Forum Restructuring - Completed

[tripsis]

[hide=Original Post]Forum Restructuring - Give Your Input!

 

The Tip.It staff is looking at doing a bit of forum restructuring to remove inactive/unused forums and improve organization overall. However, before we make these changes we would like to know what you guys think :) We want to do our best to please everyone - or at least the majority. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, please voice them here! Below are the suggested changes:

 

• Make the Metagaming forum a subforum of Archive of Wisdom and rename it to "Data and Research."
  
• Change the RuneScape Media forum description/stickies to allow all sorts of videos/commentary/etc. instead of just artistic ones (unless they belong elsewhere like PKing videos in the Graveyard).
  
• Rename "Tip.Iters Runescape Events" to "Tip.Iters Events, Groups and Teams" to better incorporate looking for boss hunting groups or partners for similar activities.
  
• Remove the Graveyard's "Rate This & Advice" forum. PKing questions may be posted in the regular Help & Advice.
  
• Merge Sports & Fitness with Off-Topic.
  
• Return literary discussions to Off-Topic. Actual works of literature will remain in the Varrock Library but general discussions about novels may be posted in Off-Topic.
  
• Remove the entire "Other Jagex Games" category and all forums inside of it. Users can create a thread for each game in the Video Games & Consoles forum.
  
• Remove the entire "ARENAScape" category and all forums inside of it. A thread can be created in the Video Games & Consoles forum.
  
• Merge the Falador Tavern, Falador Library, and Rusco into one forum (Falador Tavern).

[/hide]

 

UPDATE - 24 SEPTEMBER

 

Thank you to everyone who participated in our forum restructuring discussion. Based on your input and staff discussions, the following forum changes have been implemented:

 

• The Metagaming forum is now a subforum of Archive of Wisdom and has been renamed to "Data and Research (Metagame Discussion)."
  
• The RuneScape Media forum now accepts things like video commentary in addition to artworks.
  
• The Tip.Iters RuneScape Events forum has been renamed to "Tip.Iters Events, Groups and Teams" to better incorporate looking for boss hunting groups or partners for similar activities.
  
• The Graveyard's "Rate This & Advice" forum has been removed. PKing questions may be posted in the regular Help & Advice.
  
• Literary discussion threads have been moved from the Varrock Library to Off-Topic. Actual works of literature will remain in the Varrock Library but general discussions about novels/literature may be posted in Off-Topic.
  
• The entire "Other Jagex Games" category and all forums inside of it have been removed. Users can create a thread for each game in the Video Games & Consoles forum. Once Stellar Dawn and/or Transformers Universe have been released, we will consider creating new forums for them if there is enough demand or popularity.
  
• The entire "ARENAScape" category and all forums inside of it have been removed. A thread can be created in the Video Games & Consoles forum if people wish to discuss the game or reminisce about old times.
  
• The Falador Tavern, Falador Library, and Rusco have all been merged into one forum (Falador Tavern).

The only real difference here from the initial proposal is that we decided not to follow through with removing the Sports & Fitness subforum.

 

If you have any questions about these changes please feel free to post in our discussion topic or contact a moderator or administrator via private message.

[The_Mather1]

• Merge the Falador Tavern, Falador Library, and Rusco into one forum (Falador Tavern).

WHAT?!?

No, just no!

 

I mean what the hell? We weren't even supposed to be the place for regular RP and now we become the RP subforum? That's just wrong. Why force this upon us? Don't we get a say in this? We got the subforum for Hegemony, the Zombie Survival Thread and the likes, then we (well, Archi) created Dungeoneering, so shouldn't you rather create a new subforum for RP and put Rusco and Falador Library there?

[Nexaduro]

• Merge the Falador Tavern, Falador Library, and Rusco into one forum (Falador Tavern).

WHAT?!?

No, just no!

 

I mean what the hell? We weren't even supposed to be the place for regular RP and now we become the RP subforum? That's just wrong. Why force this upon us? Don't we get a say in this? We got the subforum for Hegemony, the Zombie Survival Thread and the likes, then we (well, Archi) created Dungeoneering, so shouldn't you rather create a new subforum for RP and put Rusco and Falador Library there?

