Why we split threads

Website Howto
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I have recently received a few PMs asking about splitting threads, so a quick summary of the reasons why we split threads is likely useful.

Relevance
Threads typically discuss the topic listed in the first title and first post. They often answer a question. Search engines look mostly at thread title and first post to gauge page-fit to a search (keywords score higher, the closer they are to the beginning). So search engines are most useful to find a response to a question if a thread content closely matches to its title and first post.

Many of our threads are seen 100s of times more than there are participants in a thread. So thread reuse is critical to the usefulness of FUD to the diabetes community. We split threads to make sure that their content remains closely relevant to their title and first post.

As a note, any level3 (“Regular”) member has the ability to change the title of any thread, to make it more relevant to its content and its searchability. If you are a Regular, you can absolutely use this capability for the good!

Hijacking a thread
Often new users, unaccustomed to a forum, piggyback on a thread, and hijack it to a new or different question. In some cases, it redirects answers away from the original poster’s questions. In others, it creates content that does not match the original post, and makes the new content less searchable. Either way, this is a good reason for splitting a thread.

Better focused discussions
We have all seen threads that drift left and right, with multiple discussions going in different directions. These threads are often difficult to follow, and definitely hard to scan. As a result, they often miss generating a thorough discussion of their topic. Spinning each of their separate threads off allows for better, more focused discussions, that are always more fruitful.

More and better content
More threads always cause more posts. So, when in doubt, we split.

You too can help! Only a mod can split a thread, but any member can start a new thread, or suggest that a wandering discussion initiate a new one :slight_smile:

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I think some regulars are guilty of this too !!! :grinning:
I think its great to split as needed, and definitely improves the site.

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I am! Me! Me! Thread hijacking is a specialty.

It’s one of the things I like about FUD. The conversation flows and can be sorted out later. Sometimes good stuff turns up when people are willing to ruminate about a tangential topic. :smile:

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i Want to make a switchboard operator joke here, @Michel, but realize you seem to be keeping very busy splitting threads, probably not coincidentally, after my comments. So I’m place of the joke, I’ll go with thank you, sorry, and I swear I’m not doing it on purpose.

I’ll get focused.

And please don’t split this, or I seriously will need to quit. :grin:

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These splits are awesome topics! They are all generating really interesting new threads every time, so I feel great about them :slight_smile:

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