Navigating travel forums

[Hoag]

What is simple about having to scroll through pages of recent posts in dozens of forums of no interest to you? Looking at the first page I see half of them from The Pub, a bunch from various gear forums, not a single one from the 10 or so forums I watch. I'm not interested in Site Support, or Suunto, or Exposure Suits. Watched forums show me the 10 or so forums I am interested in, and only those forums.

Yes, you are right. I routinely scroll through pages of entries which hold no interest to me, but almost daily there will be a thread that I would not have seen had I limited my viewing to only the "10 or so forums I am interested in". As an example, you want re-entry requirements to be posted to the Coz forum because you watch that forum and if it is in one of the ones you watch, then you won't see it. As I scroll through the "Recent Posts", I will see it no matter what forum it is posted in.

You also mention the Pub. If you are seeing entries from the Pub, then you must have at some point subscribed to it. Posts on the Pub are not listed in Recent Items unless you are a member there.

To be honest though, I really could not care less what you choose to watch or to not watch. I'm heading over to Recent Posts to see if something looks interesting & catches my eye.

 

[ReefHound]

As I said "I'm sure we all have our own ways of using the forum." I wasn't trying to convince anyone to use the site as I do, just suggesting that many do. I'm not looking to fill hours of my time or expand my scope of discussions. Now and then I do check Recent Posts for something interesting but more like a mothly basis not a daily basis. I've been here about 15 years so maybe I joined the Pub a long long time ago, found it was a hopeless time sink, and wrote it off.

 

[tursiops]

I joined the Pub a long long time ago, found it was a hopeless time sink, and wrote it off.

So cancel out of it.
Your strategy of watching only certain forums puts you in danger of confirmation bias.

 

[ReefHound]

So cancel out of it.
Your strategy of watching only certain forums puts you in danger of confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias of what? My primary motivation is to learn the latest about destinations that I frequent or hope to soon, despite the tendency to get sucked into political debates. I will also search for something specific (i.e. gear review) now and then. I've looked for how to cancel out of pub, will look harder in a bit.

 

[Esprise Me]

If you want to leave the Pub, click your avatar, then Personal Details. On desktop, look under Settings and click Join User Groups; on mobile you'll need to click the gray Your Account box first to pull up that menu. Once you've opened user groups, scroll down to Pub Regulars and click Leave User Group.

If you want to follow the General Travel forum, where your thread was moved, just go there and click Watch Forum: General Travel & Vacation Discussions There are lots of good discussions there about airline issues, trip insurance, and COVID-related cancellations, along with some that pertain to specific destinations.

As I said, not all threads fit neatly into a box. I understand your point that the rule change you posted about will affect many people visiting Cozumel. However, it's not unique to Cozumel, as it equally affects everyone returning to the US after visiting another country. Moreover, it doesn't affect anyone visiting Cozumel from anywhere besides the US. The original rule requiring a pre-departure test to return to the US made more sense in the Coz forum, because addressing that logistical challenge was different in Coz versus other places--people could share the name of the hotel they stayed at in Coz that helped them get the test done, or the pharmacy they went to, etc. But the addition of a second test upon arrival in the US for those who aren't vaccinated doesn't have that same tie to Coz-- you'll deal with that second test wherever you arrive in the US. Likewise, the elimination of the test for vaccinated people doesn't require any Coz-specific discussion. Instead, the questions are about whether an at-home test from the drugstore will suffice, what level of proof you need to show, etc. You wanted it in the Coz forum because you follow that one, but lots of people who travel and may be affected by that rule don't follow the Coz forum. What makes more sense: having a separate thread on this issue in every destination forum, when the information is the same, or having one in a more general travel forum?