Forum overhaul?

Spike - perhaps extending moderator powers would help solve the problem? I think only the super-mods and Admin groups can (at the moment) actually transfer posts between forums. If the current moderators were given access to moderate more than just the one forum, that might help solve the problem and also reduce the workload for those currently able to do the thread bouncing.

I'm certainly not keen on a locked forum. The only forum I'd like to see locked is the proposed installation guide forum. That's solely to keep it nice and clean and clear. And if the help forum idea works, then that would be the place to post problems anyway.

Morpheus - understood.

 

I certainly don't think that extending these powers TO YOU could hurt one tiny little bit. You've certainly shown more than enough interest & tact & all the other stuff that a good moderator should have. Way more than me. I definetly don't want more responsibility or power with what I've been granted for my little corner of this world...but looking at the "Forum Leaders" section gives me the indication that more help could be of benefit, especially considering how many of the names there are now estranged. Yours would be a welcome addition; perhaps along with a couple of others who are doing less modding now & might be willing to help in other ways...?

 

The current scope of moderator privilege does include transferring items between forums. Gaear and I have done so in the past. The difficulty lies in what happens once you transfer a post or thread into a forum you are not a moderator in. It requires the moderators to coordinate those sort of actions to make the move "seamless".

I too do not support a locked modding forum. The chaos we experience would still be present (look at how many people post problems caused by not reading the installation instructions for 5.0.0) even if we did so, and we would lose out on the occasional insightful input from new members and discourage new modders. Perhaps what we need is a ranking system for new mods to indicate how easy or difficult they are to use?

 

Thanks for the clarification Blue, I've obviously no idea on how the powers have been set up. I did know there was some kind of problem with moving posts.

If each mod has a seperate installation thread with pictures and full instructions in a locked forum, then I think that would solve the majority of 'help' issues straight off. Most other problems would be diverted to help or bug reports in the proposed reorganisation.

Spike - thanks for the vote of confidence But my work and personal life means that I have periods of frantic board activity and then periods of no activity at all. I'm now not even certain when I get the internet again after Monday :sadblinky

 

I'm not certain how the masks are set up, but I think a locked forum should be possible. It means allowing everyone to view but only certain people are able to post (mods, super-mods and admins usually). Hope that makes sense. If I'm wrong about the ability to do this, then of course a forum with locked threads would be the obvious workaround.

 

Sorry Gaear - I should have made that clearer

edit: and just to be very clear, the only forum I'd like to see set up in this way is the one for installation guides. This is purely to make the information clear and the help forum would be the place to ask for advice or report problems.

 

That's what I was intending to suggest as well, but with all the adverse feedback, it doesn't seem worthwhile anymore. Might alienate too many folks where this isn't the intention. Still, they would not really be excluded because they could send PM's to those who are able to post, or post a suggestion for them to see in an open part of the forum. I don't want to make anyone prove themselves or set up an elite section; just keep things more organized. Once again, these are merely ideas for those with 'the power' to consider. A locked forum would even keep me out of things where I've no business, but if I wanted to make contact, it wouldn't be hard.

 

For a thread meant to primarily provide information/downloads, well that thread could be locked, and have a 'shadow' comment thread associated with it (i.e. immediately below) where conversation, help-me requests could take place.

That said, just from observation (i.e. no real experience with what sort of architecture works in situations like this), the "common issues and solutions" thread seems to be pretty uncluttered and to-the-point, and it isn't locked. So locking may not be necessary.

 

Ah, yes, but that thread is kept that way through the constant vigilance of the moderators. Quite a few posts have been deleted from that thread, or moved elsewhere. Locking a thread would free the moderators from having to do that.