Should cpaptalk Be Divided Into Categories or Subsections?

[Haku]

Or maybe a Category for thread spammers

[LDuyer]

Hi RG,

Kind of disappointed in the way you blew it with HAKU's picture. You need to get out more. Maybe go to the zoo or at least read some nature books. If all else fails chrisp can help you as he is into this sort of thing.

The picture is NOT of a polar bear!! If you really looked closely, well maybe not you, computer geek, highly organized assembler of posters previous opinions prioritized for your philing system eccentric person you are, it would be easy to overlook. But chrisp knows, ask him if you like!

Go back and take a close look at that picture. Then let your stifled nature, wildlife, kinky imagination run wild.

See, it's not a polar bear at all. It's a large turtle with it's shell off trying to achieve the ever famous erotic "Turtle Position" - just ask chrisp!

Sorry about all that, but you were right. My mind is going, sill kind of works, but with all the previous O2 desaturation the little grey cells go poof.

Bob F

Bob,

You've GOT to be the quirkiest, funniest dude I've ever known!
And so darned creative too. How you manage to be so creative and stay just one foot shy of the loony bin, I have no idea.
You're the best!

As RG said, wuv you unclebob!



Linda

[JohnMudie]

However, I think it may be easy to get so comfortable with this site, friendly with others, and acustomed to equipment, etc. that one forgets how important it is to be able to quickly find the right information efficiently.

I got my first equipment four days ago and immediatley needed help with my mask (imagine that). When I started reading threads here I was amazed at the lack of categories and well, disorganization. All I wanted to know was what are the most popular/unpopular masks and for what reasons? I started at the top and worked my way down looking for seemingly relevant threads. I eventually found some, of course, but felt there must be more opinions, so I kept reading. Okay, let's go back to that thread where they were talking about those two masks, what were they called? swell? sweet? swift?--breezy? activator? Well I guess I'll go to the products page and look through until something pops out at me. There's one of them, the Swift. What was that other one? Acclaim, Activa? I can't remember.

This is exactly what I felt and still feel when I started. Thats why I started my index which is meant to contain "nuggets" of useful information. The trouble with the index is that only one person can add to it. So I am now working on a Wiki with James. Its at http://sleepapnea.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page and I would love for you to add to it as you discover "nuggets" useful for the beginner. The big plus of the Wikki is that I dont have to get it right. If I make a mistake, others will correct it.

Welcome

John M

[ICantGetNoSleep]

This forum needs to be split up into sub forums. Create a sub forum for apnea, another for masks, etc...

[kavanaugh1950]

NO WAY JOSE!!!!

[cajapato]

Can I vote Yes twice? I live in FL so we're used to voting irregularities.

Well, Johhny would probably catch my IP address if I did.

SnoreNoMore2005

Vote early, vote often...that's the Florida moto.

My vote is no. I've had more questions answered than not, in threads that morphed into something way out of line from the subject text. I'm not sure that sentence makes any sense though....
I like the informal feel here. I like the adventure of finding nuggets in popular posts. If I've asked a question, it's always been addressed either by direct responses in the thread, PM's or posting links. So, lack of information has not been a problem for me.
I'm a member of several other groups from boat cruising to dog forums. Categorizing really locks you into specifics and raises questions about what to post where.
I've seen flame wars started by people harping on others to take it to another category thread. "That response belongs under gps navigation, not dead-reckoning", take it elsewhere. Well, it can be hair splitting.

I've not seen a lot of animosity develop here. There's been a couple of tense moments and hurt feelings but by and large the people here are wonderful.

If sub forums are developed, the fewer the better.

[BadThad]

Please break it up....it's VERY difficult to wade through the forum as it stands now. There's just too much info on this forum to be thrown into a single "pot".

[Catnapper]

I like it just the way it is. It would be helpful to me if the search function worked better. I have bad luck using it.

I like the way the threads go off in various directions. I also like the fun of finding a great tip in a thread that I hadn't expected. Reading lots of posts gives you time to feel like you know the members here. I really enjoy the support and friendship that people share over time. Great place to visit.

[Theatre1sm]

I voted Yes because of time consumption. I appreciate the "general" forum to find opinions and discussion on things that apply to everyone. HOWEVER, I think sections for specific equipment (software, nasal pillow, full face masks, etc.) would be helpful so you don't have to wade through information and discussions on items that are not relevant to you.

[pabond]

Did somebody mention the ability to search? My vote is NO based on the same reasons most other NO votes are added. However, it would be very useful to be able to search topics for things. It would eliminate people submitting the same question over and over again. Is there already a way to do this?

[JimW]

The question was asked in August 2005. I think this was settled long ago, and the thread likely brought to the fore by a spam robot.

[blarg]

Did somebody mention the ability to search? My vote is NO based on the same reasons most other NO votes are added. However, it would be very useful to be able to search topics for things. It would eliminate people submitting the same question over and over again. Is there already a way to do this?

I find the best way to search is to use google's site searching feature.

Want to know about mouth leaking? Type this into google:

site:cpaptalk.com mouth leaking

Much better results than the built in search.

[SleepGuy]

I like it just the way it is.

Having spent some time on other forums that are divided up I can say that they're quirky and there's so much overlap of subjects that people post the same threads multiple times on different threads.

The other thing I've noticed: As a practical matter, people ignore the sub-forums and default to a primary forum anyway. So if you post on one of the lesser-used sub-areas, you'll likely not get much feedback.

Yes, it's true that the posts fly by on the forum now. But that's a large part of what gives the forum a strong sense of community.

If you do break it up, I'd say do not use more than two or three categories and do it in a way that makes sense.

[Slinky]

Even tho this thread was started in 2005 and has only appeared again because of some spammer I've gotta say no, No, NO!!! Do NOT split into categories. Categories are the one thing I absolutely HATE about the ASAA apneasupport forum!!

[Vader]

Even tho this thread was started in 2005 and has only appeared again because of some spammer

LOL I was wondering when someone was going to mention that, but "if" this were a current thread , I would still be against split categories.
It wasn't needed then, or now.