carlsson Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 For comparison, the few Mattel Aquarius users get to share their subforum with the much larger Intellivision userbase, including subforums for development. People tend to tag their topics by system to make them more visible, something I'm sure could be done with these use cases as well, e.g. [Tutor], [Geneve], [Cortex] etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew180 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I'm generally opposed to more subforums, they create a separation of more than just the topics. It can also create confusion as to where exactly a post should go, which just creates frustration for users. Just like carlsson just suggested, every thread started has a field for tags, so a solution might be to come up with a specific set of agree upon tags and post the list in a sticky thread for reference. That would make finding and filtering for specific topics much easier. I also I strongly agree with InsaneMultitasker, it is always better to find an old thread on a topic and post to it, rather than start a new thread on the same topic. Also, staying on topic is important to making searching past threads possible an useful. As soon as a thread starts going off topic, people should have the courtesy to make a new thread on the tangent topic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Tags are extremely useful when used properly. Pick an appropriate tag and tick the check box to make it the prefix, and you can put a "CC40" or "9995 Assembly" right in front of the subject. You can also search for tabs. Browsing, and to a large degree searching, is also made more easy when using appropriate subjects. A subject of "The amazing moment I figured it out" is not an appropriate topic for "I plugged my Atari joystick into my TI and it doesn't work. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?" (My customers do that too, sending me emails with subjects of the name of the business or just "HELP!" Immediately I can handle it, but searching later can be a pain in the rump.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 ^^agreed with both the above posters^^ Tagging posts within a sticky thread entitled Beyond 4A or Non-/4A computing would be optimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Tagging posts within a sticky thread entitled Beyond 4A or Non-/4A computing would be optimum. Eh, a sticky thread for "Non TI-99/4A" could / would have CC40, Tomy Tutor, Geneve, OT etc. in one thread !?!? Wouldn't a sub-forum be better ? Isn't tagging for topics / threads and not posts ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Disagree with the above three posters. ^^^ We have tags already; they are rarely used properly, and being granted a single thread for discussing "everything beyond" is not really appropriate in my view. On the other hand, as I already said, I don't really see the problem. When the subforum starves, people just move back to the main forum again. Tried it, wasn't the big thing after all, hello again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Eh, a sticky thread for "Non TI-99/4A" could / would have CC40, Tomy Tutor, Geneve, OT etc. in one thread !?!? Wouldn't a sub-forum be better ? Isn't tagging for topics / threads and not posts ? I was referring to tagging individual threads, then linking them in a sticky thread... Similarly to what Matthew180 suggested. I guess I wasn't super clear. It is an interesting debate... Like I said before, I definitely see the merit in a subforum, I just don't really know how much we gain by it... I've been looking around, and other than the general "Classic Computing" primary forum, there isn't a place for the CC40/TI74/Tutor discussions. I say poll it. I know which way I will likely vote, but there seem to be some good arguments for a new subforum. Let's see how the folks feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Polling is OK, but a majority vote does not make sense - there is arguably only a small set of forum users who would immediately have an advantage. But it is good to see how many interested people there are (in absolute numbers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Agree with @mizapf on the polling. As well in any case, all this talk is completely academic unless someone approaches the Powers That Be with a compelling supporting argument for the motion. I do not see this as a community-driven question in the first place. It comes down to a handful of people who want their own sub-forum for x purpose and another handful who will visit said sub if created. The sub has to become a life of its own. The real question I see is whether the proposed sub should be a sub-forum of the TI-99/4A section(s) or its own stand-alone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 If users are unable to fill in tags and/or amend the topic line with a [system] indicator, likely they will post in the wrong subforum as well. As for forum diversity, I suppose the Colecovision subforum has the most: one for programming and one each for the major homebrew publishers. I don't know what it takes to convince admins to set up a such structure, probably a number of scattered posts that need to be grouped together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 If users are unable to fill in tags and/or amend the topic line with a [system] indicator, likely they will post in the wrong subforum as well. Hmm. I don't think so. Tagging and amending is always optional, while posting in a forum requires you to choose. Also, you can invent new tags as desired. This makes tagging a vague and extra work. We have two TI-related forums, and this seems to work, doesn't it? I don't see an issue with a forum that has a clear non-4A focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+acadiel Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I was talking to someone tonight that says we should have one game forum and one non game forum (based on frequency of topics.) I think the current arrangement is fine. We probably should have a sticky that asks folks to search first and add to relevant threads before starting new ones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Some would welcome another forum, others not so much, so... How about this... If it's not really broken, why not kick the can down the road for awhile? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I was talking to someone tonight that says we should have one game forum and one non game forum (based on frequency of topics.) I think the current arrangement is fine. We probably should have a sticky that asks folks to search first and add to relevant threads before starting new ones. Well, being as I am primarily the one who moved topics between forums during the last split, dare I ask who will step up to the task this next time? Just kidding. I have said my piece on the subject at hand and rest my case. Objectively, I see compelling arguments on both sides. I see where if we start mimicking a structure like our parent forums (look at AtariAge from the root) we may see both a splitting and a growth to the community. AtariAge is a lot like Atlanta in that you can spend half your life there and never see more than a few areas of the city. While I am not personally compelled to change the status quo, I see nothing fatal in changing the structure so long as we all meet every year to celebrate the diverse ties that bind us, be it in Chicago or places beyond (IRL *gasp*.) I have some ideas built from the various mentions in this thread which I shall share with everyone this weekend. While I am not approaching this from a truly neutral perspective I still possess a romantic notion of a little "TexasAge" within AtariAge could prove to be a surprising success. Maybe we cannot rise up and take over the world like Amiga will soon, but perhaps we can be a larger part of it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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