Subaru Crew Community Page- Your Comments/Opinions

p0926

However, in my defense, the way I normally access discussions is via my "Message Center" which only shows the topics I'm subscribed to that have unread posts (and doesn't use the NEW flags). Only on rare occasions do I venture out to the broader community pages where the NEW flag is used. Which reminds me, how in the heck do you hosts manage to keep up with so many various and sundry discussions. How many are there total? I'm sure that it's in the hundreds.

-Frank P.

Karen_S

I'm sending your suggestion to TH tech guru, Johnv.

Karen_S

Hundreds? Uhmmm...more like thousands. And let's not get into how many posts reside in the Town Hall. I think it was maybe two years ago when we surpassed 1 million!

p0926

Karen- I was being conservative and only considering the active discussions (but I suppose they may well be into the thousands by now). In any case, kudos to you and your fellow hosts who do such a superb job of keeping everything running smoothly.

-Frank P.

Karen_S

Your kind words are much appreciated. :-) We(hosts) usually get more onions than orchids thrown at us.

johnv

Hi Bob,

Could you let me know on which page you're clicking the "View All" link? I'm not certain which page context (message center, board view, make/model view, etc) you're asking about.

-j
TH Developer

rsholland

My request is more "global" in nature. I'm sure it affects all car brands that are being discussed.

When I log on to Edmunds Car Discussions:

• I go to Subaru.

• Then it gives me a list of which Subaru discussions to select.

• At the bottom of that list is "Display ALL Subaru Discussions". That's the one I'm talking about. When you select that choice, every Subaru discussion that has taken place from day one is listed: active and archived discussions. Can we please have a check box to choose not to show the archived discussions?

Or, give us two choices:

"Display ALL Active & Archived Subaru Discussions"

"Display ALL Active Subaru Discussions"

This should be for every car discussion, not just Subaru.

Thanks

Bob

sensei1

Right now there's no way to go back to a site without navigating back by selecting make->group->etc after I've read the messages on the board I've chosen to subscribe to. Maybe I just don't know how.

Let's say I click on message center to see my subscriptions. I read Car A messages and go back to my subscriptions. Car A will no longer be there unless new messages are posted. After I read Car B posts and want to go back and post on Car A, I'd have to navigate back.

How about a left column field where one can make a favorites list to bounce back and forth between boards?

By the way I've been a regular for over a yr. now since researching and eventually buying my '02 WRX. A wealth of info here and a pretty mild-mannered bunch for the most part except for stray trolls and smart-a#%!*.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

johnv

Thanks for the suggestions!

sensei - you can do something like you'd like in two ways, one would be to uncheck "Show only new" at the bottom of the Message Center such that Car A doesn't vanish; the other would be to "bookmark" the discussions using the "bookmark" button in the discussion's headers. Those will always appear underneath your subscription list.

Bob - I take it the problem is just the large number of discussions that appear? They should come up in date sorted order with the new ones at the top (although you can change this ordering, click on "My Preferences"). I agree that the list for Subaru (and Ford!) are getting perhaps too long and perhaps some sort of pagination is required. Perhaps a header like that we use for message pagination in discussions?

-j
TH Developer

rsholland

Bob - I take it the problem is just the large number of discussions that appear? They should come up in date sorted order with the new ones at the top (although you can change this ordering, click on "My Preferences"). I agree that the list for Subaru (and Ford!) are getting perhaps too long and perhaps some sort of pagination is required. Perhaps a header like that we use for message pagination in discussions?

I like to keep my list in alphabetical order, so formatting it with the latest messages wouldn't work.

Why can't we just have two choices:

Show all ACTIVE Subaru discussions

and

Show all ARCHIVED Subaru discussions

Having these two choices would solve the problem.

Bob

sensei1

works for me.

subearu

the Forester XT topics to the Subaru Crew discussion page.

-Brian

Karen_S

All I could find specific to the XT resides in Maintenance & Repair and added it to the Crew. Am I missing others?

subearu

Yep, that was the one.

There is another one called "Forester Turbo in 1 year", but I'm not sure how long that one will be around since the XT is here NOW! ;-)

-Brian

rsholland

Anybody else having this problem?

Every time I go to different forums, I have to log in. I won't remember when I save. Arrgh!

