Should Bug/Patch be a subforum of Modding instead? ATTENTION: .EXE CODERS

[Buster's Uncle]

It strikes me that I may have put this folder in the wrong place when I made it - please discuss.

[DrazharLn]

I agree.

[gwillybj]

The way it's progressing, seems more a mod and less a theory.

[ete]

Could well be a top level forum. It's got more activity than alteria centauri or planet tales, but maybe that's more a case of those two forums wanting to be packed down somewhere.

[Buster's Uncle]

These points have merit, and we should do what will make the most people happy, as far as we can determine.

-But wouldn't that be giving up on Planet Tales?  We could definitely do something with Altera - it's a valuable asset, but basically an archive where we don't expect/hope for posting activity, so maybe a sub of Command Nexus, with GotM made a sub of Altera?  Just that much would make room for Bug/Patch without making the root longer.

For that matter, we should give the BE folders more time to develop an audience, but I seriously doubt they're still going to be hogging the top of the root directory in a year...

[ete]

Alteria Centauri ->CN would be a good start. GotM could stay as a sub of CN, though moving to sub of AC would be okay too.

Planet Tales is tricky.. it does not fit perfectly in any of the other forums, with sub of ToE or some form of merging AAR and it into "creative", maybe including art, as the only vaguely okay options. But on the other hand, it's got 32 threads. It's been on top level for a looong time, I don't think keeping it there to try and drum up activity is productive, and top level space is important. The people who'd write for it would find it in a subforum anyway.

And, yea. I think if we trim AC folders down a bit we can move BE down sooner than later, because it would be scrolling past just a few forums rather than loads. This place's original sell was being super focused on AC, so it does feel a bit weird having another game on top.

Maybe making a new category for AC in other languages and the current alt langs there, below BE, would work? That way combined with other changes we'd have 5 AC forums, 2 BE forums, Alt lang forums, community forums? Not very convinced about that change though. And not sure which of the planet tales ones make sense.

[DrazharLn]

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Modding
  Altera Centauri (Released mods and resources)
  Bug reporting and patch development
Command Nexus
  GotM Archives
Planet Tales
  After Action Reports
Theory of Everything
  Planetary Datalinks {Should probably be scrapped entirely and content moved to wiki}
{Foreign forums}

Would be my suggestion. In general, I think we have too many subforums for the level of activity we attract and should consider merging e.g all the modding forums (and then maintaining a stickied index of released mods or a link to a good index of resources on the wiki) and probably merging the planet tales and AARs.

[Buster's Uncle]

[ninja'd]


I'm very interested in your input in this, ete, organizing info efficiently being a special interest of yours.

BE really belongs with Pandora and Other Games - but it's awfully soon to just give up on building activity there quite yet.  However, I never really thought there was any future in BE for us, and it's annoying that the main forum page loads with BE showing and no SMACX but Modding on my browser.  The current arrangement is definitely not going to stay that way forever, and I think the fanfic and Let's Plays folder needs to go back to being a sub now.  sisko?

I would like the idea of making Planet Tales a sub of TOE if not for one thing - the top of the TOE page is too crowded.  Taking out Bug/Patch will help, and I wouldn't be opposed to just getting rid of The Planetary Datalinks.  sisko?  I expect the AC Wiki has an entry for every single thing in there, and I almost never, ever, see anybody browsing - thoughts?


Part of why sisko and I work together so smoothly is that I'm reluctant to just reverse things he's done without consultation, and he's not much for asking me, but not so much for screwing with my arrangements in ways I mind when I log on in the morning.  One of the biggest parts of our jobs running this forum is keeping everyone as happy as we can - and that definitely incudes keeping each other happy.  -So I'd really like his input, although I'm gonna go ahead and do the CN>Altera>GotM Archive thing tomorrow if he hasn't objected - easy enough to re-arrange later.


This conversation has mutated beyond Bug/Patch, so I'd like to hear what the Patchers want, then move this thread to Council Room with a new, broader, title.  Please weigh in, soonest, .exe coders...

[Buster's Uncle]

Code: [Select]

Modding
  Altera Centauri (Released mods and resources)
  Bug reporting and patch development
Command Nexus
  GotM Archives
Planet Tales
  After Action Reports
Theory of Everything
  Planetary Datalinks {Should probably be scrapped entirely and content moved to wiki}
{Foreign forums}

Would be my suggestion. In general, I think we have too many subforums for the level of activity we attract and should consider merging e.g all the modding forums (and then maintaining a stickied index of released mods or a link to a good index of resources on the wiki) and probably merging the planet tales and AARs.

Not sure - sisko has always put GotMs in CN, not least because MPlayers love scenarios when they're between MP games.  The GotM collection is probably far more mod-heavy than the usual range of scenarios in Altera, and the scenarios really all ought to be grouped together.

-Also, one sub will crowd the top of Modding - two will put everything not stickied off the bottom of the screen on entry, and that's always a pain.

IMAO, we'd always rather have a long root than crowded all-new-posts-below-the-fold forums.  It's just enormously more user-friendly that way.

[Buster's Uncle]

Incidentally, much as modding is my thing, and this is definitely a modder-heavy community, I wonder if TOE doesn't belong on top...

Some of the natural stuff to go there is more casual what's-your-favorite-faction sorta topics, and I've had a few people I was trying to recruit take a look at AC2 and tell me we seemed too hardcore for their blood; well, modders are hardcore, and will still find Modding further down - but we do want more casual fans  -the What is Canon? thread in progress is pretty cool- and we might do better with TOE on top.  And it just seems to me like the general discussion forum ought to go first, by the nature of the thing.

[ete]

[ninja'd]


I'm very interested in your input in this, ete, organizing info efficiently being a special interest of yours.

Okay, I'm thinking something like:

Code: [Select]

Theory of Everything
  Planet Tales - With TPD and bug/patch gone, it's not crowded here for sure
Modding
  Bug reporting and patch development - borderline make it a top level forum in this position, but probably sub for now, see how activity goes with projects
After Action Reports
Command Nexus
  Altera Centauri
    GotM Archives  - Maybe straight subforum of CN, more accessible
{Foreign forums} - Feels uncomfortable having two super low activity forums on top level.. but I don't really like the idea of subforuming them anywhere.


Planetary Datalinks - Moved to a long term (possibly staff-only) archive, the wiki has much better info in general but there
may be a couple of things not moved over yet so best not actually delete.

BE - tales moved to sub&moved to Other games soon.

Makes most sense. That puts the general forum at top, usually a good idea, drops the number of top level by two, and generally puts things in sane places. AARs could theoretically be put in ToE too, but activity there is moderately high with things worth reading often, so I'm inclined to keep it as-is.

[Buster's Uncle]

You know - I have no interest in burying my own work, and I put a LOT into some of those GotMs -- but there seriously isn't room for a second direct sub of CN.  It's nice, for staff on patrol, not least, to be able to pop into a folder and see if anything's new at a glance w/o scrolling besides the thread last posted-in.  Same objection as having almost no SMACX folders showing in the root at first glance.

[ete]

eh, subforums take up a lot less room than root forums on the root which is what matters way more than space within a forum. I don't feel strongly about GotM placement either way, it does logically fit within alteria centauri so there's a case for both places, but space is not the main concern imo.

[Buster's Uncle]

All I'm saying is that the whole purpose of moving anything anywhere is to make it more user-friendly, yes?  Making sense is part of that, but so is convenience of viewing.  [shrugs]

[ete]

Well, having it as a straight sub is one less click away so kinda more convenient, but the logical placement of inside AC means I think I agree with you on the object level if not for the same reasons, which is close enough. Go for inside AC, can change if it seems wrong later.