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Help improve Good Sam Community!

pvazquez
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi there,

My name is Patty, I’m Good Sam’s UX Researcher and a new member of the Community forum. I am working with the Good Sam Community team to learn about how we can improve our site. We recently reached out to a few members about meeting with our team, and had some issues with the scheduling tool - and then thought it was a great opportunity to open up our request to everyone in the Community. Whether you are a new Community member, or a seasoned forum expert, if you have ideas on how to improve your experience as a user of our site, we want to hear from you.

Schedule an online, remote conversation with me at the following link: https://calendly.com/pmr-vazquez/gs-userinterview

Thanks - chat soon!

10 REPLIES 10

StirCrazy
Navigator
Navigator

I'll look at schedualing a new appointment, sorry was working nights and was to tired to stay up thismorning.  

untill then, identifying new post is a huge issue with the new BBS software, here are a couple examples.

Screenshot_7-6-2024_72147_community.goodsam.com.jpegScreenshot_7-6-2024_71631_community.goodsam.com.jpegScreenshot_7-6-2024_71411_community.goodsam.com.jpeg\

as you will see from the photos , if some one replys to anyone but the initial topic creator it move the post up but it doesnt make it as having new posts, so unless you see an actual new post (if you look in the pictures you will see one as you scrool down that there is three or 4 of these new posts that done show up as new then a new one about 5 posts down but we can only see 3 on our screen at ones so if you don't scroll you will never know.  also the slightly bold header for a new topic can't we do better than that  maybe a color or make the text of the title twice as big as well as bold, there has to be somthing that will catch the eye more.  

second thing is old posts, because of the hidden new post marker when some one replies to a coment on a old post there have been several posts showing up from 10 to 15 years ago.  once a post is dead it should stay dead and exzist for read only, say 2 years of inactivitiy and the post becomes locked for posting, if you want better quality discussion you shoudl start a new post and build on the info with new information, technology and products not have to weed through the old stuff.  it is good to keep them read only though.  

finaly the names of the different comunities thenselves, you took away the Canada and alaska group and replaced it with international, I don't even look in that anymore because I don't concider Canada international and it isn't the best way to list it conciderign a good chunk of your userbase is Canadain.  the rest of that I can understand making it regions but instead of throwing Canada in international, maybe have a westren Canada region and a eastren Canada region.  for the other side, I don't understand why they arn't concidered comunities, you took two or three of the biggest drivers of the old board and either changed the name so they dissapeared or took on a different meaning, or got rid of them all togeather.  some of the new names are confusing so people are not posting in the right areas and the modes are unsure so they are not moving them around.  take the truck camper group, named properly, but we haven had a sticky created for trip reports so they wouldn't flood the feed, but look at 5 or 6 of the laitest posts by the same person, all of these should be in the trip report stickey but either he doesnt realize it or no one is monitoring the channel and corecting.  

then we get to the big mess ups DIY, is now called DIY maintenance so it implies you can only post self maintenance not just projects you build to enhance your RV, this used to be the 3ed or 4th most active group on the old site but the name change killed it.   the second "Technical Issues" used to be "Technology" shortened to Tech on the old group and was one of the top two active groups, but is now somthing totaly different.  technical question should be asked in the group relating to the type of equipment, so if it is on a 5th wheel it should be asked there, a motothome then there, that si where the people whith that spicific knowlage hang out, and if some one sees it in the other groups it is because we keep looking for the old activity we used to have on the old board where we could take about new battery technology in the Tech channel, or take about the new roof we installed, and how we did it on our rv in the DIY section.   Campground 101, does anyone know what that is suposed to be, I know I don't and rv tips and tricks and rv must haves, do they realy need to be channels , thoes to me are a post in rv newbies and don't warent there own channel.  its almost like some one just made this up for a presentations and wrote a bunch of group headers in there just so there would be writing in the boxes for the presentation and that how the custome left it.  the groups outside the individual comunities need to be carefully names as to not take trafic from the apropreat comunity but rather to allow converstation on stuff that applies ot every comunity or doesnt belong in any.  for example if I have a question about the light on the dash of my winnibego motorhome, I should be asking that in the motorhome comunity, not the tow vehicles or technical issues.  by posting in the laiter two, I am taking trafic away from the motorhome group that is spicific to them, at the same time a personal example, I am building my LiFePO4 cells from raw cells and would normaly put it in the DIY on the old board, or the Tech, but its not a maintenace item and it isn't a problem so they don't fit anymore and it isn't spicific to one type of rv, rather it aplies to all.  so realy there is no place to logicly post it.  

anyways I have to get to work.  

thanks

 

2014 F350 6.7 Platinum
2016 Cougar 330RBK
1991 Slumberqueen WS100

MNtundraRet
Navigator
Navigator

You should have access to the old RV Forum program. They used it to get the data moved to here.

One the home page after signing in you should see the home page had a section showing what forums, posts we replied to. It showed a number for how many recent replies since last checked, subscriptions were automatic for our new posts or replies to others. A checked box bas used to unsubscribe any of these.

These functions are here but buried in locations few of us ever find. Also, you sent me an e-mail today. The link on it sent me to the wrong location. You are off to a bad start. 😁

 

Mark & Jan "Old age & treachery win over youth & enthusiasm"
2003 Fleetwood Jamboree 29

d1h
Nomad II
Nomad II

Turn it back into RV.NET

pvazquez
Community Manager
Community Manager

What did you like about RV.net that you want to come back? 

StirCrazy
Navigator
Navigator

I booked and waited around the morning of my apointment for 3 hours, good thing it was a day off.

2014 F350 6.7 Platinum
2016 Cougar 330RBK
1991 Slumberqueen WS100

MORSNOW
Navigator
Navigator

I like reading thread posts in order, oldest to newest.  My problem with this new forum is that there is no way to jump right to the first unread post on these old threads that are many pages long.  If I change my thread view to newest first, I still don't see the first unread post.  Or if someone comments (Replys) to a post, it gets mixed up in the middle of the thread instead of being at the end as the first unread post with the quoted post inserted into the comment.  

2014 Wolf Creek 850SB
2012 GMC Sierra SLT 2500HD 7,220# Truck/10,400# Camper Fully Loaded

pvazquez
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks for this insight, it's very helpful! I've made a note of it. If you have any other feedback and have not yet scheduled a meeting with me, I'd really encourage you to do so! Reposting the link here for youhttps://calendly.com/pmr-vazquez/gs-userinterview
Hope to hear from you!

QCMan
Nomad III
Nomad III

Hi Patty. What happened to the last proposed meeting? I would also guess that you do not answer messages and that is why there was no meeting. Is this going to be the same runaround or is it really going to happen?


2020 Keystone Cougar 22RBS, Ram 1500, two Jacks and plenty of time to roam!
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. A.E.
Good Sam Life Member

only good thing about the last ones is I found a bug in the messaging system they are working on now.  

2014 F350 6.7 Platinum
2016 Cougar 330RBK
1991 Slumberqueen WS100

Hi all! Yes, we had trouble with our scheduling tool and did not receive notifications for who scheduled when.. this was a new approach we were trying, but we've gone back to our tried and true methods. I have a couple of meetings already on my calendar. Excited to tap into Community and hear y'all's feedback. Thanks for your understanding!!