Forum Subsections

This was brought up in the closed beta, and I'm going to bring it up here too:

IMO we have WAY WAY WAY too many forum subsections.

Point No 1.

For a start, in Hardware we have a Network Interface Card forum (Description = "Discussions about network interface cards, configuring networks, and more." )

Then we have an entire Network section, devoted to WLAN, WAN, LAN etc

There seems to be a massive overlap between them.

^^^ That's just one example of many.

Point No 2.

In the software forum, there are 15! subforums for Windows XP alone. 8 for Win2k. AND Linux is just a subforum in Other software? What?

Point No 3.

Games section is a complete mess.

In the general section there are some odd forum names: "Hints about Empire", "Games for Acorn machines", "Games Diplomacy" etc etc?!

Console Platforms we have consoles missing (Playstation 1, Megadrive / Genesis...) and then console manufactures like Sony...since when is Sony a platform?

The list goes on and on and on.

IMO the forums won't work like this, noone will know where to post

How about (in this order)

CPU's (Anything related to CPUs)
Video Cards (Anything related to Video Cards)
Motherboards / Chipsets (...)
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RAM / Memory (...)
Harddrives / Storage (...)
Optical / Removable Storage (inc USB sticks etc)
------------------------------------------------------
Network (All network questions)
Sound Cards
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Operating Systems (Subtopics - Windows 9x, Windows 2000 / XP, Linux...and other questions can go just in the root sub forum)
Games / Software (Games was a popular forum in the old forum, but it was hard to find)
-----------------------------
Other (Sub forums needed, like CE, ...
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The Other (Yes, I think this should be the way forward...)
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Please reply with opinions as this is a matter I feel strongly about.

lol - Editted! How crazy of me

But seriously, having everything in the same forum will help to avoid cross posting. And a question about an Abit with nvidia chipset could easily be answered and resolved in a thread about the same problem in Epox motherboard. When it is relative to chipset, then every motherboard brand can be subject to the same problem. So, an answer with" Update your drivers" can fit for one problem with many board.

I will post everything in the general discussion anyway. It is where it has the more chance to be seen.. In other board, with the same arrangement, mods are always moving post to appropriate subsection... Don't know if the mods here will do the same.. and if yes, for how long...

All good points, Ned Le's address and discuss them one by one, to see if we agree.

NIC is a component so it does fit within hardware. Note that hardware is now narrowly defined, and does not include systems (except homebuilt) printers, etc. which moved to CE. At the same time, TG has started a new section (or site) about Network (TomsNetworking.com) so we wanted to have general categories about Networking to go with that section. Imagine those sections needing to be more tightly coupled at some point, so we want to grow the Network section accordingly.

We have not started a full fledged Linux forum(z). The content exists, but something that would be launched upon demand, etc. What you see in Linux is just a small sliver, and it is what you already had.

I would need a good gamer to help organize that section. I agree that it could be organized better. Volunteers?

Then we improve it But we need to understand where we get the most bang for the buck

I know you do and that's good. Shows you care about the new forumz

I really don't think sub section, after subsection is the way for organise the forum.

You're basically trying to get each Toms Guide site its own forum (Tomshardware Guide, TomsNetwork, Twitch Guru etc), and it just won't work like that. It's too fragmented.

There isn't the traffic (and even if there was I don't think it would make a difference) to have forums so specialised. Take Anandtech for example - I'm nmot saying we go to that level of simplicity, but it is a start.

IMO we had too many sections in the old forum, and now we have x10 that amount. Why is there a need for a RPG, FPS, Strategy sub forums when a simple Games forum would work.
Why is there a need for all these motherboard types (yes, you say it is easier for newbs to ask questions), but it makes us (the people giving the answers) MUCH less likely to check the sub, sub forum they posted in.
I know I won't bother.

We don't need any sub sections. The older forum had too many sections, which nobody used.

The new forum has even more sections, and it introduced subsections. I don't think I've ever seen such a messed up sectiom like the gaming one in any forum.

Hi, Pat. I appreciate your point. At the same time, I run other forum sites and people do care about specific motherboards. That mostly applies to newbies (not like some of you guys) who don't know the intricacies of chipset, etc. etc. All they know is that they bought xyz motherboard from newegg. They feel very comfortable if they find sections dedicated to their board.

