Changes to Target Area

[Jason Boggs]

IMO lock the forecast thread after a certain point (say after initiation). Then lock the NOW thread after the event has ended and combine the DISC and Report threads. Problem solved. People post their reports and if someone has a question or a comment feel free to post it. This site is for the enthusiast now so why not just let them say what they want about the report and discuss from there.

I like the current system fairly well, but this idea from Danny seems like it would work and keep everything flowing without a lot of confusion.

 

[Darren Addy]

First off, nothing has to change. This is just a proposal.

Then the poll should reflect that or your data from the poll is misleading.

To me, it feels stupid handing out warnings/infractions to people that post questions/comments regarding a report in a REPORTS thread. Yes, it could go in a PM or in DISC, but like I said, I think it hurts the flow of ideas, and I'm kind of anal when it comes to continuity.

I think this is a valid concern and reason for some kind of change.
I think the current situation was put into effect to improve the QUALITY of the posts in the FORECAST and NOW threads (and I think they should be separate). I'm not as clear on why the demarcation was needed between REPORTS and DISCUSSION. Maybe someone involved in that decision can explain the original rationale. I do think that they could be combined.
Combining them seven days later doesn't help your original concern about continuity, however.

 

[Shane Adams]

I don't understand why no one else feels REPORTS should stand alone; when I'm looking to see who saw what, the last thing I want to deal with is having to sift through a bunch of random crap that has nothing to do with chasers reporting what they saw. I don't care what people who didn't chase think about what people who did chase saw; let all the armchair stuff and questions and everything not_related_to_the _people_who_chase have its own jumbled up thread. The last frontier on ST that can be about CHASERS FIRST should be the REPORTS thread, since that is the #1 reason people should even be coming to ST.

Since everyone insists on mixing it all together, why not let the one aspect of it all (REPORTS) that actually pertains to CHASERS stand alone?

 

[Shane Adams]

This site is for the enthusiast now...

You're absolutely right, and I keep foregtting that...so disregard my previous post.

 

[Tom Tackett]

Our Current System is good and functional, though we still need heavy moderation to weed-out and discipline those who do not read the rules and/or those who do not want to follow the rules for the Target Area.

If a change is to occur, I agree with Shane 1,000% that the REPORTS Thread needs to remain strictly just that---In the Field Chaser/Spotter Reports Only. (This would also include No Photo-Shopped Fakes making their way into the Reports Thread!!)

Then the other three groups could be merged into one thread as far as I am concerned because they will always be posted in an order that follows exactly the chronology of the event.

Forecasts.....Nowcasts.....Post-Event Discussion. We should not get a Forecast post after the event, (we hope), we should not get a Post-Event Discussion before the event, and we should not get Nowcasts posts before or after the event, etc. I could live with these threads being merged into one or any combination thereof, if this helps others out.

Finally, a huge word of THANKS to our Current and Former Moderators for all of your time and hard work in making this site GO! Spring is almost here.

Tom N' Tejas

 

[Brian Emfinger]

I don't understand why no one else feels REPORTS should stand alone; when I'm looking to see who saw what, the last thing I want to deal with is having to sift through a bunch of random crap that has nothing to do with chasers reporting what they saw. I don't care what people who didn't chase think about what people who did chase saw; let all the armchair stuff and questions and everything not_related_to_the _people_who_chase have its own jumbled up thread. The last frontier on ST that can be about CHASERS FIRST should be the REPORTS thread, since that is the #1 reason people should even be coming to ST.

Since everyone insists on mixing it all together, why not let the one aspect of it all (REPORTS) that actually pertains to CHASERS stand alone?

I agree 100%. Looking through page after page to try and find the reports would get old really quick. The current system seems to work fine but if it ends up being changed the reports thread shouldn't be merged with anything.

 

[Jason Boggs]

You know, I thought about it for a while and I think it should stand as is. The format isn't hard to understand if you read the rules and go by them. I have to agree that the reports should be left alone so we don't have to sift through crap to get to them. As Shane said, let the reports from the CHASERS stay left alone.

One final thought. If the members can't read and follow the rules now, who says we will be better off with a changed format? I mean it's really not rocket science.

 

[Danny Neal]

You know, I thought about it for a while and I think it should stand as is. The format isn't hard to understand if you read the rules and go by them. I have to agree that the reports should be left alone so we don't have to sift through crap to get to them. As Shane said, let the reports from the CHASERS stay left alone.

One final thought. If the members can't read and follow the rules now, who says we will be better off with a changed format? I mean it's really not rocket science.

I agree theoretically with you all that CHASER reports should stand alone. However, as you say, who really follows that rule anyway? You know having the near extinct full-time chaser around these parts nowadays. Seems like the biggest issue facing ST is the quality and that starts by people simply taking 10 minutes out of their day to read the rules before they post some nonsensical gibberish. If things needed to change I would propose what I did above. However, I am all for keeping things separated/apart from general discussion. I would much rather read about the triumph and despair of the chase than sift through the virtual targets and the "why did this storm not drop a tornado" posts.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I think merging Forecast and Nowcast threads would be a good idea, and probably would get my biggest vote in regards to change. I also don't like the idea of having to sift through a ton of people's stuff to find reports.

Thus my vote would be as follows...

1. FCST/NOW (speaks for itself, same as current stuff)
2. DISC (random junk from random folks relating to the event)
3. REPORTS (first hand accounts ONLY, if you were not there, you won't be here)

While I think the FCST/NOW has its place, its probably on the bottom in regards to people going back and looking things up. And since its pretty chronological, it should be easy to go back and find things in this thread.

