Feedback on the new forum structure?

[Thomas Wolmer]

So, do you like this way of shuffling the specific support/feedback boards off the main page?

[Dave]

Yes. nice move!

[Taryn]

I don't like it.

I'm an old-school forumer though, and I never liked the whole subforums thing...I prefer when every forum is accessible from the main page.

[outspaced]

This is very nice! It helps that the main forum now all fits on one screen without having to scroll, so I can see immediately which boards have new posts in them. Good job!

[alderaine]

Hmmm an interesting change, but I'm completely lost now! I knew my way around the forums I needed to manage in the dark, now I thought I'd lost them all until I scrolled!
I think people will miss forum content now because it is hidden below the sub-forums.

If we are using sub-forums, I think we should keep to one level, so you don't find forum topics on the same page as sub-forums (which has confused me on other sites as well)
I'm not sure where various posts live now - we should probably have sub-forums for Seventh Sense, Lone Wolf DS, and any other ongoing software projects represented on the boards.

So, the homepage for the forums under Playing Aid Software might list:
* Ongoing Projects
* General Discussion

Under Ongoing Projects, we would have just sub-forums:
* LW Action chart
* FW Action Chart
* LW DS
* Seventh Sense
* Common Navigation File
etc

General Discussion should probably remain a flat forum

Any thoughts?

The disadvantage is that presumably on the forum homepage, "Ongoing Projects" would show as having new posts when any of the subforums changed? People only interested in Seventh Sense would need to drill down to the subforums each time to see if there are new posts.

I prefer the flat, single-level forum list, but would be interested to hear views from others?

[Dave]

alderaine has some really good points and suggestions. It would be a good idea to see the project sub-forums on the main page (until/unless we get too many of them - perhaps any "dead" projects could be placed under a "Inactive projects" sub-forum.)

[Thomas Wolmer]

The Seventh Sense board has been created (for the moment as a sub-forum). LoneWolfDS will get one as soon as Frederic answers my question to him positively.

Yes, any new post in a sub-board will light the new post indicator on the main page, so there's one more click needed in order to see what sub-boards that have new posts.

Creating sub-boards for all past and present projects is no problem; the since long abandoned PalmOS reader used to have one before I deleted it as I thought the main page was getting too cluttered. And then it's just the abandoned LWAX left. And the "project navigation board" can be locked for posting (perhaps it can have a single sticky information post in it).

An alternative would be to have all active projects on the main page and to hide the inactive ones in as sub-boards as Dave says, but that will mean quite a number of additional boards on the main page, and Simon will have to start scrolling again.

[alderaine]

There's still a mix of sub-boards & posts at the second level, which I think we need to avoid.
I think the posts should either be available from a forum on the main page, or should be in a sub-forum - it is the mixture that confuses me.

[Thomas Wolmer]

Now I've finally got around to implement alderaine's idea with only sub-board in this section. This board is now locked for general posting (only staff may create new threads).