Stickies added to the top of EVERY forum and subforum;

Hi Jeremy,

I saw that Win32sux has created the Linux antivirus MEGATHREAD, and it's prime time for it.

Since its creation there have already been atleast 2 new threads created on the subject today.

Also, there are handfuls of threads created each day by new users asking "Which Linux do I choose??"

May I suggest putting 2 sticky links atop EVERY forum and subforum on LQ, as well as maybe on the first page a new user sees upon registering with LQ, in large print, as follows:

1 - STICKY: Which Linux is for ME??
2 - STICKY: Do I need antivirus for Linux??

These would be links, going each to their respective MEGATHREAD, the first post within each megathread being a brief explanation of the megathread's purpose, and a statement indicating that there are <dozens or hundreds> of pre-existing threads on <this subject> already on LQ, and to please SEARCH for the answer to this question BEFORE asking this question again, and if you MUST ask about this subject again, please do it <here ie, the megathread> ?!

Thanks for reading, and all the best -- Go LQ!

--Sasha

PS - I know you guys NEVER delete threads, which is fine and good, but is it possible to somehow merge or otherwise 'collect' all the existing such threads, and plop them down into these megathreads to localize all the existing posts?
EDIT - I think you may have already begun doing this part; if so, disregard this last part

Thanks

well from my perspective, i think that these huge threads don't really server all that much of a purpose, and aren't working, otherwise they wouldn't be so fscking big from merges...

the problem with all these sorts of things is that people who are going to ask these questions don't do their research properly in the first place, otherwise they'd have searched and whatnot and already have gotten the answers to their questions. without strictly enforcing some form of mandatory hoops to jump through on joining, it's just literally impossible to make them pay attention, and those hoops would probably be taken very negatively by new members, which is not what we want to do... bit of a paradox really...

Good idea. I have just created a new megathread in the Linux-Distributions forum: The Utterly Improbably Huge "Which Distro" SuperMegaThread. And I'm sure you can guess what it's for

Originally Posted by acid_kewpie well from my perspective, i think that these huge threads don't really server all that much of a purpose, and aren't working, otherwise they wouldn't be so fscking big from merges... the problem with all these sorts of things is that people who are going to ask these questions don't do their research properly in the first place, otherwise they'd have searched and whatnot and already have gotten the answers to their questions. without strictly enforcing some form of mandatory hoops to jump through on joining, it's just literally impossible to make them pay attention, and those hoops would probably be taken very negatively by new members, which is not what we want to do... bit of a paradox really...

I agree, but even if we are just P***ing in the wind, there will be a number of people who will do their homework. And, if having a thread merged is enough of a kick in the pants for a lazier person to do a search first, then we have prevented future megathreads.

I agree with you both. That said, having one gigantic ridiculous thread that goes in circles for 100 pages, is better than having 2000 individually cloned circles (albeit each with slight genetic mutations, induced from too much cloning) lying around all over the place.

The key is a link stuck to the top of every forum, and/or more importantly, on the 'registered/welcome' page. The latter will never be seen by regulars or existing users (or people like me who never sign out) but if that's something on a new signee's mind (which distro?/what about viruses?), they will be hard pressed to miss the message if it's in big red letters or something on the signup/welcome page, and they'll click it and be fascinated by the abundance of information in this megathread, and after reading it for half an hour or so, they'll have all the info they need, and be glad that they didn't post a new thread on the subject .

Regarding the "which distro" megathread, it's deja vu. I thought it was a good idea then, and I still do. Those threads used to raise my bile to the point I'd say mean things to the incompetent ding-a-lings who post them. I finally matured to the point where I can ignore them for the most part, but I'll be happy to report them for inclusion in the megathread.

I got the impression that the old one was finally closed due to some administrator disagreement about whether or not it was just too unkind to the innocent fresh faces who post that question. The heck with 'em, I say. That's a good first lesson in the sometimes rough and rowdy world of Linux.

Recently, the "linux virus" threads have also gotten out of hand. Megathread ... good plan.

