Limiting number of replies in a thread

[Adamm]

It was placed at the same level so that it would appear in the overall Forum and ASUS sub-forum views.

The compromise is quite straight forward in my eyes, one of two options;

1) Don’t apply these changes to existing threads so they grandfather the old limits.
2) Don’t apply this change to the addon subforum.

I think either of these options would keep all users happy and is a fair compromise.

 

[sfx2000]

I support Tim's approach here - if a thread gets to a point where there are thousands of posts, then it's probably time to look at another means to support a package.

 

[RMerlin]

I have been curious why AddOns is at the same forum level as Asuswrt-Merlin, and not a sub-forum of Asuswrt-Merlin? If someone searches the Asuswrt-Merlin forum (vs. Everywhere), they won’t find the Addon threads that are up-and-over one level.

Tim had initially placed it as a sub-forum, and it didn't look good - it was very easy to miss because it was just that one single forum link lost at the top with the rest of the forum heading and sticky posts. We both decided to have it moved at the same level instead to improve visibility and discoverability.

 

[Adamm]

@thiggins I honestly find it incredible that you are so willing to cut off a community that is essentially all of SNBForums daily traffic rather then just admit this was a terrible idea and instead work with the community rather then against it. The addons section alone has more user interaction in 70 threads then the majority of the site combined spanning thousands of threads. Just let those numbers sink in for a moment... If it weren't for the community built around Merlin's firmware and our addons this site wouldn't exist anymore, that's just the reality of the situation.

In 7+ years I've never once felt the need to criticize how the site is run and dedicated countless hours of time and effort building the community, but I'm afraid this change will singlehandedly be the nail in the coffin. I can personally say if Skynet's thread is closed as you have previously threatened, I will be moving all my projects to a more inclusive community or honestly just killing the projects all together. I can't in good faith let you wipe 6 years of history for no good reason and pretend like that's a reasonable coarse of action.

I think its very fair to say that myself and the other most influential/active members have "earned a seat at the table" when it comes to decision making, this thread was initially supposed to be a suggestion, but when you found out the majority of users didn't agree with you it became a forced change.

I can count on one hand the amount of times any of my threads have required moderation of any sort, so its honestly just a lame excuse saying these long threads are out of control. I am the sole developer / support desk for all of my threads, I have never asked you or any other member to step in and assist, so I don't get how the length of my threads affects you even in the slightest, you don't even post in this section going off your profile history.

Its also quite ironic that the site owner has stirred up what is usually a drama free community by trying to pit us against one another by labeling individual members such as @RMerlin as either "supporters" or "non-supporters" as a means of self serving bias. Perhaps its time you visit some larger tech forums and see how they handle exponentially longer threads and get some perspective on forum moderation and community building.

I once again on behalf of the community ask you to reevaluate your position before you alienate & inadvertently kill off the active userbase left on the site.

 

[L&LD]

I want my voice to be among those that support @Adamm's reasonable and easily applied requests.

Having a single thread for a project has worked and continues to work extremely well for @john9527's contributions, as it has for @Adamm too. Others feel different and they have a choice to create new threads for each release they offer. That choice is what makes this community work for everyone here.

There has not been one single undisputed 'improvement' from going to what we have today to an arbitrarily set thread post limit.

As a mere user of this forum, a single thread is much easier to digest than multiple threads with duplicated posts across time. As one of the smallest content contributors to this site, having to split threads because we're being stuck on the 1980's DOS limits is a little insulting to the technology, we have available today.

I guessed earlier in this thread that there were more than a single person who wants the choice. I hope more people step up now to support the few who have voiced valid reasons for keeping the system as it is now or at least be given the choice.

Egos need to step aside and either accommodate both side's views or leave things as they are now (i.e. 'working').

 

[Butterfly Bones]

I have seen this happen on a few forums I have used over the last 20+ years. Most recently one of the most used Android phone forums experience a mass migration of many top developers off the forum, though there are some support threads for the projects.

Almost all work and releases are now done via GitHub and / or Telegram for support by those who like us try to help. The site still have a very high number of users due to reputation, however the level of development work there is about 20% of what it was in past years as the worldwide android phone developer forum.

I would hate to see SNB go that way, but things change, not always for the better. Many of us will support those developers regardless. I've already bookmarked all the important GitHub sites so I can keep up if they leave SNB.

 

[L&LD]

@Butterfly Bones, could you share your bookmarks here? I am optimistic that cooler minds will prevail, but it never hurts to be prepared. I will never be on Telegram and GitHub is far above my comprehension. But necessity is the mother of invention, so I may have to learn something not only new but hard too, in my old age.

 

[New2This]

@Butterfly Bones, could you share your bookmarks here? I am optimistic that cooler minds will prevail, but it never hurts to be prepared. I will never be on Telegram and GitHub is far above my comprehension. But necessity is the mother of invention, so I may have to learn something not only new but hard too, in my old age.

I second that also, well maybe not the old age ...hehehe

 

[JT Strickland]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Why are they trying to fix it?
It ain't broke. It has been running good.
I personally prefer the old format with the thread in the Asuswrt-Merlin category.
Leave it alone already.

 

[RMerlin]

I have a feeling that we were tricked into this new forum just to impose more challenges and hurdles upon us.

