New Forums and other changes

[DerekWilson]

We really appreciate all the feedback we're getting on the new changes around here.

Please know that all this is a work in progress and we are constantly reading your suggetions and trying to figure out how to tackle everything that's broken.

As for forums, some may not stick around and others may magically appear over the next two weeks. It's your feedback and input that makes this happen. Keep us posted on what is working, what's not, and what else we need.

To address some of the concern over splitting up the forums --

We have grown to quite a large size over the past few years, and we really want to better accomdate everyone by enabling more targeted discussions. This should give people a way to find what they want quickly. We've heard many new forums called for over time, and hopefully this will improve the quality of our forums.

One of the major goals of this new direction is to try to grow our forums even larger. In doing this, we can't expect new members to just know where everything is or sort through ATOT hoping to find what they want. Organization and slitting off some forums will definitely help.

And I know many of you loved the old inline forum list layout ... but headers and sub-categories will also help people find their way around when they show up for the first time.

 

[Shawn]

Derek thanks for the new forums. I've noticed that the automotive forums are gone. I was in favor of consolidating them all into one but not getting rid of them completely. One automotive forum would be nice to have. Perhaps group it in with off topic, P&N, and L&R. You could change the group name from "Social" to "Off-Topic" and then it would fit.

Also, I'm not sure if splitting forum issues into 3 categories was a good idea. It doesn't get much traffic or mod attention as it is. There should just be a "Forum Issues and Suggestions" category. Or at most a "Forum Issues" and a "Suggestions".

I do have a few suggestions for some new forums. I would add a Want to Buy forum to separate it from For Sale/Trade. That way it would reduce the clutter in FS/T and reduce the amount of people bumping their threads. I would also split off Games from Software but I think you have that planned already. It would also be nice to have a forum dedicated to Media Center PCs.

I don't really think we need a Love and Relationship forum. It just seems really off topic and I don't see why that couldn't fit in with OT like it has before. Anyway those are just my thoughts. You may or may not take them into consideration however I've been here for quite a while so hopefully my opinion carries some weight around here.

Cheers. :beer:

 

[imported_Kiwi]

In my view, one (or perhaps two) of the most disconcerting omissions from the new upgrade relate to flagging threads to identify them as new, old, read, or unread. It was my habit to exit the forums and re-enter and thereby reset all colored flags to yellow, showing where I'd already gotten to previously. I also liked the color change on individual threads I'd opened. Neither of those helps exist now, it doesn't seem.

Why not? Those are part of most of the better forum software, and worked adequately in the old AT forum software!

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Shawn
Derek thanks for the new forums. I've noticed that the automotive forums are gone. I was in favor of consolidating them all into one but not getting rid of them completely. One automotive forum would be nice to have. Perhaps group it in with off topic, P&N, and L&R. You could change the group name from "Social" to "Off-Topic" and then it would fit.

Cheers. :beer:

I agree with the automotive forum being kept. Did you not see how busy it was? Isn't that a good reason to keep a forum?

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
I agree with the automotive forum being kept. Did you not see how busy it was? Isn't that a good reason to keep a forum?

Was there real traffic or was it mostly the threads that got moved there from OT? When I had a look, that's what it looked like to me. Wiring/Electronics or whatever it was called had 3 threads yesterday, and 3 threads this morning before it was nuked.

Just an observation.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
I agree with the automotive forum being kept. Did you not see how busy it was? Isn't that a good reason to keep a forum?

Was there real traffic or was it mostly the threads that got moved there from OT? When I had a look, that's what it looked like to me. Wiring/Electronics or whatever it was called had 3 threads yesterday, and 3 threads this morning before it was nuked.

Just an observation.

Mechanical Support and General had a ton of new threads. It was fairly busy, as a matter of fact. Busier than most dedicated car forums.

 

[AmigaMan]

First, THANK-YOU for adding all the new forums and actually listening to the members here! Second, I think a general automotive forum would be nice to have, just maybe not three of them. And I LOVE the new digital and video camera and programming forums. Perhaps you could nuke the mobile media and communications forum, or at least rename it.

 

[blurredvision]

I don't mind the switching and changing around. I'm curious, though, at how you guys are coming to your decisions. Does it come down to a mod vote on your super secret section, or are you making all the decisions Derek? To counter what other peole have said, though, I actually agree with how you've split up the old Forum Issues. Reading the stickies has given me understanding in why you guys did this.

 

[allisolm]

we are constantly reading your suggetions and trying to figure out how to tackle everything that's broken

Where should we put what's broken - not what we would like to see? Here? Technical Forum... ? So far it seems to be everywhere.

headers and sub-categories will also help people find their way around when they show up for the first time.

