Concerning the forum, and the size of it etc etc
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 1:36 pm
Hey just putting a thought out there.
I recall back in 2000, the Matrix Games forums were tiny, easy to use, and if you wanted something actually not Steel Panthers it was not really hard to find.
Today their forum is so large, so long, so involved, frankly it is out of control. I suspect a lot of new comers are likely like most humans, and never see the bottom of the site.
The answer? Hmm if I had an easy one, I'd offer it of course.
But aside from the place being mangled to hell in a hand basket from spam, and aside from the site being saturated in 'good ole boy' accounts that feel sort of privileged, a condition that affects any forum though, the site is just too darned big. It is too long, there are too many games, there is no method of sorting worth mention, it seems you have a lot of new, so new isn't even special any more, and the coming soon and then the massively long list of everything else.
And the insistence of putting at the top of each sub forum, redundant stickied threads that are site specific but not game specific which only generate moooooore tedium to going anywhere. Scroll scroll scroll scroll. It's not like it is hard to scroll, but it is boring.
Maybe it is time to realise we don't need new and upcoming and all the rest. We just need game specific forums, and we merely need useful categories. If I am only into WW2 for instance, I likely couldn't care less if your Ancients games exist or not. So going to a main entrance, clicking WW2 games and seeing nothing else would be better.
I am not sure of course. Maybe it is not a good idea if it costs sales. But that is something only site admin can know through site softare that tracks people's movements.
Currently Slitherine's forums are getting longer and longer and longer
A good thing I suppose, as it means you are becoming increasingly important to more and more games. But, the time to clean the house, is usually before the entire house is a mess
When I visit a forum I want 1 of 3 things. General Discussion to see what is currently of importance even if not even gaming. News of the games I like. And news of what is new to the company as a whole ie new games on the horizon.
I think the idea front page of a forum really needs a General discussion link, a Games link and a News link. Very quick to navigate.
Inside the games link, you have a list of games, nothing else, just a list of game forums. Easy to scroll even if you have a lot of games. No sub links under each game, just the game link and nothing else.
Inside each game link, all the links for the game, and nothing else. Heck if a person wants news, they should have clicked on news eh.
And General discussion should be just that, one link and inside nothing but chatting. Not a batch of links that belong elsewhere.
I recall back in 2000, the Matrix Games forums were tiny, easy to use, and if you wanted something actually not Steel Panthers it was not really hard to find.
Today their forum is so large, so long, so involved, frankly it is out of control. I suspect a lot of new comers are likely like most humans, and never see the bottom of the site.
The answer? Hmm if I had an easy one, I'd offer it of course.
But aside from the place being mangled to hell in a hand basket from spam, and aside from the site being saturated in 'good ole boy' accounts that feel sort of privileged, a condition that affects any forum though, the site is just too darned big. It is too long, there are too many games, there is no method of sorting worth mention, it seems you have a lot of new, so new isn't even special any more, and the coming soon and then the massively long list of everything else.
And the insistence of putting at the top of each sub forum, redundant stickied threads that are site specific but not game specific which only generate moooooore tedium to going anywhere. Scroll scroll scroll scroll. It's not like it is hard to scroll, but it is boring.
Maybe it is time to realise we don't need new and upcoming and all the rest. We just need game specific forums, and we merely need useful categories. If I am only into WW2 for instance, I likely couldn't care less if your Ancients games exist or not. So going to a main entrance, clicking WW2 games and seeing nothing else would be better.
I am not sure of course. Maybe it is not a good idea if it costs sales. But that is something only site admin can know through site softare that tracks people's movements.
Currently Slitherine's forums are getting longer and longer and longer
A good thing I suppose, as it means you are becoming increasingly important to more and more games. But, the time to clean the house, is usually before the entire house is a mess When I visit a forum I want 1 of 3 things. General Discussion to see what is currently of importance even if not even gaming. News of the games I like. And news of what is new to the company as a whole ie new games on the horizon.
I think the idea front page of a forum really needs a General discussion link, a Games link and a News link. Very quick to navigate.
Inside the games link, you have a list of games, nothing else, just a list of game forums. Easy to scroll even if you have a lot of games. No sub links under each game, just the game link and nothing else.
Inside each game link, all the links for the game, and nothing else. Heck if a person wants news, they should have clicked on news eh.
And General discussion should be just that, one link and inside nothing but chatting. Not a batch of links that belong elsewhere.