Open question to David and all other forumites...

you comin tonight...??? can't be bothered looking for the other post re: FHM...

is that with a U or an O? :P

I notice that on every post you make, you include a link to your site.
Your comment that ' I don't want to take any users away from EO' would be more convincing if you didn't use your posts to 'advertise' your site.

Keith,

I agree with you and in reading the system tonight have found what would appear to be posts directed at trying to perform this exact process.

Dave,

Please stop advertising your site in our forum - I also take offence to the lack of courtesy shown in your forum where you have spelt our name incorrectly three different ways and advised people of your membership status (which does not exist) on ExplorOz.

Is this why he calls himself - xploit??????
jules
ps got parcel from you guys Monday - 3 days from Perth - Aust Post are fantastic aren't they? Thanks for your trouble

Dave: No probs wont be done again, sorry if you thought that way. As for the lack of courtesy towards your site, i think that is absolute rubbish, i have even mentioned that

quote:
"create a friendly forum for people to use exploroz have their clients and thats great im not wanting to steal or take their thunder"

Think you should be a little more secure about your feelings towards your site. Sorry for the misconception of being a member you are correct that i am not a full paying member, but "registered" on your page may be the more correct way of

Julie P: no if you bothered to do any reading you would have found the reason why i call myself that. Read before speaking.

If any of you feel that you want to contact me further please feel free to get my contact details and give me a hoy.

Just maybe Jules was having a good old joke about your name ;-)

BTW just where does it say WHY you are called "XpLoiT".......because it has been your handle for a number of years is not a valid reason :-)

Andrew

Interesting that a bloke who is in his mid 20"s runs a site called Grey Nomads?????
Aimed at the older traveling public Who is "Exploiting" who?

"I dont want to toot my own horn, or advertise my site etc cause i know its against the rules here"????

This begs the question if know its against the rules and your not interested in exploiting the good will of this site then why do you constantly post your link????

Andrew : the name came around from finding exploits within linux based software. i did some work for the school i was attending and thats how it came around.

John: i dont think you understand what you have written. How is it interesting that i run a site called the grey nomads? please explain. Where am i aiming my site at the elder traveling public exploiting ?? u dont even make sense. or are u refering to my name being the reason behind the site? anyway your not worth my time.

since dave has posted has advised me to stop putting my site in my signature, it has not appeared on any post since, please explain what your fkn issue is.

To not waste EO webspace or bandwidth, im more than happy for you to talk to me about it on mine, but would prefer to keep EO's forum topics on track with what the forum is designed for.

Hey Explot or whatever your handle is,
I was just about to go and have a look at your site, but after reading this thread, especially the last followup, have decided that not only do you have a bad attitude and a foul mouth but your also a rude pr$ck, and any site run by you is the last place I'd want to spend any time.
Maybe I should copy and paste it on your site to let people that visit there know exactly what you are really like.
I think John understands exactly what he has written and I think it is YOU that is not worth HIS time !

Pezza

no worries.

ta

dave :)

G;'day - yes I was just having a bit of a joke re the name and the trend of the thread - no offence intended - but maybe an unfortunate handle - didn;t realise you were so young - having been on and had a look at the site - you ned to get a bit tougher if you are going to call yourself Xploit - leaves you open to comments like mine.
jules

David ,
Did you think that posting that boating info was a good idea ? I think there have been two requests for similar information since that time .
Cheers ,
Willie .

Which boating info do you mean Willie?

Off the top of my head

Seperate sections like PHBB/Vbulliten for:

General FAQ for the same question asked 203948230498 times a day.

AUTO SECTION
- NISSAN
- TOYOTA
- MITZ
- HOLDEN
- OTHER BRANDS
- SUSPENSION
- INTERIOR ACCESSORIES
- EXTERIOR ACCESSORIES
- TIRES
- BATTERIES
- LIGHTS
- ELECTRICAL OTHER

NAVIGATION:
- GPS
- MAPPING
- NAVIGATION

CAMPSITE:
- FRIDGES
- CAMPING TRAILERS
- TENTS and TENT ACCESSORIES
- CAMPING ACCESSORIES

GENERAL CHAT for crap talk and attachments of vids.

