Forum Moderators: phranque
The 'non-forum' part of the site has a Frequently Asked Questions section, which I often reference in articles and news items on the site.
However, I've been pondering for a while now as to whether to implement a feature whereby when certain terms are posted, that the 'keywords' (for want of a better word) automatically link to a relevent section of the FAQ.
For example, if this post was one of many about this subject then the words "Frequently Asked Questions" might become a URL pointing at [webmasterworld.com...]
What do people think about this in relation to;
1. Usefulness for forum members and site visitors?
2. Annoyance factor for the posters of the thread. I wondered whether posters would feel a bit 'used' somehow.
3. As soon as I implement this feature, all relevent terms will become URLs. And obviously I am not overlooking the potential advantages for getting parts of the site indexed. But, whilst this would be done with my visitors in mind, I am slightly concerned with the potential for hundreds (maybe even thousands for some terms) of links suddenly pointing to a specific section of my site being seen as spammy or tacky - either by users, or by search engines. The site and forum is fairly well respected and I would hate to 'cheapen' it in any way.
4. Anything else?
Thanks.
I guess you would have to decide for your particular site whether or not it is advantageous. Spammy? I don't know. My personal opinion would be to look at it from the user experience. Is it beneficial?
I agree with you on the sub window popup. I would never do that.
Is it beneficial? Well yes, for a helpdesk/advice type of forum, surely there are benefits if the links lead to useful information about commonly asked questions. And certainly I have spent much time thinking about this.
But it is hard to beimpartial about ones own web site.
So this is why I would still be interested in people opinions about some of my poroposals.
You know, if you think it would be beneficial then go ahead and add the option. But, as a secondary line of application, perhaps you could add a checkbox at the base of the message textarea, right before your "Preview/Submit" buttons that allows the poster to "Turn off automatic linking of keywords" much like how WebmasterWorld allows you to turn off the graphic smiley faces for any given post. At least then your members have the option to stop the autolinking feature if so desired.
I hadn't even thought of that as an option.
Now that's why I come to Webmasterworld. ;-)
My major dilema is that the feature would be useful for browsers of the forum, who could follow up those links. But it could irritate posters. Especially regular ones who might feel it was insulting their intelligence. I know a search engine optimisation forum that has this feature enabled and I do feel kind of 'used' sometimes when I have made a post there and seen a link appear afterward.
So your suggestion is a great one. Thanks.