I'm the one who asked Tim to create a separate forum for addons. The reasons I felt it was due for that was:

a) The increasing number of addons and discussions relative to these addons
b) Give more visibility to those less popular addons that quickly sank on page 10 (like Adamm's FW building script)
c) Encourage more threads to be created to discuss addons in general

It certainly helped for the visibility, an Asus engineer specifically mentioned to me in an Email that he had noticed the new subforum, and that he had been taking a personal look at some of these addons (we even discussed more in depth at least one of these specific addons).

So no, moving addons to a separate forum had absolutely nothing to do with secret agendas or to make things more difficult. That particular change was on me (and of course had to be accepted by Tim), and I felt it was appropriate for these reasons.

 

[Marin]

I strongly support keeping one thread instead of multiple. Let the developers decide what is best for them and how they are to manage their own threads. They and their work are the reason this community is thriving and they should have a say on how we move forward.

For me, it is easier to look for possible solutions by searching one thread instead of multiple. The number of pages in a thread does not bother me at all nor it should not be a reason to close it and start another.

Such page limitations on various threads may lead to more confusion and frustration especially when there are multiple users involved in various ongoing discussions within one thread that are cut off due to page limit and then forced to continue in another. It would be easier to follow the evolution of all discussions in one thread instead of multiple.

Review of information within a thread for me is like reading a book. I am simply not just interested in finding the answer to what I am looking for and quickly clicking away -instead I want to know and understand what led up to the issue that is similar to what I am experiencing, what was the proposed solution and the follow up afterwards. This is how I learn and retain knowledge and it is also what keeps me motivated to come back in these forums for more.

 

[thelonelycoder]

I also again voice my concern. amtm and Diversion will continue to receive updates and support by me. I'm just not sure at this time if this board is the right place for that.
Don't make us leave @thiggins and lose a place where we were welcome, respected and had fun while providing enhancements to Asus routers that other communities and brands only can dream of.

 

[New2This]

I have been buying a "ASUS" routers for a reason and will continue to promote it, along with these addons ,have been a great addition and my only choice of router, Don't take that away.....

 

[AntonK]

I'm just a lowly end-user, but I've never had a problem with the length of the threads nor, indeed, have I ever thought about it until this situation arose amongst those I loosely consider the 'leaders' of the forums I am interested in here at SNB. I've always groaned under the weight of the lousy search engine, but that's overcome by using Google's site command.

No, I suppose browsing very long threads isn't ideal, but who does that unless they personally get a kick out of it? I either search for items of interest, or I 'Watch" a thread so that I can catch all the latest posts to it.

I love this whole RMerlin firmware and its Addons universe. I visit SNB for these forums dozens of times a day. My router life would be considerably diminished if it went away. Please don't....

 

[Treadler]

IMHO, leave things as they are.
A better search facility would be fantastic though.

As Butterfly Bones said above, can the script gurus please advise here if they intend moving camp, I for one would have to follow.

 

[Kingp1n]

The thread reply limit will be enabled on November 1. I'll be enabling an improved search sometime this weekend.

@thiggins....I understand both sides to this concern. My question is why the 1 Nov 2020 date? Can we still discuss this issue and maybe decide something more concrete say 1 Jan 2021? I spent 95% of my day (thru out the day) looking at the "AddOns" section (previously under the "Asuswrt-Merlin" section) specifically to keep up with all the available scripts and see what users are reporting. I barely look at any of the other sections with exception of a few other sections i.e. VPN, Asuswrt-Official etc...

Sometimes when I run into some issues with a certain script (due to my own fiddling around), its nice to find a solution by doing a search within the thread and find that someone has already asked and fixed the problem. This way I don't have to create a new thread. I would hate to see some of these great developers leave this awesome community.

It means a lot to some people (like me) with the developers who do a lot for the community free of charge and in their own time without asking for anything in return. I really respect the coders in this forum that are improving our devices all the time.

Let's hope we can all come to an agreement that will benefit us all in this great SNB community!!!

This 2020 has been one hell of a crazy year all over the world. Let's finish 2020 strong in this great community!!!

Im sure 2021 will have more surprises! Hopefully for the better.

 

[sfx2000]

@thiggins I honestly find it incredible that you are so willing to cut off a community that is essentially all of SNBForums daily traffic rather then just admit this was a terrible idea and instead work with the community rather then against it.

Tim has made his decision... his house, his rules - and you're just one part of a larger community.

 

[sfx2000]

I also again voice my concern. amtm and Diversion will continue to receive updates and support by me. I'm just not sure at this time if this board is the right place for that.
Don't make us leave @thiggins and lose a place where we were welcome, respected and had fun while providing enhancements to Asus routers that other communities and brands only can dream of.

Things get to a point as a developer, where forums are not the best place - perhaps something more focused - github and issues are a good place to start.

 

[sfx2000]

Tim has made his decision... his house, his rules - and you're just one part of a larger community.

@Adamm - consider the outcome here - Tim could wield the banhammer - deleting the threads and barring you - I wouldn't push so hard - his approach is reasonable.

 

[sfx2000]

My question is why the 1 Nov 2020 date? Can we still discuss this issue and maybe decide something more concrete say 1 Jan 2021?

If folks can't make a decision in two weeks - how is 2 months going to make any difference.