15 replies to this topic

[RichardB]

Something changed! THANKS! It's easier to get around now and some of the circular links are no longer cluttering things! 'Makes finding things much easier.

[finGrabber]

are you talking about all the sub-forms being gone?

[RichardB]

are you talking about all the sub-forms being gone?

Yes, they are a pain and, honestly, it looked a bit messy. I can't find it now, but there was one that linked you to another sub that linked you back to the main forum on another. Nothing personal to the Admins, but it got to where it was a forum board gymnastics event to get around. Specifically, getting in and out of the trip planning/calander areas. This is much better and much easier to find the trips without getting side tracked into other forums.

I'm sure it was especially confusing to some of the newer members.

[Marion1336]

YES! It IS looking tidy around here. We will continue to throw in these trip linkies to make sure EVERYONE knows how to find their way to these great trips. Come join us!!!

[dustbowl diver]

I had noticed that things were changing on a gradual basis every time I logged on. It looks great!!

So, to those of you behind the scenes-



DBD

[chinacat46]

Yeah the sub forums were a couple extra clicks which really weren't needed.

[WreckWench]

Does this mean you prefer the main list of forums to be longer rather than having some sub forums to tidy up things not frequently used but better if segregated?

Or do you just wish some of the popular subforums such as the games/contests etc to be made into main forums?

We are still trying to find the optimum balance between too many main forums and too many high volume or critical forums being sub forums.

[chinacat46]

Well if the sub forums are rarely used then they would be okay. But in your example the Games sub forum was heavily used so was the 2005 trip reports. It was just extra clicks to get to them but when you do it all the time it was pain.

[WreckWench]

I agree...it seems if the forum is not heavily used then a subforum acts more as a folder and keeps topics organized...and off the main board which is getting fairly lengthy these days.

However if it is used a lot...ie. games, trip reports or trips then it makes sense to make it a main forum. The only question on the latter is where to store old trips from last year and last year's trips reports. The logical place is under 'Trip Reports' and then have a folder aka subforum for 2004 and 2005. Or perhaps you have Current Trip Reports or Recent Trip Reports and then another forum called Previous Trip reports with the older years i.e. 2004 etc under that.

Any preferences or suggestions?

[Walter]

You're welcome. I spent Saturday evening and a good portion of Sunday cleaning it up. It's nice to know it's appreciated.

I can't find it now, but there was one that linked you to another sub that linked you back to the main forum on another.

That's because it was pointed out to me and I cleaned it up as well as eliminating the subforums.

The logical place is under 'Trip Reports' and then have a folder aka subforum for 2004 and 2005. Or perhaps you have Current Trip Reports or Recent Trip Reports and then another forum called Previous Trip reports with the older years i.e. 2004 etc under that.

Of course, one forum for trip reports where the older reports simply move on down and out of the way gives us the best of both worlds. No extra clicks to find the forum you want.

if the forum is not heavily used then a subforum acts more as a folder and keeps topics organized...and off the main board which is getting fairly lengthy these days.

If a forum isn't being used, we don't need it.

[RichardB]

Anything to do away with sub forums and especially a sub forum that links you to another forum. The first time I tried to get to the list of scheduled dive trips I ended up with three windows open and it finally linked me back to the main forum one step down.

As for the number of forums, right now there are 54 forums open to users (if I counted correctly). Eight or nine of them haven't had a post in two or three months or more. Ten or more have less than 10 posts. Several, like I'm Headed Your Way! and I need an SD dive buddy for my trip! seem redundant and could logically be combined. Same with games, contest, jokes and ect. Why not just have one forum for these? Even SD 2005 Group Trip Reports!, Reports from 2005 SD Events, Happy Hours and Activites!, Last years fun... and Previous Singles Dive Trips! seem a bit redundant and could be combined somewhat. The "Where in the World are you Diving" section can also be streamlined a bit. 90% of the posts are in one forum with several of the forums rarely used.

I just feel that the easier, more concise, less obstructive the site is, the more user friendly it is and the more people will use, post, read and enjoy. This leads to more activity, a stronger member base and a larger, more involved membership.

And, while we're on it, the I'm Headed Your Way! forum has a 4 paragrpah tag line. Can some of this be placed in the forum itself? It would sure help reduce a lot of scrolling if this (and other) tag lines were not so (overly) detailed.

Edited by RichardB, 04 May 2005 - 06:50 AM.

[WreckWench]

RichardB we are looking at many of the issues you raised. However as a point of clarification a number of the forums serve different purposes and therefore have been segregated. For example The "I'm Headed Your Way" forum allows divers to hook up with members of the local area when they are visiting for work or fun. The "I'm Looking for a Dive Buddy" is a new service being offered by SD Travel which will help you find a dive buddy on the site when you make your travel plans via SD. (We are negotiating contracts with liveaboards, resorts and dive operators all over the world to offer our members.)

And some of the organization is for future growth...which we may or may not need as we grow.

Thank you for your insight...it is all being taken into consideration. -ww

[RichardB]

You're welcome. I spent Saturday evening and a good portion of Sunday cleaning it up. It's nice to know it's appreciated.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

[RichardB]

Thank you for your insight...it is all being taken into consideration. -ww

and THANK YOU!
Anything to help streamline and straighten up is a good thing and facilitates the enjoyment of SD! Will you also be re-formating the forum colums so they are all the same width?

THANKS AGAIN!

[WreckWench]

During our clean up efforts we lost a number of the main links from our home page i.e. upcoming trips and trip reports. If you click on them they say 'broken link'. Also on the portal page when you click on trips, cool sd stuff, etc. the links are all broken as well as a number of the links inside the board. The links inside the board are readily fixable however the ones on the main website and portal are not.

We just did a consumer show last weekend in Seattle and have 2-3 more scheduled this month, so it is imperative that we fix the links that now no longer work. This means reversing some of the forums to the positioning they were in prior to our clean up efforts. Our webmaster is extremely busy right now so we must return some of the forums to their original state for them to work properly.

Thank you for understanding. Kamala