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Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

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Guburnor
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Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#1

Post by Guburnor »

CelticRambler wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:54 am Just been looking at the home page, role-playing as a newbie, and think the forum groupings do need a bit of a sort-out. There's a peculiar mix of highly specific forums (e.g. the woodworking or motorbikes) alongside impossibly broad titles, often with nothing in between (e.g. no general DIY - it's woodworking or nothing!)

While the concept of using "Any Other Business" as a catch all to evaluate levels of interest sounds fine, the title doesn't really invite that kind of new post, and its position between info requests and renewable energy doesn't help.

If, as a newbie, I wanted to ask a photography question, my first instinct would be to go to the Hobbies section ... but there's nothing at all there that suggests photography - or any other form of visual art - has a place here. Similarly, if I wanted to write about a recent travel experience, the closest section would be "motoring and transport" but there's no option to make a general post about the whole planes, trains and automobile adventure - it's cars, bikes or commuting on the Luas!

Would be happy to help with re-organising this, or at least making more detailed suggestions, should such assistance be required/welcomed. ;)
Hi, apologies for delay in replying, have been giving this a bit of thought.

I agree that the forum groupings need a bit of work and any suggestions/assistance definitely welcomed! Problem is everybody has different ideas!

Totally take your point that if you popped in looking to post on photography or travel, there is nowhere obvious to put it, but (and it is a big but), I think making loads of forums to try and create an inviting place to post every conceivable topic risks just having a lot of near empty forums.

Not to sure how to solve this problem, but AOB not doing the trick. Maybe a more specific AOB in the categories? i.e Hobbies > AOB - photography could go there for example.

Anyway lets crowdsource the solution - CelticRambler can you kick us off with your ideas?!

Input from all posters welcome, and if there are recurring themes we might get a better idea of what direction to take.
CelticRambler
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Re: Feedback

#2

Post by CelticRambler »

Guburnor wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:51 pmMaybe a more specific AOB in the categories? i.e Hobbies > AOB - photography could go there for example.
That's sort of what I was thinking - a global "catchall" option for each section, and subforums created as and when the demand is there.
Guburnor wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:51 pmAnyway lets crowdsource the solution - CelticRambler can you kick us off with your ideas?!
First suggestion would be to create a new thread for that discussion, and leave this one for ongoing general feedback. ;)
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Memento Mori
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Re: Feedback

#3

Post by Memento Mori »

Thought needs to be given to how people actually browse the site. Do people log on to specifically post about a certain topic? Sometimes. But more people post in threads than actually start threads, and this seems to be universal. So I suspect most people log on to see if there are any interesting threads to post in. How do people in most sites look for these threads? Do they actually start clicking in and out of individual forums or is it a case of just seeing them on a home page or list of active threads in various forums they are subscribed to?

I suspect they just stumble across them. So I would suggest it be made as easy as possible for people to see what threads are active. The current home page, the board index, is not conducive to that. And how to find "active topics" is not immediately obvious for passers-by, it is in the quick links dropdown.
765489

Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#4

Post by 765489 »

When I log in I always go to new posts and run through them. Usually I stay logged in on the phone throughout the day and check the new posts every so often for updates. It would be good in my opinion to have the latest posts / new posts on the front page.

If something pops into my head to either post on a existing thread or to create a thread, I'll go to the specific forum.

Maybe humour and Afterhours could be merged ? Considering Afterhours is supposed to be "Let your hair down"

Also I would rename Afterhours to something else. Too much of a boards.ie reference in it.

I'd also suggest merging Politics and News and Current affairs ? News and Current affairs could also contain Politics ?
CelticRambler
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#5

Post by CelticRambler »

Yeah, I'd say anyone who's used to using the BB style would know that there's a "new posts" function somewhere and (if the numerous comments on the Vanilla feedback thread are any indication) would have it saved as a bookmark, if not their personal landing page. That said, perhaps it could be made a little more obvious ... but "Quick Links" is not that obscure. :)

I'd be a bit wary of using a trending/active/latest posts list as a selling point, as these will almost always be made up of either very popular or very contentious topics, but not necessarily the best discussions.

