Separate FFDShow forum?

[vlada]

Hi,
because FFDShow is the best and probably most popular decoder/filter, I think it might be useful to make a separate forum only for it. Many people are asking different questions in FFDShow development thread and most of them remain unanswered. The thread is too long and it's very complicated to find an answer in it. I believe a new forum, where each problem would have it's own thread, would be handy. What do you think about it?

[Doom9]

the average number of posts a day/week/month simply doesn't meet the quota required for a new forum.

[Kostarum Rex Persia]

Are you sure,Doom9.It's summer break now,but in fall number of threads in ffdshow category will probably became more often.

[Doom9]

let's just say I'm anal about numbers, and let's not forget the obvious "most people use x264 vfw for video encoding and xvid vfw for xvid encoding", which leaves ffdshow just as a decoder. Also, if you try to secondguess me in the numbers territory, better back youself up with a lot of numbers..
And as far a summer break goes, the most basic stats everybody gets for free, you can compile more using the search engine, and the number of simultaneously online people hasn't dropped as it used to since May.

And if you're going to pick the low traffic Linux and NLE forums as an example, just don't.. those are here because I want them, not because traffic warrants it.

edit number two: nobody forces you to post everything in the same thread, and the search engine can search a single thread

[vlada]

edit number two: nobody forces you to post everything in the same thread, and the search engine can search a single thread

Of course everybody can begin a new thread, but most people are using the development thread. I hope a separate forum would change it.
According to search engine - this is the problem I was talking about. If I'm looking for something and the search result is FFDShow Development thread, it would take me hours to find the post I was looking for. The search engine should point me not to a certain thread, but to a single post. It is almost impossible to find anything in long threads.

Btw. I personally use FFDShow for audio/video decoding and subtitles. I also use quite a lot of built in filters. A lot to discuss.

[Doom9]

The search engine should point me not to a certain thread, but to a single post. It is almost impossible to find anything in long threads.a) you can instruct the search engine to give you results by posts, not threads. You can even save that option for future searches
b) if in a thread, you can use the thread search to search just inside the thread you currently are.

With those options I personally don't have much of a problem finding something even in long threads, but I'm not sure most people notice that they have those two options because they have not been available until the upgrade to vbb 3.

but most people are using the development thread. by choice, not necessity or rules. Either way, provide numbers or forget about it. It's really as simple as that.

[Episode]

How about just splitting the thread once again? The old one got splitted last year after it had 65 pages 1291 posts. The new one has already 47 pages and 939 posts.

[Oki]

If you search ffdshow, the engine returns 500 threads (the maximum). Doom9, maybe you should take into account not only the number of a single thread but the numbers of plenty of threads spreaded on to other sections of this forums related to ffdshow.

I find Vlada's suggest in the line of common sense, but if the owners of the forum don't want it, this thread has no sense.

regards,
Oki

[Doom9]

How about just splitting the thread once again?I think people should just start different threads and the old one probably be closed. I'll talk to the mods for this forum about that.

If you search ffdshowNot a good search term obviously. It's the same as searching for CCE, XviD, DivX, MP3, etc. You really have to use multiple search terms to get anywhere. And if you search within that long thread, obviously you do not have to use that term as the entire thread is about ffdshow ;) Nobody ever said searching was easy, in fact I fear that most people (and that applies to all Internet users) have little idea of how to formulate a good search that yields just the answers they're looking for.

I find Vlada's suggest in the line of common senseThis could be considered as me having no common sense. Did you mean to imply that?

I have to turn this around: in the absence of enough threads to warrant a separate forum, it makes no sense asking for one as you're only going to get on my nerves with it. I think I've made it pretty clear that the numbers aren't where they need to be and I have no idea to push the agenda even in absence of the numbers. And I'm guessing that I'm one of the few to actually consider the implications of splitting of every subject that has a thread longer than 20 pages. You may have to luxury of not having to consider that and only look at the small part of the forum you're visiting on a daily basis, but admins don't have that luxury.

[Oki]

Not a good search term obviously.If you search FFDSHOW in the subjects, not in the entire posts then you are filtering a lot of those ffdshow useless references. for me ffdshow is a good term if you know where to look in. If you try it then you will get the threads directly related to ffdshow.This could be considered as me having no common sense. Did you mean to imply that?Read exactly what I have wrote, I never said you do not have common sense I was not talking about you. Please take it easy, we are not fighting. I am sorry if my words were too strong. I see your point of view, I am an administrator in another very "populated" hardware related forums and have been several times in your current situation. Believe me, I understand your point of view but mine is different in this case. Based in my experience as a forum administrator (7 years now) I believe that creating a separate forum for ffdshow would help a lot of users with less experience than you or me with search engines and search terms. The numbers are also OK for me. Please try the search described above and see the amount and size of the threads.

Regards,
Oki

[Doom9]

Please try the search described above and see the amount and size of the threads. searching for ffdshow in the new video codec forum yields 15 threads that would go into an ffdshow forum, which were not created but last posted to since the 27th of March. Plus, at least two of them are audio matters (needless to say that audio decoding in ffdshow is a matter for the audio forum). Just because a thread contains the word ffdshow doesn't mean it would belong to a different forum. And you cannot count all the generic libavcodec threads either, mencoder and ffmpeg use libavcodec just as well, so anything related to the codecs contained therein would still have to be discussed in the new video forum.

[bond]

i would say ffdshow covers so many areas (avc, asp, encoding, decoding, all sort of video codecs, all sorts of audio codecs) that its better to discuss the topics where they belong: in the audio forum, avc forum, this forum aso and not bunch different topics into one ffdshow forum

[Doom9]

bond makes an excellent point that I missed. So to be consistent with how the rest of the forum is being handled, the ffdshow discussion is to be split off into the various forums where it belongs right now.

[esby]

I quite agrees that ffdshow specifics issues belongs to the respective forums.

Now, for killing the developement thread, and to hope that everyone will watch the respective forums, I am not sure it will works this way.

I don't understand the reason, if it was for size limit, I'll think that it's ok, but if it was to ensure that the question will go to the right forums, I don't really understand.
Not all people checks all the forums parts, but sometimes, they could answer and or help in those parts, for some question, since the question will be asked there, where they don't necessary watch or check, that will probably result in lower possible answer to questions, but that's my opinion.
I am not saying that the people in these sections are not qualified or anything like that, I am just saying that this is cutting support from a certain number of people.

Adter all, that thread had some usefulness, even if it was going of topic sometimes.

esby

PS: @Doom9 - Posts: 6,999 - soon we'll have to congrat you :)

[Shirokuu]

I also agree the dev thread was going off topic every once in a while. But it would be nice to keep posting about new dev builds and bugs concerning that build in the 'MPEG-4 and Co.' forum. Questions on audio decoding, xvid / divx / x264 decoding with ffdshow should be posted in other forums where they are more appropriate.

[Doom9]

it will mean a little additional work for the mods until people get the point but that's how it's going to be. It worked out for NeroDigital as well and it's going to work here. The break from the forum's strict policy to break issues into categories has been allowed for too long.
I'm sure you see the irony in people bitching about a long and unsearchable thread and then if you divide it up bitching about not everything being at the same place anymore.
Anyway, this is how it's going to be.