# My Take On The Forum Organization



## tx smoker (Jan 28, 2017)

When I first started making BBQ and found this forum a few years ago I was very active in here. At the time I believed this was the best organized and user friendly forum on the Internet. For a variety of reasons I was absent for a couple of years and just recently found myself back among the group. Maybe my short time back has not earned me the right to voice my opinion or possibly even start a new thread about it but I feel compelled to share my thoughts. From day one I have felt that this was an extremely well organized and managed forum and still feel very strongly that way. When I found my  way back several weeks ago, certainly the format had changed. That's to be expected however. The key to being successful in anything is the ability to adapt to an ever changing environment. IE: lots of new members and new subject matter requires reorganization. Without the ability to adapt I'd pretty much call it "planned obsolescence" because at some point you'll be so far behind you'll never catch up. I for one recognize and appreciate the time and effort that goes into maintaining this site. It is a monumental feat and my guess is that it's all done on a volunteer basis. That makes my appreciation even more profound for how well I feel this site is managed. This may be a bit off base but I'd liken the organization here to my tool collection. I own literally thousands of different tools for many different trades and applications. Those tools are not all jumbled into one large box (General Discussion). They are separated and organized into dozens of different boxes (sub forums) based on the application that each tool is designed for. In this way I can go to any of my tool boxes (sub forums) and easily locate whatever tool (thread) I need for a particular project. Part of it is that I'm an organizational freak and part of it is that I hate wasting a lot of time looking for that one "tool". It's much the same way here when I'm looking for particular information, which is always easy to find. Can't speak for every person's web browser but when I do go to "General Discussion", although a thread may have been moved it's still visible there (I have no idea for how long) and you can click on it and you're redirected to that thread in it's new location. Quite user friendly in my opinion. Another great thing that I learned from the previous thread about this subject was the use of the "New Posts" link. I'd never used it before but now it's my go-to link to stay on top of everything that's going on here. Thank you to whoever it was that mentioned thin link in their response!! In summary, I appreciate and respect every person's opinion as well as their right to voice it. My opinion is that the administrators and moderators here do an outstanding job keeping things organized, readily accessible, and and easy to access. Please keep up the great work and thank you!!

My .02 and probably getting change back,

Robert


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## ab canuck (Jan 28, 2017)

I agree 100% with you on this site and appreciate the time and effort it takes to maintain and continue it's course in the future. Charlie


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## atomicsmoke (Jan 28, 2017)

My .02 and probably getting change back,
----
Never heard that before. Funny while humble.

Hope you don't mind if I use it.

Regarding the forum organization: well said.


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## daveomak (Jan 28, 2017)

Given enough time, even the timid will find this forum helpful...   Getting up the gumption to post something...  Not knowing what to expect in the response...  Hoping you formulated your thoughts so as to not draw criticism....

Most folks on the forum are very forgiving..  understand the complexities one will encounter in their first few months of posting on a forum...  never having used a smoker...   understand the terminology...  and locating things they are interested in..... 

The wealth of information on this forum is mind blowing...  Very difficult to catalog...   and it seems at times, very difficult to extract for each individuals use....  

This place ain't perfect...   whatever is in second place is a long distance back....

TX Smoker, thanks for your thread...   pts.


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## pops6927 (Jan 28, 2017)

Thank you so much!


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## rod g15 (Jan 28, 2017)

Here, Here! My thoughts exactly. I have been smoking for 4 or 5 years and I can honestly say I have learned EVERYTHING I know from this forum! It's great!
Rod


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## smokeymose (Jan 28, 2017)

Nice post, TX. I myself am one of those timid, not very internet knowledgeable who's first post of any kind was on this site. I know I've asked dumb questions, but no one ever told me it was a dumb question. It's a wide ranging site with friendly folks who make you feel comfortable.
I have no idea what it takes to make something like this go, but I have a lot of respect and thanks to those that make it so...
Once again, nice post!

Dan


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## Bearcarver (Jan 28, 2017)

Well Said Robert !!

I Agree!

Bear


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## seenred (Jan 28, 2017)

Great post Robert....well saidI




DaveOmak said:


> This place ain't perfect...   whatever is in second place is a long distance back....




Couldn't agree more Dave...that's summing it up perfectly!

Point to you both!  Thumbs Up

Red


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## richard cameron (Jan 28, 2017)

I have been using a smoker of some sort for over 20 years now.  It still amazes me how little I really know about smoking meat.  I joined the forum last June so that I could expand my wealth of knowledge.  Thanks to the forum, I am now branching out to try cold smoking food.

I have been one in the past to put my questions and comments in the general discussion section.  The reason that I did was to reach the broadest base of people reading the forum.  I still think that what I was doing was a valid reason for doing so.  I have no problem putting my thoughts, comments, and questions in their proper sub categories and will do so in the future.

I am thankful for the members of this forum that have taken time to read and citric my posts.  I consider you as mentors as I learn more about smoking food.  I hope someday to share to share some knowledge that I have with others on this forum.


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## bdskelly (Jan 28, 2017)

Yes sir.  This place is like no other.  People make he difference.  Great members and awesome Moderators. B


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