Not as long as they remain so truncated.

"CPU/Processors ... " or, once inside "CPU/Processors and O... "
"SFF, Notebooks... " or, once inside, "SFF, Notebooks, Pre-... "

Not terribly edifying as to the actual content.

Thanks for all your work! :thumbsup:

 

[Aquila76]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
I agree with the automotive forum being kept. Did you not see how busy it was? Isn't that a good reason to keep a forum?

Was there real traffic or was it mostly the threads that got moved there from OT? When I had a look, that's what it looked like to me. Wiring/Electronics or whatever it was called had 3 threads yesterday, and 3 threads this morning before it was nuked.

Just an observation.

Mechanical Support and General had a ton of new threads. It was fairly busy, as a matter of fact. Busier than most dedicated car forums.

Yeah, I had one in there, and now it's back in off-topic. This thread has waffled like John Kerry!

EDIT: I vote for bringing back as a separate category, BTW. If for no other reason than the car guys over here are more easily available to offer suggestions.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Shawn
Derek thanks for the new forums. I've noticed that the automotive forums are gone. I was in favor of consolidating them all into one but not getting rid of them completely. One automotive forum would be nice to have. Perhaps group it in with off topic, P&N, and L&R. You could change the group name from "Social" to "Off-Topic" and then it would fit.

Cheers. :beer:

I agree with the automotive forum being kept. Did you not see how busy it was? Isn't that a good reason to keep a forum?

I made a poll in the suggestion forum about bringing auto back. I'm sure a huge amount of votes in favor might sway the powers the be.

 

[DerekWilson]

to answer a question in a couple palces --

we are considering bringing back a single forum for automotive. we're going to wait until the dust settles, see how people like the changes we've got, and then get back to the issue.

in a week or two, we'll paste a sticky poll in OT and ask whether the posters in there want the YACTs to have their own forum or stay in OT.

also ...

the 3 forum issues style forums are really to help admins and mods out ... we don't care about member traffic as much here, and this stuff is for feedback from members to staff and mods. It will help us out to seperate technical issues for admins and staffers (technical issues), moderation related issues and questions (personal issues) and stuff that isn't technically a problem that you would like to see changed or different (suggestion box).

right now, we're being really relaxed on where posts are till things settle.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Updates FTW :thumbsup:

 

[MadRat]

I'd hope priority would be to fix the display on Firefox. It's screwed up on 1.5.0.x and 2.x versions.

Move Search back to the top right corner.

Replace the LAST option when opening up topics, regardless of front page of a forum or from search.

 

[engineereeyore]

Could I suggest a darker text color for topic titles? Just a little hard to read. Otherwise, really like the new layout.

 

[gooseman]

Originally posted by: Kiwi
In my view, one (or perhaps two) of the most disconcerting omissions from the new upgrade relate to flagging threads to identify them as new, old, read, or unread. It was my habit to exit the forums and re-enter and thereby reset all colored flags to yellow, showing where I'd already gotten to previously. I also liked the color change on individual threads I'd opened. Neither of those helps exist now, it doesn't seem.

Why not? Those are part of most of the better forum software, and worked adequately in the old AT forum software!

My thoughts exactly, especially in the area of the thread title changing colors after you had viewed it. I find it much harder to keep up with where I'm at while scrolling through the list of threads.

 

[blurredvision]

When is it planned to introduce the seperate gaming forums?

 

[rise]

and how is the category order determined, like why is highly technical above everythijng but general? and renaming technical support is ok but then burying it at the bottom and having "highly technical" (or anything with technical in the title at the top) is inviting posts in the wrong forum, imo. "computer help" sure is a catchall tho

 

[preslove]

Considering Anand, all praise be upon he, occasionally reviews apple products, why don't you add a Mac forum to Hardware? There are enough people on these forums make a Mac forum at least as popular as the slower forums on anandtech.

 

[0roo0roo]

sweet segregation for the mac users i guess. i think mac threads in general hardware were just fine frankly

 

[beatle]

I can understand the categories for new users, but for those who are used to the old layout, can you give us an option to list all forums on one page without the headers, or at least make a vertical list and not just a bunch of forum names in a row?

 

[NiteWulf]

Originally posted by: beatle
I can understand the categories for new users, but for those who are used to the old layout, can you give us an option to list all forums on one page without the headers, or at least make a vertical list and not just a bunch of forum names in a row?

:thumbsup:

Like I've said a couple times, make the category names unclickable and list the forum names under them vertically. Easy to find, easy to use. The current layout effectively buries the forums