Where can I Make Suggestions For The Forums?

[Prospector Mike N.S.]

I'm just new to this site however much I really like it so far, I have some suggestions I know this is maybe not the place to post it, but I'm not sure where I could ask these questions. Please feel free to direct me to the right place. Maybe after seeing the suggestions they will make since maybe , maybe not.

1st since I first came here I have been looking to purchase a couple new detectors and I have been checking out the different forums to see any postings on the ones Iam thinking of researching on to narrow down my final decision on what to buy.

What I find on this site is mass confusing, postings on this site are just random and each detector does not really have a real sub section, example: say Iam looking at information on the F-75 or F-5 or F-70 detector, now when I come into this forum everything is posted in these sections many with just what they found etc with no detector name etc. Now I have to sift through all the threads to find out what people are saying about and what dectector etc. Hours go buy without finding all the threads on the specific models Iam interested in, I have to wade through all postings to see what they are talking about.

Now let's multiply this by going to the Technetics forum the Tesoro forum the Garrett forum the Detector Pro forum yes I'm searching the different manufactures products to see which ones I'm interested in which may be a couple models from Fisher,Garrett,Technetics, or whatever forum.

I don't know if you are following me here but Iam spending all this time searching for specific makes and not finding all what Iam looking for because of you have to almost read every post to see what model they are talking about. Also if there is a video on a certain model or pertainate info for a certain model that should be made a sticky at top of the sub model forum page. These are just suggestions and probably don't belong in this forum, however I see a video on the F-5 in this forum at the front page, what about any of the other models in the F series are there any video's for these on this site ? Why not put these at the beginning in a sticky or some how have them always on the first top page when opened ? I could ask more but better shut up now.

OK I said enough now your ready to ban me however Iam just an observer here and enjoy all post I read so far, many people are biased in their opinions but I know a lot of hype from promoters etc. I respect anyone's comments and If I ever sort out all the info Iam looking for before winter maybe I'll be able to purchase those brands Iam leaning towards.
Thanks for such a Great Site as there is no other that I found out there and may your search coils always find Gold.
Prospector Mike N.S.

 

[Paul (IL)]

Here is a suggestion Mike. Wen you go into the various forums try doing a search for basic key words, for example if your in this forum and want to research the Fisher F75 try entering just f75 in the search line and see what comes up.

 

[BarnacleBill]

The search engine on Findmall forums needs to have four(4) characters to work. Therefore "f75" will yield nothing, "f-75" will yield nothing because of the "-" not being a valid character. May I suggest you do a search under Authors for "Bill Ladd". He has tested, done write-ups & videos of several of the recent releases. He has a couple of decades worth of experience with Fisher products, though with the sale of Fisher to First Texas it looks like that relationship is coming to an end. But I'll let Bill characterize the current situation as I wouldn't want to mis-characterize it.

Look at the X-Terra forum where there is an FAQ at the top of the page. Several factors were needed to create it and I believe that is the type of information you are looking for about each model you are interested in. But there were several factors that made that possible.

1. When the detectors were newly released they were put into the hands of some very experienced users.

2. Those users generated relevant & copious information from several perspectives in various parts of the world. Soon there was a useful knowledge base generated that simply needed organizing.

3. Someone needed to step up to the plate, read all previous posts of the forum, catalog, organize, edit, & assemble them into a meaningful order. As I am in a Northern Clime I decided I could devote some time to it.

But without steps 1 & 2 having occurred, step 3 would have been very difficult. Step 2 is really the pivotal one as without good content you can't provide a worthwhile knowledge base. Minelab made a daring move when it released a new detector line into the hands of a bunch of field testers all at once and told them to report anything they felt like. But that, is what generated all of the content good & bad about the X-Terra line.

Simple strings in posts where the poster states "I set my sensitivity at 46" are not really useful. Context is needed which shows why "46" is relevant to what, where, & how the poster is hunting. And aside from a few posts per model I'm not really sure how much exists that could be organized. You might also search for Mike Hillis as he has done some write ups on a couple models.