Life is so much easier to search for items when you can search a seperate specific section.

Seperate sections are a pain to browse, I like the free flowing arrangement here.

Maybe just an Exploroz chatroom to get rid of the conversational posts, that clog up imteresting threads.

You get a gazillion repeats of questions here precisely because everything is dumped together, and the search function isn't really up to scratch anyway (no offence to David and co, but a statement of fact when compared against others).

This would be a far more informative and productive forum if there were separate sections for different areas. A shift to VBulletin or the like should not be considered a step backwards, but a logical, rational step forward to handle the increasing traffic and information stored in the archives, and allowing far more productive results to be achieved from searches.

People that are here for general chit-chat can still have that section. Everyone else with specific questions will have access to specific areas with FAQ's at the head of that section. Saves a lot of grief all around.

Change for changes sake is not good, but change for a specific reason (increased traffic, easier management, better search functionality, etc) IS good.

I'm with Bonz, I like it the way it is, it has more of the 'chinwag around the campfire' type atmosphere this way, where everything and anything is discussed, more friendly I reckon.

Avagoodn
Pezza

No-one is saying that you lose that.....(general chit-chat section)

But if you have a specific question and you know there was someone "around the campfire" that had expertise in that area, then wouldn't you take them aside (specific forum section) and ask them your question.

People seem to have this misguided idea that having separate sections HAS to kill general chit-chat. It doesn't. Have a look around at some other forums (eg, outerlimits4x4) and see what I mean.

While you are there, try searching for dual battery systems in the auto electrical forums, or caster correction for Nissans, (as distinct from Toyotas) in the Nissan section. Now try and do both of these searches here...........point made??????

Maybe the mods (EO team) could move the closed threads to a categorised archive and leave the general forum for open threads - my 2c worth.

That way, any historical FAQs or useful threads could be easily accessed.

single messy section with an archive section (why are thing archived?)is a pain to browse, impossible to search as keywords end up in 239023948023489023894 different threads even if they have -0 to do with the subject...

you wont please everyone... is it possible to have both versions? The mess we have and a neat detailed multi section?

I like the sectional easy to find stuff flowing arrangement on 999.9999 other places.. before u say it, I do.

David ,

I love EO the way it is now ( except for the search mechanism ) .

I don't want separate sections for different kinds of posts . It is great to come on here and just flick down the page and see if there is anything interesting posted . On the more "bells and whistles " type chat rooms , it is a pain to go into all the different areas - I get sick of them and always stick with EO .

I think one of the great strengths of the site to newcomers , is it's simplicity .

Don't change something that is working brilliantly for you . ( Oh , OK , you could make the windscreen stickers better ! )

Cheers ,

Willie .

yer u may go off and have a chat with the guy but its also nice to know what theyre talking about in case you are interested also. As a resource centre the search engine is king, I use this for information learning and the current arrangement suits me just fine.

A change wont stop the qn being asked again just make it harder to see that its been asked again, but each new ask bring new results, its just the way it happens. A response saying this has been asked 3246230439852630948562083645234650234562309456203456203456032 times doesnt help anyone and pi$$es off new people who dont know that the qn hasnt been asked before.

Have you actually TRIED accessing either of the two topics I mentioned here????? The results are not sorted into any relevant order, and if you include items such as "Nissan" trying to narrow down the field a bit, it goes the other way....Present search engine does not include the operator "not" for exclusion of search criteria.

Archived or not, the search function here is not as effective as it could be, because the topics are not broken up enough to allow specific inquiries to be made. ie a search in a "Nissan" section for caster correction, would bring results only for Nissans.

