Are 'megathreads' useful?

[Mao]

As the poll question states, which is the most helpful?

I would like to see the quality of the contents board increase, so that they are more helpful to students. Based on your experience, what helps the most?

I have seen the 'megathreads' phenomenon, but I think it's a poor system because
-too many unrelated questions
-too long to read
-too difficult to find useful information

In the math boards, the each-person-has-their-own-thread system is popular, but I think that suffers from the same problem.

So, what do you think will be the most helpful?

-mods help create several 'topical' threads, which all users can post questions/answers in, but must strictly be relevant to the given topics.
--difficult to do, but in my opinion the best way to go
--This does not mean new threads cannot be created. It just means if people want to quickly ask a question on a popular topic, there is a thread they can post in without having to create a new thread.

-make each question their own individual threads
--there may be thread explosion, but it will mean finding a previous answer will be easier

-allow mega/user-threads
--I don't like the lack of structure in these threads

What do you think?

[giveup]

I voted "A megathread for everyone to ask questions about anything." Although, from the looks of things, the questions in such threads go unacknowledged.

[Greatness]

Megathreads arent that useful, a lot of questions usually get unanswered
I like the idea of topic threads. That sounds better, since there wont be heaps of different questions in the same thread. They would relate with each other better as well.

[Deadshot]

They are useful if you are part of the creation and following it along. However, for new comers, these threads can be intimating.

So I believe that single question threads work the best.

[Panicmode]

To be honest, I think that the topic threads will eventually suffer from the same problem as the mega threads. Truth be told, I thought the mega threads were quite useful and (especially as someone answering) it made it easier to find where all the questions were. I had no trouble scrolling back a page to find a question. Then again, when it got really busy (say night before exam) the threads got posted in so much it became nonviable to actually try and answer/ask a question in them. In the interim though, I see no problems with them.

[Camo]

I feel as if it is subject based. For a thread in Maths obviously shorter and nester threads will work quite better opposed to longer ones. However when going over humanities, and psychology subjects megathreads, I find that I can pick out a few helpful tips.

I get where you coming from though Mao, I just don't think it applies to all subjects.

[Thu Thu Train]

This is going to get soooooooooooo meta.

[Mao]

Thank you for the feedback guys.

However, for new comers, these threads can be intimating.

I had not thought about this aspect, thanks for the insight.

To be honest, I think that the topic threads will eventually suffer from the same problem as the mega threads. Truth be told, I thought the mega threads were quite useful and (especially as someone answering) it made it easier to find where all the questions were. I had no trouble scrolling back a page to find a question. Then again, when it got really busy (say night before exam) the threads got posted in so much it became nonviable to actually try and answer/ask a question in them. In the interim though, I see no problems with them.

I'm in the process of proposing a few changes to the moderation team. This includes better rules and per-board posting guidelines. Just trying to get an idea of what we should encourage and discourage.

I agree with you that threads might spiral into a megathread, but I think if mods kept a close eye and split the thread when necessary (as well as more specific rules), this can be avoided.

I feel as if it is subject based. For a thread in Maths obviously shorter and nester threads will work quite better opposed to longer ones. However when going over humanities, and psychology subjects megathreads, I find that I can pick out a few helpful tips.

I get where you coming from though Mao, I just don't think it applies to all subjects.

Agreed. These kind of things do depend on the style of the subject. But looking at this: http://www.atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?action=stats

Out of the 10 top boards, 5 are subject boards. Of the 5 subject boards, 4 are Math/Sci. Cleaning these up would go a long way, haha.

There probably is a better model out there for English/humanities, but I'm not familiar with those boards.

[kensan]

Topical threads is definitely a good idea, will keep things cleaner and more organised. Megathreads get really muddled sometimes, kinda confusing. This mainly concerns busy boards like maths or sciences. But then again it's only like, a week leading up to the exams when it gets super busy

 Something like the Japanese board wouldn't need this kind of thing, individual threads would be fine as traffic is pretty low.

What kind of rules are we talking about?

