I'd point out a couple of things that undoubtedly will arise.

(1) SMS and ALL CAP'S text is very annoying. All-Cap's is hard to read and SMS is ambiguous, particularly for those of us who don't habitually use it.

Likewise, spelling is an issue for searches. If I misspell a search term, I'll get what I deserve, but if I spell it correctly, yet it's misspelled in the case where it occurs, it won't be found.

(2) Opinions probably need to be labelled as such. It's not that much work typing IMHO or something on that order. Stating one person's view as "fact" is misleading unless it's indicated to be one person's view. Saying, "The XYZ-2 is THE one for this application" is quite a different thing than, "I see the XYZ-2 as ideally suited to this application." Consider what an uniformed newbie will think when reading these statements. It is, admittedly, a sore point for me when one forum participant blurts out, "You should use <insert product name here>" rather than something a bit more "measured," such as, "I've had good results with <insert product name here>, and think you will, too." Likewise, I don't think it's appropriate for one to assert that, "<insert product/manufacturer/vendor name here> is CRAP" is appropriate without specific information as to why/how one arrived at that conclusion. There are reasons for which one might arrive at such a conclusion, and forum readers deserve to know what they are, so they can weigh them for themselves. I, for example, have a, perhaps irrational, but not totally unjustified, dislike of ATMEL. I try to make it clear whenever I mention them, why that is. Others may not put as much weight on my reasons as I do. They deserve to do that for themselves and not simply "take my word for it." Like everyone else, I have my own opinions, but I try not to present them as unalterable fact.

(3) New-thread titles need to be meaningful, and some sort of enforcement is needed. It's not useful, as you, Craig, have amply stated, to have a thread entitled "My code doesn't work" or "Help." Useful information is therefore hopelessly obscured if it does appear under such a thread. (Maybe, since the moderation level is going up, the moderator should assign a general category, such as Clock Hardware or LCD Problems to threads that begin with "Help" or have some equally undefinitive title.

(4) If we want people to use local search, search results need to be limited to query-relevant items. It seems to me that searching often returns lots of "hits" not one word of which, including content, not just title, is relevant to the search query. I don't know how it comes about, though.

(5) Perhaps a valid email address should be required rather than recommended, so that when an interesting discussion wanders off its central topic, it can be pursued off-line from the forum. I can recall at least one case where an O/P asked what I considered to be a perfectly reasonable, though very general question and was chastised en masse by critics saying things ranging from, "That's not 805x-specific" to "any idiot would know that." I sent him email answering his question, which resulted in a series of emails but got his questions answered.

(6) Perhaps the moderator(s) could split a thread when its central topic forks away from the thread's initial subject but is still useful as a discussion, such that it will turn up in search. for that new topic. That way, when a discussion reaches a "fork in the road," neither direction will be lost.

... Just my two-cents'-worth ...

RE