# Archiving / Categorising Threads



## R6B TT

Kev, There is some very good stuff on the forum which can be hard to find (judging by some threads I have looked at) Could we set up Categories to archive useful threads by - eg Wheels, Suspension, Bodywork, Electrical etc - a bit like the FAQs - so the next person with a f**ked Key can maybe go straight to electrical and laugh at me and Scotty ?


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## nutts

Kev's got a thing about this  I've asked for this numerous times and each time I get a stoney silence : ;D ;D

The concept I outlined was to have another subject header, with a list of pre-configured choices (paint and bodywork, electrical, audio, exhaust, engine, wheels & tyres, etc). That way seaching the historical data could be done with a fair degree of certainty.

: : ;D


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## KevinST

"stoney silence" eh???

OK

To be honest, and I'm not sure if I've said this before... it's a good idea but 1) it would be quite difficult to impliment with the way YaBB is structured.
and 2) do you really think that the threads will stay on subject?? Not a chance!
We would have a thread that starts with suspension, and that 5 posts later would be going into great depth on size of alloys, brakes and tyre preasures!

We have difficulty as it is keeping off-topic stuff out of the main forum, TT related issues out of the TTOC section etc etc etc.

But <sigh> I'll have a look at the coding again and see if I can think of anything


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## vlastan

But if we have these preconfigured threads for all TT items...what will we discuss in the main forum then?


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## nutts

You can always try a search by topic and if it doesn't work, try a search by subject..... :-/ :-/ :-/

And Kev, you're not much kop at the stoney silence anymore mate : ;D ;D ;D


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## R6B TT

I guess it depends how big it gets - you could archive the relevant threads off the main forum after 14 days perhaps.
If its difficult in Yabb then could they be archived into a SQL Server database for example - would that be easier ?

Mind you if I create a bunch of work for Kev his Mrs will give me grief.


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## KevinST

She'll give ya grief anyway !! 

The database used on YaBB isn't really a database - each thread is a seperate txt file - as new replies are added, they are added to the text file.

Exporting them to a SQL database woule be a nightmare... you would ent up with a single record per thread with the record holding a single field... bit useless really for a relational database. Oh, then I'd have to build a SQL query system... yuk.


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## R6B TT

How about a Domino database ? You can stick all sorts of stuff in there - and I'm sure I can find a copy if you want to have a play.


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## KevinST

The database isn't the issue, it's the export of the data from the txt files to the relational database... and then a completely new search and display system... and then hosting the database on the existing server.
If it was easy I would do it in ColdFusion and SQL - that's what I use for my intranet site at work.

Unfortunatly, it's really not worth the hassle in the long run - YaBB provides a reasonable method of searching providing you're patient (it does take time unfortunatly) and enter some good keywords.


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## nutts

> ....... and enter some good keywords.


And that's the crux here! It relies on people adding a keyword and my concept has always been to make it compulsory to select a keyword.....

But if it can't be done then there's no point in me pestering ;D


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## KevinST

I was thinking more along the lines of...

_original thread_
Anyone got an idea on how I can remove my radio from the TT ??
Yeah - do blah blah blah blah and blah
Cool - Thanks

_ some time later... _
<owner thinks...> Hmm wonder how I can remove the radio from my TT... I know, I'll do a search. Hmm, wonder what I should enter to see ... I know, how about......
Search for: "remove radio", "Match all words"

Wadda ya think?? would it work??


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## nutts

then again if he / she miss spells radio bt accident (and there's no spell checker on the site....) then irrespective of how much you want to retrieve all the "remove radio" threads, it won't happen if the use had put "remove radoi" by accident....

By selecting "Audio" from a list, the user can then select "Audio" and pick up ALL threads related to radio...

or maybe use a keyword and a topic list. That was users can then search ALL "Audio" threads for "remove", etc

:-/ :-/ :-/


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## KevinST

hmmmm :-/
I'll have a look again.
The other option would be to have more forums... but I'm really against that as (personaly) I think that sites with large amount of different forums (such as TyreSmoke) are difficult to navigate


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## nutts

I guess I'm also in favour of no more forums...

But if a list of pre-defined topics can be added I think it might help with searching :-/



> hmmmm Â :-/
> I'll have a look again.
> The other option would be to have more forums... but I'm really against that as (personaly) I think that sites with large amount of different forums (such Â as TyreSmoke) are difficult to navigate


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## Rhod_TT

I was thinking this just today and thought I'd post but looked further and found that someone had mentioned it already.

I find the forum search a bit iffy. I rarely find the results I'm looking for unless I remember exactly what was written. I either get loads of threads or very few (and not the ones I can remember either). I could always wack up the search results but then I might as well be browsing through the main forum until I find the recent thread I remember.

By having the main foum subdivided by category (like Cleaning, Modifications and a few others) such that you can sort by category (like sorting by name, size etc. in Wondows explorer). When starting a thread you just select which category is most relevant (or "miscallaneous") from a drop down list. The threads still appear as they do now but the option is available to sort by category and thus see the most recent threads from the selected category. You could also search by category too.

Not sure if it is possible but it might be a thought.

But the forum is great in general and obviously takes a lot of looking after so now I'm off to search for something from a few weeks back.

Cheers

Rod


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