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**ScottHalliday** · 11-04-2008, 05:56 PM

As some of you have already noticed, I have been slowly working away at changing some of the thread titles and thread tag keywords. Now, let me please differentiate. I am referring to thread titles and not the post content.

So why make the effort to change thread titles and tag keywords? Could it be for one or more of the following reasons:

1. To misrepresent the contents of the thread.
2. To make a fool of the member who started the thread.
3. To intentionally piss off members.
4. To kill time with nothing else better to do.
5. To exercise supreme dominance.

Despite what some may think, it is none of the above. It is an effort to make thread titles and tag keywords more accurate, descriptive and search engine friendly.

It is changing thread titles like "Sawwweeeeet!!!" or "relays" which are not very effective or descriptive to something that is. It is improving a thread title's search efficiency by changing say "Low Wheel Arches" to "How to Fix 1989 E30 Low Wheel Arches?".

It is to eliminate irrelevant tag words like "at", "for", "jpg" and combine duplications like "cars and "car" into one, as well as replacing keyword phrases like "auto" with a tag phrase like "auto show" which is far more meaningful.

This is also something normally taken care of by forum moderators. So why go through the effort? There are plenty of good reasons to do so and each one has benefits for the site, so let me list just a few:

It improves the accuracy and results obtained from the site's "Search" function.
It improves the accuracy and results obtained from the "Similar Threads" function.
It improves the forums overall readability.
It improves the number of replies to threads.
It make our site's RSS feed user friendly and usable.
It improves the site's search engine optimization.
It improves the accuracy and relevency of the words displayed in the "Tag Cloud" as well as the results obtained when you click on a given tag word.

These are the reasons why I have been putting some effort to do this, and I am doing my best not to make a mistake with anyones thread title. If however I do mess up, please let me know so I can correct it immediately.

Regards,

Scott

k-swiss · 11-04-2008, 06:03 PM

Thanks for posting this up Scott. It Clarifys it a lot. I do appreciate it. Although I don't necessarily agree with some of those reasons I do appreciate the effort.

**ScottHalliday** · 11-04-2008, 06:06 PM

Thanks k-swiss. I am really not trying to mess anyone up and hope that after all this work, you guys will see the benefits too. That is what I am shooting for.

mirek · 11-04-2008, 07:44 PM

If there are tags, there's no reason to edit the title, why not just add to the tags, rather than changing peoples words to your own.

**ScottHalliday** · 11-04-2008, 08:04 PM

Having accurate Tags does address the tag cloud issue and help somewhat with search but does not address or resolve any of the other issues I mentioned.

kowalski · 11-04-2008, 08:29 PM

if I make a thread title a specific title, I make it that title for a reason. If I wanted you to make me a thread, I would PM you an idea for a thread, and I would let you start it.

VitaminJ · 11-05-2008, 11:27 AM

Wow. I leave the board for a week or two and not only does this lame attempt at running an online community continue, but it just gets worse... Sooo lame...

320iCar · 11-05-2008, 11:38 AM

if i ever leave this board, its not because of scott. its because you people never stop complaining! JUST LIVE WITH IT!

rkettner · 11-05-2008, 02:25 PM

scottsclassics.net

rottenal · 11-05-2008, 05:11 PM

By the way do you even own a BMW, geez I hope so.

Actually,Scott is a Mustang guy(not that there's anything wrong with that

),doubt it about any BMWs though.

applecran · 11-05-2008, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by rkettner

scottsclassics.net

Umm... what was edited here? Just curious.

direction88 · 11-05-2008, 06:05 PM

He should buy an X5

applecran · 11-05-2008, 06:23 PM

Scott, thanks for the PM to answer my question above. I understand removing the www. That is fine. Perhaps you can put a note as to why you are editing something so that we are not all wondering what was changed.

Cheers

Adam

craig4ie · 11-05-2008, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by kowalski

if I make a thread title a specific title, I make it that title for a reason. If I wanted you to make me a thread, I would PM you an idea for a thread, and I would let you start it.

exactly...

I fear the day that BMW is reapeated 5 times in each thread title solely to get more search hits.

Fake thread title: CF Alpha N airbox just arrived!!
Edited fake thread title: K&N Fram Carbon Fiber Air Filter BMW 3 series M3 E30 arrived!!

there, that'll get you some hits...

E30M3 · 11-05-2008, 07:02 PM

Lol my thread when from "s14 minor surgery"
to..."1988 BMW M3 s14 minor surgery" hah I guess I wasn't sure what kind of car I owned...

