Can we clarify what is meant to go in the "Support [modded installs]" subforum?

[Dunbaratu]

It would make sense to have the "Support [modded installs]" subforum if its purpose is to let people with modded installs post about problems in which they haven't identified which mod might be the problem yet, or even if a mod is causing the problem. It saves SQUAD from having to debug problems they might not have caused, while still getting the problems out in the open for advice from other users and to see if lots of people are having the same problem, and so on.

But that doesn't seem to be the way that subforum is being used in practice.

In practice a large number of the posts seem to be from people using it to get support for ONE mod that they already know is (or at least think is) having the problem. Rather than people thinking "I installed a bunch of mods - I started having this weird problem - I wonder what's causing it?", it seems to be being used by people thinking "I already know this is a problem with mod XYZ, but I'll post about it here instead of in the thread that's specific to mod XYZ."

And that's a bit annoying to me, because it now means if I want to keep on top of problems occurring in a mod I help develop, I have to read through ALL the threads in that entire subforum, the vast majority of which are about other mods, to find the few here and there that might be about the mod I'm checking for. In the past, reading through just the one thread in the "showcase" or the "development" (depending on the state of the mod's release) about the ONE mod was good enough to see all the user support reports.

On a few occasions I've found posts about a mod I'm helping develop in the "support modded installs" subforum only a week or two after they were written, and only accidentally via a google search that turned them up when I was looking for something else.

So I'd like a clarification on this:

If you *already* know the exact mod you're trying to get support for, should that support request go in that mod's own thread, rather than in the generic "support modded installs" subforum?

[KasperVld]

That's something that in my opinion comes down to the individual posting the thread. As annoying as it may be to have to check two forums I'd say that the modded install support forum is more suited for support requests than a mod release thread which I think would be home to discussions about that mod instead of support requests. That said I do understand it's easier to have all support requests in one thread. There's no perfect solution I think, we're already busy moving threads as it is and even introduced warnings when posting in support that people need to read the sticky threads. These have little to no effect.

[John FX]

I think that people do post in the individual mod threads but sometimes want a more general response so they post in `modded install support`.

Maybe they are looking for a wider angle on the issue. Also, a lot of the mod threads are in the `addon releases` section which does not sound like a support forum to newer users so they post in the obvious support forum for installs that have mods.

It came about when SQUAD stated they would not support modded installs but people still needed support so a separate forum was created.

I would advise not being annoyed by it as it looks likely to continue in the manner is currently does.

[vexx32]

Perhaps the existing stickied threads should, however, include a pertinent note that if an issue is unresolvable and most assuredly caused by a mod, they ought to bring their findings to the author of the mod.

[Dunbaratu]

People seem to be misunderstanding what annoys me about this.

When you describe it as "having to look in 2 threads", then you're not getting what's annoying about it.

I'd *love* to be able to JUST look in 2 threads. That would be a huge improvement.

What the current layout does is make me have to look in *hundreds* of threads.

Currently the only way to be sure to catch any mansions of a particular mod needing support is to literally read *every* thread in the support sub forum. It's not that I have to read the modded installs sub forum that's the problem. It's that I have to read *all* of it that's the problem. In the release sub forum, its' organized per mod. In the support sub forum it's not. Posts are not flagged by what mods they're talking about. You have to go look inside them at the body of their text.

It's not that the support subfurm exists that's the problem. It's how it has a flat hierarchy and isn't per-mod that's the problem.

[Red Iron Crown]

You could search that subforum for the name of the mod in question. That will only give threads in which it is mentioned, should save you a lot of reading time.

For kOS, that gives this result: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/search.php?searchid=3952677

If one of the threads is long, like the Linux support thread, one could do another search within that thread.

[KasperVld]

What RIC suggested is indeed a solution to the problem, although searches can't be linked.

Make sure the settings are like in the screenshot, and if you hit the [go] button next to save search preferences it'll save these settings as the default so you don't have to enter them every time.

[Dunbaratu]

Wow that web interface is broken. I have NEVER seen the "Search in Forums(s)" field on the advanced search page, and only after messing about a long time after seeing your post did I find out how to make it appear.

When you first see the Advanced Search Page it is missing most of the fields of the "Search Single Content Type" page even though the "Search Single Content Type" tab is actually highlighted as if it had been selected. To make the fields you're talking about appear I have to click on the already selected "Serach Single Content Type" tab even though its already been selected so it looks as if such an action would have no effect.

[Crimson Sunrise]

But how you distinguish between mods that don't break the game versus mods that do?