asking questions about NZ walking tracks

they should be refred to the track finder in the first instance and then ask questions for answers they cant get in the track finder, juset answering their questions straight away creates unecessary work, how much do you want to have to sift through unecesary entries in the forums to find the threads you want to read?

I have never thought of answering a post as "work". If it was I wouldn't be doing it and I have no idea why someone would be answering questions if it is such a burden. Just move on to the next thread.

@craigo and @dodgydave: thanks for the explanation of op.

sometimes its the great nz beatup. several people have offered opinions which juste repeat ther peoples opinions so you get numerous people negating the original post saying the same thing as each other, over and over, it must be really off putting for newbies on this site to see this, and it tells them if yhou offer a different opinion then this will happen, so don't bother... ok you all have a right to put your opinion, but do you really need to when one or more have already commented the same opinion and it starts looking like a ganging up on someone on the surface? do we want to be honest and encourage discussing what we really think or do we want to shut down differing opinion, as i said i've spoken to several others who agree with me but they know better than to post that opinion because they know this will happen and they can't be bothered with it iv'e said it before and sometimes i'm ready to wash my hands of this site because of the way people respond like broken records, flogging the same line of disagreement, how many ways can you tell someone you dont like what they are saying but you'll say it anyway, i dont want everyone to agre with me all the time, but its the great NZ knocking machine at work, if you're not thick skin be careful about posting your opinion, and its teh same small group of opinionated people on this site including me... where are the new people offering their opinion? why dont they speak up, why is it the same people here all the time putting forward the vast majority of posts and comments? you cant tell me there arent new people who dont look at this site.... if i was new and didnt have a pretty thick skin i wouldnt bother posting an opinion.. i think this is the thick skin tramper forum really,...

Hi everybody. As we are well aware, people have different definitions of "tramping." When a New Zealand family tackles the Routeburn Track as their first "tramp," who am I to say it's not teal tramping: they're doing it wrong? When I take my kids on a one-hour walk to a hut, I call it tramping. The culture of tramping is not elitist: it is wide open. This is the first value in the community values linked in the footer. If there is genuinely a problem in the forums, then we can think about that. For example, we could consider the possibility of a forum that only opens to longer term members. You can also flag posts you think are in the wrong forum. We could establish pinned posts if some questions are being asked repeatedly. If you want to mute or follow specific threads, we could add support for that. Interested in your ideas.

Pinned posts are a good idea but for it to work we need to direct all forum entrys to the correct sub forum so they see the pins first. I have that on the clubisuzu forum I moderate and it works quite well. Logging into that forum always takes you to the menu first. Still get some people jumping past the pinned posts to ask the same question but you cant make it totally foolproof. When people can open a thread that starts with a list of data well sorted then scroll to the bottom to ask for that same data you have to wonder if you can revoke their Menza membership. As for the same people answering all the time a lot of it is confidence in the answers a lot of it is new people not actually knowing the answers some of it is people not wanting to stick their heads into the light. On clubisuzu we currenntly show 4800 members but there are only 10 people answering questions. Also how many actual members does this forum have? I havnt looked at the numbers but would guess registered members is in the 500 to 1000 range but that is not a true reflection of actual membership. Take out those that havnt logged in for a year and we might find we have less than 100 actual members. On Clubisuzu I did a cull of inactive members a couple of years ago. Went from 3500 down to 1200 that had logged in in the previous 12 months This forum is well run and is for the most part running smoothly A few gripes now and then are just a fact of life that we have to deal with and move on. Its not a lot different on any other forum

I subconsciously scroll straight pass pinned posts. There can be a very important announcement, but if it is pinned I simply do not see it. The reason why, I suspect it is because pinned pots are often stagnant, usually outdated, so I go straight to where the new content is most likely to be. I also often find answers provided in pinned posts are normally of a generalist nature, and not overly specific. For example there might be a post on buying tents. But I might want to ask about tents suitable for people over 190cm tall, which are also lightweight and can survive high winds. On another forum I sometimes visit they have a sticky on buying tents... just had a look, it is five years out of date and most of the links no longer even work..

fair point

Hello, I'm Cameron, I've been wanting to visit New Zealand my whole life, and next month I finally will. I am having a lot of trouble finding reliable info though. I have always wanted to spend three or four days hiking, camping and fishing along a river or stream, hopefully encountering few to no other people. My emails to the DOC have all gone unanswered. I have been trying to hire a guide for a day, figuring they could recommend a place I could go on my own. One recommended I hire a helicopter ($1300) to drop me off and pick me up at the Whirinaki track. It sounded good until I did a lil research, not only does it seem like it is quite accessible by car, but also rather busy, I am guessing. It is not the only misinformation I have received, and I am puzzled why people aren't giving me straight answers. I only have a month before I get there, and as of yet have no hut reservations, and it sounds like that is something I might really need. I always envisioned complete wilderness camping, but my research thus far has found no talk of it. Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy email, I really do appreciate it, and any info or suggestions would be of SO much help! Have a wonderful day, Sincerely,

The degree of wilderness you can experience will vary greatly depending on your level of tramping experience and ability. There are a multitude of options in both the North and South Islands and you will need to research any suggestions to ensure they are within your abilities and also make sure you have the proper gear. I'll post a couple of suggestions in the NI shortly. Just need to double check a couple of place/hut names and some spellings.