Creation of an "Other Games" Forum?

[Rasyr]

Henry, I cannot dispute your points, which is why, in the post directly above yours, I suggested the possibility of reviewing the General forum to see if perhaps there might be enough cause to create another forum for another topic other than "Other Games" (although I would prefer the Other Games forum myself).

One of the biggest problem with the General forum is that things disappear off the front page too fast (which cheerily indicates that it is a popular forum). However, without search capabilities, this means that threads that might be good discussions get overlooked as they disappear too quickly unless you want to have to scan several pages worth of threads (a sign that perhaps the forum is too popular or that it is too broad).

If some portion (any portion) of the General forum were split off to become its own forum, or even a sub-forum, this will slow down the process that drops threads off the front page, and thus make things easier to find.

EN World is an extremely popular site, which means that sometimes it is slow to load, and that makes having to search through several pages very tedious indeed.

 

[Vanuslux]

All the more reason to pony up the dough to be a community supporter.

 

[diaglo]

Mind you, it's just my estimation on the issue, but if we were to create a forum specifically for non-d20 game discussion right now, I earnestly believe it might get 10 responses in a week. We've had similar situations for "hot topics" in the past, and release schedules drive people's mindshare.

there is hardly... just ask any of my fanboys ... a post that goes by that i don't mention non-d02 games.

OD&D in particular


i can guarantee you there will be at least 1 if not 10 posts by me per day on avg.

 

[Umbran]

One of the biggest problem with the General forum is that things disappear off the front page too fast (which cheerily indicates that it is a popular forum). However, without search capabilities, this means that threads that might be good discussions get overlooked as they disappear too quickly unless you want to have to scan several pages worth of threads (a sign that perhaps the forum is too popular or that it is too broad).

Having thought about this, I'm not sure it is a very strong point.

Let us assume that the number of threads and posts made per day remains the same. Splitting off a new forum then means that in order to give everything a once-over, you still have to view multiple pages. Shifting things off to a new forum changes the heading under which you look, but not the maximum number of pages you need to look over to see everything.

Your position holds if the person only wants to find one thread, or is only interested in one narrow window of topics. If they don't want to see everything that is in General, then a separate forum speeds up their lives.

However, under a certain critical mass of posting on the topic, having a separate forum cuts down the number of posts a topic recieves. So, while it might be easier to find the thread you want, there will be less discussion in it.

So, it comes down to a choice: which do you prefer - having to do an extra click and page load or two, or have less to read when you find your topic?

 

[Nisarg]

One of the biggest problem with the General forum is that things disappear off the front page too fast (which cheerily indicates that it is a popular forum). However, without search capabilities, this means that threads that might be good discussions get overlooked as they disappear too quickly unless you want to have to scan several pages worth of threads (a sign that perhaps the forum is too popular or that it is too broad).

If some portion (any portion) of the General forum were split off to become its own forum, or even a sub-forum, this will slow down the process that drops threads off the front page, and thus make things easier to find.

Well, see, there are three responses to this:
1. I believe (not sure because I've never tried it myself, but i see the option there) that you can subscribe to threads so as not to lose them?

2. Creating a whole seperate forum creates more hassle, not less, for people who want to find a specific thread. Because now you actually have to browse through one or more pages in two or more forums instead of just one.

3. Any thread that is sufficiently popular will keep rising to the top. If, unfortunately, certain non-d20 systems just aren't making the "front page news" its because not enough people care. Anything people do care about will stay up there. Survival of the fittest, baby.

Nisarg

 

[Morrus]

I think that the important thing to realise here is that the boards aren't here to persuade or encourage people to have conversations that they aren't already having - they are here to facilitate the conversations that they are having. So, we have no interest in trying to get people to talk about something just because they're not currently talking about it; conversely, if people are talking about something a lot, then we'll probably look into making that easier.