Bob

ateixeira

Mine is OK, Bob. Try to disable autologin, then re-enable it.

-juice

lark6

I'm not sure why the "Dealers & Pricing" forum was closed and replaced by "Prices Paid & Buying Experience" for each specific model. Maybe it's just me but it seems like a lot more to navigate through now.

Ed

rsholland

I tried that, but it still isn't working properly. BTW, I've tried this from two different computers (MAC/AOL & PC/cable). Same problem.

I also found vaporman on another forum too. I wonder if that's related to this problem.

Bob

rsholland

I just posted over in the VW Touareg forum and my name didn't show up, so now I too am "Vaporman!" It shows up here but not there.

Host Steve said (over there) that there is a problem and the Edmund-Techs are working on it.

Bob

earthwoman

It let me post in the Crew General Maintenance thread by my username was omitted.

ateixeira

Saw that too, Rebecca.

-juice

Karen_S

....I'll let JohnV know about the autologin issue. It maybe connected to the anonymous postings.

Karen_S

Management determined that many new members are searching the Town Hall for Prices Paid discussions, so an entire board was created for that topic only.

rsholland

the News & Views forum has taken all the "Read Only" archived threads, and put them into a separate folder at the top of the News & Views forums, to be accessed separately.

I've asked several times in the past for Edmunds to do the same here in the Subaru forums. Any chance of it occurring, now that it's been done in the News & Views area?

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?14@@/News%20%26%20Views

Bob

Karen_S

I'm only seeing one "read only" discussion on the Subaru Crew board.

/direct/view/.eea1a91

Can you post (or send to me in email) a URL of the discussion list you're looking at?

rsholland

This is the link I'm talking about. There are a huge amount of "Read Only" threads here. It would be great if they could be archived in a folder like the "News & Views" and "Subaru Crew" threads are.

/WebX?ed_displayMakeModelRelatedD- iscussions@@.ef14c39!make=Subaru&model=All

Thanks!

Bob

Karen_S

Okay...hope I can explain this clearly.

The link you posted was derived from using the make/model feature in the sidebar, correct? That function is designed to search the entire Town Hall, current and archived discussions. What you're seeing is a compendium of ALL the discussions ever created that have been categorized as "Subaru" in the Town Hall. The major portion of these topics do reside in their respective board's archives. If you open one of them, you will see at the top that it states "This discussion is archived." Above that, it will tell you who created it and on what board.

Basically, the make/model function is a search utility. There is no one board in the Town Hall, other than the Subaru Crew, that is strictly Subaru related.

If you "Browse by Message Board" from the drop down menu, choose any board, and then choose "Display ALL (board name) Discussions", the list you will see contains only the currently active topics on that board. At the top is a link to the archives of each board.

I have made a suggestion to upper management about providing a toggle that would exclude archived/read only topics from the make/model view as this is an issue that should be addressed.

Hope this makes sense. Let me know if you have more questions.

p0926

Karen- Good explanation and I really like your suggestion for allowing users to exclude archived topics. It should be an easy change to implement too so hopefully it will be approved.

-Frank P.

rsholland

When I come to the Edmunds Town Hall to view Subaru topics, the link I gave you is the one I use. As you said it shows every Subaru topic listed, those that are active as well as those that are "Read Only" files.

I would guess there are many others out there who access Edmunds "Show all <insert brand name here>" as I do. It would would make life a whole lot easier if those "Read Only" files could be put in an "archive folder" too.

Bob

subearu

How come you don't use the 'Message Center' and then 'Read Subscriptions' to go through your unread topics? Just subscribe to all the Subaru threads you need. I have about 50 in my subscription list, including the Mazda MPV threads I read.

-Brian

p0926

I use the Message Center function too and I have a hard enough time just keeping up with the topics I'm subscribed to, no way I'd be able to follow every Subaru topic!

-Frank P.

rsholland

new topics would come up that I wouldn't be aware of. I'd rather do it this way.

Viewing all the topics is not as hard as it sounds. Only 20 &#150; 30 are active, and of those, perhaps a dozen or so are really active.

Bob

subearu

I try to make it to the 'Subaru Crew' folder now and then to make sure I'm up-to-speed on any new topics. Maybe monthly I'll do a Browse by Vehicle search and see if I'm up to date there as well, adding (subscribing) new threads as I see it.

