Lets put together an FAQ

[gigag04]

Also - we don't have to sticky it, but even if a wiki gets put together elsewhere, it would be nice to work on answers in this thread, if nothing just to be able to have a fully assembled FAQ.

[MasterOfNone]

One thing that would greatly improve the search capability would be the use of specific, meaningful titles on posts. How many posts have we seen with titles like "Question," "DPS Website," or "CHL Issue?" If better titles were used, searching would be much more effective, reducing the need for a FAQ or stickies.

[G.A. Heath]

Giga, to get it hosted under in that manner Mr. Cotton would have to edit his DNS records to create a sub-domain where it could be hosted or have him install it in a sub-directory of the forum. He has enough headaches keep the forum and his other sites up to date so I doubt he would do either of those.

[Mike1951]

Also - we don't have to sticky it, but even if a wiki gets put together elsewhere, it would be nice to work on answers in this thread, if nothing just to be able to have a fully assembled FAQ.

I still think it's a great idea and would love to see something implemented.

I just wanted to express that the subject has not been treated favorably in the past.

Except for using Wikipedia, I have no idea what a wiki is, so I can't comment. But if it results in referring posters to it, it violates one of the concerns that Mr. Cotton expressed in his statement.

Whether you use stickies or FAQ's, there is a tendency with some members to refer people asking questions to those resources, sometimes politely, sometimes not. We don't want that happening.

[dicion]

My main argument for stickies and faqs, and a wiki is when questions, etc come up that have been answered about as decisively as they possibly can be already.

Perfect example is the current 'school sponsored activity thread' One keeps popping up every once in a while, and people claim all sorts of answers until they're blue in the face, when, it already has been explained and answered as decisively as possible by Mr Cotton himself in a prior thread. I literally keep that post, and a few others, bookmarked specifically when certain questions come up. Some others I keep bookmarked are Mr. Rothstein's discussion on 30.06 and parking lots/MPA, and GFSZ Act vs MPA, simply because I end up referring to them to often.

The thing about a Wiki, compared to a sticky, is that ANYONE can update it, not just the OP and the mods, so that should alleviate the fears of it getting outdated. Anyone who sees it as outdated can fix it.

[Mike1951]

The thing about a Wiki, compared to a sticky, is that ANYONE can update it, not just the OP and the mods, so that should alleviate the fears of it getting outdated. Anyone who sees it as outdated can fix it.

But if anyone can update it, incorrect information will be posted and the project would no longer be trustworthy.

[gigag04]

The thing about a Wiki, compared to a sticky, is that ANYONE can update it, not just the OP and the mods, so that should alleviate the fears of it getting outdated. Anyone who sees it as outdated can fix it.

But if anyone can update it, incorrect information will be posted and the project would no longer be trustworthy.

I've seen non trustworthy info posted in threads

[Mike1951]

The thing about a Wiki, compared to a sticky, is that ANYONE can update it, not just the OP and the mods, so that should alleviate the fears of it getting outdated. Anyone who sees it as outdated can fix it.

But if anyone can update it, incorrect information will be posted and the project would no longer be trustworthy.

I've seen non trustworthy info posted in threads

Agreed! My original suggestion would have allowed threads to be suggested for inclusion in a sticky, but moderators would have made the decision based on relevence and accuracy.

If any source is subject to incorrect information, it is no better than what we have now.

[G.A. Heath]

You can configure wiki's to different levels of security which can prevent, or at least limit, vandalism and incorrect info.

[Mike1951]

Whether you use stickies or FAQ's, there is a tendency with some members to refer people asking questions to those resources, sometimes politely, sometimes not. We don't want that happening.

But how would this information be available to new members without referring them in response to a question? See above.

[ELB]

Whether you use stickies or FAQ's, there is a tendency with some members to refer people asking questions to those resources, ...

Welllllll....yes. That's kinda the point. At least as polite as posting the .


As to the accuracy/currency issue -- as someone already pointed out, current threads are certainly vulnerable to this as well. And in many cases, the "latest" thread does not contain the most relevant or accurate info, perhaps because those who have it either miss the thread or are tired of re-writing or copying/pasting the old material.

As I noted above, when I made my series of FAQ, I avoided the whole issue by simply making pointers to the existing threads. Here's what has gone before, more or less in chrono order, enjoy. I largely did this for my own conveniences, as I got tired of running searches to figure out where I saw something, but I have also pointed some newbies to it, and even got a couple thanks for it.

So good luck to Gig if he is going to try to synthesize all that info out there into actual "answers." That is a huge effort, and whatever you come up with will be corrected, disputed, edited, folded, spindled, and mutilated.

For instance, you can cut all that verbiage you wrote about "Which gun should I get?" to just three words: "Buy a Glock."

[dicion]

For instance, you can cut all that verbiage you wrote about "Which gun should I get?" to just three words: "Buy a 1911."

Fixed it for ya there

[The Annoyed Man]

Should I buy a .45 or a mouse gun?

[BLG]

Should I buy a .45 or a mouse gun?

Buy a .45, it will still take care of mice.

[cbr600]

One problem with too many "sticky" posts is they clog up forums. I have been on boards where more than half the first page is sticky posts that veteran users have to scroll past every time, which gets annoying. Plus, many newcomers don't bother to read the sticky posts before posting their questions, so it's for naught.

There is an approach I saw work pretty well. The board has a newcomer forum that contains all the FAQ threads. During their first week, new users are not able to post anywhere except the newcomer forum. They can read any of the public forums, but can only post in the newcomer forum. With newcomer questions in one place, veteran users who want to mentor newcomers can easily do so. It also helps contain the spamposts and drivebys.