About starting TT threads

[SirAlanClive]

I've been thinking...(after the great thread we just had for TT #54)
Wouldn't it be good if the thread starter took upon him/her self to make the OP a reference point for info, tunes and even times posted within the thread? It's really not that much work, given that the thread starter really should be someone interested in following the thread - and not just the first guy to get on his keyboard.
I think the OP could (should?) contain:

1. The standard info everyone posts when they start these threads: prizes, restrictions, tracks, dates etc.
2. The popular cars being driven by the top guys.
3. A link to the myGranTurismo.net leaderboard.
4. Links to posts containing tunes within the thread with the name/car/time of the tuner and to Adrenaline's seasonals page.
5. (optional) A standing list of the times posted in the thread by the active posters - makes for some good 'thread competitions' like the one me 'n Dalone 'n CargoRat had going, or BanditKarter's amazing rise to the top in the Corvette TT #54-1

Although reading through the whole thread is fun, we got up to 800 posts on #54 and I found myself spending some time looking through for different variations. I thought then that if I'd made this thread I'd be collating stuff in the OP.

This does require the thread starter to be someone who is actively taking part in the thread and willing to update the OP on a daily basis (it will never be more than 14 days).
What do you say people?

Some pointers:

To link to a post within the thread: Right click on the number at the top right of the post and click 'copy link address' (for example in citycar's post under this one at the top right it says #2 - I'm using Chrome, other browsers may say the same thing differently)

To make a link, write something, highlight it (select it - make it blue) then click on this symbol

at the top of the editing box and paste in the link you just copied into the dialogue box which appears. The words you wrote will then become a link to the post or webpage

Always check your link once you've made it.
Always preview your post as you edit it.
Don't overdo the formatting (big fonts, colours etc). It just makes reading it a hassle.

Adrenaline's site is http://www.adrenatune.com/.
To get the specific address for his current TT page, Google 'gt5tune' and find the current TT there. Click on it and you get the exact address in the browser.
Like this: Adrenatune TT #54 as described above.
This page will not appear until he's made it, so add it when it appears.
He's done the job of linking to all the relevant tunes here on GTPlanet so we don't really need to link to the Tuning Forum.

This is how TT #54 would have looked - and I didn't include all the tunes posted. There were a couple more (like mine, which became Adrenaline's) but the good ones become apparent from the comments of others.

Tunes:
Adrenatune TT #54
Corvette Convertible (C3) '69, "Conquistador" by XDesperado67
Corvette ZR1 (C6) '09 by WightSparky
Corvette ZR1 (C6) '09 by Johnnypenso
Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 by jimipitbull
Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 by Adrenaline
Corvette Z06 (C6) '06 by GTP_CargoRat
Corvette Z06 (C6) '06 by Stotty
Ford RS200 Rally Car by Stotty

MyGranTurismo.net is mygranturismo.net.
I don't think this is available before some hours have passed. It would have be added when it appears.
Click on Rankings, then click on
1. GT5 Time Trial Leaderboards,
2. Select Leaderboard,
3. Copy the address at the top of the browser and make your link like this: Leaderboards as described above. Here's a picture with the numbers:

If number 5 above is interesting then it's probably best to do the time followed by the user name or it will look messy. Shame we don't have tables in the site's BB code.

001 1'34.567 BanditKarter
013 1'35.654 Stotty
678 2'15.678 SirAlanClive

It's a lot of work, sure, but it only becomes relevant after a week has passed I would think. The order and the times will change but doing it once a day for 7 days will take you 5 minutes to fix. Those interested should perhaps pm the 'editor' with their times? Maybe this one is a bit much. We'll see

 

[citycar]

This is a good idea. It would be nice if people could include the date that the timetrial runs for, this would be very handy for when you cant get on the PS3 to check when the active timetrial is going to end!!!

 

[Argon]

Sounds like a great idea although I'd like the OP to also contain a link to a replay that folks can download and use on selected TT's. This was particularly important for the C7 TT we had where even grabbing the 10th place runner meant that the ghost was long gone and completely useless to most runners.

I should say that under normal circumstances a replay is not necessary but on a track like the Nurb where there is going to be a huge differential between the top and the rest it definitely would help.

 

[SirAlanClive]

I was thinking that if any relevant or even just interesting info appeared within the thread, it would be trivial to link to that post. This sounds like just such a thing. The OP could accommodate all kinds of things as long as they are in some sort of relevant order.

 

[SirAlanClive]

This is something like I'd like to see:
TT 50 by Motor City Hami
Another interesting attempt but heavy on the bb code and lacking in basic info:
TT 49 by CorvetteConquer
gnomefromnome's TT 45 and
doodlemonopoly's TT 44 have been good with the basic info and some links too, but I'd like to see more 'thread content navigation'.
This isn't meant as criticism by the way, I'm just into Evolution rather than Creationism. Anyone can create a thread but can you evolve it?

 

[Adrenaline]

1. The standard info everyone posts when they start these threads: prizes, restrictions, tracks etc.
2. The popular cars being driven by the top guys.
3. A link to the myGranTurismo.net leaderboard.
4. Links to posts containing tunes within the thread with the name/car/time of the tuner and to Adrenaline's seasonals page.
5. (optional) A standing list of the times posted in the thread by the active posters - makes for some good 'thread competitions' like the one me 'n Dalone 'n CargoRat had going, or BanditKarter's amazing rise to the top in the Corvette TT #54-1

1-4 are already done on AdrenaTune, but a Tuners driving ability isn't always indicative of the cars ability, so I think it's unfair to hold it against them.
5: Extremely difficult to keep updated, but isolating forum users could be interesting.

