[CnC] Forum Restructure

Not sure if you saw what I said a page or two back, I'm just starting at the beginning, working my way in - what I can personally do, anyways.

 

After reading all the feedback I still feel the same. Sure up all the markets, keep the community stuff at the top, and give gaming/streaming a bigger place. I think the new forum layout will be a lot better once we make a few edits.

 

[SuF]

Not sure if you saw what I said a page or two back, I'm just starting at the beginning, working my way in - what I can personally do, anyways.

Can you make large site changes without Richard's approval?

 

Can you make large site changes without Richard's approval?

You know the answer to that...

 

[SuF]

Over the years I've gone back and forth on that issue a lot. Now I've basically come to the opinion that no matter which way you go you could harm or hurt activity. Let's say if you have one section (like General Discussion) on some forum (aka not Sythe... This is a thought experiment) that is very active. When and what subsections or new sections should you make? Well some topics will benefit from subsections and flourish and others will not and activity will drop off. If you break off the largest of the discussion points in this fake forum, into its own subsection you may have just killed a lot of the other smaller topics discussion because of less traffic going to that one major forum. If you break off a minor topic that gets a lot of threads but not many posts you may gain activity for that topic since the threads will be more visible, which will encourage more posts which may encourage more threads.

If we take General Discussion and the Technology section here on Sythe for an example. I suggested the technology section awhile ago since it seemed like something nerdy RS players would like. Since then it has been decently active and had more varied topics and threads than used to be posted in general discussion but it is not as active as it could be. It also may have contributed to the falling general discussion thread count by drawing away viewers from that section and to the other section. So it's hard to say if it has harmed or helped.

So to expand: the technology section is not terribly active, if we look at threads posted or number of replies. But it has threads like: http://www.sythe.org/technology/1783808-case-compatible-build.html that with large and informative posts that are better than numerous shitty couple word posts. I would say that having a specific section for technology encourages posts like that and posting of specific threads like that, since there is enough interest in them and I think it is important to keep that section around because of the higher quality posts that it brings.

 

[Emperor Nero]

I think if Sythe is going to thrive for the next few years the site needs to turn it's attention to community and gaming in general. I say pare down the runescape markets to their core sections. Make them easier to navigate and use with fewer sections. Keep the community section similar. Combine graphics questions with the gallery section and remove the free graphics subsection. Also don't pile all of the community stuff at the bottom. Put it right at the top and then the gaming section after it, then the market sections.

 

Can you make large site changes without Richard's approval?

If a redesign gets majority community approval and then passes a poll in the staff lounge, I'm sure Richard would be inclined to approve it & let me implement it.

 

-Do not get offended-

What makes you think Runescape is dying?

"I looked at how we could restructure the forums to suit all games as equally as possible."

In doing so you ruin the outside of the market by collapsing sub forums into one forum, and merging individual forums. Forums are divided for a reason, generally for an organized purpose. At the expense of compacting the forum, you also create clutter.

Livestreaming is a popular innovation, but how do you think it will manage on a black market forum? It's not necessary to push something that only a few users actively participate in. That's like me wanting to create a max cape for the 20 or so people who are maxed on oldschool, it's just not optimal. You need a larger sample size to even consider something like that. Doesn't that go against how you objectively support the addition of new forums? It's "hardly" different.

In regards to the sand box forum, what is the problem? Yes it's not active, but activity solely depends on the users. By wanting to push it up the forum, you're assuming that it's activity is impaired due to it's placement on the forum, which is incorrect. The spam forum can attest to that.

 

[SuF]

If a redesign gets majority community approval and then passes a poll in the staff lounge, I'm sure Richard would be inclined to approve it & let me implement it.

Why not focus on things that would not need his approval?

 

Because I think it will be most effective working outward in

 

[SuF]

Because I think it will be most effective working outward in

I'm not sure what you mean. Care to elaborate?

 

Forum restructuring is obviously the biggest of the changes possible. So we start here, then work inwards for example:

Actual forum structure > individual forum changes > rules & procedures > etc

 

[SuF]

Forum restructuring is obviously the biggest of the changes possible. So we start here, then work inwards for example:

Actual forum structure > individual forum changes > rules & procedures > etc

It is the most visible change but I think it will have the least amount of overall impact with the most room for disagreement and it will take far longer than other things could.

 

Bump.

 

[Heeatz]

-Do not get offended-
What makes you think Runescape is dying?

Ermm.. the amount of players playing has significantly diminished.. Lets start with that.

As i've said before, we should be moving away from Runescape as a forum, and i feel this is the perfect solution.

If this is approved then I'm sure we can implement more things, non-runescape related to make the forum feel fresh such as sets of donor icons that correspond to certain games; giving donators a choice of which icons they'd like; that COULD help increase site donations, etc?

 

[SuF]

Thank god all the things got done.

 

[Noam]

You might want to force users to use tabs to switch between sections. Other massive forums seem to have two main ways to organize their sections without sprawling all over the screen.

This has three advantages - the first is that you can split up subforums to your hearts content without affecting the other topics. The second is that all the categories are placed with equal footing - the only difference between an RS section and a LoL section is their horizontal location on the tab bar, and not their visibility when scrolling. The third is that you have an opportunity to place community first, because the rules section is always displayed in the default tab and it makes sense to move some general discussion and community general forums there.

Another option is to do what d2jsp.org has done - list each category at the same size as we use to display a forum. Mark subforums as tiny links, and compress the whole thing as much as possible.

The "really long home page where scroll distance has to be considered all the time" issue is easily solvable, and I don't see why it's not done.

 

[Heeatz]

You might want to force users to use tabs to switch between sections. Other massive forums seem to have two main ways to organize their sections without sprawling all over the screen.

Another option is to do what d2jsp.org has done - list each category at the same size as we use to display a forum. Mark subforums as tiny links, and compress the whole thing as much as possible.

The "really long home page where scroll distance has to be considered all the time" issue is easily solvable, and I don't see why it's not done.

I'd quite like to see horizontal tabs, laid out in the way Roary suggested. That would make Sythe almost brand new; Easier to navigate also.

I guess we'll have to wait and see what can/will be done however. Not really sure what Richard would think to the horizontal tab layout. He could see it as 'copying' other forums.

 

I think the community section would be a start at least?

Changing community general to something like Community hub/Community fun - or something more inclusive.

Then changing the community input/feedback in to one section?

 

[Heeatz]

I think the community section would be a start at least?

Changing community general to something like Community hub/Community fun - or something more inclusive.

Then changing the community input/feedback in to one section?

Starting with the smaller sections would be a great idea, we can see if it works and then move on to the market sections.

Community Hub sounds good to me.