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Bill Ladd]

I can sorta see where your coming from prospector, & perhaps the webmaster can address the issue of "search" needing 4 characters to work. I wasn't aware that putting in F75 would yield no hits.......
Usually the "search" features offered on Findmall are great help. I have used it myself, for example when I was researching the Infinium for diving & relics I used the "search" to wade through the entire Garrett forum. Since there's no separate Infinium forum, this worked out well for me......
Actually, we thought we had made these Fisher forums a bit better by making 3 different sections, & this an "F-series" one. That way, if you want info on the F75, search this forum & lots of info should arise. Back in the day, we had a CZ forum, & just a generic Fisher forum where EVERY fisher got lumped in. When the Coinstrike & F75 came out there were forums from them too until they ran their course. Combining Los Banos Fisher's with Texas fishers it's now become quite a large stable, & though it would be nice to have a "classroom" for each make......well, Mr. Bill & I have our hands full already as it is.
As far as "sticky's" & video's........
We have pinned several posts/video's to the top of the pages, but then your entire screen becomes all old sticky's and then we get all kinds of complaints about that, so we try to rotate. The F5 video is still up there because it was removed from YouTube twice & many people wanted it back.....
A search of YouTube can get you several video's for most every detector.....(they might be in broken English or German but hopefully you'll get something out of one or 2)
HH,
Bill

 

[jmaryt]

sounds like a plan!

(h.h!)
j.t.

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

If you are new to the forum then it can be hard but then again it is like going to school you have to study nothing is handed down to you...When a new machine comes out you can follow it from the start and if you are not sure what machine someone is talking about just email them and ask. If you go to the V3 forum you will find more info on how can I fix this or how do I program that. The F75 has a lot of things you can do but they are easy to understand. I was hoping on the V3 I could read how deep it was and how fast it was and how great it was at unmasking but it seems Bill Ladd has not really been interested in one or I am sure he would have one and I am not speaking for him but it seems a lot of F75 users are sticking with their F75 and not buying a fancy machine with a 2 year warranty that seems is a night=mare to program. So just start from the start when the F75 came out and read all you can you can always post a question and we are all hear to offer our advice.

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the internet. When you set up a forum you can set up sub-forums. But people can post what they want where they want and it takes constant monitoring, moderators, and editing to do anything about it. Which people will complain about to no end if great care is not taken. It is nice when somebody goes to the effort of creating compilations of good posts but it is very rare.

If you have a specific question, just ask it. But if the idea is to sift through all the previous posts you'd best get good with Google's Advanced Search at http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en Where it says "Search within a site or domain:" enter findmall.com then enter the words or phrases you want to look for. Like "Fisher F75 review". By getting the right terms and phrases you can get pretty good returns, and don't forget you can exclude certain words or phrases to further narrow the search. The Google search is far superior to the basic search most forums offer.

Bill had a great idea also, which is if you read a post and it is really good, do a search for more posts by the same author. Once you hang around long enough you discover there are certain people who you want to pay attention to, and others you can ignore.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Steve, it is a very good tool. Bill mentioned below about the Fisher forums changing names to stay up to date with models changes. That has created some problems when looking for info on a certain model. The earliest posts after a machine introduction often carry some good information and if you are looking on the wrong forum (because of the forum name changes) you won't find the old earlier posts searching all forums is one alternative of getting past that but fortunately there is also Google.

Tom

 

[Paul (IL)]

Bill if you type this in this *f75* in search field the search engine Will return all kinds of post with f75 info. I do it from within the F series forum so the engine don't have to hunt everywhere.

 

[Prospector Mike N.S.]

I want to thank everyone who posted back to me you suggestions were very helpful, I'm not a Newbie as detectors go I've been detecting since the 1980's and have used several models and brands. I have to admit thought I'm leaning toward Fisher as my 1265x was one of the best detectors I have ever used even though it's not working well now I want to replace it.I have owned a 1280x before also but sold it, worked great in fresh water but the salt laden beaches drove it crazy. I'm presently looking for a good beach detector we have a very high content of salt and black sand with other heavy mineralization also. As this part of the world once belonged to Africa and broke off during the Ice age, so we have all kinds of different mineralisation zones. So I'm looking for the best water detector for me that's why I'm searching all the dealers and see what others say about those models. I also want another land detector, I'm viewing Technetics,Fisher,Minelab etc. models to see what interest me. I like watching the Video's at least they show the controls and how to ground balance and other features. I also hunt at night I read some where that one of the Fisher models has a back light for the screen is this true ? Can you shut the light off? Now to narrow it down to the best 2 for my location for land and water.

Will try all your suggestions and thanks for your kind words and I know we have on here some of the most knowledgeable users that can always help someone out. Best regards
Prospector Mike Nova Scotia

 

[Bill Ladd]

I'm always interested in trying any type machine......But, don't exactly have $1,500.00 bills kicking around