Adding more subforums - UPDATE - NOT CHANGING

[PeterB]

The problem with adding subforums is that it makes it a whole lot less convenient to browse. I love the fact that this place is only two forums, where one is likely to have all sorts of things under the sun, and the other the same, except with a bit more passion. ... splitting into more subforums means that you'll have to spend more time (not less) browsing. And as others have mentioned, don't make the same mistake as DMF 2005. (

[GGD]

rgG wrote:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Yup.

http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,102

[ArtP]

Another vote to leave it As-is.

I like browsing topics I probably would never be interested in. If i can't see them I can't click 'em. I also view some things by the number of views and/or replies- wondering why certain things get so much attention or replies.

[vision63]

Ahhhaaa. April Fools! wait...

[cbelt3]

I'm with the majority who think 'leave it as it' will work fine. Most of us 'skim' rapidly, and are capable of choosing what to look at and what to ignore based on the title. We also recognize that the deals are provided in the front page, and... well, let's face it, in other places.

The level of activity here is quite small... we may go for many hours before anyone posts anything. Dividing it up will produce confusion.

If you want to add a 'category' pulldown to help with view classification and personal sorting preference, that would fit your needs better. But I dunno if the phorum code can do that.

I'll also add that as a 'page at a glance' reader, I'm more capable of washing through ginormous amounts of stuff quickly. So it never bothers me.

[Janit]

In case the above comments are insufficiently direct:

NO! It would not be a good idea to split of more subcategories.

The proposal to do such a thing at dealmac in 2005 was a major factor in the departure of many people from THAT forum and their migration to THIS forum.

The users here LIKE the varied and running conversation about all and anything. That is why we come here. We come with the general question of wassup? If it's a deal, then cool. If it is the misbehavior of cats or the expiration date of food, then cool.

It is very easy to browse down the list of posts and just read what I want. I boot up, check the post list for coolness, read what captures my attention, and leave. Later in the day I do the same. Splitting into subcategories would mean I would need to separately browse each subcategory to see wassup, and that would be a severe speed-bump in the pleasure of the experience.

Best to pay attention to how people ACTUALLY use this forum. Making changes based on some abstract notion of how it SHOULD be used will ruin it for us.

Really! Read the earliest posts that were made here following the migration from dealmac.

[clay]

As long as there's still a way to view "everything" all at once in a topics list, I don't really care if sub-forums are added. Bogleheads.org has their homepage showing an "everything" view, based on activity/age. You can still navigate to sub forums if you want to see a sorted view, but I like to see everything at once, even if I don't care about 75% of it.

bogleheads homepage view:



sub-forum view:

[pRICE cUBE]

The reason the DM forum broke IMHO was due to the fracturing of the topics. The reason this forum works is due to the old recipe where topics feed off each other. It was the spice of intermingling topics that made it unique and special. It isn't broken, don't try to fix it.

The political side is the release valve for topics that altered the friendlier atmosphere and is definitely needed. Forum works just fine, please do not change it.

[Paul F.]

I vote no..

But I do respect that we're being asked our opinion on the matter.

[Robert M]

MRP,

I have a different suggestion. Add a new forum for deals and only deals. But, don’t make it a discussion forum per say. Instead, in that forum, have it mirror the list of deals on the MacResource.com primary page. No comments. Just a tally of the deals.

I’ll admit that I usally jump directly into the Tips and Deals forum and rarely look at the primary web page. Typically, I look at Dealmac and then MacResource. Old habits, I guess. There is a link to the MacResource main page in th eupper right corner of the forum pages but it’s very small and I forget it’s there. So, it doesn’t come to mind.

I’d look at the MacResource deals page before jumping to a separate site if it was listed like the other forums on both the main forum page and on each subforum page. That would make it far more readily accessible and literally right in front of my face. But, I’d also want a link on the main MacResource page that brings me quickly back to the forums.

Robert