Announcing Amtrak Sub-Forums!

As someone that cares about LD, Corridors, and the NEC, and felt like the volume of posts wasn't particularly overwhelming, I'm also finding that this change means I'm just reading three forums instead of one.

Amtrak is also the largest forum on the site. Currently 8741 Topics 248683 Posts. Next largest forum 6198 Topics 158366 Posts.
No, I am not saying the New Jersey Transit NJT Rail and Light Rail LRT forum needs to be split.
(As previously stated, I could go either way with the Amtrak split.)

Seriously, if you're a regular reader on the site, why aren't you taking advantage of the "Unread" feature?...

---> search.php?search_id=unreadposts

You'll get one page of threads to scan thru, and it already filters out what you've previously read that hasn't been updated since.

eolesen wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:18 am Seriously, if you're a regular reader on the site, why aren't you taking advantage of the "Unread" feature?...

---> search.php?search_id=unreadposts

You'll get one page of threads to scan thru, and it already filters out what you've previously read that hasn't been updated since.

Because it pulls in every single forum on the site when I only really regularly visit the Amtrak one anymore and occasionally the MBTA and DC ones?

danib62 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:59 am

eolesen wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:18 am Seriously, if you're a regular reader on the site, why aren't you taking advantage of the "Unread" feature?...

---> search.php?search_id=unreadposts

You'll get one page of threads to scan thru, and it already filters out what you've previously read that hasn't been updated since.

Because it pulls in every single forum on the site when I only really regularly visit the Amtrak one anymore and occasionally the MBTA and DC ones?

Oh and I guess I need to visit the "New York City Area Wide Rail Transit Issues (Cross-Agency)" forum now too because heaven forbid someone talks about Penn Station in the Amtrak NEC forum...

Well, it's not exactly quite like that; the issue we had as moderators was parallel topics. It was just easier to put those issues affecting multiple agencies in a forum where people didn't have to search three forums for what they want. Now, the idea with Amtrak forums seems to be the opposite, where you may have to search multiple forums. My opinion is that it makes it easier to search issues regarding a specific topic whereas before you had to scan the whole Amtrak topic to find what you're specifically interested in, be it LD, Corridor, NEC. Of course, if you're interested in all things Amtrak, you do have to use multiple clicks.

And you have the aforementioned search functions: ego-search; unread posts; and in the advanced search function, you can select multiple forums.

I'll keep an eye on it, and see if we can enhance the functionality with some of the input we've had here.

Don't get me wrong but was anyone complaining about the way it was? This forum is thankfully active but it's not *that* active. Just seems to be violating the rule of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:25 pmAnd you have the aforementioned search functions: ego-search; unread posts; and in the advanced search function, you can select multiple forums.

is there an "unread posts in selected forums" type of search ... perhaps with subscribed forums (without email subscription)?

justalurker66 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 5:27 pm

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:25 pmAnd you have the aforementioned search functions: ego-search; unread posts; and in the advanced search function, you can select multiple forums.

is there an "unread posts in selected forums" type of search ... perhaps with subscribed forums (without email subscription)?

Agreed. I'm not *that* active on these forums. I may dip into the CSX forums or such but... mainly passenger rail.

Can I make a request to make site navigation easier (for some reason I can't post in the "News, Announcements, FAQ and Help" forum)? Before the last site redo there used to be a dropdown list at the bottom of every page that listed all the various forums. Can we bring that back? It made getting around so much easier.

And reopen the "News, Announcements, FAQ and Help" forum. I have posts in that forum so I know it was once open, but the forum has been read only for some time now.

justalurker66 wrote:

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:25 pmAnd you have the aforementioned search functions: ego-search; unread posts; and in the advanced search function, you can select multiple forums.

is there an "unread posts in selected forums" type of search ... perhaps with subscribed forums (without email subscription)?

I'd be a fan of that... not sure if the board software supports it, though.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

We're looking into this. Greg and I have invested heavily in making the forum not just more reliable, but more functional.

Hey folks...

I'm going to give an example of why I chose to do this.

I just started a thread on through running instead of Penn South. I first posted it in Amtrak (main). I then "cross-threaded" it into Amtrak Corridor, Amtrak NEC, LIRR, MNRR, NJT, and then into it's final position in the NYC Wide forum.

Using this method, I can make topics visible in related forums.

With all due respect it seems like the majority of your users don't appreciate this change.

Is there at least a way to by default make every topic show up in the main Amtrak forum as well as the sub-forum?