Restructuring forums

[1dash1]

Ok now that's just funny!! Just before you posted that, I went ahead and cluttered it back up again!!


btw... just testing to see which you guys prefer... the sub-forums visible on the main index page or not... ?

+1 on the visible subforums. It makes it easier to navigate. It also makes it a little easier to comprehend how categories are broken out.

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[StrayLight]

Okay, I come back after a few days doing other stuff and find forums sub-divided to an infinitesimal level. Too many clicks, too much to sort. If I look for something specific I search. Otherwise I browse.

Amen. There were never that many new posts in a given day in any one of the old categories that wouldn't fit on a page or so and their thread titles scanned quickly for interest. I can't count how many times I browsed without something specific in mind and found something I liked but never knew I wanted... and more often than not I bought it.

With the new sub-sub-sub-categorization, aimless browsing (and spending) is highly unlikely to happen. Isn't buying and selling the purpose of this forum? This has been mentioned before, but if I do happen to have something specific I'm looking for I'd better know which of many possible subforums it could be hiding in, because "some things fit in many categories". Brilliant. Please explain how that makes the new forum less of a mess than the old one.

If these changes are more or less a done deal, and the OCD set has won, so be it, but it will make using this forum much less effective.

And if the forum subdivision ad nauseum is really necessary, at least micro manage the breakdown consistently: multitools in buy, sell, & trade categories but knives in production, custom, & accessories categories, each with buy, sell, & trade mixed in. How on earth is that less of a mess?

Blech.

[mwaldron]

Thanks for putting the subforum links back!

[1dash1]

Greta:

If you're still refining the CPFM webpage, here are a few more suggestions to simplify the page:




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Hopefully, by streamlining the webpage and making it more consistent in presentation,
it'll be (slightly) easier to use.

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[nbp]

Really good suggestions Dash!

+100

[Greta]

If I make all of the sub-forums simply "WTB,WTS, WTT"... then how will you know which forum the post is in when you look at the New Posts or Newest Threads list? There will be 50 million "WTB, WTS, WTT" forums... how will you know if it's lights, non-lights, misc? That's why it is done the way it is now. As for moving the Archive forums... that is planned... once everyone gets with the current program and stops sending me emails and PM's asking why they can't post in the Lights B/S/T forums...

[1dash1]

If I make all of the sub-forums simply "WTB,WTS, WTT"... then how will you know which forum the post is in when you look at the New Posts or Newest Threads list?

It's distinguishable by the category title that it comes under, as shown in the example.

[Greta]

It's distinguishable by the category title that it comes under, as shown in the example.

No... not when it's in the New Posts or Newest Threads list. It's just the forum title... not the category title.

Take a look HERE. What would you see if you removed the part after the WTB/WTS/WTT? How would you know which category it is? Same with the Newest Threads list on the main forum index.

[1dash1]

Greta:

Sorry, I couldn't get your link to work. I get an error message:

vBulletin Message:

Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms.

Enclosed is a cleaned up image of what I was trying to express:
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.

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As previously mentioned it is only a slight improvement in readibility. I don't wish to belabor the point.
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[1dash1]

Greta:

I get it! You were referring to the list of most recent posts at the bottom of the CPFM home page.

Hmmm... you have a point there. As is sometimes the case, it's a trade-off between neatness and precision. I guess we can't have our cake and eat it, too.

Accepted.

[Greta]

You're still not getting my point... if there are 50 million sub-forums namedd "Buy" and another 50 million named "Sell" and then yet another 50 million named "Trade".... You will NOT be able to tell which parent forum the sub-forum is in when looking at the New Posts list or the Newest Threads list. Please try to get that point! MANY people use those features and so do I... and it was a serious PITA seeing 50 million listings in the "Sell" forum and not having any clue at all which category it was in. While I appreciate your efforts to help... this issue was discussed at length even before the restructuring and your suggestion went down in flames like the Hindenburg. Sorry...

Edit added: Posted while you posted.

[csshih]

I get it.
..but you cant, instead, have links that are titled buy, sell, trade, that actually go to the full fledged, correctly named forum?

[1dash1]

I get it.
..but you cant, instead, have links that are titled buy, sell, trade, that actually go to the full fledged, correctly named forum?

Csshih:

Think "Hindenburg".



And while you're busy putting on your asbestos suit, I'll see if I can rummage up a fire extinguisher.

[themanoffez]

I like the new structure, it make much more sense this way

[ampdude]

I like this new structure very much. The only thing I would change is that I would put the b/s/t archives at the bottom, as I keep accidently clicking on it.

[1dash1]

Ampdude:

It's already in the works:

...
As for moving the Archive forums... that is planned... once everyone gets with the current program and stops sending me emails and PM's asking why they can't post in the Lights B/S/T forums...

[mightysparrow]

Not a technical, insightful comment here - just wanted to say that the new bright green "kryptonite" color of the headers sure gets my attention, but it's difficult to look at. Not a big deal, but something a little easier on the eyes might be nice, from my perspective.

Thanks for all of the work you've put in on the restructuring. While some features and changes will no doubt be debated, it is obvious that a lot of thought and work went into this.

[Empath]

In your control panel, select "Edit Options". The last item there will permit you to select your own color scheme.

[mightysparrow]

Thanks, Empath!

[1dash1]

The Lights Archives have been moved!

[1dash1]

The new dealer header (advising users about the conditions for use of the dealer forum) appears on every page of every single thread in the dealer forum.

Having to scroll down the screen every time is just as bad as scrolling across the screen for those people who post oversize pic's. IMO, of course.

May I request removing the advisory header from the individual threads and keep it posted only on the dealer forum main menu?

[Greta]

Currently, there is not a way to do that as the header is assigned to a specific forum id # and the individual threads are also assigned to specific forum id #s as well... soooo....

But regardless... now there is no excuse at all for not knowing what the forum policies are. I'm getting a bit tired of ignorance being used as an excuse. It is not fair to those who take the time to do things the right way and play by the rules.

[1dash1]

Greta:

Thanks for the explanation.

You're the best!