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[ex_bubblehead]

I'll keep it simple. Drop all political content and disable comments on anything that may even hint at politics. This is a tech site, not a political commentary site. In addition, when referencing the president do not refer to him as simply "Trump". He is to be addressed as "President Trump", it doesn't matter whether you like him or not.

 

[wakuwaku]

Either get rid of staff using AI, and the AI itself altogether. Or train you staff to use AI to augment their writing. NOT REPLACE their writing on top of NOT FACTCHECKING their own writing.

 

[evdjj3j]

Shut it down like Anandtech, Tom's is just a shell of it's former self.

 

[Jeremy Kaplan]

Either get rid of staff using AI, and the AI itself altogether. Or train you staff to use AI to augment their writing. NOT REPLACE their writing on top of NOT FACTCHECKING their own writing.

We're with you 100%. In fact, so is our parent company, Future: We have an AI Policy doc (internal only, I'm afraid) that spells out how and when to use AI, and it is explicit: NOTHING is written with AI. We don't use it for fact checking either. Never have and never will ... the expertise we have on staff is far more valuable than summarized BS from a bot.

 

[evdjj3j]

Since you all already deleted this excellent comment, I'll repost it.

baboma
I think it's fairly evident that Tom's Hardware needs to expand its coverage from just PC hardware.

The stark fact is that sites like this need year-round content to attract year-round readership, and PC news & HW reviews aren't enough to fill the large volume required. So we have the occasional above-average first-party content, supplemented by lots of filler content that are largely scraped from other sites.

In a sense, Toms Guide is already filling this role. But AFAICT it mainly caters to tech gadgets, with a bit of Lifestyle mixed in, and the writing level is low-quality enough to be on par with CNet's, and be a second-tier Engadget. There's already a crowd of tech gadget sites, and the economic imperative (ad-financed) means writing quality will necessarily stay at the low end. This isn't a knock, just an honest appraisal of the financial reality.

TomsGuide's issue is that it tries to cover everything. The overly broad coverage results in shallow if not superficial content. TomsHW can differentiate from this by sticking with one or two topics that can generate lots of content (and interest), and provide more depth.

Sticking with the PC theme, and consumer tech in general, one emergent topic (and interest) will be client-side AI. For now, the interest is still around the basic "ChatGPT's uses" level, but will grow as AI uses expand. You can cover everything from how-tos ("install & optimize LLM on your PC", "best LLMs", etc), to best practices, to higher-level items like AI's impact on society, etc. Look at the exploding AI topics/channels on YouTube as a guide. Then hire one or two good AI writers.

But any way you slice it, any "improvement" will mean more money spent. So the real question is, will THW get any more funding for improvement, or is this just shuffling stuff around to make things look better.

PS: Also, can you get rid of the braindead Hammerbot shtick? At this point, it's just an embarassment.

 

[punkncat]

I'll keep it simple. Drop all political content and disable comments on anything that may even hint at politics. This is a tech site, not a political commentary site. In addition, when referencing the president do not refer to him as simply "Trump". He is to be addressed as "President Trump", it doesn't matter whether you like him or not.

This is winner winner chicken dinner as far as I am concerned. There is ZERO place for a one sided discussion where Admin gets to spew political drivel while the users can only be pinged for having a different opinion or attempting to discuss anything outside that narrow view.

 

[spongiemaster]

I'll keep it simple. Drop all political content and disable comments on anything that may even hint at politics. This is a tech site, not a political commentary site. In addition, when referencing the president do not refer to him as simply "Trump". He is to be addressed as "President Trump", it doesn't matter whether you like him or not.

Don't talk about politics. Only recommendation? Politically based, with nothing to do with tech. Brilliant.

I don't know where you are from, but here in America, no one says President in front of their name when talking about them in regular conversation. Everyone knows who they are.

 

[Jeremy Kaplan]

I'll keep it simple. Drop all political content and disable comments on anything that may even hint at politics. This is a tech site, not a political commentary site. In addition, when referencing the president do not refer to him as simply "Trump". He is to be addressed as "President Trump", it doesn't matter whether you like him or not.

Government regulations and policies have an undeniable impact on the market, so we absolutely cover them. The CHIPS Act, export controls, tariffs, and more impact the stuff you buy and what it costs you, and so we report on it fairly and honestly, I hope.

But there's nothing political on TH, afaik. Please let me know if you have seen otherwise. And we always refer to the president as "President Trump" or "President Donald Trump" on first reference. Again, if you've seen otherwise do let me know.

 

[evdjj3j]

Couldn't finish your survey. When I got to the part about buying a premium membership it wouldn't accept 0 as an answer to the questions.


