RSS Feeds any use?

[CADTutor]

Has anyone taken a look at the new AutoCAD RSS Feeds forum? Do you think this will be of use?

[hendie]

Personally I find them a more annoying then useful.
I logged in yesterday to find about 4 pages of posts and found most of them were rss feeds.
With that many, it's easy to miss a genuine members post in amongst the rss feed posts.

would there be a way to filter out the rss posts ? so that you could search specifically for members posts only ?

[rkmcswain]

would there be a way to filter out the rss posts ? so that you could search specifically for members posts only ?

Sure, create a bookmark containing the following URL:



http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/search.php?do=getnew&exclude=38


If there are other forums you wish to filter out, add their number to the end, separated by a comma, like this:



http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/search.php?do=getnew&exclude=38,17,22,105



P.S. I had to put those URL's in a PHP code window so they wouldn't be truncated and you could see the entire URL.

[Martin]

I agree with hendie with respect to the view new posts issue, however on the other hand of usefulness, I do enjoy reading severral of the feeds.

I believe the filter system that is mentioned with be a perfect solution to a happy medium.

Just a thought... ;)

[zars]

Well, being honest I don't like them, though there could be persons who actually do.

That's why I'm gonna use the filter system that rk just gave us and I agree with Martin it'll be fair enough.

Anyway it would be helpful and interesting to create a poll to check out how many persons in fact are reading the RSS Feeds.

[CADTutor]

Personally I find them a more annoying then useful.
I logged in yesterday to find about 4 pages of posts and found most of them were rss feeds.
With that many, it's easy to miss a genuine members post in amongst the rss feed posts.

would there be a way to filter out the rss posts ? so that you could search specifically for members posts only ?

I hear what you were saying but yesterday was an exception. I was playing about with the whole system (I'm still tinkering) and imported a bunch of feeds in order to test. I have actually subscribed to only 5 feeds in total and in general we can expect just a few articles from each per month. So there's no chance of us being swamped.

I understand the search issue and I don't see the need to filter. The search results page shows which forum the thread is in. Any in the "AutoCAD RSS Feeds" forum can be ignored. If that's what you want.

I think most people searching on a topic will be looking for any information and not necessarily just that found within the forums.

[StykFacE]

i find the RSS feeds useful, but i agree with Hendie, when they come by the hundreds it can be overwelming. as long as they are kept to a minimal i see them being very beneficial, but when i do a "today's post" and 40 out of 45 new topics are RSS feeds, it defeats the purpose lol.

so i love them, but only in moderation.

next thing, how can i ignore them if i wanted? in my CP i'm assuming?

[zars]

i find the RSS feeds useful, but i agree with Hendie, when they come by the hundreds it can be overwelming. as long as they are kept to a minimal i see them being very beneficial, but when i do a "today's post" and 40 out of 45 new topics are RSS feeds, it defeats the purpose lol.

so i love them, but only in moderation.

next thing, how can i ignore them if i wanted? in my CP i'm assuming?


http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/search.php?do=getdaily&exclude=38
(http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/search.php?do=getdaily&exclude=38)

Works for me, but it would be useful to know if there's a way to do it automatically from CP :geek: .

[StykFacE]

well i just bookmarked it.... so i'm good to go. periodically i'll check in the RSS feeds and see what is up. :-)

[CADTutor]

OK. I've been doing a bit of work on this to make it more manageable. First, all new threads started as a result of an RSS feed update are placed in the "AutoCAD RSS Feeds" forum and nowhere else. So, the search filter idea works just fine.

In addition, all new RSS threads will be displayed with a special RSS post icon not available to any other users so the RSS threads are instantly recognisable for what they are when you view any search results or view "New Posts".

Also, all RSS posts are made by "virtual" users in a special user group called "RSS Feed Posting Robots" and that title is displayed in the postbit in place of their rank. Each virtual or robot user also has the RSS icon as an avatar so a user can be in no doubt about the origin of the post.

I had thought that adding these robot users to your Ignor list in the User CP might filter out such threads in searches but unfortunately, it only filters out the post - the thread still appears.

In any case, I think this will at least make it clear what is what.

Any other suggestions welcome.

