Is there a better way to disseminate updates for transportation FAQ on this forum?

Without knowing the technical issues that the webmaster could address, I think problems with the proposal include 1) choosing how and when to mark any particular post, source, or thread as the latest official story and 2) keeping them updated. The traveler resources that we keep up to date on an annual basis include most of the guidebooks, guidebook update pages online, and some detailed parts of this web site, such as rail pass features.

I hope that each contributor does feel a responsibility to check and be certain about any facts they publish. I do it all the time and will often mention my source, whether it's a book, web site, or recent experience.

Andre,
You've brought up two key discussion points here... how to handle repeat questions and how to disseminate the most up-to-date information.

As far as how to handle repeat questions, I believe you were around several years ago when we tried tackling this, though you may not have been part of the conversation at the time. We tried FAQs in each of the forum sections, and while this may have helped a few people, we found that it did not appreciably decrease the rate at which repeat questions were asked. If anything, it tended to frustrate our regular users more if people didn't check the FAQ first which didn't improve the tone of the boards. We did, however, find that adding Search capabilities to the forum in conjunction with prompting people to use Search before posting did decrease the rate at which repeat questions were asked. This system is still in place today. There is another idea I have that would improve the effectiveness of that system, but it requires a lot of technical work and is not slated to happen anytime soon.

All that being said, it's been a few years since we've updated the FAQ in the Transportation section here, and I'd be happy to update it. We don't have the same space restriction as we did before. If you and/or other regulars want to submit what you'd like to see in that FAQ (both the question and the answer) to help alleviate questions that are answered the most and can keep it to your top 10-15, I'd be happy to update things. Feel free to discuss it here, but I'll put Andre on point to email me directly with the final text. Note that we reserve the right to edit anything in that text.

As for disseminating the most accurate information and preventing inaccurate information, this is much more difficult. In a forum setting where everyone is here to help, there will inherently be opinions that differ from one another and information that clashes with information given by another. From a moderation standpoint, this can also cause behavioral issues when someone thinks (and maybe even knows) that they are "more correct" than someone else and posts to that effect. It is the position of this forum that all content given in posts here should be allowed and accepted even if opinions and information differ from each other as long as everything is approached in a respectful manner. In other words, we expect that incorrect or outdated information will happen here. It is furthermore our position that you should expect the OP and any other reader to be a reasonably smart person that can determine the best information for themselves when presented with differing information. As such, the best way to handle information that you find to be inaccurate is to simply add your own post with the information or opinion that you find to be accurate. Your case can be stated in a way that is respectful to the other person that may have stated inaccurate information (I'm not implying that you haven't, Andre!). When this is done respectfully, the OP and other readers can focus on the info presented and are usually able to determine what is the best information.

I prefer my gondolas in Venice

Webmaster (Andrew), do you remember when I wrote the first FAQ's, but then I had to keep bumping them every day to keep them at the top because they weren't a stickie?
You've come a long way since then. The improvements to the site we used to talk about, have now become reality.
Hats off to you, Mr. Steves, and others who have made this happen.

Maybe not perfect yet (is anything?), but you've done well, for those of us who remember the old days on the site.

I've found that this forum has a large enough pool of relatively frequent travelers that, for the most part, out-dated information tends to be noticed and corrected rather quickly. I've also found that the correction usually tends to be polite and civil, as long as the inaccuracy was posted in good faith.

Why not start a new topic: Travel Myths Perpetuated on the RS Forum. Maybe it could be a sticky. I'm obviously not a frequent poster but I do travel quite a bit, most internationally, like lots of people here. A few I see often: 1) Take the bus to Siena as the train requires a cab or bus transfer (escalator into town since 2011), 2) AMEX not widely accepted (I use it and cash almost exclusively, dated from the early 2000s), 3) Bordeaux not worth a stay (arguably one of the most beautiful and historic cities in France). Just an opinionated start! Ok. The last one was not a fact but don't get me started on Rue Cler and Cinque Terre :)