The long and short of it is that Vbulletin has an inbuilt search function that is demonstrably superior to the one here. You would still have your general chit-chat, even a general tech if you wanted, but you would have so much more. Maintenance of the forum would be by off the shelf packages that could be installed as required and not "handwritten" for every minor upgrade task that is needed.

This is as much for David and co as it is for us. There would be a very sound economic rationale for changing when the return on investment (time particularly) is considered.

No GIO I haven't but as I said I tend to browse not search, and when I do search I tend to find stuff. I find multi partitioned sites a PITA and like the way I can just look down the list. If I find something I am interested in I Watch-List it.

I guess its horses for courses and this horse likes this course.

But if you had the GQ shimmy/death wobbles, would you ask in a Nissan section, or in a general chit-chat section, if you were presented with a choice????? If you did chose to go with the general chit-chat would you be surprised if it got buried in general chit-chat with maybe one or two relevant replies? (I had to laugh doing research on this, as BillS even made an entry into "Caster and correction and Nissan" criteria. Point made about relevance???)

If you were offered the choice of sections, you would soon learn through experience or just plain commonsense, (and perhaps a couple of friendly moves by moderators) to place your questions in the most relevant area. This would minimise your search time for replies, and generally prevent the threads going WAAAAAY off topic, as happens here a lot (saving you a lot of time reading about other ppls weekends, etc.).

At the moment it is a library without a shelving/filing system, lots of information available, but a hideous "poke and hope" search mechanism (no disrespect to David and co). If there was more order, with the FAQ's in each section as suggested by Truckster above, then simple questions would not need to be repeated. More to the point, people would be able to get relevant information on the basics without feeling embarrassed about asking for it (typical NOOB questions).

Bonz, I am trying to view this from a new person joining the forum. You may like to browse, but others may have specific questions (as you may have from time to time), and I would suggest that this would be a large part of the first time user population. Would you like your questions to sink down the page in amongst the idle chit-chat of others, only to be unseen (on page 2) in a night or so? That is what happens here at the moment. In what way is that helpful?

Overall the structure as it exists is messy and unfamiliar to people. Most people have used a structured forum before, and can make a reasonable guess on how to use it. This comes across as a traditional old-school dial up bulletin board in the days of acoustically coupled dial up modems with 1200 baud top speed....(single thread, multi msg, multi post replies).

It is time to welcome the 21st century..........

If it was up to me I would go back to the 20th century, the 21st is pretty crap from my accounts.

Most new users look first

Most new visitors come here from a search engine to the post/s of their seeking

Most multi area boards are a PITA

Googled "Caster and correction and Nissan" eliminating the O/S content leaving 27 matchesand came up with one entry from EO

Clicking on link gave this wonderfully useful bit of info .

Site Link

I won't post all of it, but sufficient to say it was no help at all. Cut and paste:

------------------------------------------------------

Visitor ckg612003@yahoo.com.au - Gary Campbell Edit your Visitor profile View your Wish List Logoff your session

2000 | 2001 | Jan - Jun 02 | Jul - Dec 02
Jan - Mar 03 | Apr - Jun 03 | Jul - Sep 03 | Oct - Dec 03
Jan - Feb 04 | Mar - Apr 04 | May - Jun 04 | Jul - Aug 04 | Sep - Oct 04 | Nov - Dec 04
Jan - Feb 05 | Mar - Apr 05 | May - Jun 05 | Jul - Aug 05 | Sep - Oct 05 | Nov - Dec 05
Jan - Feb 06 | Mar - Apr 06 | May - Jun 06 | Jul - Aug 06 | Sep - Oct 06 | Nov - Dec 06
Full Forum Search - Current & Archive