For this reason, I'd stick with the traditional list of forum categories on the homepage, and - for now - limit any ... enhancement :? ... to a simple reorganisation of those categories. As this does now seem to be a live topic, will give it some thought overnight and put up some suggestions tomorrow.
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isha
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#6

Post by isha »

I do think Latest Posts is always the most interesting thing to browsers.
Some way of bringing New Posts aka Latest Posts out from behind the three line icon onto GUBUs Landing Page layout as a tab of its own? Or having it behind 3 line icon and on a separate one click button.
Thinking out loud, and trying to be occasionally less wrong...
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Memento Mori
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#7

Post by Memento Mori »

CelticRambler wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:49 pm Yeah, I'd say anyone who's used to using the BB style would know that there's a "new posts" function somewhere and (if the numerous comments on the Vanilla feedback thread are any indication) would have it saved as a bookmark, if not their personal landing page. That said, perhaps it could be made a little more obvious ... but "Quick Links" is not that obscure. :)

I'd be a bit wary of using a trending/active/latest posts list as a selling point, as these will almost always be made up of either very popular or very contentious topics, but not necessarily the best discussions.

For this reason, I'd stick with the traditional list of forum categories on the homepage, and - for now - limit any ... enhancement :? ... to a simple reorganisation of those categories. As this does now seem to be a live topic, will give it some thought overnight and put up some suggestions tomorrow.
Yeah even if it is made a bit more obvious, took me a while to find it, and the "quick links" is not immediately obvious on the mobile.
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silverbirch
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#8

Post by silverbirch »

Ncdjd2 wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:36 pm When I log in I always go to new posts and run through them. Usually I stay logged in on the phone throughout the day and check the new posts every so often for updates. It would be good in my opinion to have the latest posts / new posts on the front page.
I usually just look at the ‘Active topics’ also, but that works at the moment because there aren’t many posts and I can more-or-less read everything in every forum from there. If there were more posts, the best discussions could get lost in the Active topics view, as CR said.

I think this should really be about Gubu’s identity and how that identity is portrayed in the pages people see when they first visit the site. If Gubu wants to be a mini-Boards, (but with better UI and less moderation - which is what it currently is), then just replicate their structure, but if it wants to differentiate itself from that place and create its own identity, the landing page and forum structure should reflect that.
Guburnor
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#9

Post by Guburnor »

Have made a few edits to homepage, reorganised a few categories/posts and added a list of the 10 most recent posts at top. You can also flick through the last 30 recent topics from there by clicking the 1,2,3 above Recent Topics box.
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Memento Mori
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#10

Post by Memento Mori »

Guburnor wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 11:54 am Have made a few edits to homepage, reorganised a few categories/posts and added a list of the 10 most recent posts at top. You can also flick through the last 30 recent topics from there by clicking the 1,2,3 above Recent Topics box.
Looks great! I'm very much nitpicking now put is there a bit too much white space now between the banner at the top and the recent topics?
765489

Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#11

Post by 765489 »

Looks good Gubs fair play.
Guburnor
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#12

Post by Guburnor »

Memento Mori wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 11:58 am Looks great! I'm very much nitpicking now put is there a bit too much white space now between the banner at the top and the recent topics?
There probably is but we need it to display the pagination function for recent topics which is kind of useful.

Alternative is a longer list of recent topics I guess.

Feedback below! Thanks!
CelticRambler
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#13

Post by CelticRambler »

Guburnor wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 11:54 am Have made a few edits to homepage, reorganised a few categories/posts and added a list of the 10 most recent posts at top. You can also flick through the last 30 recent topics from there by clicking the 1,2,3 above Recent Topics box.
Sorry I haven't been back with my promised list of suggestions - a minor hardware failure, but mostly a mental block on an totally different subject in real life that I absolutely have to overcome before I give creative thought to anything else. Only four wasted days so far this week. About to go seriously old-school this afternoon and take pencil and paper out into the garden coz all the computing power at my fingertips isn't getting the job done. :(
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isha
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#14

Post by isha »

Not on desktop so cannot see much of it, but white space is sometimes an invitation to decoration ☺
But then again I'm a doodler.

Banner? Logo? Gradiated colours? Neutral pastoral scene? Changing space occupier?

Or whatever. I am not in serious mode 🙂
Thinking out loud, and trying to be occasionally less wrong...
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Hodors Appletart
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#15

Post by Hodors Appletart »

pictures of the most prolific GUBUers
Hold The Door
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silverbirch
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#16

Post by silverbirch »

Hodors Appletart wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:32 pm pictures of the most prolific GUBUers
.. and of course of the Guburnor himself!
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Memento Mori
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#17

Post by Memento Mori »

If the "Mark Forums read" button could be moved in line with the pagination it would get rid of much of the white space
Guburnor
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Re: Forum Categories Subforums etc structure suggestions

#18

Post by Guburnor »

Deleted Accommodation & Property forum, only 4 threads - moved threads to News, Politics & Current Affairs, as it mostly posting about housing crisis, dysfunctional market etc
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