How are we doing?

Erin Holohan Haskell

I'd love to hear your thoughts about HeatingHelp.com and how we're doing. What do you like and what can we do to further improve your experience on the site?

Thank you for your feedback and for being part of this great community!

Harvey Ramer

I like the new wall. I really do. It's easy to use and nicely laid out.

Someday, if you are so inclined, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see a small corner of the wall turned into a professionals only section. A no-nonsense place where we can quickly and easily solve technical problems and share ideas and knowledge that might be dangerous for a diy'er. Also would be a good place to share new equipment glitches and the fixes away from the general publics eye. I believe it would enhance professional participation in the wall.

Thanks for all you do!

Erin Holohan Haskell

@Harvey Ramer - Thanks for your post and suggestion. Glad you are enjoying the new layout. We are too!

We've talked about a professionals-only section over the years, but kept coming back to this: How do you define who is a professional? We've got members here who don't necessarily work for an HVAC company or manufacturer, yet they provide us with valuable insight and perspective.

DanHolohan

I'm not a professional.

Gordy

I see Harvey's point. There are other sites that offer a proffesional corner. There are always the group private messages. Not quite as exciting as engaging in a proffesional only open forum. A higher level think tank so to speak.

Paul S_3

how about a "wall of pride" section where we can post pictures of our work whether its air conditioning, heating etc

ChrisJ

Erin,
The only complaint I have about the forum is often not being able to tag, or even go to the profile of anyone with a space in their name.

For example I cannot tag @Paul S
It puts his name in quotes.

Aside from that, it's a great place.

ChrisJ

Oh, nice.
OK so it worked that time. Maybe something got fixed recently.

nicholas bonham-carter

All seems well, and I see no changes made which will confuse the old folks here!!
I would like to see the "Holohan Seminars" article retitled as the "Dan Holohan" seminars. Like some others here, (Ray Wolfarb, and others), I think the whole name is needed.
I would also like to see the steam section up at the top of the list, so that newbies can find their way.--NBC

Steve Minnich

@DanHolohan - If you're not a professional, none of us are professionals. You just use different tools. That said, I agree with Harvey.

Steve Minnich

Oh, and this place ROCKS.

Erin Holohan Haskell

Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm going to take all of this into consideration.

What are your thoughts about the rest of the website, beyond The Wall?

SWEI

Just a few minor issues, really. The duplicate username issue continues to cause headaches when trying to mention or link to certain people. If you could re-name the inactive users that have duplicate names it might clear that up.

The biggest for me is probably the search feature, both on and off The Wall. It can be quite difficult to find old posts, especially when the search terms are fairly common. How about an advanced search feature where we can constrain things to a specific forum, search only in titles, only from certain posters, etc.?

thanks~

KC_Jones

There is an advanced search function, but (AFAIK) it's "hidden". If you do a wall search in the results the search bar will now show a drop down arrow. If you click that drop down arrow it will show advanced search functions. I don't know of another way to get to it so if someone knows please enlighten us!

SWEI

Thanks, had not seen that -- far more useful.

JUGHNE

The duplicate names had me stumped for awhile.
For instance there is an Omaha contractor, (relative BTW) and also a east coast homeowner who are both "Mike".
The contractor was on for a long time, started on the old wall before I signed up.

Erin Holohan Haskell

I'll see if we can make the advanced search more apparent.

The duplicate name situation may be challenging because these were names imported over from the older site. The bright side is that we were able to bring over all of the older content.

hvacfreak2

Just a thought ,

Maybe a section for people who post often. I can understand not wanting to divide the group into pro or non - pro. Maybe not a " War Room " but perhaps a " Tavern " where regulars can sort things out or " speak freely " without fear of offending sponsors , companies , etc.

Dave0176

I'm with Harvey I agree it'd be nice to have a pro section. And to define professional I hate to leave out pros who work for companies but maybe an HVAC business section. Owning a business certainly don't make you a pro, however it separates DIYers and hobbyists, and maybe will allow us to discuss pricing, not only of jobs but comparisons of equipment. Just a thought.....

Erin Holohan Haskell

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. When we built this site, we intended for it to be an inclusive place where everyone can go for resources and education. I think the variety of perspectives that we have here is part of what makes this place unique. And, as I said before, we have a lot of very smart people here who may not own or work for an HVAC company.

Most people here use screen names instead of their real names so there would be no way to tell who is a company owner or employee. And that adds a separate logistical challenge.

We've had homeowners tell us that they are impressed by how knowledgeable you are. I think it's good for them to see the thought and hard work that goes into these jobs. You raise the bar for the industry.

We can't discuss pricing because it gets into anti-trust issues. And discussing pricing in a private area could lead to price fixing, which is against the law.

And our sponsors keep the lights on around here and allow us to keep this website free.

Any thoughts on the rest of the website?

Erin Holohan Haskell

Paul S said:

how about a "wall of pride" section where we can post pictures of our work whether its air conditioning, heating etc

@Paul S - We have this already through Find a Contractor. Contractors can post a slideshow of their work alongside their contact information.

Erin Holohan Haskell

nicholas bonham-carter said:

All seems well, and I see no changes made which will confuse the old folks here!!
I would like to see the "Holohan Seminars" article retitled as the "Dan Holohan" seminars. Like some others here, (Ray Wolfarb, and others), I think the whole name is needed.
I would also like to see the steam section up at the top of the list, so that newbies can find their way.--NBC

Great point about the naming, @nicholas bonham-carter - especially since we've got more than one Holohan hanging around!