[StykFacE]

other than that, i'm 100% satisfied with the change. like i've said before, me personally i like phpBB, but i know that vBulletin offers WAY more in a message board....

good job on the change, since mcswain posted up the filtering method, i'm totally satisfied. and i LOVE the quick reply.... lol

[zars]

I agree with Styk, using the filter link is fair enough for everybody from my point of view.

You're doing a really great job Cadtutor. This forum rules!!!

PS: I also love the quick reply window...

[gcp310]

Mate, at first i was mistaken for a spam poster hammering the website, i almost deleted a whole lot before i realized they had a dedicated section of the forum.

I do agree with Hendie, but from a newbies beginners point of view, any info one can get is a must, so i think it will benefit alot of people.

The new changes are great, Keep up the good work, Dave


G

[Lazer]

I agree gcp310 regarding newbie's with any info one can get is a benefit. I spoke to a few cad student's today and asked what they think and they loved it, yes we were flooded with posts from it when I went to NEW POSTS yesterday and thought this may be a bad idea as new posts were washed away but the suggestion of a Filter is a great idea to keep both beginner, med, expert happy.

Great job CadTutor.

[CADTutor]

Boy you guys know how to make a chap work!

OK, you wanted a filter, you got it. Click on "Quick Links" on the toolbar and you'll notice a new option. Under "Today's Links", there is "Today's Links (no RSS)". Click on that one to filter out any threads posted in the RSS Feeds forum. o:)

[hendie]

Boy you guys know how to make a chap work!

OK, you wanted a filter, you got it. Click on "Quick Links" on the toolbar and you'll notice a new option. Under "Today's Links", there is "Today's Links (no RSS)". Click on that one to filter out any threads posted in the RSS Feeds forum. o:)

aahhhhhh.. but don't you feel a warm, wet, spongy kind of satisfaction ?

[CADTutor]

:oops: er, yes I do.

[StykFacE]

Boy you guys know how to make a chap work!

OK, you wanted a filter, you got it. Click on "Quick Links" on the toolbar and you'll notice a new option. Under "Today's Links", there is "Today's Links (no RSS)". Click on that one to filter out any threads posted in the RSS Feeds forum. o:)
wow you didn't have to do that!!! i would have managed perfectly with my link... but thanks for that anyways.... that was very courteous of ya... :-)

[rkmcswain]

But keep in mind that the URL filtering works for any group(s).

For example, if you wanted to ignore new posts in all five of the community groups, you could use this URL



http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/search.php?do=getnew&exclude=27,15,35,25,31

[CADTutor]

Oh, there's an idea. How about "Today's AutoCAD posts", showing just those from the AutoCAD category added to the Quick Links drop-down? :geek:

Would you like that?

[rkmcswain]

I'm fine the way it is (even without the no RSS link)

Personally, I just set up bookmarks (as shown above) for the various vBulleten forums I visit - filtering out the forums I don't want to see. [NO filters for me here on CADTutor :-) ]

[StykFacE]

I'm fine the way it is (even without the no RSS link)

Personally, I just set up bookmarks (as shown above) for the various vBulleten forums I visit - filtering out the forums I don't want to see. [NO filters for me here on CADTutor :-) ]
because you my friend are the Mafia of AutoCAD!! you got to have it all.... lol j/k

[zars]

I agree with rk, I guess the link without the RSS feeds is quite enough help for us.

[CADTutor]

Too late! I've done it :roll:

If you think having a new forum is fun from your side, just imagine how much fun it is from mine. There's soooo much stuff to fiddle with. But, my wife says I have to stop now because I haven't seen the kids for a week or so (joke).

I will stop fiddling now and just let it bed down for a while. But keep the suggestions/comments coming. If you think anything could be improved, let me know. While I'm in the mood, I might actually do it.

I just have one final query for you guys to discuss but I'll begin a new thread for that.

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8989

[zars]

Ok, you always say I'll stop fiddling but so far you haven't done it lol :D.

Anyway thanks this my favorite forum and you've done a great job. Now maybe you haven't noticed it but statistics are missing (I know it's not important but I used to check it to spend some fun time) and don't worry fixing them right now, you can do it later ;).

[CADTutor]

The statistics page on the phpBB forum was a big mod that I installed seperately. I used it a lot and am missing it. However, I've decided not to add any major plugins for this board until I am completely familiar with vB. It's definately on my whish list but it won't happen in the near future.

Actually, you wouldn't believe some of the amazing goodies available for vB...