I see literally no issue here. Except, perhaps, that it's hard to just jump into the Tavern. When you think about it, it would probably be for the best if the Tavern became a subforum of a more active section itself, there just really isn't anything to stick it to.

 

I think you're the only Tavernite who has such an aversion to RPs, judging by past discussion. And if you just don't like them, just don't play them.

 

I'm giving my support to the change. :thumbup:

[Saradomin_Mage]

I understand wanting to get rid of the ARENAScape section because it's largely dead, but don't you feel like that game shares a part of the site's history?

[tripsis]

• Merge the Falador Tavern, Falador Library, and Rusco into one forum (Falador Tavern).

WHAT?!?

No, just no!

 

I mean what the hell? We weren't even supposed to be the place for regular RP and now we become the RP subforum? That's just wrong. Why force this upon us? Don't we get a say in this? We got the subforum for Hegemony, the Zombie Survival Thread and the likes, then we (well, Archi) created Dungeoneering, so shouldn't you rather create a new subforum for RP and put Rusco and Falador Library there?

Merging all those forums will have zero effect on what the purpose of the forum is. Rusco and the Falador Library have been dead for years. Nothing will actually change. There is not enough activity and demand to require so many subforums.

 

That being said, the Falador Tavern was meant to be a roleplaying forum.

[Carl]

Add a sub-forum to RuneScape General Discussion as "We don't even play RuneScape, but still feel the need to add in our negative mouthfuls on a daily basis.".

[The_Mather1]

Merging all those forums will have zero effect on what the purpose of the forum is. Rusco and the Falador Library have been dead for years. Nothing will actually change. There is not enough activity and demand to require so many subforums.

 

That being said, the Falador Tavern was meant to be a roleplaying forum.

Then why was Hegemony and the Zombie Survival Thread moved there? They are clearly not roleplays.

[Retech]

Jippers Mather, don't need to get so worked up about everything. :)

 

As long as things aren't messed up with the re-organization with threads ending up all over the place, I don't have much of an issue with that.

[Nexaduro]

Merging all those forums will have zero effect on what the purpose of the forum is. Rusco and the Falador Library have been dead for years. Nothing will actually change. There is not enough activity and demand to require so many subforums.

 

That being said, the Falador Tavern was meant to be a roleplaying forum.

Then why was Hegemony and the Zombie Survival Thread moved there? They are clearly not roleplays.

Stop complaining, it doesn't really matter. We lose nothing from this, and we don't want to clutter this thread.

 

We're pretty much just the 'serious games' forum ('cept for Last One to Post Wins, that's srs bsns).

[archimage_a]

Gotta agree with the admin on this one.

Back then(last time this was brought up) keeping all the various parts of Falador had a symbolic reason...it also had one or two practical reasons.

 

Now the symbolic reasons are less important and the practical reasons are less likely. Additionally having two subforums just makes it take longer to load the main page.

 

I would suggest, though, that Falador Tavern's sub name was changed from:

"Where roleplayers get together for discussions and adventures!"

To

"Roleplaying and Analysis, we work hard so we can play hard."

 

Or some variation to clear up the mind numbing debates about what Falador Tavern actually is.

 

 

 

If there is not already some sort of mental health/good samaratian board I would also like to request it.

 

Mather's talents as a guidance counciller seem underused and underappreciated in Falador...And Leiana could benfit from having people outside of Falador give her advice on her problems.

Would also suggest that public discussions directly involving someone talking about their specific problem, with no real relation to roleplaying, should have their discussions moved to said forum, since it is currently having a more than detrimental effect on everyone else in the Tavern.

[hide]

As a note to mather and lie. Stop. [bleep]ing. Mather, either talk to a psychologist or shut up about suicidal tendencies, those are your two options (aside from suicide, obviously) and if you swoon at your own god damned reflection you are in fact [bleep]ing narcissistic. Lie, GOD DAMMIT NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT HOW X AND Y HAPPENED IN YOUR LIFE. GET A [bleep]ING LIVEJOURNAL OR SOME OTHER BLOG IF YOU WANT TO COMPLAIN TO A GROUP OF PEOPLE. I AT LEAST DO. NOT. CARE.

Mather, you're not a psychologist.

 

None of us here, are psychologists. I realize in saying that I revoke my right to complain over your INCESSANT NARCISSISM, but it's better that you understand your limits as an individual, and accept that you could very well make things worse in an attempt to 'fix' a victim of depression.

