Forum overhaul?

To open up a can of worms...

I'm looking at the forums at the moment and I'm inclined to agree with new visitors who say that they find them bewildering. Information is scattered in different forums which generates a lot of 'help' issues.

Could I suggest the following reorganisation:


Community
containing News, Announcements, General Discussion

ToEE
containing General discussion, Help desk, bug reports, Installation guide(locked forum)

ToEE modding
containing general modding, toolset documentation, maps/textures, models/animations, downloads, testing

KotB
containing the private and public forums

Troika's Other Games
containing Vampire, Arcanum and Unannounced Title

Negative plane
containing Negative plane

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The 'Community' forums can be kept as they are. But perhaps announcements of mod releases should be linked to the installation forum instead of the files themselves.

ToEE general discussion can be tidied up by removing most of the stickied posts to downloads, or to either help or bugreporting.

ToEE help desk should be just for that. Got a problem then post there. If it's an unknown bug which relates specifically to a particular mod, a moderator can shift it over to bug reporting.

ToEE bug reporting should have a thread for each mod to report bugs. It also should be open to more general bug reporting. A collation of known bugs and whether they are being fixed/ can be fixed might also be helpful.

Installation guide (locked forum) should be kept as up to date as possible. Each step should be in its own post with pictures for the hard of understanding. Individual mods can have their own thread with full and detailed installation notes.

ToEE modding can be tidied up a little bit more. For ease of use, perhaps a specific testing sub-forum would help out so that people can test while they play. Something like cumulative fixes could go there while in compilation, while the fully compiled version would be cited by the installation guide.


Negative plane is where to put the junk or downright silly posts. Or even just posts which have no relevance after a certain time period. That way they can still be found for posterity.


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Any thoughts?

 

As a newcomer, I say it's a very good idea. It's not too hard to find stuff after a while, once you learn your way around, but it could be easier.

The only comment I have for you Zeb, is where would the released co8 (and others?) mods be put?

 

Released mods for general consumption would be linked to via installation section.

All mods would go into downloads, each in their own individual thread. That way modders or those who know what they are doing can locate them. Most mods are obselete (eg incorporated already or have long outdated files) and could do with putting in a nice out of the way place where the average user won't automatically click and download them. Click and downloady stuff will be in the installation section.

 

If you can pull this off, I am in with whatever help I can offer.

 

Thanks for the responses guys.

I think we need an admin to comment on whether these are good ideas or not. Some more input from the regulars might be useful too

 

I'm all for it, though it would take someone with admin status to pull it off. I'm not sure the current admins have the time. Perhaps we could get you (Zeb) admin status and have you do it.

 

Count me as a supporter, too.

Edit: Not trying to dredge more into this than it 'd be worth, but what about restricting access to some areas? A lot of folks poke about asking questions in the modding forums where the questions don't belong. I know a simpler solution is more active moderating, but the mod-erators are the mod-ifiers in many cases. They are already set upon with many tasks. Just a thought.

 

It sounds good to me.

 

I support the re-organisation, but I would oppose any restrictions to the modding areas.

The proposed changes include a 'help desk' and restricting access to the modding forums would discourage any inquisitive wanderers from taking their first baby steps into modding. They would have to prove themselves as a modder to a moderator before even seeing what modding this game entails.

 

I also think the modding section should remain open to anyone, let's not be too "elitist".

Sol Invictus owns the site, I guess any major overhaul of the forum structure should get his approval first.

 

No one was going for that particular sentiment. I felt it was worth mentioning due to all the confusion, which is why I believe the restructuring idea was even brought up to begin with. I see the merit in everything being completely open, but would like for there to be more active controls to keep down the chaos. It was, as I said...