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Compiling info for Audiogon FAQ's

Given the fact that many questions are asked and discussed over and over again in these and other audio forums, i thought it might be a good idea if Audiogon developed a Frequently Asked Questions section.

We could do this by selecting common topics and then selecting individual responses or entire threads to reference for that subject. Since some threads may not be as "good" as others yet may contain VERY useful info hidden in a dozen posts, i think that being able to pick and choose the highlights of each subject and responses from the archives would be the best way to go. My thoughts are that an individual collection of "pearls of wisdom" that forum users find useful on individual subject might be better than listing an entire thread(s). Obviously, this would have to be done at Audiogon's discretion, but i don't think that they have a problem with making this a more user-friendly site and cutting down on the number of posts to moderate : )

This would allow people interested in a subject a quick way to find answers to the majority of questions without having to dig through the archives. On top of this, it may streamline the forums a bit, resulting in fewer "generic" questions being asked. This may open up the doors for both greater participation and diversity of questions since the basics will have been pretty well covered in the FAQ's.

With that in mind, let's open the forum up to suggestions on topics that should be "FAQ'ed" and how we can go about submitting threads / posts to be contained under those subject titles. While i've got a few suggestions of my own ( as usual : ) i'd like to see what you folks as end users want included and what Audiogon thinks about the subject. There have been some very helpful suggestions that i've found when doing searches and i'm sure that others would like to have their "quick picks" made available for others to learn from also. Sound like a plan ??? Sean
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sean
audiogon_arnie
8 posts
 
Good idea Sean. We at Audiogon have considered this off and on, and debated various mechanisms with which to build such a knowledge base. We had gotten so far as to list some of the "Questions", which can be viewed at this link:

Audio FAQ's

The above is just a static list, and doesn't actually lead anywhere other than to show the questions we had in mind. If there is sufficient interest/volunteers to work on an FAQ, we could implement a first step which would be for members to suggest Questions. Once there is a solid list of questions, the next step could be addressed at that time.
tireguy
1,964 posts
 
Arnie(and crew)- Looks great! You guys don't waste any time that's for sure!!! Seems like you are off to a good start, and the topics seem very basic yet allow users to find great amounts of information by specific catagory. I would be willing to offer as much time as I can spare to do anything that would help in this effort. The one thing I would add to the digital catagory is the query- CD players with variable level outputs(volume controls). That question is asked at least once a month and it would be nice to have a reference thread to point folks to.
audiogon_arnie
8 posts
 
Thanks Tireguy, for your kind words and for your volunteering to help. We will add the question you mention, because it does seem to be common. Perhaps something like "Can a CD player with Variable out run an amp?".

Others reading this thread should go ahead and post candidates for Questions right in this thread, which will then serve as a reference for building the "final" set of questions to throw up there.

Once we have a set of questions, we can make them into "threads", and members could add links to previous posts, or actually write out a comprehensive but general answer under a particular question. We (me and other staff) could then filter the answers and then post the threads as the FAQ. Once they are actually posted, any new answers to those questions would be highly scrutinized by moderators before posting, thus limiting the answers to just a few comprehensive ones per question.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
Perhaps, there could be a place next to a post, for one to put a rating, such as *=good, **=better, ***=best. Should a post recieve X number of * it could be included in the FAQ or answers to the above.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
This has got me thinking. Perhaps some of us could flatten out some of those speed bumps we've (like me) created. Many times (with appologies to Mose Allison) my mind is on vacation and my fingers are working overtime. Perhaps some of us could retract some Posts, with moderator approval of course. I can't remember all the times I've posted "after" when I meant "before" only to post a retraction and a follow up. This would be like a golfer replacing a divot.
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