Spoiler alert the survey is just trying to feel out how receptive we would be to a premium subscription.

 

[evdjj3j]

This is winner winner chicken dinner as far as I am concerned. There is ZERO place for a one sided discussion where Admin gets to spew political drivel while the users can only be pinged for having a different opinion or attempting to discuss anything outside that narrow view.

The person you quoted is the one who does that.

 

[USAFRet]

I don't know where you are from, but here in America, no one says President in front of their name when talking about them in regular conversation. Everyone knows who they are.

In regular conversation among friends, maybe not.

In published articles, yes, you do use "President Whoever"

 

[usertests]

I'll keep it simple. Drop all political content and disable comments on anything that may even hint at politics. This is a tech site, not a political commentary site. In addition, when referencing the president do not refer to him as simply "Trump". He is to be addressed as "President Trump", it doesn't matter whether you like him or not.

I'll submit the opposite advice: Do not disable comment sections. If you're going to take the coward's route, don't post the story at all.

Future plc can't resist because clicks = ad bux.

 

[rubix_1011]

I would come back and write for Tom's to do dedicated 'actual' watercooling reviews.

Tom's needs to diversify - simply put, Technology is in every aspect of our lives in automobiles, home automation, outdoor/off-grid, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/electric grilling and food prep and personal gadgets.

You can buy lawnmowers and chainsaws that are battery powered and digitally connected in their ecosystems.

Computers? Sure. Hardware? Sure. Actual networking expertise? Need that. Server/Enterprise guru? Need something there, too.

Gaming consoles? Include it as a sub-section.

DIY/Custom work or builds? Make it a highlighted maker/modding section.

Really need to encourage people to be on the site and participate, not just regurgitate news for site clicks.

EDIT: I haven't been on the forums for a very long time, mostly because of the 'lack of' things mentioned above. Things need to change - this site used to be teeming with super enthusiastic people and forum activity. Now, it has just become an alternative to using Google to get 1 answer and never be heard from again.

 

[derekullo]

I would come back and write for Tom's to do dedicated 'actual' watercooling reviews.

Tom's needs to diversify - simply put, Technology is in every aspect of our lives in automobiles, home automation, outdoor/off-grid, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/electric grilling and food prep and personal gadgets.

You can buy lawnmowers and chainsaws that are battery powered and digitally connected in their ecosystems.

Computers? Sure. Hardware? Sure. Actual networking expertise? Need that. Server/Enterprise guru? Need something there, too.

Gaming consoles? Include it as a sub-section.

DIY/Custom work or builds? Make it a highlighted maker/modding section.

Really need to encourage people to be on the site and participate, not just regurgitate news for site clicks.

EDIT: I haven't been on the forums for a very long time, mostly because of the 'lack of' things mentioned above. Things need to change - this site used to be teeming with super enthusiastic people and forum activity. Now, it has just become an alternative to using Google to get 1 answer and never be heard from again.

Making your chainsaw connected to Alexa sounds like a terrible idea !

 

[rubix_1011]

Making your chainsaw connected to Alexa sounds like a terrible idea !

Not if you know how to use a chainsaw...

Kidding aside, most just report battery station charging status and nearby device status with an application. I currently do not own one, but some of the more high-end machines are getting pretty complex.

All of my saws and firewood/sawmill/logging tools are still powered by fuel.

 

[thesyndrome]

I would like to see less articles that reference modern politics if we are then told to not discuss politics at all when commenting on the article

 

[Crazyy8]

My critique: Payed subscriptions are a hard no. Even if it just gives access to bonus content, that content should be free along with standard content. People could easily just move from Tom's Hardware to sites like Techpowerup, with Techpowerup's community being vastly more active along with having the expansive GPU and CPU databases.
I also agree with other people when the say that Tom's should branch out. I'd like to read articles about smart home devices or electric lawn mowers(similar to LTTs home content), or read a guide about networking and IT basics. Other people have mentioned potential branches, so I won't go into that more.
I'll be honest, I love watching people argue in the political themed article comments, that doesn't make it good though. Moderate all comments equally harsh or get more into the technical details of world events rather than the politics.
Adding more widgets would be fun(not AI, unless it's actually smart(but heavily discouraged still)). Creating a more accessible version of the Techpowerup databases would be pretty neat, along with a direct comparison tool similar to Userbenchmark(without bias, of course). I'd love to use a component comparison widget, but none online right now are trustworthy or expansive enough.

I would come back and write for Tom's to do dedicated 'actual' watercooling reviews.

