Team-BHP - Suggestions for Team-BHP from Team-BHPians

Quote:

Originally Posted by vharihar (Post 4850278)

I wish TBHP was not so overly paranoid about avoiding what they call *SMS style abbreviations*.

This is the last step that Team-BHP should adopt if that stage ever arrives. Better shut shop than have the SMS slang come into posts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vharihar (Post 4850278)

The mods are undoubtedly doing a super-duper fantastic job, but come on guys, get a life, loosen up a bit. Nothing is lost by using such abbreviations, including the use of *bcoz* in this post. The forum doesn't lose its value.

Suggest you (no offence sir) to check other forums (don't want to name them) where moderation doesn't exist and it is a pain to read posts there. I had to read those posts two times (minimum) to understand what they wanted to convey but here on Team-BHP it is crystal clear and the flow doesn't get disrupted.

With "google prediction" and "voice typing" features on one end that makes typing easy, why still look for shortcuts (SMS language)?! Suggest you to try voice typing instead, will not make you think about SMS language and once done, proofread it twice so no errors are there and then submit. Should help you with no more edits of posts from the MODS and also shall help the MODS as one less reported post.

No offence taken, we're just free to opine.

But I think you guys got me wrong. I'm just talking about posts where barely 5-10% is abbreviated. I'm not talking about junk posts where majority is abbreviated.

I feel the mods can fruitfully focus their energies elsewhere rather than nitpicking such posts where barely 5% usage of abbreviated language is present. Else it tantamounts to over-moderation.

I don't know about rest of the world, but in the US, *hwy* and *expwy* are common abbreviations even in formal signages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vharihar (Post 4850312)

I feel the mods can fruitfully focus their energies elsewhere rather than nitpicking such posts where barely 5% usage of abbreviated language is present. Else it tantamounts to over-moderation.
.

Why have any short forms when the full word can be used?
I dont believe its a case of over moderation, and the majority of the junta here is aware that SMS language is not acceptable, so they dont use it. The result is well composed posts, and I am glad for that.
Just to compare, take a look at the earliest threads from 2004, when anything went. It looks like the wild west for us folks who joined a few years later!!!:uncontrol
Founding members - no offence meant please! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by vharihar (Post 4850278)

.... get a life....

Well, that's the beauty of it, good sir.

The vast majority of T-BHP staff, including Rush himself, do have a life outside this community and don't count our voluntary duties here for a full-time job.

That our commitment to standards holds strong despite that, and surpasses anything to be found elsewhere in the online world is a matter of pride for us, and we fully intend to keep it that way, for ourselves and for our vast member/reader base that values it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vharihar (Post 4850312)

No offence taken, we're just free to opine.

True, but it seems you're soundly outvoted on this, and you can add my no vote too.

As language changes over the years, it is reflected in dictionaries, and even in forum moderation. There are some abbreviations that have certainly become part of the language, eg, IMHO, IANAL, etc. They are more than one generation old now. It occurs to me just now that they are abbreviations of phrases, not words.

Please also consider the context. If you ask my address, I can say Gandhi Nagar Main Rd. But I cannot say I drove down the rd today. Nor can I go for a walk on the st. You can go for a drive on HW5 but you can't talk about hw driving.

I am not a moderator: I hope the mods agree with my thinking and examples.

I agree with a4anurag that technology has moved on from sms/txt-speak and rendered it unnecessary, even in short text messages. The lingo should fade away, but, sadly, I'd bet that it won't, because language doesn't actually evolve, it only degrades.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rehaan (Post 4849381)

If you have specific ideas / features that you think could be applied to Team-BHP, do point them out and we'll see if they are possible via plugins etc.

Thanks, Rehaan, for reading my post. The more time I spend here the more impressed I am by the thoughtful, insightful, lively and civil discussions and debates. I often feel very depressed about the state of affairs in our country, especially at the rapid deterioration in the quality of public discourse. To find a welcoming, cosmopolitan community where so many issues are discussed with respect and without the the idiocy, bigotry, crassness and regressive values that have gripped our national consciousness is extremely heartening. A lot of credit goes to you and the team for laying down the rules and for enforcing them efficiently and fairly. Given the size of the community I am amazed that this is even possible. Here are a few changes that I think would be helpful, if possible.

1. Ability to @ mention members in posts.
2. The ability to insert a link seems to be broken for https sites, with the formatting going for a toss. Adding support for https links, as opposed to http ones, would add a layer of security for users.
3. It would be nice to have support for standardised Unicode emojis.

The 90s look of the forum has actually grown on me! It is quite charming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vharihar (Post 4850312)

But I think you guys got me wrong. I'm just talking about posts where barely 5-10% is abbreviated. I'm not talking about junk posts where majority is abbreviated.

One thing we've learned fairly early on in the 17+ years of moderating internet forums, is that black & white rules work best.

When there's some wiggle room, it usually becomes a slippery slope (eg. "if X is allowed then why not Y?" etc) and it's impossible to successfully enforce a small list of exceptions across 60,000 members. In fact, taking an approach like this inevitably means MORE work for Mods.... and hey, we do have lives.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anjadekar (Post 4853188)

1. Ability to @ mention members in posts.
2. The ability to insert a link seems to be broken for https sites, with the formatting going for a toss. Adding support for https links, as opposed to http ones, would add a layer of security for users.
3. It would be nice to have support for standardised Unicode emojis.

1. This is much requested, and we shall try to work it in when we get the chance.
2. I can't seem to replicate this. Works fine for me. Could you illustrate the issue in more detail please.
3. Interestingly, this has been requested 5 times in just the last 2 weeks (and not so frequently before that). It is something we'd like to do -- though it's not a huge "value add", so it's not currently at the top of our to-do list, but it's most certainly on there :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sv97 (Post 4853433)

MODS can we please have a thread on the different safety features such as ESC/VSM/HAC/BA so that the importance of these features can be clearly understood even if it means spending more money to go for the top end variant.

There are a few threads like this (examples below).

ABS explained

Airbags explained

Traction control explained

Will also bring up the idea to the team of creating a compilation thread with all of them combined, including the smaller ones like BA/HAC etc. :thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by codwapeace (Post 4853509)

Is there no option to "tag" a user or moderator in a post on this forum?

Answered in point #1 above.

There are some threads on evergreen topics which are very active and get new pages every now and then. Whenever I want to check the new posts I have to click on the thread name (getting there is another journey) which takes me to the first page, then I go to the last page and click on previous button multiple times till I reach the page where I left. Topics like pics of accident and official reviews are some where this problem is evident.
It would be a lot convenient if all the previously viewed threads opened from the last post seen.

Also a nice feature to have will be if user can customize his homepage a little by having a few threads he wants pinned to a section of homepage. Right now I am using browser bookmark to make navigation easier.