Forum Consolidation?

[Arnir]

What's up with the merging of the forum topics?  Sorry if I missed the memo.  

[EngineNo9]

I think it's mostly a result of this thread over in Off-topic stating that there seems to be less activity on the boards these days.

[CeeKay]

it's like with a dying MMO where they consolidate servers to look like there still are players 

* CeeKay ducks shoes thrown by Mike and Ron

I KEED I KEED!

I was going to bring up the subject of consolidating threads though, as some of the PC ones will have stuff that weren't put in the console ones, and vice versa. should we just ping a mod to merge them?

[Knightshade Dragon]

it's like with a dying MMO where they consolidate servers to look like there still are players 

* CeeKay ducks shoes thrown by Mike and Ron

I KEED I KEED!

I was going to bring up the subject of consolidating threads though, as some of the PC ones will have stuff that weren't put in the console ones, and vice versa. should we just ping a mod to merge them?

Yes please.  Just report them and we'll moderate them.   

[Pyperkub]

I always start with most recent topics regardless of sub forum

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

[CeeKay]

it's like with a dying MMO where they consolidate servers to look like there still are players 

* CeeKay ducks shoes thrown by Mike and Ron

I KEED I KEED!

I was going to bring up the subject of consolidating threads though, as some of the PC ones will have stuff that weren't put in the console ones, and vice versa. should we just ping a mod to merge them?

Yes please.  Just report them and we'll moderate them.   

here's one that comes to mind, simply because the PC version had a bunch of stuff mentioned that was PC specific:

http://gamingtrend.com/forums/console-gaming/borderlands-2/
http://gamingtrend.com/forums/console-gaming/%28360ps3%29borderlands-2/

I could potentially quote all the stuff over, but if it can be merged it'd be neater.

and just so MO doesn't think I'm picking on him or that anyone thinks I'm favoring my threads

http://gamingtrend.com/forums/console-gaming/%28360ps3%29far-cry-3/
http://gamingtrend.com/forums/console-gaming/far-cry-3/
http://gamingtrend.com/forums/console-gaming/far-cry-3-37268/

http://gamingtrend.com/forums/console-gaming/max-payne-3-26237/
http://gamingtrend.com/forums/console-gaming/max-payne-3-announced/

[Doopri]

i hate it i cant stand it im never coming ba... actually not a bad merge.  i still miiiiiiiight like to see PC spun off from console, but time will tell if it gets annoying - and thread starters are already making threads with [PC] so i guess it shouldnt be too bad!

and thanks for letting us keep analog () gaming - way to coin a term (or have i just missed that one?

[USMC Kato]

I like the improvements! Nice job on getting everything done so fast

[th'FOOL]

and thanks for letting us keep analog () gaming - way to coin a term (or have i just missed that one?

Used to be called 'general gaming', which i always thought was, well, too general

[Canuck]

I don't mind the changes but is the Trading forum gone? Or has it been hidden in some other forum?

[metallicorphan]

from now on,i think it would be wise to state which platform in the title of the thread,like some of us usually do[PS3/360/Wii U/PC],some of us do it,but a lot of us don't...but the PC has so many games that just don't happen on consoles so it would be better to specify from the get go...I don't need to be so excited about a game and half way through jerking off over it,only to find its PC only  

EDIT:Sorry Doop,i missed your post,ignore the above

I don't mind the changes but is the Trading forum gone? Or has it been hidden in some other forum?

It has now been made as a 'Child Board'..you will now find it inbetween Forums 'Steals and Deals' and 'Forum and Site Feedback'

[Doopri]

Canuck "Trading Forum" is now a sub-set of "Steals and Deals" - look up above the topmost post in "Steals" - you'll see a gap, then the trading forum as its own lil' block up there

[Doopri]

...after you actually click into the "Steals" forum that is... also you MIiiiiiiight be able to go there directly from the main page if you see a little block that says "Child Forum" below it - though that might have just been when Fool was migrating, not sure...???

[th'FOOL]

...after you actually click into the "Steals" forum that is... also you MIiiiiiiight be able to go there directly from the main page if you see a little block that says "Child Forum" below it - though that might have just been when Fool was migrating, not sure...???

You can get to it via both methods.

[gellar]

I'll post this here as well, what actual purpose does the sub forum thing do?  It seems to negatively impact the user experience (you can't see if there are any new posts in that board from the main board page) and has no noticeable value other than moving the location of the forum link (which to me is no value at all).

[th'FOOL]

Which sub forum specifically? Latest posted to topics do show on the front page if it is the latest in that group.

R&P being an unmoderated area that we would rather have de-emphasized makes sense. Trading forum as a sub of steals and deals is more of an experiment, I think the case can be made to surface that higher. The sewer is a junk forum so I think it's staying put

[EngineNo9]

I just use the blue color box on the left to see whether there are new posts in any forum, which you now can't do with the subforums unless you go into their parent forum first.

[Knightshade Dragon]

I just use the blue color box on the left to see whether there are new posts in any forum, which you now can't do with the subforums unless you go into their parent forum first.

Fixed.  I completely agree - it's nice to be able to see when it has a new post. 