This page has been added to provide a additional way to lookup the Forum Archive data. If you are wishing to search the articles then please use the Forum Search Menu.
PostID Date Topic
PostID: 35432 01 Jul 2006 Gary Junction - Obtaining Dia Permit
PostID: 35433 01 Jul 2006 Brunswick Diesels
PostID: 35434 01 Jul 2006 Camper Trailer Suspensios
PostID: 35435 01 Jul 2006 Up, Up And Away
PostID: 35436 01 Jul 2006 How To Calculate Fuel Usage
PostID: 35437 01 Jul 2006 Looking To Join A 4wd Club...
PostID: 35438 01 Jul 2006 Do You Perve On Other Peoples Rigs ?
PostID: 35439 01 Jul 2006 Conversitions ,kg To Ton/pounds
PostID: 35440 01 Jul 2006 Nissan Patrol 4.8 Lpg Conversion
PostID: 35441 01 Jul 2006 Pc Install In Landcruiser
PostID: 35442 01 Jul 2006 Over Heating While Towing Ct
PostID: 35443 01 Jul 2006 Jayco Suspension.
PostID: 35444 01 Jul 2006 Sticker Spotted In Noosa
PostID: 35445 01 Jul 2006 Bump Stops Dimensions
PostID: 35446 01 Jul 2006 Mulberry Wine On A Big Trip

Etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.............(and I mean PAGES of it!!!!!!)

Proves the search engine "google" is not able to accurately access the archives for any meaningful results, and by inference, not many people would be actually directed here for a direct response to a googled entry...

Most new users look first......LOOK WHERE????

Most new visitors come here from a search engine to the post/s of their seeking....SEE ABOVE

Most multi area boards are a PITA....SO IS MICROSOFT, BUT WE LIVE WITH IT BECAUSE IT WORK AND IS FAMILIAR.

Other advantage of a new forum would be smilies and the ability to use different coloured/sized fonts instead of having to "SHOUT" to make a point or emphasize something. The ability to edit your posts for spelling correction would be good too...All this is "off the shelf" stuff.

Hmmm, very interesting points, but I think I'm with Bonz on this one. There's something that just 'works' with this forum. I browse as well, and have the time to scroll through the posts since the last time I looked.

I think the 'sections' is a valid point, but considering it is run this way now, how many people that can give technical/factual/experiential advice will take the time to go through ALL the catagories in search of a question to answer? The 'large campfire' feeling is the way this place works.

"...technical/factual/experiential advice will take the time to go through ALL the categories in search of a question to answer..."

This is exactly what happens now, isn't it???? Filed away on page 3 someone asked a question, but do you really look much before page 1 or maybe 2 when you log on.... honestly?????

Having the question about Nissan caster correction in the Nissan section makes sense. Posting that question in the Toyota section makes no sense, as it would as a post in the autoelectrical, or camping equipment section. Person with experience in Nissan caster correction only needs to look in Nissan section, not wade through reams of posts about peoples travels, football, cricket, recent fires, fuel saving gadgets (for the umpteenth time) etc, etc.

But somehow you think throwing all these together makes any questions EASIER to find???? Easier to miss in amongst all the other posts, I say...............

I'm with Bonz and Willie on this, I like the site the way it is. If you are after specific Nissan info, go to a Nissan site. I anjoy my daily fish through the new posts to see what looks interesting.

I also take GaryInOz (Vic)'s advice lightly - he is not willing to join up to support David's efforts so why should David listen to him?

Flame away!

Pete

This site is very successful . WHY ??????????????????????????????????????????

It is so far ahead of say ordered modern Overlander site in posts . WHY ???

Perhaps there is an awful lot of people who find this less ordered , less formal site , to their liking .

As I said before , the searching of the archives is a pain , but I am happy to put up with that if the chattery stays the same .

I'm with you Bonz .

Willie .

This site is very successful . WHY ??????????????????????????????????????????

Because for the most part it is objective.

----------------------------

"It is so far ahead of say ordered modern Overlander site in posts . WHY ???"

Good question, why is it so far ahead of Overlander? Is the format of the forum acknowledged as a factor?? (i think not...) How many posts here are repeats of repeats of repeats (ie Telstra NextG three in the last 4-5 days, all saying the same thing, all covering the same territory, but buried in page 2 at some point ie not obvious).

