i liked how the 650rider website had quite a few categories, maybe something similar could be used in the garage section to make looking for topic specific information easier
Check this out...
http://www.xs650.com/forum/tags.php
Click on a tag to show all threads with that tag. It's like forum categories except that you can choose more than one, change them anytime, and other members can help categorize the information. The idea is that all threads on the topic of motorcycles go in The Garage, and you can pick what category your thread belongs in after you write the first post. Also, if your thread evolves into something else, it can be put into that category too. You can also make your own categories by giving something a tag that has not been used before.
I have defined what the main topics will be and almost every thread in 'The Garage' should be assigned at least one main topic (maybe two) and maybe a couple of more specific topics (not main topics).
- thats why youre only allowed to add 2
and theres an edit function
Actually the person who started the thread can add 4, and other members can add 2. This could be changed at anytime though and the idea is still to have each thread be in only one or two main topics. More tags can be used for further defining a thread. Like a thread about jetting carburetors would have the main tag of 'carburetors' and also the tag 'jetting'.
I haven't really promoted the system yet because it's still sort of a work in progress and I'd like to make a big post to explain how it works and how people should use it. If done right, it could be much better than limiting each thread to one topic.
properly tagged is the key
So is putting your thread in the correct category from the start on most forums. On most forums, forum moderators spend so much time moving threads around because people miscategorize things. Also what if you have a thread that doesn't perfectly belong in one category (or topic) because it covers two main categories? If people would be more descriptive with their titles, you wouldn't even need forum categories or tags or anything because if someone had a thread about jetting carburetors, 'jetting carburetors' would be somewhere in the title and could easily be found by using the search tool. Since it's not a perfect world, people can now browse The Garage for threads, browse by Topics, search for threads by specific words, or search by tags.
There will be more written the
Topics page soon and it will also be included in the main navigation bar. (for now, click search then tag search to get to topics page)
Also see this thread:
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4758#post4758