[naednek]

Which sub forum specifically? Latest posted to topics do show on the front page if it is the latest in that group.

R&P being an unmoderated area that we would rather have de-emphasized makes sense. Trading forum as a sub of steals and deals is more of an experiment, I think the case can be made to surface that higher. The sewer is a junk forum so I think it's staying put

R&P is unmoderated?  News to me.  Most of the moderation (not recently) I had to do was when a certain poster with the letter Z in his name participated in discussion.

Personally I don't think it's going to change the result of the amount of discussion/participation.  I think the child forums will decrease in discussions, and while I know I'm in the minority I don't like having the PC and Console games merged mainly because now it takes longer to find what you are looking for.  I'm sure we'll get used to it.  I'm not trying to be disrespectful by speaking out, but I was quite surprised it happened without any notification or really discussion with staff on at least our opinions.  It's not a big deal but I'm not sure what the goal is.  If it's organization, then over time we'll adjust.  If it's to increase our attendance/involvement, I don't think that's a good solution. 

I think if we really want to increase readers involvement we need to have the front page and the forums more streamlined and blended.  Don't know how, but there will always be a divide.  Merging/consolodating forums doesn't really address that, it just organizes it. 

Anyways that's my opinion, not speaking out, but that's what I would have said if asked

[CeeKay]

while I know I'm in the minority I don't like having the PC and Console games merged mainly because now it takes longer to find what you are looking for. 

I took a look at the 'new blood' thread and only 2 people seemed for merging them, with Razgon a possible but he stated he could see there still be a separation between the two.  Most people who aren't thrilled with it didn't speak up until afterwards, probably because they didn't get a chance to or were expecting a deeper discussion.  I count 5 of them, with two possibles.

that said, since the merging is done I'm guessing there isn't a way to un-merge things.

[Wargus]

while I know I'm in the minority I don't like having the PC and Console games merged mainly because now it takes longer to find what you are looking for. 

I took a look at the 'new blood' thread and only 2 people seemed for merging them, with Razgon a possible but he stated he could see there still be a separation between the two.  Most people who aren't thrilled with it didn't speak up until afterwards, probably because they didn't get a chance to or were expecting a deeper discussion.  I count 5 of them, with two possibles.

that said, since the merging is done I'm guessing there isn't a way to un-merge things.

Yeah, I didn't realize the 'new blood' thread was an actual active discussion on how to merge the threads.  It seemed like it was just a brainstorming session and then BANG!, thread merge.  I'm not really a fan of the console & PC forums being merged as it is now more cumbersome to sort through to the posts I'm interested in. I have no interest in non PC posts  so having a way to sort down to PC only would be nice.  Or, have a way we can check boxes to mark threads read or unread, I can quickly go through and check everything not PC, mark read, then peruse the PC threads after.  Or not.  It isn't like there are so many posts I have to scroll back pages to find anything.

So, you can officially put me in the 'not a fan' camp, however, it isn't like I'll be leaving the boards over it or anything.

[msteelers]

I like the consolidation. I never went into the PC forum even though I know there were threads in there I was interested in. Having everything in once place is going to make it a better experience.

[EngineNo9]

Yeah, I don't think I would have voted to consolidate them, but now that it's done I find that I don't really have a problem with it. 

Hopefully for certain big games (like Skyrim) we can keep separate PC and console threads, though, since I doubt console players want to read tons of posts about performance, system specs and mods and whatever, and PC players don't want to read about Dawnguard months before it is available to them.

[Doopri]

Hopefully for certain big games (like Skyrim) we can keep separate PC and console threads, though, since I doubt console players want to read tons of posts about performance, system specs and mods

this was my hope as well.  while some console + pc releases DO tend to be all gameplay talk there are certainly others where the tone and subject of the threads are vastly different.  so heres a request for the mods to fight the urge to merge individual threads about crossplatform games (unless, of course, the subject DOES tend to lean fully toward gameplay).  because i do think well see some games where the "game X PC" talk is different from "game X PS3/360" talk.

[Ironrod]

I've never owned a console and don't expect that I ever will. I used to scan the PC Games topics once every few days to see what's new on the market. Now I won't be doing that anymore. But I also very rarely buy new games (one every year or two), so I'm not exactly your target demographic. I'll just use the OO PC Gaming forum for my what's-new fix and check in here when I'm looking for opinions on a specific game.

I'm more sorry to see P&R demoted; it was never very busy to begin with and is next to invisible now.

[th'FOOL]

R&P is unmoderated?  News to me.  Most of the moderation (not recently) I had to do was when a certain poster with the letter Z in his name participated in discussion.

Apologies. The forum actually had no moderater listed and I was under the impression that Ron's original intent when he begrudgingly allowed that forum was that it was to be entirely self-moderated- they were on their own. Not that that was a realistic expectation or anything...

[naednek]

R&P is unmoderated?  News to me.  Most of the moderation (not recently) I had to do was when a certain poster with the letter Z in his name participated in discussion.

Apologies. The forum actually had no moderater listed and I was under the impression that Ron's original intent when he begrudgingly allowed that forum was that it was to be entirely self-moderated- they were on their own. Not that that was a realistic expectation or anything...