I run HP MediaCenter at home. You might say I run a MediaCenter PC, but to my insecure self, if I find a discussion of "HP" MediaCenter I would be very very happy, since I cannot tell the different between MC aspects and PC aspects of some bug.

In any case, these are my opinions. I am sure others have different thoughts.

Ok, then if there was an icon, or something that would indicate new post is such subsection, that would help. I have no clue if there is something new posted in the Asus or Abit subsection, without actually go and check.

..

Ned, SUB-SECTIONS would be OK, if the General MotherBoard section (for example) contained a grouping of all the motherboard sections, So you could post in the General section, or get better coverage so to speak by posting in the specific manufaturer sub-section...
So visiting the General Mobo would list all subsections in that section.
That sounds like a winner to me...

It sure does.

Pat, great idea, and that is coming

you say the hardware section hasn't really changed? For a start the most popular hardware forum is at the bottom of the page (Video Cards), the Overclocking section for CPUs has a sub *groan* section for AMD chips. but not for intel?

Get this - The top category is labeled "CPU's and Components", surely all hardware is a component and should be in that category? Infact, I suppose I'm meant to post Video Card questions in the Other Components sub forum? as "All other components not covered in the above."
____________________________________________

If you want to have TG run 7 different forums here that's fine, but don't let the sub forums blatently operlap - If we have a Networking forum, I say the hardware section should not have a network subforum.

The Games forum, even though I see you tried to clean it up, is still a joke! If anyone could be bothered posting in the correct section, it would take them at least 5 minutes to find it! - And as other users have stated, there is no why they'd be checking all the subsections.

...could go on and on and on (Why do we even have a CE forum?)

Ned and Wolfy, would you collaborate and come up with a structure for games section that we can look at? It is quite easy to move things around to make it work for you guys. Need specifics, not generalities.

There are hundreds of forums within games. You need a way to break the games domain down into at least 5-6 major sections. Take a look at what is there, and if not agreed, then let's propose an alternative.

I have never seen a section with 100 forums inside, but there is a first for everything

If you insited on doing it that way:

PC Gaming
Console Gaming
Handheld Gaming

If you're posting about a RPG PC Game it goes in PC gaming.
If you're posting about a RPG PS2 Game it goes in Console gaming.
If you're posting about a Strategy PC Game it goes in PC gaming.
If you're posting about a PSP Game it goes in Handheld.


....

3 subforums is all you need.

So you are saying org. by device type, not the game type (e.g. RPG)?

Others?

I'm saying no subforums for games. That above example was an alternative, but it is very much second best to the single forum design a lot of us are agreeing to.

Opinions?

[BLISS]

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Pat, great idea, and that is coming

Thanks..

I've already been talking to one of the admins about this Dhlucke. I'm not criticising seperate sections for popular games like BF2.

But in fairness 80% of the sections in there are pointless.

Myst has a whole set of subjects devoted to it. Myst for Gods sake. Never mind Quake has it's own seperate place. Some console sections are repeated twice, MMOs have games like Ultima online and Empire, I've never heard of empire and there is no mention of WOW or EVE or any of the other major MMOs. There is also a section on LASERDISCS!!!! This section is filled with what looks like Bot adverts for ebay.


The game section looks like a program went and selected all the major topics from previous posts and ordered it accordingly. It doesn't look to me like someone who plays and knows about Games went over it and adjusted accordingly after this.

If I was let I'd love to get my hands on that section.

I personally believe it should be the way it was, however at most it should be split along the lines of Online/Offline/Console. Within Online you can keep a seperate section for BF2 etc if you like. But at the moment Game is a mess. You can't look at it and think it looks fine in it's current state.


I'd also like to apply for moderator status for the game section. Ahem.

I thought I'd chance my arm. I would be filled with Nerdly pride to be made a mod of the games section. All my wasted years playing games would have finally paid off and I can go to my mother and tell her to be proud of her son.

And stuff.


WOLFY FOR GAMES MOD!!! You can be a mini mod Ned

...and about the layout?

Yap, more decision on the that, since Fredi would not have a strong opinion about that particular section.