 

By your own accounts, you barely receive regular human contact. That says to me that human nature isn't something you have particular knowledge of. You may make a good sounding board, but a sounding board does not a psychologist make.

The Falador Tavern: A place to kick back and figure each other's mental psyche out in The Emo Room. Seriously, that's what this place has turned into lately. The only posts I ever see as updated are the one thread, and this...about normal teen problems blown into catastrophic proportions. It's aggravating. Sorry I was harsh or "blunt". But that is seriously how I see it now.

AAAANGST.

 

EVERYBODY GET TO THE SHELTER, IT'S A PERFECT ANGSTSTORM. IT'S A 9.0 ON THE ANGSTOR SCALE. IT'S THE ANGSTPOCALYPSE.

 

Whelp, back to my raid. Pity I am essentially a spectator for 50%+ of this fight.

 

So stop thinking you're going to, you know you like living.

You know I really don't. The only reasons I'm still alive are guilt and stubbornness.

 

I agree with Archi and Iey... The amount of emotional turmoil in the room is reaching the point where I will come on here and just see depressing posts about how life is apparently unfair and what not.

 

All though it's all just teen angst. (Which itself is rather ironic in my opinion as most teenagers believe themselves to be unique when they all apparently have the same problems)

[/hide]

[tripsis]

Mental health discussions and people seeking advice in that area can be posted in our Real Life Help & Advice thread in Off-Topic.

[archimage_a]

I understand wanting to get rid of the ARENAScape section because it's largely dead, but don't you feel like that game shares a part of the site's history?

I agree.

Maybe a symbolic thread could be started 'RIP ARENAScape Forums', lest we forget.

 

Or, we could create a board for all the old boards(one thread per board), purely symbolic, just for people to post if they feel the need to be nostalgic.

[Corvus]

I Fully support all of the proposed changes, especially the Falador Library change due to the fact that it is a restricted posting board that has been totally abandoned, and now is only used by certain forum users as a way to try getting Admins to kill games they dont like even when there is barely anything running at one time in the tavern.

[Master_Smither]

Rename "Tip.Iters Runescape Events" to "Tip.Iters Events, Groups and Teams" to better incorporate looking for boss hunting groups or partners for similar activities.

 

I only disagree with this change.

[tripsis]

Rename "Tip.Iters Runescape Events" to "Tip.Iters Events, Groups and Teams" to better incorporate looking for boss hunting groups or partners for similar activities.

 

I only disagree with this change.

The reason behind that would be helpful :P

[Alg]

I Fully support all of the proposed changes, especially the Falador Library change due to the fact that it is a restricted posting board that has been totally abandoned, and now is only used by certain forum users as a way to try getting Admins to kill games they dont like even when there is barely anything running at one time in the tavern.

Perhaps a good option would be to remove the restriction for it.

For Rusco, it makes sense, since it's a game that hasn't had a post in more than a year, but the Library's only problem seems to be that anybody who would want to access it would have to go to the admins. It's hard enough for new players to get involved with the Tavern without that restriction.

 

Assuming that someone comes up with a game that would fit there, that is :razz:

[Leiana]

Would the games Dream Ender and the soon to be Dream Ender 2 (both games are mine) be counted as RPs?

[obfuscator]

Would the games Dream Ender and the soon to be Dream Ender 2 (both games are mine) be counted as RPs?

Well, if we merged the tavern and library, I'm sure the new board would be the right place.

[Corvus]

I Fully support all of the proposed changes, especially the Falador Library change due to the fact that it is a restricted posting board that has been totally abandoned, and now is only used by certain forum users as a way to try getting Admins to kill games they dont like even when there is barely anything running at one time in the tavern.

Perhaps a good option would be to remove the restriction for it.

For Rusco, it makes sense, since it's a game that hasn't had a post in more than a year, but the Library's only problem seems to be that anybody who would want to access it would have to go to the admins. It's hard enough for new players to get involved with the Tavern without that restriction.

 

Assuming that someone comes up with a game that would fit there, that is :razz:

Well, as a whole there is not really enough games running at any one time in the Falador Tavern to justify having to split them up. All that would result of keeping the split while enforcing it would be reducing the number of players as some people would not read the subforum. Yes having the split would make sense if we had 20 or so games actively running at the same time, but with less than 4 games running at pretty much any given time its just wasting time.