That was the original intent,but it got bad for a bit and had to step in.  But overall the forums in general are pretty much self moderated. 

[Victoria Raverna]

I'll post this here as well, what actual purpose does the sub forum thing do?  It seems to negatively impact the user experience (you can't see if there are any new posts in that board from the main board page) and has no noticeable value other than moving the location of the forum link (which to me is no value at all).

I agree. I don't think sub forum is a good idea. Merging game forums are good idea, but using sub forum doesn't have any benefit. Please move R&P forum back to being a separate forum instead of sub forum of off topic.

[Knightshade Dragon]

I'll post this here as well, what actual purpose does the sub forum thing do?  It seems to negatively impact the user experience (you can't see if there are any new posts in that board from the main board page) and has no noticeable value other than moving the location of the forum link (which to me is no value at all).

I agree. I don't think sub forum is a good idea. Merging game forums are good idea, but using sub forum doesn't have any benefit. Please move R&P forum back to being a separate forum instead of sub forum of off topic.

Is that the consensus?  Let's hear from a few more folks and if it's what the forum wants, we'll do it. 

[cheeba]

What Ironrod said. I'll likely be visiting here much less as a result.

[Wargus]

I hadn't even realized it was there until it was mentioned and I looked for it.

[Arnir]

I hadn't even realized it was there until it was mentioned and I looked for it.

Yeah, I blew past it not realizing what the thread was.

[MonkeyFinger]

I'll post this here as well, what actual purpose does the sub forum thing do?  It seems to negatively impact the user experience (you can't see if there are any new posts in that board from the main board page) and has no noticeable value other than moving the location of the forum link (which to me is no value at all).

I agree. I don't think sub forum is a good idea. Merging game forums are good idea, but using sub forum doesn't have any benefit. Please move R&P forum back to being a separate forum instead of sub forum of off topic.

Is that the consensus?  Let's hear from a few more folks and if it's what the forum wants, we'll do it. 

I don't see the point of the "child" or sub forums, they just tend to hide the affected forum. The only one in my mind that it makes sense to leave like that is The Sewer.

[CeeKay]

I'm not sure how the P&R forum is hidden, unless I'm seeing stuff no one else is.


which is possible.


damn rubbing alcohol martinis.

(or I may just be misunderstanding the speaking of the words)

[Wargus]

After poking around a bit, I agree the child forums are a bad idea.  I spend a bunch of time in off-topic, I spend almost no time in R&P unless I"m otherwise directed there.  Unless i click into R&P & use the 'mark all topics read', the Off topic forum will not show if I have unread posts in it in the main forum list.  

[EngineNo9]

After poking around a bit, I agree the child forums are a bad idea.  I spend a bunch of time in off-topic, I spend almost no time in R&P unless I"m otherwise directed there.  Unless i click into R&P & use the 'mark all topics read', the Off topic forum will not show if I have unread posts in it in the main forum list. 

There are actually three icon states, no color for no new posts, light blue for new posts in the child forum, and dark blue for new posts in the parent forum.  I think the only combination that doesn't show differently is new posts in the child forum when there are also new posts in the main board.

[wonderpug]

I don't think it makes sense to have separate PC and Console forums, since there are so many cross platform titles now. It always seemed silly that games would have parallel discussions going on, people asking questions already answered in the other, people resurrecting the less popular thread version and wondering why there was so little discussion, etc.

Maybe if people are diligent about sticking [PC] type tags on platform-specific games, it'll work for Ironrod & Cheeba types and still bring the benefits of consolidation?

[USMC Kato]

I don't think it makes sense to have separate PC and Console forums, since there are so many cross platform titles now. It always seemed silly that games would have parallel discussions going on, people asking questions already answered in the other, people resurrecting the less popular thread version and wondering why there was so little discussion, etc.

Maybe if people are diligent about sticking [PC] type tags on platform-specific games, it'll work for Ironrod & Cheeba types and still bring the benefits of consolidation?

+1

[gellar]

I'll post this here as well, what actual purpose does the sub forum thing do?  It seems to negatively impact the user experience (you can't see if there are any new posts in that board from the main board page) and has no noticeable value other than moving the location of the forum link (which to me is no value at all).

I agree. I don't think sub forum is a good idea. Merging game forums are good idea, but using sub forum doesn't have any benefit. Please move R&P forum back to being a separate forum instead of sub forum of off topic.

Is that the consensus?  Let's hear from a few more folks and if it's what the forum wants, we'll do it. 

Well you've fixed the primary negative impacts, but I'm still at a loss on what the positive impact might be.

[Arkon]

Putting a tag in the title doesn't make it any easier to filter through to find the threads you may be looking for, not to mention with the higher thread turnover due to combining forums, niche titles will likely fall off the page much faster now.

I realize it doesn't matter in the end as I am a minority opinion, but I am already finding I spend less time on the forum, and to be fully honest am guessing that in a few months I will likely stop coming entirely.  It is likely more to do with me changing a bit as a person, but the changes were a catalyst for me to see things in a new light.