Forum Uberhaul

[Norrec]

Since I can't post in the other thread to voice my concerns, I'll make this thread which can be moved if needed.

To be honest, this is pretty much specifically what keeps me joining or posting to other forums. Too many forums to keep track of. I come in and only become overwhelmed with boards that are separated for reasons I can't fully understand.

I know others like the new system, and have their reasons for liking such, but my personal preferences are against it. It's just too much fot what feels like our gaming family. Breaking down topics and having to search for specific threads if we're unsure where exactly it should be placed.

Other opinions?

[Ryan H.]

I'm the one who initially suggested this because I think it helps overall forum traffic, which helps the overall community grow and foster, which is why more major sites like this one go this route. Whether the forums are split into more specific topics or not, you're going to have to delve a little bit to find the threads that interest you, so that hasn't changed.

What has changed is that I think people are going to be more inclined to post more topics. We have the retro gaming board now, and you know what? I never thought about posting about NES or Genesis games on this forum before, but just seeing the new forum made me want to get my Super Mario III on.

I think and hope we're going to find that a common occurence.

As for you not being able to access a certain part of the forum, if you're more specific here I'm sure Arnold, Dmitry or Val can hook you up. I had an issue with one of the new boards and Arnold was able to fix it in about five minutes.

[Cowboy22]

I'm inclinded to agree with Norrec on this one. I liked the way things were set up before. I don't really see the point in breaking the gaming subform down like that, and I don't think it's going to attract more traffic to nearly the degree that you do, Ryan. I have a hard time believing that people were less likely to post about a certain type of gaming because it didn't have its own forum. To me, it just seems like a bunch of un-needed clutter. But we'll see, I guess. I'm willing to give it a try, if it actually works I'm more than happy to just shut up.

[Ryan H.]

Originally Posted by Cowboy22

I'm inclinded to agree with Norrec on this one. I liked the way things were set up before. I don't really see the point in breaking the gaming subform down like that, and I don't think it's going to attract more traffic to nearly the degree that you do, Ryan. I have a hard time believing that people were less likely to post about a certain type of gaming because it didn't have its own forum. To me, it just seems like a bunch of un-needed clutter. But we'll see, I guess. I'm willing to give it a try, if it actually works I'm more than happy to just shut up.

There's a reason why almost every single major gaming site is set up like this. I'm not saying this is guaranteed to work, but with the way things were, could it get worse?

[psxextreme]

The reason we think that the broken up categories work better is because most people fall into certain category. The average gamer doesnt have every game console out there thus many of the topics in the "General Gaming Discussions" are not interesting. If one has only a PS3, that individual is not interested in sorting through a bunch of PS2, PSP, NeoGeo threads to find something interesting. With the new setup, if you're a PS3 gamer, you go straight into the PS3 section and you are much more likely to find a topic that will interest you.

We hate to categorize people, but we humans tend to have certain interests. For example lets take radio, think about it, there are separate stations that play classical, pop, country, jazz, rap, oldies, love songs, polka, whatever...how many of you listen to a station that plays ALL of those genres on one station? Probably none. (Thus the reason a station like this doesn't exist )

As for the clutter that you mentioned, my favorite feature is the "New Posts" link at the top. I always use that link because at a click of the button it shows all threads that were updated since my last visit, so I never miss anything, neither do I need to go through every category to keep up.

My 2 cents

[Ryan H.]

Originally Posted by psxextreme

The reason we think that the broken up categories work better is because most people fall into certain category. The average gamer doesnt have every game console out there thus many of the topics in the "General Gaming Discussions" are not interesting. If one has only a PS3, that individual is not interested in sorting through a bunch of PS2, PSP, NeoGeo threads to find something interesting. With the new setup, if you're a PS3 gamer, you go straight into the PS3 section and you are much more likely to find a topic that will interest you.

We hate to categorize people, but we humans tend to have certain interests. For example lets take radio, think about it, there are separate stations that play classical, pop, country, jazz, rap, oldies, love songs, polka, whatever...how many of you listen to a station that plays ALL of those genres on one station? Probably none. (Thus the reason a station like this doesn't exist )

As for the clutter that you mentioned, my favorite feature is the "New Posts" link at the top. I always use that link because at a click of the button it shows all threads that were updated since my last visit, so I never miss anything, neither do I need to go through every category to keep up.

My 2 cents

Well said. I've been thinking about updating the Forum FAQ to include that, but then totally forgot about it. Thank you for reminding me.

That said, if any admin/mod notices something I forgot in our Forum FAQ, feel free to edit it instead of waiting for me to figure it out

[cAtDaFeLiX]

I will now own the "Xbox Live" forum with my posts for a Texas Hold'em tourny I've been trying to set up since last year lol

Forums looking good, I like the idea of all sorts of different topics.

[Gabriel013]

I'm happy to give it a go. If I have any concerns I'll let you all know.

[Darth Koth]

you know if you have a messy room, its alot for your eyes and brain to take in and can cause stress, thats what this does to me just having a General Playstation, Nintendo and M$ boards would make it less clutted

[svosen]

I recall having this discussion awhile back. At that time, the people advocating a system similar to this new style were shunned by the management here.

Just saying...

BTW - I have no problems with the new format. I was a little surprised when I first saw it, but it's easy enough to get around in. And it certainly seems to have created a spark. Even if things calm down later, there's nothing wrong with giving it a go.

Here's hoping it works out fabtabulously