DISC threads I've never really been for given the type of forum we have, but seeing as we cater to everyone that can spell weather, its become a good buffer to have for generic post, but at the same time, also allows for meaningful posts related to the event that may not fit into the other area.

REPORTS should be left to those who were out chasing. I do not want to sift through mounds of discussion posts to find who saw what. I think allowing first hand reporters to post more than once (i.e. the initial this that, and the other, then post later with a link to their website report, video posts, etc). Some people do not have the luxury of being able to throw a complete log up right away, and it sucks to come back two weeks later to post a report on a day long since passed.

Maybe even the first post in a report thread be a link post (like the blog thread) where chasers can post links to their logs thus making it very easy to find and bookmark reports from that event. Perhaps if that's done, you may ease some of the pain of sifting if you choose to merge reports with other garbage.

My lengthy two cents...

 

[Patrick Martin]

As others have mentioned, merging the FCST & NOW into a single thread would make sense.

For DISC, I understand it has it's place, but this can be the "middle ground" that fills the gap to allow folks to talk about an event after the fact that may or may not have been chasing.

I would strongly prefer to see REPORTS remains as a stand alone item for first hand chase accounts. I too would not want to sift through page after page of discussion to find an actual report. If people want to comment on a photo or video from a report, they can do so in DISC via referencing it.

Being a member here is kind of like visiting a friend's house, if they ask you to take your shoes off, you do it, not because it's what you do, but because it's their house, and you follow their rules. It's not to much to ask people to follow the rules.

 

[Paul Austin]

I wouldn't change anything, but if we must...

I didn't vote, because I think merging REPORTS with NOW is a terrible idea. I already stay away from NOW threads alot due to the high noise content. But even on dates I don't chase or armchair chase, I quite often check out the REPORTS just to see what chasers have witnessed first-hand from an event. I love the fact that I don't have to wade through numerous second-hand notices, one-liners, and exclamations about what is being seen on radar, satellite, or parameter graphic (and accompanying speculations). I think merging the REPORTS thread with anything but perhaps DISC would greatly lower its usefullness (and that of Target Area in general) in terms of being able to find first-hand observations. Perhaps FCST and NOW could be merged, not that I would be in favor, but at least a forecasts by definition is made prior to event initiation, and likewise a nowcast observation would be post-initiation, easily separating the thread into its 2 parts. If Target Area must be reorganized and limited to 2 threads per event, I'd be more in favor of the following:

FCST/NOW: 60 hrs prior through event completion for forecasts and nowcasts
REPORTS/DISC: post-event for first-hand reports and discussion/second-hand reports

Personally, I think the current system works quite well and shouldn't be changed. The 4 thread per event organization is part of what IMHO separates ST from so many other discussion boards and forums. Props to Tim and all the mods who are constantly trying to stay on top of everything while looking for improvements. I just think these changes would not be improvements to ST - my 2 cents.

 

[Paul Austin]

Just to elaborate a little further on my first statement: I notice both options listed in the poll combine REPORTS with NOW posts. Though time separates the posts to some degree, NOW threads are quite often 10-20 pages long on their own on big outbreak days. I really do not want to click through 20 pgs of speculative armchair observations (and I've made a few myself) just to get to the first chaser account. When I'm looking for legitimate ground-truth first-hand info, I like to be able to just open the thread and start reading. I agree with Jason, Danny and others. If ST redefines itself just to cater to the laziness of its users, it will perpetuate and encourage the laziness in terms of reading and learning to abide by the rules. It takes a little time to get used to, and I'm all for rules simplification when it makes sense, but these aren't really all that difficult, and IMO the quality of ST is certainly worth it.

 

[Darren Addy]

Yes, people who are for combining threads are sort of missing the point of threads in the first place, which is making navigation easier. Just because one event tapers off while the other begins is not a good enough reason to combine threads because unless you are following the thread LIVE you don't know on what PAGE of the thread that transition occurs. The separate threads give a fresh start (Page 1) for each portion of the events.

The only question, it seems to me, is whether to combine DISC with REPORTS. If you like REPORTS being pure reports, then the answer is no. The more I think about this, the more I think things should stay the way they are.

 

[Shane Adams]

Maybe the best solution is to do away with REPORTS altogether; most serious chasers have websites or blogs and they can post the "meat" there. Meanwhile, the ST faithful can continue their ponderings/lamenting/whining on a combined FCST/NOW/DISC thread. After all, ST is pro wx-enthusiast and less chaser with each passing year...this suggestion only furthers that trend ;-)

Maybe it's just me, but reading about who "nailed the target" but didn't see a tornado or didn't chase because..... doesn't interest me.

 

[Adam Lucio]

You guys bring up good points about how ST has become more of an enthusiast site. Not that I have anything against them....and I understand ST wants to have an open door policy and not come off as a group of pretentious elitists...but this generally has been a chaser oriented forum and should stay that way. There are dozens of other sites for the enthusiast to partake in discussions.

I would like to see the current system stay though, perhaps that should be an option on the poll. Its really not hard to understand, the rules are plain as day. When I mentioned merging the reports and disc threads might not be a bad idea, I wasnt thinking about the virtual target type posts, and random comments from people 5 states away...I was thinking about someone who chased the event being allowed multiple posts that would relate to another chaser type of discussion.

Some of you in here should be sales people lol.