So admins of this forum. I have a suggestion or idea.

Can you build a repository (like github) that has basic configurations including the defaults that ship with these devices can be shared and posted there?
It would give people a strong start and follow best practices from the get go.

Then create a sub section inside the "beginners basics" called criticize my config where newbs can post their configuration files that have been scrubbed of sensitives so the experts here can give advice on improvements and get a better idea on how your customers are using the product.
This would be an awesome feedback loop to your software developers and technical writers.

I'm certain we all make many rookie mistakes and open ourselves up to being hacked/frustrated/just plain broken.
If the experts can see the complete configurations and can identify issues for people, it would help keep the product running as it's intended and keep people from shooting themselves in the foot.

Thoughts? Feedback?

BTW this is selfishly motivated to make sure i'm not doing something stupid

Yeah, sort of an "open source" router config discussion. Makes sense, probably 80% of what people are trying to accomplish on these boards are pretty much common knowledge.

My own experience with these boards suggests that another angle should be taken as well. If you look at the videos in the banner of this site, one of the most popular is the "Top 10 RouterOS configuration mistakes". But this video doesn't even scratch the surface.

The lack of very basic network skills by many people posting means that they start out with this super complicated config that they pieced together from various google searches trying to accomplish something that requires almost no configuration. And I see it over and over. The terminology used to describe what is trying to be accomplished is all over the place as well, so everyone gets confused.

Such as:

1. You don't need to do anything special to make 2 subnets talk to each other on the same router. They do it by default. It's called connected routes.

2. You don't need to do anything special to make those 2 subnets talk to the "internet". The default masquerade rule covers this.

3. A wireless access point is fundamentally a layer 2 device, and multiple "routers" are not necessary to get multiple access points. You just connect them together via layer 2. But people daisy chain them with multiple layers of NAT and wonder why devices can't talk to each other...
3a. Maybe we should make an explanation about what technologies make up a home WiFi "router" so people can try to understand?

I'm sure there's lots more I'm forgetting.

@acruhl i'm glad this resonates with you. Your input here is welcome. I hope this is something they will actually take more than a glance at.

Does anything similar exist? Even if there is just a repository of configs that accomplish certain tasks, that would "focus" the new discussion forum on stuff that is really different and requires review. Sort of like how open source software works now. Nobody has to keep reinventing and discussing the "ls" or "cat" commands in Linux or BSD. The source is there. Move onto something new...

Of course, combining various ideas together sometimes requires changes to make everything work, so there could be a new item for the repository after some "critical" discussion.

This kind of thing could really make MikroTik routers ubiquitous (Ha! Funny that this term gets used.) among home/small business/(business, large business?) enthusiasts.

I'm not aware of a single source of router configs for any type of router that is free and open to use for any product.

(I've probably just annoyed a load of consultants...)