I would definitely read those articles. Something like the old Maximum PC magazines would be something i'd kill for. In depth reviews by someone who knows what they're talking about, hell yeah

 

[spongiemaster]

In regular conversation among friends, maybe not.

In published articles, yes, you do use "President Whoever"

THG is not a news organization. Regardless, the whole issue is moot if they stop posting about him, since we aren't permitted to comment on such articles anyway.

 

[baboma]

One thing THW can immediately improve (w/o costing money) is to fix the site layout. This piece, presumably of some importance to the OP, is already about to scroll off the frontpage and into the hinterlands, all within a couple of hours of its posting.

This problem applies to every THW piece of value, being pushed out of visibility by the continuous filler content.

 

[bit_user]

Drop all political content

The fact is that tech is political. It's too central to modern society and economy not to get entangled in geopolitics and even domestic politics. For the site to avoid covering any aspect of the tech industry that touches these areas would blind us to major factors and influences in how technology and the industry are evolving. Therefore, I greatly value this aspect of the publication's coverage and certainly hope it continues.

IMO, the forum is a different matter and should be addressed separately. If you want to disable comments on these articles, I think that would be regrettable but understandable.

Also, since we're discussing "politics in the forums", I think there should be clearer guidance about where the red line exists. The current rule is so vague that it leads to inconsistent enforcement and people thinking they know where the red lines are, but then eventually getting slapped and told they don't - but, still with too little information often to know exactly where they put a foot wrong.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, since we're discussing "politics in the forums", I think there should be clearer guidance about where the red line exists. The current rule is so vague that it leads to inconsistent enforcement and people thinking they know where the red lines are, but then eventually getting slapped and told they don't - but, still with too little information often to know exactly where they put a foot wrong.

Unfortunately, more rules just means more devious ways to circumvent.

One of the groups I run elsewhere suffered from this.
A continual game of cat and mouse.

Basic set of Rules.
Someone does something bad, new rule
They do something else bad. Another rule.

Eventually it got ridiculous. People always find a loophole.

"Rules" slimmed down to "No politics. Have fun. I am the final arbiter. Period. Don't like it, go elsewhere."
That would not work here due to the massively different audience sizes, but just to show that "clearer guidance" is not necessarily the solution.

 

[bit_user]

TomsGuide's issue is that it tries to cover everything. The overly broad coverage results in shallow if not superficial content. TomsHW can differentiate from this by sticking with one or two topics that can generate lots of content (and interest), and provide more depth.

ServeTheHome seems to have grown by leaps and bounds, the past few years. Toms Hardware seems to cater mostly to gamers, but I think STH shows there's demand out there for reviews of networking hardware, servers (I know Paul Alcorn has done good work in this area, but maybe not since the demise of Anandtech?), and some of the other niches they cover.

I do appreciate Les Pounder's in-depth contributions on Raspberry Pi and similar SBCs. I do wish Les would occasionally take a look at the forum comments, because some of us have taken the time and effort to list detailed suggestions, a few questions, and maybe even a couple corrections.

PS: Also, can you get rid of the braindead Hammerbot shtick? At this point, it's just an embarassment.

I think HammerBot was an interesting experiment, but it basically convinced me that LLMs are mainly good for general knowledge and not the sorts of detailed hardware comparisons or recommendations I think most are asking it.

Creating a more accessible version of the Techpowerup databases would be pretty neat, along with a direct comparison tool similar to Userbenchmark(without bias, of course). I'd love to use a component comparison widget, but none online right now are trustworthy or expansive enough.

Yeah, I miss the old Anandtech charts that you could use to see how one CPU compares with another. It'd be neat (but a lot of work, I know) to have a database with specs like TechPowerUp has, but also integrated with benchmarks to allow for easy comparison.

Maybe an idea for how to do the database cheaply is to make it something forum users could edit, especially if you require a minimum number of posts and minimum forum account age - that should keep out most vandals.

 

[bit_user]

Unfortunately, more rules just means more devious ways to circumvent.

The problem I stated is real and I know a lot of us feel that way. I know here isn't the best place to have this discussion, but the undeniable fact (from non-mods' perspective, at least) is that the current solution is far from ideal.

 

[Aeacus]

My beef with TH articles is with hardware suggestion ones.
Namely:
https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-pc-builds-gaming

One CAN NOT suggest crap quality PSU (within $500 build) just because it is cheap.

Many people, who aren't tech-savvy, are trusting the expertise of TH articles and end up buying complete crap. Just to find out days, weeks or months later that their crap quality PSU went "boom" and killed the rest of the PC. Latter is clearly seen in the comments section of said article, where exactly that has happened to many people already.

This kind of bad advice can not be tolerated.