Google/Android subforum? Maybe under "Software"?

[Blackjack200]

It seems like it would make sense to talk about products in the Google/Android eco-system in a separate sub-forum. You have the search engine, gmail, google apps, google+, google tv, android phones, tablets, chromebooks and other devices, google music, etc. etc. etc. and all of it working together... or not working together so well.

It seems like it has emerged as the primary alternative to the apple i* platform, and I think it makes sense to discuss both on their own sub-forums.

Just one fellow's opinion.

 

[shortylickens]

No in fact we need to combine some forums. Too much fragmentation already.
The purpose of splitting them up was NOT convenience or neatness, it was to deter trolls.
That didnt work, same with P&N and L&R.

 

[Gillbot]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2129672

More specifically: Can we get a __________ Subforum?

 

[shortylickens]

Instead of just saying "NO" it would be nice if he got an explanation. It wasnt a stupid question and he genuinely wants to know.

 

[Gillbot]

Read through this dicussion if you need an answer: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2198947

Edit, Updated the "search" index and added that link as the new official answer for the "Can we get a _______ subforum thread".

 

[ViRGE]

The existence of the Apple forum predates iOS. Its purpose was to give Apple computer users a place to discuss the hardware and the software at a time when Apple was still a small(er) company peddling the PPC architecture, and those threads would not have fit in to the other forums. The fact that it's still there at the same time that iOS is doing so well it's just a matter of coincidence, rather than trying to segregate based on companies.

Anyhow, most of the Google services you listed are perfectly at home in Off Topic. For Google branded devices, between the notebook forum and the mobile devices forum, they're well covered. I could certainly see splitting off Android (and related devices) into its own forum if there was enough traffic, but as it stands Mobile Devices isn't busy enough to warrant that change.

As it stands we're hesitant to make any further changes unless there's enough posting to justify it. The last great subforum creation was a a mistake, and we lost some good posters in the shuffle.

That didnt work, same with P&N and L&R.

The purpose of P&N and L&R was to get the partisan hacks and creepy socially incompetent nerds out of Off Topic. To that end those forums did that job beautifully.

 

[Blackjack200]

No in fact we need to combine some forums. Too much fragmentation already.
The purpose of splitting them up was NOT convenience or neatness, it was to deter trolls.
That didnt work, same with P&N and L&R.

I agree. The idea here is that all the google/android threads would be in one place as opposed to scattered across half a dozen different sub forums. I think a lot of those sub-forums could then be folded into more general sub-forums.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2129672

More specifically: Can we get a __________ Subforum?

Read through this dicussion if you need an answer: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2198947

Edit, Updated the "search" index and added that link as the new official answer for the "Can we get a _______ subforum thread".

I think I am less asking for a new sub-forum than asking for a re-consideration of how those sub-forums are organized. There has been a massive shift in the tech industry toward iOS and Android devices.

The existence of the Apple forum predates iOS....The fact that it's still there at the same time that iOS is doing so well it's just a matter of coincidence, rather than trying to segregate based on companies.

I remember the days when Apple was a quirky little technology company that was essentially incompatible with PCs, and for that reason the separate apple sub forum made sense. It might just be serendipidous that it is now a single place to discuss all iOS devices, but when I am curious about iPhones, iPods, iPads etc., it is great that all that info is in one place.

Anyhow, most of the Google services you listed are perfectly at home in Off Topic. For Google branded devices, between the notebook forum and the mobile devices forum, they're well covered. I could certainly see splitting off Android (and related devices) into its own forum if there was enough traffic, but as it stands Mobile Devices isn't busy enough to warrant that change.

And that's sort of the point. It's not that the information doesn't have a home, it's that it has too many homes. I would think that if you folded some of the lower trafficked sub-forums and created a forum like this, the information would be more organized.

As it stands we're hesitant to make any further changes unless there's enough posting to justify it. The last great subforum creation was a a mistake, and we lost some good posters in the shuffle.

The purpose of P&N and L&R was to get the partisan hacks and creepy socially incompetent nerds out of Off Topic. To that end those forums did that job beautifully.

While I'm sorry to hear that people left as a result of the last reorganization, I still think that the sub-forums should be edited to keep up with the evolving technology world.

In any case, it's just a suggestion.

 

[wirelessenabled]

I am in favor of a separate Android sub-forum also.

"Mobile Devices & Gadgets" just doesn't make sense. Too many off topic posts that don't pertain to Android.

 

[wirelessenabled]

Android folks don't post in the mobile devices forum because it makes no sense to send your question off in to the unknown.

The existence of the Apple forum predates iOS. Its purpose was to give Apple computer users a place to discuss the hardware and the software at a time when Apple was still a small(er) company peddling the PPC architecture, and those threads would not have fit in to the other forums. The fact that it's still there at the same time that iOS is doing so well it's just a matter of coincidence, rather than trying to segregate based on companies.

Anyhow, most of the Google services you listed are perfectly at home in Off Topic. For Google branded devices, between the notebook forum and the mobile devices forum, they're well covered. I could certainly see splitting off Android (and related devices) into its own forum if there was enough traffic, but as it stands Mobile Devices isn't busy enough to warrant that change.

As it stands we're hesitant to make any further changes unless there's enough posting to justify it. The last great subforum creation was a a mistake, and we lost some good posters in the shuffle.

The purpose of P&N and L&R was to get the partisan hacks and creepy socially incompetent nerds out of Off Topic. To that end those forums did that job beautifully.