Fall 2006 - The categorization options for forum posts have been removed, with the thought that it might be deterring pilots who just wanted to put a simple post on the site. These categorization options still apply to non-forum content that one might want to add.
The original CSS Pilots Forum was very much time-driven - as posts aged they dropped onto the back pages and out of mind, only very rarely getting read or replied to. There's a lot of knowledge in those archives, but mining it would take much dedication and time.
The new forum (and the entire website) has a powerful categorization feature that will make access to related posts spread over a long period of time much easier, if it is used.
When you go to post on the forum you'll see an area called 'Categories' below the Subject box and above the Body box. The first category is the forum you're posting to and the rest of the lists are a way to further show what area or areas your post relates to. Selected categories appear as links below your post, and clicking those links will give a list of all site content that is similarly marked.
An Example:
Suppose you wanted to post an item about how instructive the PG XC clinic last weekend was, that featured support crews and flights to Soboba from Marshall. After selecting either the Pilot Reports or Events forum, you could click 'PG' in the Flight section and then ctrl-click (or whatever Mac users do) and also select 'Learning' and 'XC' from the Flight section. Then you might choose 'Marshall' and 'Soboba' from the Sites list. You could possibly choose 'Comp & XC' and the year from the News list as well, but that depends, I suppose. Certainly the Environs category wouldn't apply at all. Or maybe it would if you were including a map.
Then you'd write and preview your post. After previewing you'd still be able to edit your categorization, and your post, before submitting. Once you've looked at the categories (and picked some) you can collapse that part of the page by clicking on the Categories section header, rather than having to scroll past it.
Links to those selected categories would then appear under your posting and the whole interlinking power of the interweb would keep your post available for those interested in those topics.
Marshall Burning: First day of the 'Old' fire, Oct25, 2003.Another Example:
If you went to the webcam section of the Image Galleris and looked at the 'Marshall Burning' image, you'd see a link below it for 'Old Fire'. Clicking that link, you'd see a page with that image, an image from the History gallery, and a couple of CSS news items realted to the 2003 Old Fire and the aftermath.
Images:
When you're uploading images, either with forum posts or straight to the galleries, you'll see the same category options. These are especially important as images won't show up in searches by themselves. That's right, we also now have a darn powerful whole-site search engine. Image uploads also involve a title and description, which will define the context. Feel free say who, where, when, what, why and how - much of that can be done with the categories - at least select the year from the News list.
Picking a few clearly relevant categories for posts will of course make this more useful than gratuitously clicking everything that could possibly apply. The search engine will be the tool for exhaustive digging. Categories on posts and images can be edited by admins/Board members, but if that's done it won't otherwise affect your posts.
Still Evolving
The categories will be changing, expanding, and getting fine-tuned over time. Please make suggestions about omitted areas or better structuring. If the length of the lists gets too unwieldy we can experiment with a 'free tagging' option, where categories can be typed in rather than picked from lists. You can make suggestions right at the bottom of this post.
Use the categories and keep your posts alive. Make the wit and wisdom of the pilot community the treasure trove that it is.
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