Dear Admin and Mod peoples

[escotregen]

Firstly, a Good New Year to each and all of you, with much appreciation for the (voluntary) work you put in over the past year to all our benefit.

I have an enquiry that maybe be gleekit and annoying 'cos it would be too much work... or it may be a cunning new plan

I know that you do archiving and 'tidying up' of postings and such like. But has there ever been a kind of editing and consolidating of several linked but seperate threads to create a single and more comprehensive themed thread?

This was brought to my mind after the chat a couple of us were having at the wee 'extra' HG drinks night for christmas. The topic was, surprise, surprise, WW2 and Glasgow/Clydebank. There have been over the past 2/3 years a whole rich host of threads on particular issues that fall under this general theme.

I'm thinking here of more than just reducing repetition - my main interest is that we may be missing out on some possible connections and cross-referencing; in management jargon it's called added value :) . So I was wondering if there is some way in which the various threads on, for example WW2, could be edited and 're-packaged'.

I know that the response may be the bleeding obvious one of "well if you want to take it on that's up to you" (there again, if you already know about me being IT-challenged, you probably wouldn't suggest that). There again, maybe it's something that a few good men... and wimmin... could come together to do on a theme they share an interest on?

[Socceroo]

...........................I know that you do archiving and 'tidying up' of postings and such like. But has there ever been a kind of editing and consolidating of several linked but seperate threads to create a single and more comprehensive themed thread?

............The topic was, surprise, surprise, WW2 and Glasgow/Clydebank. There have been over the past 2/3 years a whole rich host of threads on particular issues that fall under this general theme.

I'm thinking here of more than just reducing repetition - my main interest is that we may be missing out on some possible connections and cross-referencing; in management jargon it's called added value :) . So I was wondering if there is some way in which the various threads on, for example WW2, could be edited and 're-packaged'...................

I know where you are coming from to an extent with your comments Escotregen, prior to starting the "Bombs over Glasgow" thread i had a search of similar topics. I could only find a topic on the Clydebank & Hyndland Bombs and a topic which i think you may have started on Anderson Shelters.

Where i was driving at with the "Bombs over Glasgow" thread was to try to discover and catalogue the various air raids over Glasgow which some sources indicate may have resulted in greater damage and loss of life within the city boundary than the well documented concentrated raids over Clydebank in March 1941.

Many of the books on the general history of Glasgow or indeed war time history do mention Air Raids during the war, however these books usually deal with specific instances of a particular bomb or bombs in a particular area at the author's discretion.

Myself personally, i am of the opinion that threads should be unedited. If they were edited and cross - referenced, i think they would discourage people from posting for fear that they would be deleted out.

Sure you will get people mentioning the same subject matter on different threads, the same subject matter can be applicable to different threads. But if you have a particular interest in a particular thread you do not need to be a moderator to keep it on the thread, when you have some new info you just put up a posting faithful to the original thread.

If someone starts a new thread repeating an existing thread then as we know the mods will lock it.

For me part of the attraction of HG Forums is when the threads go off on a tangent for a wee while and you see more postings on the tangerine than you would on the original subject of the thread. This is when you get some wee gems of postings as folk feel uninhibited.

Save HG tangerines i say. Shame on you Escoty

[Ronnie]

You are both right, of course. Maybe someone could take the contents of the various war threads and make them into a text page like the ones reached through the HG home page, while leaving the original threads exactly as they are.

See HG, see added value!

[escotregen]

Well socceroo I'm more of a turnip man myself rather than tangerines, but there again I wouldn't want to be guilty of tangerine abuse

Your right about it being vital not to lose the accessibility and spontaneity of HG for all-comers. My focus was really meant to be on themes that were already well developed; and had therefore became a bit fragmented and/or repetitive. But even then, I accept that there would be maybe a problem about detering some would-be and especially first-time posters.
On the other hand, I suspect that through some rationalisation and cross-referencing we might well alert some folks to potentially valuable input they have to offer.

Ronnie's suggestion could be a good way forward.

It will be interesting to see if any other HG posters or 'watchers' have anything to say on this; especially any of the less active and/or newer folks.

[Sharon]

Ronnies suggestion is the way to go. Its long been the aim to begin archiving / writing up threads. To make this an efficient thing to do i've been setting up a new content management system for the site, which will make the addition of new content nice and easy. It will also support the hosting of images. AND i have really actually began settign this up so it will happen!!!!!!!!!

What we will be after though are lots of folks interested in takign a thread under their wings and bringing it all together - in a similar way to the projects on teh main site. There will of course be links to all relevant threads int he forums where of course the discussions can run and run forver, keeping things nice and organic!!

I'd expect to have this sorted out in the next moth or so...

So..... if you want to take your favourite threads / topics and write them up let me know as there may be a few folks interested in a single topic.

Sharon x

[escotregen]

Superb Sharon, everything well in hand!