Improved forum structure?

[charlie]

Been suggesting it to qreeves for a while now; something that is warranted?

Something like:
- General
- Maps & Mods
- Support

[qreeves]

I did bring this up a while back, but never got a clear answer for everyone. While i think it would be a good idea, I am unsure of the categories that would be best.

[Iridium]

- General
- "Introduce yourself"
- Modifications
- WIP Maps
- Clan Zone
- Tournament Organization/Clan Wars
- Server Issues
- Support

Would be my best bet for now, will update if anymore ideas come to mind

[4rson]

General
Development
Maps and Mods
Support

[arand]

Given the active topics currently, I think at least one is a given:
"maps( & mods)"
I'm not sure if having a large number of subforums might be a good idea (yet).

[wowie]

maps and mods
everything else

only two subforums we need.

edit: maps and mods = M&M's...

[TheLastProject]

I would go for:
General Discussions
Maps and Mods
Support

I agree with most players, having many subforums seems unnecessary and merely annoying.

[charlie]

@qreeves: Do any development discussions take place on the forum? Is there a need for such a subforum?

[4rson]

Perhaps topics such as feature request could go into a development section. I suppose it depends if there are enough of those threads.

[quintux_v]

I would go for:
General Discussions
Maps and Mods
Support

I agree with most players, having many subforums seems unnecessary and merely annoying.

as I see it:

General discussion: tips and tricks about playing, maybe about the great match you had last night.
Custom Content: Maps, mods, new content (textures, sounds, models), or maybe even just ideas for custom content (e.g. the shotgun mock-up)
Support: support for problems, maybe including a "topic for questions that don't need an entire topic" topic.
...And maybe an offtopic just in case there are things that don't fit in there.

[Iridium]

The point of having the subforums is so people are encouraged to post in them. Ex. - if there is a page for the five or so RE clans ON the official RE forum instead of being just on independent sites, people will be more aware of their fellow players, take an interest in the groups, and maybe start a group or a gathering of their own.

Since RE is an arena and primarily a MULTIPLAYER game, I just thought it would be nothing but beneficial to have a forum section where players can organize cups/meetings/general games, etc.

Just trying to improve the influx of players into RE through a bit of social engineering, not to be "merely annoying" as one joyous comment goes. If not 2 sections, maybe just a general "RE Community Section" or something for now, along with what others have been saying.
Maps and Mods together is a good idea in retrospect, because there are not many mods yet, so the section would not get huge.

Perhaps topics such as feature request could go into a development section. I suppose it depends if there are enough of those threads.

Basically the entire forum is about the development of the game and it's community, right? But I guess a feature request is sort of on the line between Support and General - I would put it in General, since it is not an existing issue. What do you think?

-Iridium

[inpersona64]

Since RE is an arena and primarily a MULTIPLAYER game, I just thought it would be nothing but beneficial to have a forum section where players can organize cups/meetings/general games, etc.

+1
A clan section would definitely be beneficial because all us gamers in a specific community want to feel like we are a part of something. Clans help bring us closer together, not just to the game but to people and make gaming more than just a six and a half hour session of looking at an incredibly bright 23.6" LCD screen or something similar.

[qreeves]

Okay, the suggestions I agree with are:

General Discussion
Maps and Mods
Help and Support
Clans and Communities

[Fallen]

Hmm...
General Discussion - it's ok (atm we have only this)
Maps and Mods - yeah, so many custom maps and mods are posted on forum.
Help and Support - I think that IRC is good to get quick help, but sometimes there's no one who can help, and ofc if problem is common then after it's posted on forum another players can follow that topic to find answer/help.
Clans and Community - yeah, good idea, but as it's with communities - it needs to be moderated, because as everyone knows there always are some ppl that likes to be offensive to someone.

[charlie]

Created the new structure. Needs a mod to move topics; I did the first few map topics. Let us know if there are any issues!

[Boognish]

Awesome!

[Catalanoic]

perfect!

[wowie]

Only one (minor) problem I have noticed so far is that the ambiguously named "clans and community" subforum makes me wonder what belongs there. Only clan threads and event organization...? Or, is it for anything community related, which is arguably the purpose of the "general discussion" forum. I think, as one final tweak, a sticky could be added that basically says "X goes to subforum Y, maybe to subforum Z, but never to subforum A" that covers all of the most common conversation starters.

[Architect]

how did this charlie guy join forum in 2009? and who exactly is he?
i don't think this forum existed then

[riidom]

I accidentally created a new topic for something that belongs here I guess: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3346

[qreeves]

Only one (minor) problem I have noticed so far is that the ambiguously named "clans and community" subforum makes me wonder what belongs there. Only clan threads and event organization...? Or, is it for anything community related, which is arguably the purpose of the "general discussion" forum. I think, as one final tweak, a sticky could be added that basically says "X goes to subforum Y, maybe to subforum Z, but never to subforum A" that covers all of the most common conversation starters.

"General Discussion" is probably for more random/off-topic posts, whereas "Clans & Community" is more for announcing new clans, recruiting, community events, etc.

how did this charlie guy join forum in 2009? and who exactly is he? i don't think this forum existed then

He is an admin for FreeGameDev, the site which runs the forum software we're piggybacking from. The fact they've been around, and seem to be staying, is one of the reasons I decided to just let them help out with the forums. You know how funny I usually am about handing stuff over for third parties to look after.

[charlie]

how did this charlie guy join forum in 2009? and who exactly is he?
i don't think this forum existed then

I am a giant ant, and you should welcome your new insect overlord!

Only one (minor) problem I have noticed so far is that the ambiguously named "clans and community" subforum makes me wonder what belongs there. Only clan threads and event organization...? Or, is it for anything community related, which is arguably the purpose of the "general discussion" forum. I think, as one final tweak, a sticky could be added that basically says "X goes to subforum Y, maybe to subforum Z, but never to subforum A" that covers all of the most common conversation starters.

I agree. Looking at some of the history (I'm sporadically moving posts into the right subcategories) my understanding is that the various community promotion activities belong in there as well - so youtube videos etc. Perhaps it should be titled "RE Community Discussion".

I dunno; it's late. Thoughts appreciated.

[charlie]

What I'll do, if there's no objection, is rename Clans & Community to just Community, and put that as the first subcategory, then help & support, then maps & mods, then general last.

Community will be for all important community-related discussion; trailer creation, new feature discussion, event organization etc. Stuff that directly promotes RE or RE development.

General discussion si for everything else (e.g. Shall we have tanks in RE lol? What should my new nick be? Why does RE have worse gfx than Skyrim! Me n my bff who I just met on facebooks created a new clan MEGA WATT VOLT - it's electric! etc).

That seems like quite a nice, tidy split.

[qreeves]

LOL, O..kay.

[ballist1c]

General discussion si for everything else (e.g. Shall we have tanks in RE lol? What should my new nick be? Why does RE have worse gfx than Skyrim! Me n my bff who I just met on facebooks created a new clan MEGA WATT VOLT - it's electric! etc).

That seems like quite a nice, tidy split.

HAHA this alone shows the vast amount of forum experience this man has