combining similar topics/ posts = less duplication

[krump]

[^][:D] when I signed up on the forum in August I posted a topic about (HO) scale vehicles - seeking more recent models...
in searching for recent replies to that topic (using the "search" option), I've discovered that there are 2 or more pages of similar topics...
would there be a benefit to combining these discussions so that the forum readers have the benefit of similar replies / thoughts ??? (I for one, was oblivious to the fact that there were so many similar discussions occurring). that stated, I'm oblivious to lots of things, like how do I send this note to the Forum Moderator rather than the forum itself?
cheers all

[Anonymous]

Right now there isn't a way to combine threads. We're a bit limited in that regards.

[Anonymous]

CK,

You will find this same problem in most forums because when a person has a question it is easier to just ask the question, i.e. start a new topic, rather than do the research and spend their time reading to see if their question has already been asked and answered. Also, most forum users don't know the tricks of the forum and how to find what they are looking for. It would be nice to see a Forum heading under "Model Railroader Forums" along with General Discussion, Layouts, and Prototype for "how to use the features of this forum", then in the "Welcome" e-mail tell newbies they should review this area first with a link directly to it.

I was an IT network guru and webmaster for several years (19+). In '98-'99 I started and ran a fourm simular to this but was for questions and answers on "creating your own website". It started with zero topics and after 2 years had just over 10 thousand. This fourm is way to large, with over 25 thousand posts, to go back and build an index but what I did when I first started my forum was to start an index by generic subject which listed those threads relating to that subject. I found that many of the older threads got responses because people used the index for finding their answer.

You'll also notice that some "subject" headings don't tell you what the subject really is. I.e. "I need help", "Help me", etc. For the benefit of other forum users looking for answers this does not help it just becomes another topic (thread) that goes unread and ends up in the archives. A good subject gets good responses.

With over 135 thousand registered members I can understand why they don't have a way to contact the moderators and/or Administrators. That would be suicide!!