"Still behind some others though in post counts if that REALLY means anything at all. Lets not be too selective here....

------------------------------

"Perhaps there is an awful lot of people who find this less ordered , less formal site , to their liking . "

Related to content, not format.

------------------------------------------

"As I said before , the searching of the archives is a pain..."

Which is probably why there is minimal tech here, once you post anything it is irretrievable. (Nissan caster correction, googled as above, or entered into search engine here).

---------------------------

David was after suggestions on how to improve the site. I have offered ideas. I have given clear rationales for all suggestions. Does it really matter if I am a "member" or not?

IIRC BillS (NSW) was a member.......how much productive rational discussion came from his keyboard on anything other than his "pet subject"?

GaryInOz, I should have specified that some of those technical/factual/experiential people may be the ones happy with the current set-up.

In answer to your first qestion; yes. That's what I was saying; I go through all the posts since the last time I looked,(honestly) and if you study the posts carefully you can tell that many others do this too. It's part of the way it runs; looking for posts that may be relevant to a previous post, posts that are generated by an earlier post(gets someone thinking about a subject), etc.

I never inferred that throwing all these questions together would make them easier to answer. I believe they are not. But I think that the way it is appeals to many people. If someone posts in a 'section' and some 'chit-chat' occurs it stays there. Here it is all-inclusive; Joe Blow can get to now John Smith and it invites comraderie rather than sectioning us all off as the rest of our lives do. There's work, home, dealing with the phone/power/company etc, the 'us v's them' mentality found in everyday life; 'white-collars', tradesmen, dole-bludgers, greenies, oldies(sorry most of you LOL). I think some walls are broken down with this forum and that is never a bad thing.

GaryInOz ,

If you want technical stuff so much , why don't you look for it on one of the sites that are more aimed at that like lcool ?

Why try to change a friendly , varied , popular site into another more serious , technical site ?

Why can't you go there to get your information and just have a relaxed ride on EO ?

Willie .

Hey Guys GIO has a point and good on him for putting it, he hasnt bagged or poked shiat he's done it very well and thanx GIO for that.

Just cause he doesnt have membership doesnt mean he cant have a viewpoint, if a thousand non-members came up with the same feedback then thats worth taking on board, even as GIO says it its worth a look, T-Man said above a hybrid may be an option thats maybe worth look ing at too. I am sure Davids looking on and thinking too.

I just like the big campfire approach and thats me, doesnt mean I am right or wrong its just how I feel, cest la vie.

One thing I definitely don't want is smileys, what a waste O space, i love them in MSN but not here not now not ever please please please, if thats progress then give me a Willy's or a Blitz and set me free

Willie,
Thanks again for the email about the boat info that seemed to spark this off - How did this get OT so quickly.

Truckster,
Where did this come from Wille was not taking about forum section more a thread and information about boat selection - Have you not done the category thing 1235498739634598731409509147 times before (could not resist).

GarryinOz,
Search - I would simply suggest that you may not have read the help functions - I did a simple search for "Dual Battery Systems" and Toyota (6 Excellent results and this thread) Then "Dual Battery Systems" and Nissan 14 results. It all comes down to using the double quotes and the AND/OR & NEAR keywords (coupled with the date selectors). Try this for "Dual Battery" NEAR Prado 114 results but page one content is excellent.

One more try - had a look on google - and exploroz for "Castor and correction and nissan" we show 23 results using the ExplorOz search - Google first result linked me to Site Link on ExplorOz - seems relevant - the 23 results from our search have more information - I do not control how google dos what it does but the search works - just quote literal strings.

Shaker,
CHAT services, I have looked into this and will investigate again during the course of next year - I have no real issue with this apart from bandwidth but seems achievable and is in the schedule.

The other responses - thanks will come back and read the rest shortyl. I have a load of isues to deal with now - will be back later.

Thank you for the reply David!

Is there any possibilty of an edit function?

Merry Christmas & a Happy & Safe New Year to yourself & the EO Team.