Forum Update and Reorg

Yep. No justification needed for that. "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it" means that you need to show it is broken. If you are satisfied with the status quo then, by definition, you are among those who "don't think it's broken" so that doesn't need to be demonstrated. It's true by definition.

Despite the number of times my name has come up in this thread, I don't much care on the "merge forums" thing, because I don't honestly think I would pay that much more attention to things if they were. When I use the "Unread Posts" feature to navigate (which I do sometimes), I usually skip over what's in a lot of forums anyway. I couldn't care less about the arcade, I have almost never looked at Gunforge (which, despite it's name, is not about all things having to do with camping; that's why EzriTorres' thread on camping is still in the Green Room), and I rarely bother with Media Central, Iron Room or Gold Room.

Where it would make a difference to me is when I return to the board after being gone a week or six, as (you may have noticed) happens so often. I don't use the "Unread Posts" feature when the number of posts is in the hundreds, or even the thousands. I usually look at the first two or three pages of the Red Room, check out the Blue Room and maybe the Green Room, and check into the Help Desk to see if there is anything interesting going on. That takes me a couple of days at least.

If more of the stuff that might possibly interest me (Techforge, Gold Room and Iron Room, maybe gun threads) was in the Green Room, I would see it a bit more easily. But that wouldn't exactly increase my participation on the board a huge amount. When I return from an absence, I usually have a huge amount of RL stuff to catch up on, so by the time I get around to checking out the more arcane parts of WF a lot of the threads are long since inactive anyway.

I do maintain, though, that whether or not rooms are mushed together and whether or not forum names are changed, I would like to see a rule that allows a thread to stay in the Red Room without having to throw in stupid "Oh and, by the way, so and so is a pedophile" nonsense just to keep it there.

No, but it doesn't mean changing for the sake of changing is a good thing, either. Even when a change is for the better, it means new habits, loss of familiarity, and so on. I have no problem with those who are satisfied with things the way they are. I have merely stated my opinion that it could be better, but that doesn't make my opinion any more valid than theirs.

You know, after sleeping on it I have this to say on the matter and will probably bow out.

Leave it alone. It ain't broke. I actuslly fail to care what anyone else wants to do to "shake things up" it's apparent to me that the majority of us want it just the way it is.

Outside of my previous suggestion, (of main threads named as Lanz wants/subforums), the one that Anc apparently didn't read and I know Timmeh didn't read because I had already mentioned the Facebook page, this has become a waste of time for me.

Facebook linkage beyond what we already have is not a good idea as Tamar pointed out. We have had our privacy rules in place for near a decade and the resulting trouble from others tossing out things from here could have real world conciquences.

I figure new people around here is an alright objective but to destroy what we have to get it is pretty a pretty dumb move and may drive more of us away.

There, I rest my end of this debate.

Because it's stupid and I don't like it, FTW IMHO.

I could see dropping Camp Wordforge, the Gray Room, and even merging Press Start into Media Central. Even most Gold Room posts would fit in either the Green Room or Techforge (BTW, count me in with the ones saying to keep that name). Beyond that, I'm fine with the board as is.

If you want all the dear, departed posters to return, I doubt that a board layout transformation is going to be a real selling point. Personally, I think most of them have moved on to other things and am doubtful that many would return here, anyway.

My problem with this is that it's very easy to secure a Facebook account and there are countless spam accounts on Facebook. It's not like the old days when all you needed was a .edu e-mail address. Doing this would provide an easier path for spammers being able to start spamming here almost immediately.

There is a lot of conservatism at Wordforge. It's not surprising that they don't like change. My grandparents don't like change either.

I read your post, but it came after the post I was quoting. Congratulations on mentioning the Facebook page first, do you want a medal?

Agreed completely.

For the thousands of boards that have the FB bridge, this hasn't been a problem at all.

This is a canard. What people actually don't like is, change just for the sake of change.

Or, change for a gain that is perceived as less important than the inconvenience of the change.

But most people, even "conservatives," have plenty of things they would like to see changed. It's just that they need a valid reason for the changes. "I'm tired of it this way" isn't usually enough of a reason...

That's just it, there is no reason, just a want to make a change for the sake of said change.

"Oh, I saw this over here and I think blah, blah, blah. We should do this that and the other thing!!!1!!"

Pah. Malarkey.


If things were bad I'd be the first one to say do something but there is no real problem here, just the want of a few to push the boundries to say they did. It's as clear as can be.

I and apparently many others actually like the way things are.

One other thing about Facebook: I don't want them knowing I come here. That log in with Facebook let's them track where I go on the internet.

Let us not forget that from Facebook's perspective we Facebook users are the "merchandise" and not the customers. Same with Google and GMail.

I have laid out multiple reasons multiple times, but they just ignored and strawmen argued against in their place.

My understanding is that no one would be forced to use Facebook to Login. Current posters would in no way be effected.

It would only add the OPTION for new registrations to use it instead of an email account. This has the advantage of bypassing the spam filter so if a new person WAS exposed to a thread they wanted to quickly jump into, they would have that ability instead of having to wait a few days for a Mod to get around approving the account as is the current system.

But why do you not like it? Just b/c it is something different? In what way do you think it would negatively impact your experience on the board?

He doesn't have to prove a negative. You have to prove a positive.

Fine.

A positive.

We should reorganize the board to piss you off.

You last posted in Press Start two weeks ago and you've had 13 posts in there all year...kind of an empty threat.

Now, I understand this kind of attitude even less than the frenzy to change things.

What fricken difference does it make what forum a thread is in if the topic is of interest? Why do you care if Press Start is separate or part of Media Central?

It makes no sense to me.

Yeah.

I don't see any reason to change anything at all, to be quite honest.

That said, I doubt I'm going to get particularly butthurt if Lanzman does decide to implement a change.

Yep. I post at The Tortoise Forum (yep, I have a tortoise, and there's a forum for it) and they have a free app that is excellent.

So the ideas that have come up and were told were being looked into/discussed:

Updating Board Software. What is the status of this?

Merging Forums. What is the status of this?

Allowing log in with FB Credentials IOT bypass spam filter. What is the status of this?

Allowing posters to keep threads in the RR that they want there without having to anchor them with insults and expletives. What is the status of this?

As long as the forum didn't use open graph, I would have no problem with facebook login credentials. Thing is, I think FB login credentials are part of open graph.

Updating the software is great - 'twas my idea.

All the other ones? No.