert from LP to NG and vice versa
etc.....
We get a lot of newbies that come on and ask these questions and it would be nice to point them to a well written "HOW TO" instead of being fed bits and pieces all hap hazard.
I also think that you should find a member to run the subforum and set up a template and guidelines for what they should contain and how they should be formatted. And the person that handles the sub-forum would be in charge of approving the How-To's to make sure they comply with the guidelines before they get formally posted to the sub forum.
I would like to hear other members input on this as well.
Back to the question of subforums. As others have expressed, I am concerned about too many subforums, too. We've got a lot, and I am hesitant to create more. I'm not even sure the one I created will be useful.
I am leaning toward using tags + the search engine + a sticky thread with pre-configured clickable searches to achieve what's being asked for.
For example, we could have a defined set of tags like this in a sticky thread:
In the sticky thread, we'll have pre-configured links for each tag. For example, try this one:
Restored Genesis 1-5
You get a list of threads tagged with "restored genesis 1-5".
If you have tagged a post with "restored genesis 1-5" in the past, you can start typing "r-e-s-t-o" and it will auto-fill for you, or you can choose from a list of tags.
One caveat: The trick to making tags work is you have to enter them exactly. You can't freestyle with "genesis 1-5 restored" or "resto gen1-5" because each of those is a different unique tag. A pre-configured search for "restored genesis 1-5" won't find "resto gen1-5".
Thoughts?
I am leaning toward using tags + the search engine + a sticky thread with pre-configured clickable searches to achieve what's being asked for.
For example, we could have a defined set of tags like this in a sticky thread:
- restored genesis 1-5
- restored genesis jr
- restored genesis 1000-5000
- restored genesis skyline
- restored genesis silver
- restored genesis gold
- restored genesis platinum
- restored genesis 300
- restored genesis II
- restored spirit
- restored spirit II
- restored summit
- restored other grills
In the sticky thread, we'll have pre-configured links for each tag. For example, try this one:
Restored Genesis 1-5
You get a list of threads tagged with "restored genesis 1-5".
If you have tagged a post with "restored genesis 1-5" in the past, you can start typing "r-e-s-t-o" and it will auto-fill for you, or you can choose from a list of tags.
One caveat: The trick to making tags work is you have to enter them exactly. You can't freestyle with "genesis 1-5 restored" or "resto gen1-5" because each of those is a different unique tag. A pre-configured search for "restored genesis 1-5" won't find "resto gen1-5".
Thoughts?
Dave in KC
TVWBB Wizard
Great ideas, Bruce.
Dave in KC
TVWBB Wizard
Maybe I am the only one, but I didn't even know we could "tag" anything, and I consider myself to be
a fairly savvy bb user. I do not see myself ever using the tag feature.
I do not see any real need even for the new subsection to begin with.
I guess I like the idea of it as a handy archive, but just general daily postings I would prefer to see
any gasser resto threads posted in the regular Weber Gas Grills forum.
If we are really going to get into specifics, I would be more inclined to go with what Bruce
mentioned in The Improvements thread:
Having the ability to quickly find specific information on "how to's" or the ability to easily
point others in that direction would be much more beneficial to me, than being able to
look at specific restored models. I know we already have something like that in the
"Drab to Fab" sticky at the top of the page, but it could use some updating, additional
information/suggestions, and at 9 pages long, some culling of useless posts.
I'm surprised how many people HAVE tagged gas grill posts. Here are a few examples:
https://tvwbb.com/tags.php?tag=restoration
https://tvwbb.com/tags.php?tag=genesis
https://tvwbb.com/tags.php?tag=genesis+jr.
https://tvwbb.com/tags.php?tag=flavorizer+bar
https://tvwbb.com/tags.php?tag=silver+b
Obviously, some of these aren't useful, like "genesis", but with some effort we could tag existing posts and new posts moving forward so that with a single click you could get a list of restoration "before and after" posts organized by category.