[Reckoner]

I like the mega-threads. I find reading through it a week or so before an exam can identify possible problem areas and things you haven't thought of without sifting through hundreds of different threads. You end up reading every question, rather than glancing at the topic of questions and thinking "yeah, I know this".

Although, I have only really experienced the bio mega-thread. I don't know much the effectiveness of others.

[Lasercookie]

My answer is probably going to be a bit more maths/physics oriented, so be aware of that bias here.

-mods help create several 'topical' threads, which all users can post questions/answers in, but must strictly be relevant to the given topics.
--difficult to do, but in my opinion the best way to go
--This does not mean new threads cannot be created. It just means if people want to quickly ask a question on a popular topic, there is a thread they can post in without having to create a new thread.

You mean for methods, you'd have a logarithms thread, a differentiation thread etc.

That might not be as helpful if you have a lot of people posting in the one thread. For example, someone might have made the realisation that the derivative is the gradient and being able to understand explanations on that level. Another person reading and asking questions in that same thread might not have made that realisation. I guess it's the same problem as megathreads.

I guess they could pose as some sort of quick reference for common problems, which is handy. I think that would be the main advantage of this. I do also think that it might complicate things a bit - it's really easy to go new thread, post question - but having to go find the correct topic, I don't know what that would be like for a new user. 

-allow mega/user-threads
--I don't like the lack of structure in these threads

I do think these megathreads can limit discussion, you might still have a question but the conversation keeps flowing etc. I guess they are subject-based like Camo mentioned - I think they do work (to an extent) for maths/physics from what I've seen. Other subjects, I don't really know. The IT megathreads were most definitely ineffective.

I remember reading a few chemistry type ones, that seemed to be a bit iffy. Like those topical threads you suggested, I think they also  have the problem of everyone being on different levels.

I don't think user threads are as bad (unless it gets transformed into a megathread), it means that the user can dictate the pace etc. Of course, that point is futile when others start posting their questions in that same thread. However, if the pace can be dictated by the posting user - than they can ask questions based on what they know and find what they're not realising etc.

I think the user threads are also useful for when a single person has a lot of questions in a short period of time. Making constant new threads isn't ideal.

-make each question their own individual threads
--there may be thread explosion, but it will mean finding a previous answer will be easier

I guess this would fix the problem of limited discussion - with individual threads anyone can chip in without having the discussion moved onto a completely different topic.

The advantages of finding previous answers is definitely a benefit. However, I think the extent of the benefit will depend on how well the database can be queried and how well old threads can be found. In my opinion, the search on AN is a bit slow, particularly if you want to make a lot of searches in one go. I usually end up just using Google with a lot of operators added in (e.g. inurl:atarnotes.com). That does have it's limitations of course. It's harder to search by user with Google etc.

I'm not sure if a lot of people actually make regular use of those extra search operators that can be used in Google - so for the majority the benefit is kind of moot.

I guess thread explosion should not be an issue if topics are named efficiently. Obviously stuff like "methods help plz" is not very helpful.

The best option would definitely be a combination, hence why I'm not going to vote in the poll. I definitely like user threads - particularly if the user is posting a lot of questions, mega threads not so much (mega thread being two or more people posting questions), topical threads - I don't have a definite opinion on these yet, single question threads - I have no problem with these. I think single threads are the best option, but obviously there is a need for the other types in a few cases.

[monkeywantsabanana]

I don't know what megathreads are :|

[Lasercookie]

I don't know what megathreads are :|

Like these, where anyone is free to post questions in one continuous thread:
Maths Methods 3/4 Help Thread
Accounting Questions Thread

[pi]

I prefer the last option: 'Each person should have their own thread'. Had one for spesh and unit 3 physics, I find that there is far less off-topic discussion and questions get answered better in more depth.

The main problem I have with 'Megathreads', is that people forget that it is actually a THREAD and do not read previous pages to see if their question has already been asked, hence questions get repeated several times. Furthermore, if someone asks a stupid question (SAC TOMORROW, NEED URGENT HELP blah blah blah, etc.), then there tends to be a greater tendency to downvote and/or have posts written for the sole purpose of demeaning that stupid post. All of which leads to cluttering and off-topic discussion, not effective imo.