[Low C]

I agree condensing the board would be helpful and give more traffic to some areas. I fully approve the changes.

[D. V. Devnull]

Okay, here I go with an item-by-item (which I normally don't resort to) breakdown...

 

 

Make the Metagaming forum a subforum of Archive of Wisdom and rename it to "Data and Research."

If you're going to do this, make the subforum name "Data and Research (Metagame Discussion)". Otherwise, it will lose most of what causes it to make sense, which may cause some people to lose track of where that forum went. :-|

 

 

Change the RuneScape Media forum description/stickies to allow all sorts of videos/commentary/etc. instead of just artistic ones (unless they belong elsewhere like PKing videos in the Graveyard).

As long as it remains with a RuneScape-related requirement, I don't see any problem with this one. :)

 

 

Rename "Tip.Iters Runescape Events" to "Tip.Iters Events, Groups and Teams" to better incorporate looking for boss hunting groups or partners for similar activities.

Again, no problems here, I think. I might however re-categorize this forum in order to allow for more than just RuneScape events. We could potentially allow for FunOrb/WoL/etc. (e.g.: Any Jagex-made game) events here, depending on the retaining of the current FunOrb/WoL/SD forums. ;)

 

Personally, I'm surprised I haven't already seen a bunch of FunOrb-linked event threads down in its' board already. But, that may have been caused by the original lack of early adoption of a board for FunOrb-related stuff. :roll:

 

 

Remove the Graveyard's "Rate This & Advice" forum. PKing questions may be posted in the regular Help & Advice.

Seriously? Yuck. This would be like dumping iced tea in someone's hot coffee. Seeing as I'm not a PK'ing-oriented person, I would very much prefer not having PK'ing-related content in my face while I'm trying to look at the non-PK'ing-content of the H&A Forum! Of course, did you Mods/Admins think of Skiller/PvM players (of which I happen to be one of) when you thought of this? :angry:

 

 

Merge Sports & Fitness with Off-Topic.

While I don't visit Off-Topic, and don't have much of a personal tilt on this at all, I would beware the current Sports & Fitness crowd. I don't like the idea of hearing the serving of a bunch of knuckle sandwiches because they got mad at having their stuff merged with the usual Off-Topic traffic. :ohnoes:

 

 

Return literary discussions to Off-Topic. Actual works of literature will remain in the Varrock Library but general discussions about novels may be posted in Off-Topic.

Eh, good luck with this one. You might get an uproar from those who prefer their literary discussions separate from the usual Off-Topic traffic. :-s

 

 

Remove the entire "Other Jagex Games" category and all forums inside of it. Users can create a thread for each game in the Video Games & Consoles forum.

Uhh... NO... Just flat [bleep] NO! Dropping discussion of these in with PC/Console games is asking for nothing short of serious trouble. (That, and I don't need to land up with a good discussion about something like FunOrb's Arcanists and/or Steel Sentinels shoved down 3 pages by useless stuff... i.e.: Spongebob Squarepants, Crash Bandicoot, and/or Banjo-Kazooie ... the list goes on...) Especially if it gets limited to just one thread per game. Just have a look at the FunOrb Discussion forum, and you'll see just how multi-threaded and expanded things have been. And if FunOrb itself ever gets off the ground again? Well, this kind of removal/merge would result in a definite uproar. One you can be certain you'll find me involved with! :evil:

 

BTW, I may not be into Stellar Dawn and/or WoL, but I sense the same risk of trouble with removing these. In all cases, the last post dates may be somewhat old, but there are still Tip.It'ers who play those games from Jagex. :huh:

 

 

Remove the entire "ARENAScape" category and all forums inside of it. A thread can be created in the Video Games & Consoles forum.

I hope you checked with Silverion himself on this one. As I understand it, most of ARENAScape's history is there, and it will likely cause hell if this one is removed. :sad:

 

 

Merge the Falador Tavern, Falador Library, and Rusco into one forum (Falador Tavern).

