Want to make this forum better?

Good, but I think a sticky should be made for certain hot topics like DO school statistics that can be elusive to find.

I didn't see the 'old way' so I can't vote; sorry

I don't understand what is different...

That's why I didn't vote. What was reformatted?

Personally, I liked it except that I think it might work just as good if there was only one thread per school instead of one for discussion and one for interviewing. Sometimes both of those topics coincide and it is hard to know which one to post in. The only other issue I have is when someone wants to post about their own particular situation such as the current 'I'm depressed...' thread and it immediately gets moved to the 'What should I do' thread. A lot of times, once the thread has moved, no one looks at it or answers the question. But if it stays its own thread, it may turn into several pages, such as the aforementioned thread. Maybe a way to help that would be to let them go for awhile and then move them to the respective thread. I don't know, just a suggestion.

Its ok, but big threads make it hard to find stuff and get answers.

You should try making more sub-forums to specify what topic individuals are looking for. For example: I like that you have consolidated some threads by what school the post pertains to but you could also apply that to sub-topics like housing, clubs/organizations, interview feedback, acceptance statistics, etc.

This way you still apply the consolidation of threads by schools but can further specify the information contained so that the threads don't become too big to find stuff and get answers.

mshheaddoc said:

Oh and I wonder how many people actually searched threads for keywords. It easier to search a thread for keywords then it is a forum. Part of the reason why we started these threads.

Click to expand...

I like the option to search for keywords but adding sub-topics will narrow the field one would want to search thereby helping the user find more relevant information faster, IMO.

when asking questions about primary applications or other huge issues and it all gets thrown into a thread it makes it hard.. because people don't really visit those threads, and so questions don't get answered. thats the experience i had with one or two of my questions so far. i do like the one thread per school thing though, nice!

I 2nd the sub-threads. For example...

"What Are My Chances" Thread
3.0 GPA/25 MCAT and below
3.0-3.5 GPA/25-35 MCAT
3.5-4.0 GPA/35-45 MCAT


I don't know how to categorize a 2.9 GPA and 36...


The reason I picked the above is because I do search that thread, and there's alot to search through.

Yes, I've used the "search" function and yes, I remember the old system, and I like the new way better.

Its ok, but big threads make it hard to find stuff and get answers

Click to expand...

Anyway to make subforums for each school? Then each school specific subforum could have stickies for common questions, interview advice, etc., but students could also start threads with their unique questions.

oooohhhh!!! One more thing, I just wanted to say that the thread "Questions for A.T. Still" was great - it would be cool to make it a sticky.

mshheaddoc said:

subforums might be good idea but we could have subforums upon subforums. Some users might not want to have to move around as much since many people are interested in more than one school. The goal of internet surfing is to "reduce the number of clicks" to get you to see more, if that makes any sense.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I feel you. I've seen way too many boards w/ more subforums than posts , but the reason I suggest it here is that it might help address the issue of people's questions getting lost in the big threads while still accomplishing the goal of consolidating all the threads about a school into one place. The "class of" threads could also potentially be rolled into the appropriate school subforum, which might also increase traffic.

Kudos to you for your efforts to better organize the forum. Cat herding anyone....?

mshheaddoc said:

Some users might not want to have to move around as much since many people are interested in more than one school. The goal of internet surfing is to "reduce the number of clicks" to get you to see more, if that makes any sense.

Click to expand...

Creating subforums for each individual school will centralize all information pertaining to each school so those interested in one particular school can share information about it easily. This way, IMO, the information is more specific and there will probably be more of it.

It is true that many users are interested in more than one school, so why not divide them into subforums making it easier to compare and contrast? The alternative, I think, is to search keywords finding a thread here and a thread there on school X and one might be inclined to arbitrarily choose one over another in the huge forum instead of having all posts about a particular school in one subforum making it easier to find what he or she wants about that school.

The goal of internet surfing is the reduce the number of clicks? Maybe so, but in the interest of centralizing information thereby making it easier to find what you are looking for I say get over it.

DragonWell mentioned those forums that have more subforums than actual posts, and this is something to look out for. Perhaps, if it looks cleaner, divide the subforums not by individual school but rather individual state, or something along those lines to reduce the lengthy amount of subforms but still make it more specific than the current design.

Also I must say these are merely my opinions, I think the current design is very easy to work with and the mindshare in this forum is impressive overall, good job and thank you! Just consider these suggestions as the thread title suggests.

I disagree PBL. Splintering information up that much is unneccesary. I mean, there is only so much information on each school, where a single thread per school will suffice.

A forum (or sub-forum) is to contain a general theme of discussion, not a specific one. The forum is fine the way it is currently, I think.

Can "MD vs. DO" get it's own forum with no moderation?

FinchHead said:

I disagree PBL. Splintering information up that much is unneccesary. I mean, there is only so much information on each school, where a single thread per school will suffice.

A forum (or sub-forum) is to contain a general theme of discussion, not a specific one. The forum is fine the way it is currently, I think.

Click to expand...

How about a sub-forum to contain all threads pertaining to school X, where X equals every school, and a sub-forum to contain all threads pertinent to osteopathic medicine, just not necessarily a specific school?

The only reason I'm adamant about this is because I believe it will be easier to siphon between schools in the interest of comparing and contrasting; but I suppose it's really not that important. Besides that it might be easier to find posts regarding osteopathic medicine in general to offer your opinion without having to skim "Class of 2012 School X Acceptance" or "School X vs. School Y" or "What is the average X of school Y" etc. etc.

If you're interested in commenting about the above sample threads just jump on the other sub-forum designated for information pertaining to specific schools. This way there is just a bit more specificity while only really having 2 sub-forums.

Also, as a side note, is there a way to manipulate the log-in timing? It seems as though I sign into my account and not after 5 minutes of inactivity I have to log back in, kind of annoying IMO.

Also, as a side note, is there a way to manipulate the log-in timing? It seems as though I sign into my account and not after 5 minutes of inactivity I have to log back in, kind of annoying IMO.

Click to expand...

Just check the "stay loggen in" check box. It keeps you signed in permanently.

As for making sub forums, I think one for all the school discussion would be alright, but kind of pointless.