I've spent a lot less time here since the forums were split. I actually assumed you were trying to tone down the edition wars by funneling people off into their own little worlds, which apparently is not the case. Separate forums are fine when it comes to rules minutiae, but my own preference is that the General forum cover non-rules discussion of all games. jonesy's idea would make for a good compromise, but only if rules discussion were kept out of the combined forum.
Recombining Forums
- Thread starter Morrus
- Start date
jonesy
A Wicked Kendragon
As soon as you said that a gamebreaking problem emerged. If it were possible to do such a forum, would it be possible to post there? And if it was, would that post be visible in the separated forums too? And if it was, how would you decide which one? I mean, you could code a system like that from scratch, but can you do it with the code that the forums are running now? And is it too complicated? Sheesh.. the more I think about this the more problems there are..
I much prefer having the 4E forum, I didn't post here at all when it was combined because of the incessant trolling of threads. Now that things have their own happy little islands in the forum there is less of that and more actual discussion (well okay, except when Essentials gets involved after around 5 pages). I would prefer it stay as it is.
Theo R Cwithin
I cast "Baconstorm!"
I like them split.
I say combine them. I don't have the time to look through multiple folders (many with little noticeable traffic), although my interests are varied. Paizo and WotC have very good "dedicated" fora for 4e and Pathfinder, and I always appreciated a brisk and lively General forum.
I do agree that it seems like activity on EN World is _way_ down, but that's because I've been primarily a "General" forum reader since the Eric Noah days. When the topic mix doesn't change very much from day-to-day, it's easy to think that it won't be different the next time you visit, which makes it easy to stop visiting.
--Erik
I do agree that it seems like activity on EN World is _way_ down, but that's because I've been primarily a "General" forum reader since the Eric Noah days. When the topic mix doesn't change very much from day-to-day, it's easy to think that it won't be different the next time you visit, which makes it easy to stop visiting.
--Erik
AdmundfortGeographer
Getting lost in fantasy maps
Word of caution.
WotC had the out of print settings off in separate forums for . . . years and years. Some of those forums fostered their own little community for fans and they generated a bunch of traffic.
Then the forum administrators got it in their heads that they needed to make certain forums look like they had more traffic, so they dumped every solitary of print setting forum into a single über forum for all out of print settings.
The result was a worse-case scenario. Not only was more traffic not generated in the consolidated forum, but the majority of the traffic left for good finding more hospitable environs elsewhere, particularly The Piazza.
I'll admit that I've let some of those thoughts about General not having that much traffic creep in to my mind. I guess I'm not that open to wandering around other new forums that have popped up, especially when some days clicking on a link seems to take longer and longer for the page to get loaded. I just want to stay where I'm familiar if it's going to be sloggish getting around elsewhere . . .
WotC had the out of print settings off in separate forums for . . . years and years. Some of those forums fostered their own little community for fans and they generated a bunch of traffic.
Then the forum administrators got it in their heads that they needed to make certain forums look like they had more traffic, so they dumped every solitary of print setting forum into a single über forum for all out of print settings.
The result was a worse-case scenario. Not only was more traffic not generated in the consolidated forum, but the majority of the traffic left for good finding more hospitable environs elsewhere, particularly The Piazza.
I'll admit that I've let some of those thoughts about General not having that much traffic creep in to my mind. I guess I'm not that open to wandering around other new forums that have popped up, especially when some days clicking on a link seems to take longer and longer for the page to get loaded. I just want to stay where I'm familiar if it's going to be sloggish getting around elsewhere . . .
mach1.9pants
Hero
ONE MEGA FORUM.... MOAR!
Why?
Well that is one RSS feed
One click to all the discussions I am interested in (cos I like all editions and flavours, found very few RPGs I didn't enjoy reading if not playing)
Too much 4E goes into general and is not moved or moved late or there is another of the same in 4E and merging would make a mess (like essential fighter... one thread in general, now moved, and the other in 4E 15 and 18 pages!)
With the current thread title drop downs (and a way to filter or prioritise... subscribers only obviously) would be great.
My 2pp
Why?
Well that is one RSS feed
One click to all the discussions I am interested in (cos I like all editions and flavours, found very few RPGs I didn't enjoy reading if not playing)
Too much 4E goes into general and is not moved or moved late or there is another of the same in 4E and merging would make a mess (like essential fighter... one thread in general, now moved, and the other in 4E 15 and 18 pages!)
With the current thread title drop downs (and a way to filter or prioritise... subscribers only obviously) would be great.
My 2pp
Well that sounds like a no-win!
You say combining them would lose traffic, but say you don't look in them when they're split? So there's no arrangement where you'd see the actual traffic? Yikes!
AdmundfortGeographer
Getting lost in fantasy maps
It's totally a manifestation of the famous Yogi Berra quote, "nobody goes there anymore because it's so crowded."
ENWorld is getting more traffic, splitting out forums to take the extra posts, but for some (like me some days) the site has slowed down enough (webpage loads, that is) that exploring those unfamiliar forums is unappealing so they stay in the familiar but reduced traffic forums . . .
ENWorld is getting more traffic, splitting out forums to take the extra posts, but for some (like me some days) the site has slowed down enough (webpage loads, that is) that exploring those unfamiliar forums is unappealing so they stay in the familiar but reduced traffic forums . . .