After having reviewed the discussion of this particular item so far, I'm not going to even try to get involved with this. Consider me as "No Comment. Have fun bashing each other!" ... :twss:

 

 

Pardon me while I go relax my brain now. I just reminded myself what overload feels like... the hard way. <_<

 

 

~D. V. "I get the feeling someone is asking for trouble... but it ain't me, even though someone's got me seeing red..." Devnull

[Laikrob]

Add a sub-forum to RuneScape General Discussion as "We don't even play RuneScape, but still feel the need to add in our negative mouthfuls on a daily basis.".

I support. :razz:

 

Also, most of the changes look good. A few of them might take some time to get used to for most of us, but we always said that if subforums didn't work as intended, they could always be removed. I am glad to see that works in reality, even though topics such as health and fitness are worth having in one spot, as they don't "expire" in the same way as many RS related and Off topic topics. That way new users - or users with a new found interest in health and fitness - can easily find said topics.

[Gandorf61]

Make the Metagaming forum a subforum of Archive of Wisdom and rename it to "Data and Research."

If you're going to do this, make the subforum name "Data and Research (Metagame Discussion)". Otherwise, it will lose most of what causes it to make sense, which may cause some people to lose track of where that forum went. :-|

I support this. :thumbup:

 

Rename "Tip.Iters Runescape Events" to "Tip.Iters Events, Groups and Teams" to better incorporate looking for boss hunting groups or partners for similar activities.

Again, no problems here, I think. I might however re-categorize this forum in order to allow for more than just RuneScape events. We could potentially allow for FunOrb/WoL/etc. (e.g.: Any Jagex-made game) events here, depending on the retaining of the current FunOrb/WoL/SD forums. ;)

 

Personally, I'm surprised I haven't already seen a bunch of FunOrb-linked event threads down in its' board already. But, that may have been caused by the original lack of early adoption of a board for FunOrb-related stuff. :roll:

We could always add that to guidelines sticky but to be honest, even with the Funorb forum every event that people tried to hold didn't get very much participation so I don't think the need is really there.

 

Remove the Graveyard's "Rate This & Advice" forum. PKing questions may be posted in the regular Help & Advice.

Seriously? Yuck. This would be like dumping iced tea in someone's hot coffee. Seeing as I'm not a PK'ing-oriented person, I would very much prefer not having PK'ing-related content in my face while I'm trying to look at the non-PK'ing-content of the H&A Forum! Of course, did you Mods/Admins think of Skiller/PvM players (of which I happen to be one of) when you thought of this? :angry:

The Graveyard's Advice forum is dead anyways so I doubt you'd see more than one or two topics about pking a week in H&A anyways. That being said some people aren't skillers, and some people aren't monster hunters, we can't segregate everything based on personal preferences.

 

Merge Sports & Fitness with Off-Topic.

While I don't visit Off-Topic, and don't have much of a personal tilt on this at all, I would beware the current Sports & Fitness crowd. I don't like the idea of hearing the serving of a bunch of knuckle sandwiches because they got mad at having their stuff merged with the usual Off-Topic traffic. :ohnoes:

Sports & Fitness used to be part of Off-Topic to begin with; we made a subforum but it just didn't take off as well as we hoped which is why we want to merge them back again.

 

Return literary discussions to Off-Topic. Actual works of literature will remain in the Varrock Library but general discussions about novels may be posted in Off-Topic.

Eh, good luck with this one. You might get an uproar from those who prefer their literary discussions separate from the usual Off-Topic traffic. :-s

I don't think there will be much of an uproar considering the Varrock Library gets only a couple dozen posts a month at most. It's like the Sports & Fitness subforum, we moved literary discussions to the Varrock Library but they promptly died for the most part so we want to move them back and leave the Library solely for sharing creative works.

 

Remove the entire "Other Jagex Games" category and all forums inside of it. Users can create a thread for each game in the Video Games & Consoles forum.