I have a feeling that tagging posts is too big of an ask. It might be easier for people to just put *RESTORED* in the post title and people can visually scan for that in the thread list.
I'm not sure that a subforum is necessary when we already have a sticky index thread for this. (As I mentioned in post #46 above, I'm hesitant to add new subforums, I think we have too many as it is, and I'm not sure of the usefulness of the one I added the other day). Some of the things in Bruce's suggested list are already in the sticky. Some of what's in the sticky duplicates what's in the parts source sticky. It needs someone to take the time to update it, organize it, simplify it...perhaps start a new thread, move parts from the old into the new, then delete the old. PaulD who started the sticky has not been here since April 2019, maybe he would take it on if contacted, or maybe someone else wants to do it. Either way, you need someone to manage the sticky to add new entries and keep it up to date OR you need someone to moderate a How-To subforum to make sure people are only posting how-to's, move threads that don't belong to somewhere else, etc.
If we stay with the sticky thread, I would suggest that it NOT allow replies from members, rather it's just an index page. Discussion should occur elsewhere on individual pages.
At this point, I think we need to pick one thing to improve, focus on it, and see what we can accomplish. Personally, I think cleaning up the How To's sticky would add the most value. It could even be "seeded" with suggested topics that need to be written about...someone writes a post on a subject and lets the sticky owner know so they can link it into the sticky.
Up too late, saying too much, going to bed now.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Chris,
This idea works great for me. All I wanted to do was make it easier for someone to get a history of relevant restoration posts for the grill they were working on. The same concept could apply to “How to” phrases. The regular search using a word or phrase is not that helpful to me.
Only problem for me is that I am a social media avoider - other than here - and I have no idea what to do to add a “tag.” I pulled up one of my old posts to try and add “restored other grills” and can’t figure out where or how to do this.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Chris,
This is great! It answers what I personally was looking for without clogging up the board. Simple and easy, but with opportunity to group dozens of great restores in instant recall.
I have already linked my crazy Sunbeam restore and my Christmas S-310 story. The last one took a while because I used "tinypic.com" for the first couple years I have posted, and it has now gone defunct. We are all in trouble the day Imgur joins the club and cancels their free service which could easily happen.
I hope others will find time to look up their older restoration threads and add tags as well.
Thanks, too, for the easy instructions for the inexperienced like me on how to add "tags."
This is great! It answers what I personally was looking for without clogging up the board. Simple and easy, but with opportunity to group dozens of great restores in instant recall.
I have already linked my crazy Sunbeam restore and my Christmas S-310 story. The last one took a while because I used "tinypic.com" for the first couple years I have posted, and it has now gone defunct. We are all in trouble the day Imgur joins the club and cancels their free service which could easily happen.
I hope others will find time to look up their older restoration threads and add tags as well.
Thanks, too, for the easy instructions for the inexperienced like me on how to add "tags."
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Question. Can only the person who created the original thread add a tag that will work?
I took the liberty of trying to add tags to several threads I have saved with bookmarks. I was able to add the tags but they don’t pull up when you select that type on the sticky. All of my posts are pulled but others threads that I added a tag to do not.
I took the liberty of trying to add tags to several threads I have saved with bookmarks. I was able to add the tags but they don’t pull up when you select that type on the sticky. All of my posts are pulled but others threads that I added a tag to do not.
Yes, you can add tags to other people's threads.
Can you provide the URL of a thread that you tagged that's not pulling up? It might just be a caching issue in the browser. For example, I see 6 threads under skyline that weren't there earlier today...your doing?
I have taken down the photo subforum I created the other day. Let's see how this whole tagging thing goes for a while...
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Yes, you can add tags to other people's threads.
Can you provide the URL of a thread that you tagged that's not pulling up? It might just be a caching issue in the browser. For example, I see 6 threads under skyline that weren't there earlier today...your doing?
Chris,
Yes those were the ones I tagged. I guess it was just a timing thing. Thus system is the perfect solution to what I think we were all wanting.