Valuable content or?

[Okapi]

In addition to using over-the-top adjectives as ignore-flags, I immediately ignore anything that offers only a video as the description. Without some text or still photos to give me a hint of the subject I'm on to the next thread.

This is not a novel (post) to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. (Italics mine.)

Sometimes especially for russian or osmanish language, images are better than text, as I'm looking for techniques about silversmith which I'm a newbie, good images can be enough, but it's only my own opinion.

[mklotz]

Sometimes especially for russian or osmanish language, images are better than text, as I'm looking for techniques about silversmith which I'm a newbie, good images can be enough, but it's only my own opinion.

I understand the language difficulties but, if "images are better than text" then how about some introductory still images that demonstrate what the final product looks like and what its purpose is? I don't want to have to watch five minutes of the author drilling holes and cutting metal with an angle grinder to find out that he's building a table or a glorified fire poker.

[Toolmaker51]

Another good point. However, I can say unequivocally, speaking from extraordinary experience (I've personally posted on hundreds of forums), that yes, the star rating scales are almost universally ignored across forums.

I'm not sure why. Could be lack of prominence of the rating system. Could also be that upvote/downvote is clearer than 1-5 star rating (most posts get 0 star ratings; is that better or worse than 1 star?). For example, someone was just explaining to me last week that the famous Michelin star restaurant rating system is assigned one star at a time. Thus, to get 1 Michelin star is actually quite an honor.

_____________________________
We've been provided a Rating System? Can offer one hiccup, may clue why it's not utilized.
I enter HMT.net most often from of two email signals. 1] The page highlighting new posts with a picture of the video/ or jpeg [carries the link] and title. Someone's job is getting a graphic and title worth looking at. In no way could I describe a preference for specific topics. Like Marv points out, a still photo is a good start; scrolling on my laptop, author usually not visible at the same time, admittedly a handful I disregard knowing the content will be laden with ads. 2]I enter via emails to posts written or commented on.
There is are pages where short descriptions, a photo, and user name opens a different comment box and does have a prominent star rating selection. Not knowing what prompts those, here is an example http://www.homemadetools.net/homemad...ic-drill-stand I for one use those to rate both the presentation and usefulness I'd likely want to try that technique.

My first suggestion would pull "Rate This Thread" from "View First Unread, Thread Tools etc" upper header of page, instead make it adjacent to the "Thanks" button, to be equally prominent. No charge to HMT.net; however I catch Facebook, Yahoo or Pinterest et-al implementations, I'll not be found so generous.

I will not post vids until means to exercise total control on ads occur. Seems I do well with jpegs and decent text. One acceptable pairing might be nice [ie] that say, a post on proper retaining ring selection/ install [BTW not all know there is a proper side outboard] had links to manufacturers of rings, pliers, carbide grooving inserts, and HSS blades. I also will not accept pausing a vid instantly throw pop-ups they promote as connected material. So called connected material always carry ads too.
Below, notice signatures' tagline for Toolmaker51...just as I prefer buffet over menu.

So then poking "Rate This Thread" the reward is "A required field called <em>ipaddress</em> is missing or has an invalid value." IHNCWISTDN. Lol

[Crusty]

I began suddenly getting that error yesterday. I logged out of the site and rebooted my computer. I logged back in and the error was gone and remains so today. Hellifiknowwhy.

[Jon]

The best content presentation these days is an increasing combination of photos, text, and video content. Starts off with one good photo and one good sentence, and gradually increases to a long video. You keep going as long as you like.

We may soon see the rise of GIF'ing to shorten vids. You can make your own GIFs of YT vids now fairly easily (just Google around for some web-based tools, they're common). This is the concept for Tool Talk content. If I see a long vid, unless it's extremely valuable (usually something historical), I'll either skip it, or GIF it down to size. You can see this trend among amateur video makers. Some of our more experienced guys produce 1-minute intro vids, that lead to longer vids. It's the newer video producers that are making 10+ minute vids right from the start, and they generally mature to producing shorter form content.

I've started being more disciplined about long-form paper book reading, in part to counter the attention issues that I believe may be accompanying the rapid consumption of the glut of short-form content we now have available on the web. I now have a 5-day-a-week recurring task in my productivity system: "Read two chapters in a book", and a tall stack of thick non-fiction books on my dresser, that are more intellectually demanding than my nightstand books.

[Okapi]

I understand the language difficulties but, if "images are better than text" then how about some introductory still images that demonstrate what the final product looks like and what its purpose is? I don't want to have to watch five minutes of the author drilling holes and cutting metal with an angle grinder to find out that he's building a table or a glorified fire poker.

I forget to precise that they are videos coming from people I know, especially from Turkey with filigane work, or soldering techniques, they have some skills to work which need more examples as text, as an anecdote story, if you're using 18 or 19th century professional books, it was totally the opposite, no images because you are a worker who can understand what it's explained, and for us it's very difficult sometimes to use those books because many of the tools and methods described are no more in use, if you look at the RORET books(I don't know the names of the english language equivalent) they are just 10 pages at the end with the final result in images…

[Toolmaker51]

I began suddenly getting that error yesterday. I logged out of the site and rebooted my computer. I logged back in and the error was gone and remains so today. Hellifiknowwhy.

Nope. Log out and restart didn't change it.
All the others operate, though the 'redirect' ? to Digg etc I don't access elsewhere making those inconclusive. Even Remove Thanks does, so if you don't watch yourself........just kidding, I'd never do that.

[Saltfever]

. . . how about some introductory still images that demonstrate what the final product looks like and what its purpose is? I don't want to have to watch five minutes of the author drilling holes a . . .

The first thing I do is a few exploratory clicks at the end of the video to see the final product. Then I decide to either delete or to jump to the beginning. Most authors refuse to display their finished product at the beginning of the video. Are they inconsiderate or ignorant? Don't care . . . I have adapted accordingly.

[Crusty]

The viewer contempt often displayed is for the most part due to creators having no learned skills in videography, editing and teaching. Drives me up the wall too but I cut most of them some slack because they're new at it. Videos that waste my time with blather, hip or commerciality get bypassed as quick as I can down thumb them though.

[Toolmaker51]

That videography is learned, often self taught means no standard exists to insure some grade of production. If they don't open by featuring the project or at least what stage it's in, I read that as sure-to-be inconsequential content. It's not shown because there is no confidence; completed item has no shred of worthiness. That said, there are HMTnet posts full of cut-off and shaping wizardry. Their process has merit equal to the project.