I like the forums split for the following reasons*
1) Keeps topics from rotating off the front page
(I'll admit, I hardly ever look back the first page of a forum unless there is something specific I am looking for, that, plus, I think back to long ago when there were fewer forums on this board, I remember seeing people "bump" their threads a lot to keep them on the front page)
2) Keeps 'cross talk' down
(back before the subforum split for different editions, all too often i would see a dozen vocal people who would just post back and forth about one edition over the other... I don't want to call it 'edition waring' because really it was usually the same dozen people derailing the threads and ignoring them avoids seeing their posts, but the threads get derailed to the point of silence by that point)
3) it makes it easier when reading/answering rules-related questions...
(if someone new just jumps in and says "i'm new here, how does damage resistance work?" it's a lot easier to see whether they are posting in a pathfinder/3.5/ogl or 4e discussion forum to know how to answer the question on the basis of the little info the OP actually gave)
4) it allows me to be selective
(i just subscribe to the forums that interest me and just focus on those and thus don't need to worry about the traffic related to other things. as an example, i like to visit the media forum. ever since it got merged with off topic stuff, i find myself less excited to go to that particular forum since the noise-to-post ratio -- from my perspective -- has increased. disclaimer: i completely understand the reasoning behind that merger, i'm not picking on the decision, just using it as an example from personal perspective.)
*all these reasons are, of course, subject to my own whim and are in means meant to represent anyone beyond myself.
Having said that, i can see the advantages of it being combined. Would I personally be upset/hate it/etc if the general forums were merged together to forum super forum? na.
it would just increase what I perceive the noise-to-information ratio. And, hey, i might see something mentioned for a game system I haven't tried that would make a good addition to the game i am playing with some modifications. Or, for people who have site-time load issues one forum is easier to stomach than many. And, as you said, it would show as more activity to those who don't bother going to the subforums like I do.
To put it bluntly, I think you are in one of those situations where you do it one way and group A is vocal in opposition, so you adjust and do it the other way and you'll have group B in vocal opposition. I think you (Morrus) yourself once said that if you keep trying to please everyone at once with the boards you end up pleasing no one (at least I think it was you, may have been back at Eric's days, or one of the mods making a retort to someone else's comments... or maybe it was a movie or book or show or song and I am just a senile old man).
Or maybe find a way to get thread tags to replicate forum delineation (though I understand tag usage is not necessarily an easy thing to get people indoctrinated into)
Maybe the general forum should instead read like an index that pulls from all the other forums (I believe you have something like this on the front page.. or at least used to for a couple weeks while testing other stuff -- it acts like an index of all the recent threads). Though, I don't know how practical that would be in usage since someone couldn't just go from thread to thread, they'd have to keep coming back to the general index.
anyway, just my late night rambles before i go to bed. apologies if my sleepy-thoughts are not entirely coherent.
1) Keeps topics from rotating off the front page
(I'll admit, I hardly ever look back the first page of a forum unless there is something specific I am looking for, that, plus, I think back to long ago when there were fewer forums on this board, I remember seeing people "bump" their threads a lot to keep them on the front page)
2) Keeps 'cross talk' down
(back before the subforum split for different editions, all too often i would see a dozen vocal people who would just post back and forth about one edition over the other... I don't want to call it 'edition waring' because really it was usually the same dozen people derailing the threads and ignoring them avoids seeing their posts, but the threads get derailed to the point of silence by that point)
3) it makes it easier when reading/answering rules-related questions...
(if someone new just jumps in and says "i'm new here, how does damage resistance work?" it's a lot easier to see whether they are posting in a pathfinder/3.5/ogl or 4e discussion forum to know how to answer the question on the basis of the little info the OP actually gave)
4) it allows me to be selective
(i just subscribe to the forums that interest me and just focus on those and thus don't need to worry about the traffic related to other things. as an example, i like to visit the media forum. ever since it got merged with off topic stuff, i find myself less excited to go to that particular forum since the noise-to-post ratio -- from my perspective -- has increased. disclaimer: i completely understand the reasoning behind that merger, i'm not picking on the decision, just using it as an example from personal perspective.)
*all these reasons are, of course, subject to my own whim and are in means meant to represent anyone beyond myself.
Having said that, i can see the advantages of it being combined. Would I personally be upset/hate it/etc if the general forums were merged together to forum super forum? na.
it would just increase what I perceive the noise-to-information ratio. And, hey, i might see something mentioned for a game system I haven't tried that would make a good addition to the game i am playing with some modifications. Or, for people who have site-time load issues one forum is easier to stomach than many. And, as you said, it would show as more activity to those who don't bother going to the subforums like I do.
To put it bluntly, I think you are in one of those situations where you do it one way and group A is vocal in opposition, so you adjust and do it the other way and you'll have group B in vocal opposition. I think you (Morrus) yourself once said that if you keep trying to please everyone at once with the boards you end up pleasing no one (at least I think it was you, may have been back at Eric's days, or one of the mods making a retort to someone else's comments... or maybe it was a movie or book or show or song and I am just a senile old man).
Or maybe find a way to get thread tags to replicate forum delineation (though I understand tag usage is not necessarily an easy thing to get people indoctrinated into)
Maybe the general forum should instead read like an index that pulls from all the other forums (I believe you have something like this on the front page.. or at least used to for a couple weeks while testing other stuff -- it acts like an index of all the recent threads). Though, I don't know how practical that would be in usage since someone couldn't just go from thread to thread, they'd have to keep coming back to the general index.
anyway, just my late night rambles before i go to bed. apologies if my sleepy-thoughts are not entirely coherent.