Uhh... NO... Just flat [bleep] NO! Dropping discussion of these in with PC/Console games is asking for nothing short of serious trouble. (That, and I don't need to land up with a good discussion about something like FunOrb's Arcanists and/or Steel Sentinels shoved down 3 pages by useless stuff... i.e.: Spongebob Squarepants, Crash Bandicoot, and/or Banjo-Kazooie ... the list goes on...) Especially if it gets limited to just one thread per game. Just have a look at the FunOrb Discussion forum, and you'll see just how multi-threaded and expanded things have been. And if FunOrb itself ever gets off the ground again? Well, this kind of removal/merge would result in a definite uproar. One you can be certain you'll find me involved with! :evil:

 

BTW, I may not be into Stellar Dawn and/or WoL, but I sense the same risk of trouble with removing these. In all cases, the last post dates may be somewhat old, but there are still Tip.It'ers who play those games from Jagex. :huh:

They were expanded when they were first released because there was interest in them. Jagex's given up on Funorb now (It's going to be phased into "Jagex Games" I think on their Jagex site), War of Legend isn't nearly popular enough compared to other video games to merit a board, and unless we get some news about Stellar Dawn there's nothing to discuss. None of the forums have had any content discussed in months so there's really no sense in keeping them.

 

(So many quotes!)

[archimage_a]

Eh, good luck with this one. You might get an uproar from those who prefer their literary discussions separate from the usual Off-Topic traffic.

After having reviewed the discussion of this particular item so far, I'm not going to even try to get involved with this. Consider me as "No Comment. Have fun bashing each other!"

 

Having a background in both(If that background is somewhat out of date =P), and given that they are both (Potentially) being reordered...Might be an idea to roll them into a single board, with two subforums.

 

We(Tavern) have the 'Backroom', which is purely off topical, and Varrock has the 'Literary Discussions' which would both fit into the main board, which would be for 'General' Literary Discussion.*

While Literary Works would fit into the Varrock Sub Forum, and Rolepla-ie games would fit into the Falador Sub Forum.

 

 

The idea being that roleplaying and critic-ing (and writing) stories are both reasonably intensive, so people forum relations and in-jokes which may spill over into off topic discussion, which disrupts threads.

Not only that, but a group (say 10+ people) can seem impenatrable, especially when there are dominate personalities in them.

Thus a person may post a story, recieve some constructive advice without feeling like they treading on anyone's toes, and then, if they are comfortable indulge in more off topical discussion within the group...getting to know people and slowly gaining confidence enough to post why they said X, or what they mean in paragraph Y.

 

I mean a post that takes longer than ten minutes to type...you want to know that people are actually going to read it.

 

 

*Yeah, slightly pre-emptively, you could just go to Off Topic. Valid point...But as Gandorf says there are only a dozen or so posts in Varrock a month, while Falador still manages a far higher amount, which keeps people interested, which keeps up activity, so the board doesn't die, and the regulars drift off (as happened in Varrock a number of times).

Thus when a new idea comes along it doesn't land on totally barren ground.

[Hawks]

* Make the Metagaming forum a subforum of Archive of Wisdom and rename it to "Data and Research."

Kk

* Change the RuneScape Media forum description/stickies to allow all sorts of videos/commentary/etc. instead of just artistic ones (unless they belong elsewhere like PKing videos in the Graveyard).

Yep.

* Rename "Tip.Iters Runescape Events" to "Tip.Iters Events, Groups and Teams" to better incorporate looking for boss hunting groups or partners for similar activities.

Yeah, and confuse me less with TET and stuff. :thumbup:

* Remove the Graveyard's "Rate This & Advice" forum. PKing questions may be posted in the regular Help & Advice.

Okay.

* Merge Sports & Fitness with Off-Topic.

No thanks - we get a fair amount of posts there and the problem is with the 'normal' culture of OT, that sports threads will die immediately, or lead to one sports thread, either of which is not a good plan. Plus we've only had it for like a year! Don't take it away please.

* Return literary discussions to Off-Topic. Actual works of literature will remain in the Varrock Library but general discussions about novels may be posted in Off-Topic.

Would rather not for the same reason. Lit discussions get people who care in Varrock, in normal OT they'd die in a day.

* Remove the entire "Other Jagex Games" category and all forums inside of it. Users can create a thread for each game in the Video Games & Consoles forum.

Iffy on this, but I don't use them.

* Remove the entire "ARENAScape" category and all forums inside of it. A thread can be created in the Video Games & Consoles forum.

See comment on other Jagex games

* Merge the Falador Tavern, Falador Library, and Rusco into one forum (Falador Tavern).

I probably can't really comment on this, but I vote against this.. They seem happy with it how it is and there's really too much stuff to make it worth merging.