There are far too many topics which run the gambit within the general discussion for Focus/WebFOCUS. In order to find anything you have to go through 9 pages of 30 or more posts.

It would be helpful to have subcategories within the major divisions.

Hi there, George.

Thanks for this feedback. This has actually been our intention all along but we did not want to put the cart before the horse, so to speak. When we first opened the Focal Point forums, we had categories such as "Maintain", "GUI", etc. But people kept posting under FOCUS/WebFOCUS so we decided to delete any categories for the time being until the subtopics naturally formed and became apparent. Maybe now is the time that we begin to make sub-categories. In the next week or so, I will post a poll and ask members to give me their suggestions for sub-categories.

Cheers,

Monica
Focal Point Moderator

Well, no time like the present...
Here are a few suggestions:

WebFOCUS Installation
|
-->Unix
|
-->Windows
|
-->Other

Webfocus Configuration/Administration
|
-->LDAP
|
-->Security Settings
|
-->User Administration
|
-->Data Adapters

Creating Reports
|
-->Using DevStudio
|
-->Using Report Assistant
|
-->Using Graph Assistant

Distributing Reports
|
-->Using ReportCaster
|
-->Using Dashboard
|
-->Using Report Library


By no means is this an exhaustive list but I figured it would be logical to separate things by function first then by product or flavour. It seems to make sense to me to ask "What are you trying to do..." then ask "In what environment are you trying to do it." Then you can go into more detail as needed.

George,

I agree with you saying a bit more structure would be useful. But I would suggest to divide the board just into a small number of subtopics. Otherwise we may be lost in the list of topics.

It would be sometimes difficult to decide what topic my post fits into. And it would be hard to browse through all topics to have a look what is posted new.

I strongly agree with the aproach your are taking. The question is 'What am I doing ?'. But I think the question of the environment steps back more and more. Focus/WebFocus is growing older and more mature. So the differences between the different environments are not as important as they used to be in the old times.
Therefore, taking your proposal, I see something just like the following:
-WebFOCUS Installation
-Webfocus Configuration/Administration
-Creating Reports
-Distributing Reports
-Maintain
-Data Access
Keep it as simple and clear as possible.

What do you think about this ?

I like all of these suggestions. I agree with Roland though, I am not sure that the volume quite supports as intricate of a break-down as George initially suggested. I will definitely poll the members and include both of your suggestions in the poll. I guess my biggest concern is merely that people won't know where to go, that's why I feel like we should start smaller and then branch out.

Thanks for your participation in the forum!

Monica
Focal Point Moderator

Makes sense... we can branch out later if need be. What about now? Do you think there are enough posts to put them into the 4 or so categories? I only ask because I'm not having a lot of luck with the search function.

Thanks,

George

I think that we can probably start organizing them - although this is no small task so it is something that I would have to do over a couple weeks. On a separate note, what isn't working with you and the search function? You say you're not having much luck and I am curious if there is something I can do as an interim fix before I categorize all of these posts.

Let me know.

Cheers,

Monica

My two and a half cents worth:

I'm not crazy about forums that have sub-categories - you never know where to post a question. The question may be a general WebFOCUS question, not platform related, not version related, etc. I say we get a better Search facility.

Cheers,

Pietro.

I agree with Pietro. Having categories and sub-categories may look like a good idea but realistically it may become confusing. It is better to provide great search facility than a great categories/sub-categories functionality.

Vipul

Hi everyone.

First and foremost, I have to say thanks so much for making this a great forum.

Now I would like to throw something by you. What if I kept the general category but then created a duplicate thread under sub-categories? That way you know where to post and when things wrap up, we essentially archive it in a sub-category. Thoughts?

As far as the search functionality goes, I am going to have to work on that to improve it. We have some ideas in mind but if anyone has any suggestions, that'd be great. First and foremost I think I need to bring more attention to it (the little link at the top right tends to be missed )

Keep the suggestions coming. I am listening but am still assembling a master plan.

Monica

i know this thread is a bit stale by now, but when i joined earlier today, that was my immediate reaction : why so many disparate posts lumped together under 1 heading ?

how about splitting off version specific questions in their own subgroup ? that way people with the same environment are more likely to talk to one another

as it is now i'm on 4.3.6 and wouldn't know whether any knowledge i have still applies in later versions