I don't see how essentially telling new uesrs that their question (which *they* perceive to be valid and relevant), is infact stupid and should be thrown on a pile of others to erm.. rot... is a good thing. a new user who wants to know what distro they should try is not going to get any help from a 2000 post long thread, it's overwheleming, muddled and disjointed. seperate conversations overlapping with no context, no knowledge of who replied to waht... it's just not useful, and if it's not useful, it's not lq. hey, that should be a slogan or something...!

The intention (well MY intention anyhow) isn't to imply that the question is 'stupid', but rather that it has been answered many times already, and often in ultimately the same way.

Your point that it may end up 'disjointed' is valid though, but if the threads were merged in whole/each, they shouldn't end up disjointed, but rather in a string, one conversation after another.

Good slogan too

Every single "which distro" thread is interchangeable. It's one of those questions which only has 2 rational answers:
1. install a few and make a decision
2. MY favourite is....

Many thread starters try to be unique by saying "it must be able to run PHP well" or somesuch, but really the whole thing is just down to a lack of investigation and research on their part. Yes, that's a very harsh thing to say, but being harsh doesn't make it any less true.

I think megathreads have a part to play on the forums. If they catch just a few people then they do their job. Obviously, we will always have members who just pick a forum for their question, regardless of the appropriateness of the forum, but there is semmingly no way to catch them and point them in the right direction.

Megathreads will always have pros and cons, but I think merging identical threads, by different posters, will give them pause the next time they post and they will click the "has this been asked before" button.

When you get down to it, almost every question that is asked on this site has been asked/answered a dozen or a hundred times before. Occasionally, a new one crops up, but not very often.

So, if it is to be the goal that everyone search to find the old answer rather than ask again, then implicitly it is also the goal that the site has very little new traffic.

Not realistic, I think.

Not at all. The aim of this site has always been to provide information and help not to drive up traffic. But just imagine the ideal world situation:
My problem is <problem>. After searching, I came across <threads> and tried the following things which seemed pertinent to my problem <information or thread links>. The answer in <thread> fixed these of my problems and left me with <x problems>. I can't find any information on them in my searches, can you help?

or

I have tried the help given in <thread> but that information does not apply to the version of the distro I am using

Wouldn't that be better than a load of threads entitled "help" or similar? And it would cut down on the threads which can be solved with a simple search or Google. I would contend that our longer term members have reduced their time here (or the threads they answer) simply because the questions are usually very similar or identical to ones already asked.

The issue is not to put down newbies, but rather to gently teach them some manners. There are things that are just in poor taste. Thread titles like, "URGENT, Help Me Please!!!!!!!!", will generally earn some remonstrance.

On a forum like LQ where all distros are treated with equal respect, "Which distro?", is equally distasteful. The one variation that has some merit is, "Which distro for my old, marginal hardware?"

Originally Posted by rickh On a forum like LQ where all distros are treated with equal respect, "Which distro?", is equally distasteful. The one variation that has some merit is, "Which distro for my old, marginal hardware?"

The dodgy title debate is one that has raged since the first internet forum was chipped onto rough marble and will, no doubt, outlive us all

I would say that even the "old marginal hardware" question is one which has limited merit - there are lightweight distros out there and, again, it largely comes down to a preference between them.

I did see one earlier today which I think is not megathread material and that is "which distro for an older laptop that I want to turn into an MP3 player". The reason I didn't merge it is that that is a very specific question with a pretty specific audience. The answers will be of help to a number of people and, for the general audience, it may prompt someone to investigate the option for themselves at some point in the future.

surely if all distro threads are interchangeable, then they should be answered by a single consistent answer, not a thousand different ones, and 2 thousand saying that the OP should search, which is what a megathread results in.

So yeah a sticky on a forum is a logical start, but it should be a very full and yet simplistic answer to a question. only from that sort of angle will you actually be able to provide useful content to a newbie, rather than just highlight to them the error of their ways.

But then that gives a slightly different problem in that for the sticky to be truly useful in that context you would then need to close every thread with a link pointing at the sticky.

There is, as far as I can see, no good answer to the question "how can we cut down on the number of identical threads". The Tutorials section and the Wiki and multiple stickies and comments inside threads don't work. All we can do is work with the available tools.