As of last week, I made a point of creating the thread for the new seasonal, so I'll try to add #5 if it's me again tonight.

 

[Stotty]

I think it's a great idea... though the challenge will be 'the 1st one on the keyboard' bit

When a thread gets to 25 pages, and tunes are 15+ pages back it would certainly help newcomers.

It would require the OP to put some time in to 1st post updates.

 

[ripping_silk]

If todays TT is of interest to me, and I happen to be the OP, I will keep the #1 post updated with relevant links.

 

[Endless-Wilso]

I usually alway's tried to put as much as i could on the op .
although when i did my last one https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=265548 I didnt really know how to post links to tunes so it should be noted that not all people know how .

 

[Stotty]

If todays TT is of interest to me, and I happen to be the OP, I will keep the #1 post updated with relevant links.

Nice one 👍

Difficult for EU posters to kick off as it's the middle of the night when the updates come through

 

[SirAlanClive]

I usually alway's tried to put as much as i could on the op .
although when i did my last one https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=265548 I didnt really know how to post links to tunes so it should be noted that not all people know how .

Made a quick walkthrough in the OP

1-4 are already done on AdrenaTune, but a Tuners driving ability isn't always indicative of the cars ability, so I think it's unfair to hold it against them.
5: Extremely difficult to keep updated, but isolating forum users could be interesting.
As of last week, I made a point of creating the thread for the new seasonal, so I'll try to add #5 if it's me again tonight.

Shame your site doesn't have navigational URLs. Would be nice to link straight to the Seasonal section. I agree, the more I think about it, #5 becomes work. But the other stuff isn't. It doesn't matter if a tune gets linked a bit late

 

[Adrenaline]

Shame your site doesn't have navigational URLs. Would be nice to link straight to the Seasonal section. I agree, the more I think about it, #5 becomes work. But the other stuff isn't. It doesn't matter if a tune gets linked a bit late

It does have them, but only under the unmasked URL.
I'm not allowed to provide links, but Googling 'GT5Tune' will give you what you're looking for.

 

[SirAlanClive]

It does have them, but only under the unmasked URL.
I'm not allowed to provide links, but Googling 'GT5Tune' will give you what you're looking for.

Added this to the OP.

 

[Emptyone]

You could just pre-emotively start one, and then lock it till the appropriate time (Premo only). Still, creating one that makes easy reading rather than a bunch of our discussion to sift through for a couple of tunes would be nice indeed.

Good shout 👍

 

[SirAlanClive]

You could just pre-emotively start one, and then lock it till the appropriate time (Premo only). Still, creating one that makes easy reading rather than a bunch of our discussion to sift through for a couple of tunes would be nice indeed.

Good shout 👍

Thought about that, but then 'who am I to be so presumptuous'.
Someone would come along while I was asleep and be in their full right to start a new one. Maybe we can work out a good template and make it copyable so others can use it to start the thread. The important thing is that the guy who starts it must be willing to work it.

 

[Emptyone]

Thought about that, but then 'who am I to be so presumptuous'.

True, but would solve the issues.

Maybe we can work out a good template and make it copyable so others can use it to start the thread. The important thing is that the guy who starts it must be willing to work it.

Bolded bit is key. But those who start the thread sometimes never post in it again sadly.

 

[XDesperado67]

I like the ideas in the OP not just for time trials but for all seasonal threads.

Unfortunately there are some people that feel it is a race to be the first to open a new seasonal event thread. My recommendation to deal with this is to set up a template of how you all would like future seasonal thread OPs to look and then for someone inclined to actually maintain it to start a new thread. In the past multiple threads have been started for various seasonals and the mods either leave them alone or merge them at some point. If everyone makes a point of only posting in the threads that use your template for the OP then it will most likely end up being the key thread for that seasonal. Once those who rush to start such threads then never contribute again see that their threads are being ignored they should start to lose incentive and stop creating them.

 

[Morgoth_666]

I like the ideas in the OP not just for time trials but for all seasonal threads.

Unfortunately there are some people that feel it is a race to be the first to open a new seasonal event thread. My recommendation to deal with this is to set up a template of how you all would like future seasonal thread OPs to look and then for someone inclined to actually maintain it to start a new thread. In the past multiple threads have been started for various seasonals and the mods either leave them alone or merge them at some point. If everyone makes a point of only posting in the threads that use your template for the OP then it will most likely end up being the key thread for that seasonal. Once those who rush to start such threads then never contribute again see that their threads are being ignored they should start to lose incentive and stop creating them.

I was thinking along the same lines. I don't know what the written and unwritten rules are about thread creation and hurting people's feelings, but if it's not in major violation of them would it not be sensible to set some of these things as official/unofficial requirements for a thread to be recognized as an "official" seasonal/TT thread? That way most of the people who are highly active in them would likely only post in one which was started in the desired manner, and then any others may or may not be merged with it at the mods' discretion.

Of course as has been mentioned the most important thing is that whoever is going to start such a thread stays busy updating it.