11-04-2008, 05:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
ScottHalliday Administrator Name: Scott Joined: Jul 2008 From: St. John's Posts: 182 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 35 4 Times in 4 Posts ScottHalliday's pictures	Thread Title and Tag Word Changes As some of you have already noticed, I have been slowly working away at changing some of the thread titles and thread tag keywords. Now, let me please differentiate. I am referring to thread titles and not the post content. So why make the effort to change thread titles and tag keywords? Could it be for one or more of the following reasons: 1. To misrepresent the contents of the thread. 2. To make a fool of the member who started the thread. 3. To intentionally piss off members. 4. To kill time with nothing else better to do. 5. To exercise supreme dominance. Despite what some may think, it is none of the above. It is an effort to make thread titles and tag keywords more accurate, descriptive and search engine friendly. It is changing thread titles like "Sawwweeeeet!!!" or "relays" which are not very effective or descriptive to something that is. It is improving a thread title's search efficiency by changing say "Low Wheel Arches" to "How to Fix 1989 E30 Low Wheel Arches?". It is to eliminate irrelevant tag words like "at", "for", "jpg" and combine duplications like "cars and "car" into one, as well as replacing keyword phrases like "auto" with a tag phrase like "auto show" which is far more meaningful. This is also something normally taken care of by forum moderators. So why go through the effort? There are plenty of good reasons to do so and each one has benefits for the site, so let me list just a few: It improves the accuracy and results obtained from the site's "Search" function. It improves the accuracy and results obtained from the "Similar Threads" function. It improves the forums overall readability. It improves the number of replies to threads. It make our site's RSS feed user friendly and usable. It improves the site's search engine optimization. It improves the accuracy and relevency of the words displayed in the "Tag Cloud" as well as the results obtained when you click on a given tag word. These are the reasons why I have been putting some effort to do this, and I am doing my best not to make a mistake with anyones thread title. If however I do mess up, please let me know so I can correct it immediately. Regards, Scott __________________ Scott Last edited by ScottHalliday; 01-15-2009 at 12:25 AM..

11-04-2008, 08:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
ScottHalliday Administrator Name: Scott Joined: Jul 2008 From: St. John's Posts: 182 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 35 4 Times in 4 Posts ScottHalliday's pictures	Having accurate Tags does address the tag cloud issue and help somewhat with search but does not address or resolve any of the other issues I mentioned. __________________ Scott

11-05-2008, 11:38 AM	#8 (permalink)
320iCar Senior Member Name: Ian Joined: Sep 2008 From: Richmond, BC Posts: 274 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 3 2 Times in 2 Posts	if i ever leave this board, its not because of scott. its because you people never stop complaining! JUST LIVE WITH IT! __________________

11-05-2008, 02:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
rkettner Senior Member Supporting Member Joined: Oct 2006 From: North Vancouver Posts: 419 iTrader: 1 Thanks: 0 0 Times in 0 Posts	scottsclassics.net Last edited by ScottHalliday; 11-05-2008 at 06:26 PM.. Reason: removed www. so it would not be picked up as a dead link which it is.

11-05-2008, 05:11 PM	#10 (permalink)
rottenal Senior Member Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 239 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 1 1 Time in 1 Post rottenal's pictures	By the way do you even own a BMW, geez I hope so. Actually,Scott is a Mustang guy(not that there's anything wrong with that),doubt it about any BMWs though.

11-04-2008, 06:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
k-swiss Senior Member Name: Kirin Joined: May 2006 From: Kamloopizstan Posts: 1,594 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 0 5 Times in 4 Posts k-swiss's pictures '07 Volkswagen Rabbit '62 Volkswagen Beetle '89 BMW 325i	Thanks for posting this up Scott. It Clarifys it a lot. I do appreciate it. Although I don't necessarily agree with some of those reasons I do appreciate the effort.

11-04-2008, 06:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
ScottHalliday Administrator Name: Scott Joined: Jul 2008 From: St. John's Posts: 182 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 35 4 Times in 4 Posts ScottHalliday's pictures	Thanks k-swiss. I am really not trying to mess anyone up and hope that after all this work, you guys will see the benefits too. That is what I am shooting for.

11-04-2008, 07:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
mirek Senior Member Name: Mirek Joined: Apr 2008 From: Vancouver Posts: 175 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 0 4 Times in 4 Posts	If there are tags, there's no reason to edit the title, why not just add to the tags, rather than changing peoples words to your own.

11-04-2008, 08:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
kowalski Senior Member Name: Mike Joined: Feb 2005 From: White Rock Posts: 2,125 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 2 18 Times in 11 Posts kowalski's pictures	if I make a thread title a specific title, I make it that title for a reason. If I wanted you to make me a thread, I would PM you an idea for a thread, and I would let you start it.

11-05-2008, 11:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
VitaminJ Senior Member Name: Jay Joined: Jun 2005 From: Port Coquitlam Posts: 342 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 6 3 Times in 1 Post	Wow. I leave the board for a week or two and not only does this lame attempt at running an online community continue, but it just gets worse... Sooo lame...

11-05-2008, 06:05 PM	#12 (permalink)
direction88 Senior Member Supporting Member Joined: Sep 2007 From: Vancouver Posts: 1,113 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 9 1 Time in 1 Post direction88's pictures '88 BMW 325i	He should buy an X5

11-05-2008, 06:23 PM	#13 (permalink)
applecran Banned Name: Adam Joined: Mar 2008 From: North Vancouver Posts: 565 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 2 2 Times in 2 Posts	Scott, thanks for the PM to answer my question above. I understand removing the www. That is fine. Perhaps you can put a note as to why you are editing something so that we are not all wondering what was changed. Cheers Adam

11-05-2008, 07:02 PM	#15 (permalink)
E30M3 Senior Member Name: Declan Joined: Nov 2007 From: Richmond Posts: 534 iTrader: 0 Thanks: 5 4 Times in 4 Posts '88 BMW M3	Lol my thread when from "s14 minor surgery" to..."1988 BMW M3 s14 minor surgery" hah I guess I wasn't sure what kind of car I owned... __________________

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Thread Title and Tag Word Changes