this site is too hard to navigate and use

[Beachnutt]

Originally Posted by james

the map is no fable. it is very real.

Will this include the arial views you posted previously on another thread.

They were great!

[TeeZet]

Or something like a tree-structure on the left for easier navigation?

Don't get me wrong here: I'm quite happy as it is, but hey: don't we all want the best thing possible?
And I'm very pleased to see that James and Denisea (and probably some others too) are open to meaningful suggestions.
(Like I expected, duh! )

[TeeZet]

Originally Posted by james

AFAIK, the less Javascript the better

OK, you got a point there...

[Jacko]

Originally Posted by james

the map is no fable. it is very real.

we will be expanding the Frequently Answered Question section, for sure, but it will always be important to search for answers. Even if you get hundreds of hits for a search of, say, Xcaret, you can always search within those results. There are some responsibilities that each user must understand on this or any other forum. They are no different here than anywhere else. A quick Google of forum netiquette will yield many, many pages of results from a very diverse set of online forums.

I do not, however, believe that this site is difficult to use. On the contrary. Our goal has been and will continue to be simplicity.

No defense necessary...most of us love it here! It is certainly not difficult to use...but you know what they say..."tell it to me like I was I was a ten year old" can be useful...

[james]

Originally Posted by TeeZet

Or something like a tree-structure on the left for easier navigation?

we already have that on all sections except the dynamic driven sections (forum, reviews, multimedia) where this would eat too much real estate.

I'm not really entertaining any changes to navigation. I don't believe there is much room for improvement over tabs with redundant footer links.

[MWC]

Ooo! Ooo!
MAYBE
we could have a helpful icon pop up to offer assistance to people when it is clear that they need help ... like the much-beloved Microsoft paper clip. (Yes, I am dripping with sarcasm here.)
I'm thinking we use the image of Tommy (sunseekers) on the bicycle. Can't get any more relevant to navigation and friendliness than that early am shot!

[ChicagoGuy]

[quote=Susie Q Roo]Yeah, the question that always makes me feel that way is, "Anybody gonna be in PdC on whatever date?" I always want to say, "NO, you will be the only people in the entire town!" And then I feel mean. So I just keep my mouth shut. Or my fingers still or something.




wow, that would be mean

[Jacko]

James and Denise, It might make sense to consider disconnecting the concept of "Help" from "FAQ"...the current suggestions seem to be leaning that way....might devalue the effectiveness of the ultimate solution.

[HunterSeven]

Originally Posted by ReadyTRock

If there's already a way to do this, then the answer may be simply another item for the "how to" list. But, here's my biggest frustration... Let's say I want to know the location of Mamita's. When I do a search on "mamitas", I get hits on 357 threads, containing several thousand posts. At that point, it's far easier to start a new thread asking where Mamita's is located (and then listen for the echo of "use search"). Most of those posts are probably mentions of Mamita's as being a nice beach, or whatever, but not it's location. I'd like for the search function to have the option of pulling up only the posts which satisfied the search criteria, with the option of viewing the entire thread. There is the "search this thread" option, but that requires a lot more effort and a lot more page loads.

When you click on "Advanced Search" and get the page where you enter your search criteria, look at the bottom on the left hand side. There are 2 radio buttons where you can specify if you want your results to be displayed as threads, or specific posts that contain your keywords. You can also search thread titles only by selecting "Search titles only" in the menu underneath where you enter your keywords. After searching for "Mamitas" in thread titles, I was able to find the location in the third thread, just a few posts down.

[Dave y Stacey]

I've found this forums to be as easy, if not easier, to navigate than most.

The problem on this forum and many others is repeat questions. It doesn't matter how many times you tell people to search - some feel it is easier and more up to date to just ask. Or the feedback might be different.

I see it on quite a few boards and even with FAQ's - it still happens. I think some of the people who have been around for some time get more frustrated because they have seen the same question so many times.

I think when you have a board such as this that hsa so much information and so many opinions - it would be hard to keep organized. With as many things that change in PDC - I think this board does a fine job staying on top of them.

[james]

Originally Posted by HunterSeven

When you click on "Advanced Search" and get the page where you enter your search criteria, look at the bottom on the left hand side. There are 2 radio buttons where you can specify if you want your results to be displayed as threads, or specific posts that contain your keywords. You can also search thread titles only by selecting "Search titles only" in the menu underneath where you enter your keywords. After searching for "Mamitas" in thread titles, I was able to find the location in the third thread, just a few posts down.

exactly.

Learning how to use search tools greatly enhances the quality of the results you are served.

[NorthMinnesota]

Originally Posted by james

exactly.

Learning how to use search tools greatly enhances the quality of the results you are served.

Aha!! This is exactly what my friends were looking for! They were tired of searching through a gazillion threads that might mention their keyword on the 7th page! I will be happy to pass this on! Sorry I haven't responded before...I just found this area looking for info on making a new avatar!!!