One Case, One Thread...?

kingstreet

NaughtiusMaximus wrote: »

If that was the point the OP was trying to make it didn't come across that way. To me, and based on the responses on this thread to other people to, it read as a suggestion that ALL queries regarding a particular house sale/purchase should be contained in a single thread.

Ok.

Let me explain.

We often get;-

Thread 01 - I'm thinking of looking...

Thread 02 - I've got an agreement in principle...

Thread 03 - I've been for a viewing...

Thread 04 - I've made an offer...

Thread 05 - My offer has been accepted...

Thread 06 - I've applied for a mortgage...

Thread 07 - The valuation has been done...

Thread 08 - The solicitor has said; the surveyor has requested...

Thread 09 - The mortgage offer has been issued...

Thread 10 - The vendor has said...

Thread 11 - We want to exchange contracts, but if we complete...

Thread 12 - We've exchanged, what about my first mortgage payment

Thread 13 - We've completed - why don't I have my keys...

Thread 14 - My solicitor erred and tells me I haven't paid enough

Thread 15 - The boiler doesn't work...

... and all that could be conducted in a single thread where what has gone before can be considered and the appropriate help given.

kingstreet

I was once accused of stalking someone on here because I looked back through earlier threads they had started and included earlier data in their latest thread.

NaughtiusMaximus

kingstreet wrote: »

Ok.

Let me explain.

We often get;-

Thread 01 - I'm thinking of looking...

Thread 02 - I've got an agreement in principle...

Thread 03 - I've been for a viewing...

Thread 04 - I've made an offer...

Thread 05 - My offer has been accepted...

Thread 06 - I've applied for a mortgage...

Thread 07 - The valuation has been done...

Thread 08 - The solicitor has said; the surveyor has requested...

Thread 09 - The mortgage offer has been issued...

Thread 10 - The vendor has said...

Thread 11 - We want to exchange contracts, but if we complete...

Thread 12 - We've exchanged, what about my first mortgage payment

Thread 13 - We've completed - why don't I have my keys...

Thread 14 - My solicitor erred and tells me I haven't paid enough

Thread 15 - The boiler doesn't work...

... and all that could be conducted in a single thread where what has gone before can be considered and the appropriate help given.

IMO this illustrates why enforcing a single thread is a bad idea. In this example the first post could well be asking for general advice on what to look for when house hunting, what are the costs involved, clarification on terminology etc, to which the OP would get lots of advice.

Six months and 50 pages of responses later the OP asks about a boiler problem, as a previous responder to this thread correctly stated this could very easily be missed by a board member who is very knowledgeable in the area because the thread title isn't indicative of the question at hand.

getmore4less

kingstreet wrote: »

Ok.

Let me explain.

We often get;-

Thread 01 - I'm thinking of looking...
...
...
Thread 15 - The boiler doesn't work...

... and all that could be conducted in a single thread where what has gone before can be considered and the appropriate help given.

That does not happen that much
exaggeration just weakens your case.

By thread 15 there will be little of relevance back in the earlier posts anyway.

What will happen is people will start contributing to long gone questions as they join at post one.
we will start getting post on the thread just saying oh that was already cover back on page 25.

The other REALY BIG issue with long running threads with multiple queries is if I come back to the board in some cases even after just a few hours a lot of new posts will have been added.
if the thread is one I no longer have an interest in(nothing to add) I will pass over it and will have no idea there is a new question that I can respond to

I do this quite a lot and I suspect others do to you just cannot read every thread all the time.

Even if you do take an interest when start start getting out of order conversations appearing it can get very tedious.

If I do go looking for old info easy with the open in another tab posts by the user and add something if they call that out I ignore it and it will then go one of two ways, continue to try to help or move on quickly.


Its the internet you need a thick skin to be involved.

NeilCr

getmore4less wrote: »

look at the land reg thread a complete mess as predicted.

I know from experience as a moderator elsewhere that trying to keep forum members on track is akin to herding cats

The Land Reg thread is a good example. It would be okay if members decided not to answer questions in there and left it to the excellent Land Reg representative (which is the idea, really)

AnotherJoe

kingstreet wrote: »

Ok.

Let me explain.

We often get;-

Thread 01 - I'm thinking of looking...

.....

Thread 15 - The boiler doesn't work...

... and all that could be conducted in a single thread where what has gone before can be considered and the appropriate help given.

And the relevance between "I'm thinking of looking" and "boiler doesn't work" is tenuous or nil, the first may end with responses telling OP to put their house on market as well, the latter info about bleeding radiators (in a good way :-)


Add to which, as GM4L points out, in amongst the boiler not working responses will be new and now no longer relevant answers or comments on the other 14 questions, some of which will no doubt say "start a new thread this has got nothing to do with looking for a house".

WeAreGhosts

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Add to which, as GM4L points out, in amongst the boiler not working responses will be new and now no longer relevant answers or comments on the other 14 questions, some of which will no doubt say "start a new thread this has got nothing to do with looking for a house".

^ This.

Plus, the idea might work for people who have oodles of time to read through long-winded threads, but for those who just dip in and out it's not user-friendly.
Also, does it really matter about users posting multiple threads on multiple subjects? I don't know about others, but I rarely even notice, or care, who posted what - I just read and reply if I have something to add.

ThePants999

I am vehemently against this idea.

Firstly, I think you're not putting enough weight on the value threads have to people OTHER than the person who posted them. It's extremely helpful to be able to search and find a thread that's clearly (from its title) related to the problem you're having. And if someone posts a more general answer because they missed a bit of context the OP put in an earlier thread, why, that just increases the value to other people. I've certainly learned a lot that way.

Secondly, it'll make it harder to get answers. I don't know about everyone else, but when I see a thread with a clear question and give what I feel is a clear answer, I tend not to return to it subsequently, considering it "done", so I'd likely miss subsequent questions. And if I see a thread that's already got multiple pages, I often give it a miss as I don't want to spend a bunch of time catching up with what's already been said only to find I have nothing to add.

Thirdly, there are some bits of this forum's subject matter where I'm interested and knowledgeable, and some bits where I'm not. I only open threads on the former. If someone has a first question I'm not interested in, I won't see their subsequent questions. If someone had a first question I was interested in, it'll be frustrating to find the discussion has moved on to something else. And if all the threads just start to become called "my purchase", just in case (heaven forbid) they turn out to have multiple questions... well, I'll be off to a different forum.

Fundamentally, "House Buying, Renting and Selling" is a diverse topic, covering many different areas, and the differences between a question on a survey and a question on indemnity insurance are usually much more significant than the link between them because they happen to relate to the same property. If you're that keen to introduce a rule to fix this minor issue, introduce one that says you have to provide links to your earlier threads. (Or ask for the forum software to be enhanced to do it automatically.)

freeisgood

Even with the same house purchase topic etc....many many different topics questions can come up. I would prefer different threads.

As mentioned...how would you know if new questions came up on a thread without having to revisit and re-read it....no thanks!

kingstreet

Some interesting and thought-provoking replies.

I know though, this thread is likely to be largely academic with any change unlikely.