Knife Forum Sticky?

[Rob Babcock]

I have a suggestion to make: how about we consider a knife forum sticky? I dunno if anyone has noticed but we end up with about a zillion posts per month that all ask what brand of santoku/chef knive/bread knife should I buy? Or what is a good sharpener for my XYZ Supertoku knife set? Obviously this is the internet- there are new members signing up every day and even established members that don't think to use the Search feature. I love knife discussion and I do my best to answer any and all questions that arise there but it's exhausting to try to respond to the 20th "what knife should I buy for cooking at home?" thread in the same week!

I'm sure that between Buzz, DrThunder, SShepherd, jpaulg, AllenOK and the rest of us knifegeeks we could come up with a series of decent primers that could answer 80% of the nOOb "what should I buy" questions with one stop.

 

[Callisto in NC]

I've been on "several" boards (quotes being an indicator that that's a COMPLETE understatement) and I can tell you from serious experience, stickies don't work. Most people see them once and then ignore them. Posts will come, posts will go. People like to post and ask questions, specific questions. If a new thread doesn't hurt the board there's no reason to say "don't post here, post there", IMO. Also, a lot of newbies don't understand sticky threads so it defeats the purpose.

If so many threads of "one nature" bother you, you don't have to answer, it's that easy.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I dunno, my experience is a bit different I guess. I'm either an Admin or Mod for two different sites (as well of a member of God-only-knows-how-many more) and I've had reasonable luck with them. If nothing else a sticky provides a good link source; if Mr/Mrs nOOb still asks a question that's been stickied it's a lot easier to link or say "check the sticky" than it is to answer it again or sift thru the forum (like the OP should've done in the first place) to find it.

Obviously I could just refuse to help but I think the sticky would be at least somewhat helpful given the minimal effort required. At first blush I can't see any downside to it.

 

[kitchenelf]

We will take your suggestion into consideration. The only downside I see is people will be posted in the Sticky and STILL won't search it to find the answer...right back at square one i.e., asking the question anyway.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Fair enough, and thanks for considering my suggestion. If we were to implement it I'd suggest placing the Stickies right at the top of the Knife Forum. If people choose to ignore them, so be it. But if they want to avail themselves of them they'll have a lot of good info at their disposal.

 

[Saphellae]

I think that the world of cooking is so vast that even a general Knife thread would get into so many different discussions over the life of it... that it would be impossible to find one single answer anyways. Might as well just have someone bring up the question as it comes.

 

[kitchenelf]

Fair enough, and thanks for considering my suggestion. If we were to implement it I'd suggest placing the Stickies right at the top of the Knife Forum. If people choose to ignore them, so be it. But if they want to avail themselves of them they'll have a lot of good info at their disposal.

You are welcome. And Stickies always go at the top and stay there.

 

[FincaPerlitas]

I dunno, my experience is a bit different I guess. I'm either an Admin or Mod for two different sites (as well of a member of God-only-knows-how-many more) and I've had reasonable luck with them. If nothing else a sticky provides a good link source; if Mr/Mrs nOOb still asks a question that's been stickied it's a lot easier to link or say "check the sticky" than it is to answer it again or sift thru the forum (like the OP should've done in the first place) to find it.

Obviously I could just refuse to help but I think the sticky would be at least somewhat helpful given the minimal effort required. At first blush I can't see any downside to it.

I like the idea of a sticky, Rob, but please don't consider refusing to help. I don't post often on the knife threads but am also something of a knife geek and really enjoy reading your posts. I almost always learn something from them.

 

[Rob Babcock]

No, I won't refuse to help. But I'm a full time student and I'm just starting a new full time restaurant job, so I don't have time to answer the same question over and over and over and over and...

 

[kitchenelf]

Just post links to the answers!!

 

[Barbara L]

With a very clear title, such as "What is the Best Knife to Buy?", it might work as a sticky. As a sticky, I think it should be made clear that it is strictly for serious knife discussion. We all like to make silly jokes, me more than most sometimes, but in the interest of space, it would be best for this one to stick to the questions and answers.

Barbara

 

[Rob Babcock]

Just post links to the answers!!

That's where the Sticky would rock. It's a lot of work for me to remember where I specifically answered a given question. If it was a sticky I could at least easily link to it.

 

[Rob Babcock]

With a very clear title, such as "What is the Best Knife to Buy?", it might work as a sticky. As a sticky, I think it should be made clear that it is strictly for serious knife discussion. We all like to make silly jokes, me more than most sometimes, but in the interest of space, it would be best for this one to stick to the questions and answers.

Barbara

I think the best thing would be to have Admin lock the thread (ie lock the sticky). It could be read but not added to. If someone had a question about the sticky they could start a thread about it. Alternatively the Mods could watch the thread sticky and prune as needed. If the former option was chosen it would basically be an article to be read.

 

[Barbara L]

I think the best thing would be to have Admin lock the thread (ie lock the sticky). It could be read but not added to. If someone had a question about the sticky they could start a thread about it. Alternatively the Mods could watch the thread sticky and prune as needed. If the former option was chosen it would basically be an article to be read.

I saw advantages to both types as well.

Barbara

 

[Saphellae]

One of our members could write up an article about knives and lock/sticky it for future use. Just a basic article outlining common questions and procedures.

 

[Callisto in NC]

Rob maybe you could write a blog about knives and when the question is asked, you could link the person to your blog.