I know I don't read all the Subaru threads (or the MPV ones for that matter). I probably spend more time at the MPV site (not Edmunds), as I have Moderator duties there.

-Brian

p0926

Bob- Good point, on the rare occasion when I find the time to venture out beyond my Message Center topics, I almost always find an interesting new topic that I add to my subscription list. But then I feel pressure to unsubscribe to another topic to keep my total number of subscriptions at a manageable number.

-Frank P.

paisan

To the subaru Crew and to the isuzu folders. This automatically adds in the topics that fall into there IIRC.

-mike

johnv

Hi Bob,

It isn't possible to break the active and archived discussions into separate lists, but we've added pagination today which should effectively do the same thing.

-j (TH Developer)

rsholland

2 steps backwards...

I hate this new pagination format. Now I have to go all over the place looking for Subie topics. It was way better before, even with all the read me topics!

I can't win... Arrgh!

Bob

declansdad

The "well established" topics are on the last pages while the new topics are first...I don't get it.

I wish that before a person opens up a new topic, she/he would have to ask permission from the hosts--too many "new" topics belong in the "well established" topics (designated threads).

Michael

rsholland

Not only do I still have to deal with all these "Read Only" files, I now have 9 pages to tap into!!!!

After I read a new posting it puts me back onto page 1, so I have to now also remember what page I was on too, and then to re-click on that page again if there are other posts to read.

When I'm on my son's PC with fast cable hookup, it's a pain. When I'm on my MAC with slow dial-up, it's unbearable!!!

I HATE IT!!!!

Bob

rsholland

after reading a post the word "NEW" (sometimes) remains with the just-read thread. That's happening on page 1 right now! Arrgh!

Bob

Karen_S

How are your personal preferences set to view the discussions list? I have my own set for alphabetically, but that is not the best way when using the make/model function. You could try changing it around to see what might work better for you.

Also, rather than using the navigation choices ont the site, I use my browser back button...a lot.

rsholland

Setting my preferences to "Most recently active" does help with new messages.

However, if I want to post in specific (older) thread, it makes it more difficult. For those situations I now have to scroll perhaps up to 9 pages to find the thread. Doing a search may (or may not) help, if I don't remember the exact title...

Bob

ateixeira

Just subscribe to stuff and then use the message center. Works for me.

Only rarely do I step outside of those topics to search for new ones.

-juice

PS Bob - you have *got* to get a cable modem. $40 a month for 1700 kbps download speeds, vs. $25 for 56 kbps now

subearu

I use the Message Center to click through 'new' posts, works fine.

RoadRunner here in SE Wisconsin recently up'd their bandwidth caps to 3000kbps for downloads, 384 kbps for uploads. $50/month for me (I have satellite instead of cable so no discount).

-Brian

rsholland

not in my studio. Much of my Internet time is spent on cable. Getting the cable down 2 flights of stairs is the problem. I may go with a wireless, but I've got to get my computer wireless-ready, which it's not.

Bob

paisan

Should have told me, it's not that hard to run the wires. I rather have a wired network than wireless personally.

-mike

johnv

dclansdad - we've added some new language to the "Add a Discussion" link at the bottom of the make/model pages. Take a look and post a follow-up if you think a different wording might help users post in the "correct" discussion.

bob - thanks for the feedback! We may need to add a user preferences setting, or a link that'll allow display of all make/model related discussion.

-j (TH Developer)

ateixeira

I'm gonna hook up one of my Managers with a Linksys Wireless Router, so if it's easy enough I could help you out, Bob.

-juice

dcm61

I just hooked my cable modem and router up last week. I got a Belkin wireless router and wireless card for $30 (had $90 in rebates). I asked my brother what I needed to do. It was so simple I was sure I didn't do it right. No software install necessary. I plugged in the router, attached the ethernet cable to the PC, accessed the router page via IE, changed the SSID, set encryption. Disconnected ethernet cable.

I installed the wireless card software on my PC, inserted the card, changed the SSID and set the encryption to match the router.

A couple of easy steps and I was set to surf the net.

DaveM

Karen_S

The Subaru Crew Community page will soon be going away due to an upcoming redesign. This discussion will also be closed and archived. No other changes will be taking place with the Crew discussions.

Our apologies for any confusion or inconvenience!