Forum Revamp, Attempt 4. Options

[*Alysia*]

It's been discussed numerous times before, each time with less enthusiasm, with people just throwing out their suggestions and disappearing. Could we DISCUSS how people generally want to organize things before suggesting any specific organization?

I think there's been a general discontentment about the abruptly changed cB4 Resource Center, especially the showcase, which everyone has pretty much agreed NEEDS to be further organized because nobody wants to venture into that mess. In any case, should the parent forums be the sites themselves?

(e.g.:
Myspace
> Help
> Showcase
Xanga
> Help
> Showcase
etc.)

Or should the parent forums be the categories?

(e.g.:
Help
> Myspace
> Xanga
> Livejournal
> Blogger
> Website
> Movable Type
> Wordpress
> Friendster
> Hi5
Showcase
> Graphics
> Myspace
> Xanga
> Livejournal
> Blogger
etc.)

I know that personally I don't like that the Webmasters' Corner/Designers' Café/Developers' Cubicle are still open to questions. The Designers' Café was originally made so that there was a forum for DISCUSSION about designing, but now it's just turned into another help forum.

As for the Community Center organization, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with it per se, but it is just a TAD stale, with it having been essentially the same with only minor changes throughout cB history. There are, I think we can agree, too many subforums within interests that people don't bother going there, though.

[*Alysia*]

Yeah, I prefer having the categories as parent forums (more similar to what we have now) because there would be considerably fewer forums on the main board index than if it were the other way around.

Definitely need the graphics showcase back so that (hopefully) activity there gets bumped up. Definitely need graphics help back so that the Designers' Café goes back to the way it was. I'd go with bringing back general website help so that the Webmasters' Corner can be used to talk about hosting details and such and leaving the Developers' Cubicle as is because it already moves really slow.. OR following Trish's suggestion (from one of the previous threads) by merging the last two into a "Website Development" deal.

Anyone feel that a general Requests forum is necessary? It was suggested before, but generally previous requests were closed (because oftentimes members didn't meet the requirements) or just rarely if ever fulfilled.

Suggestions on how to go about freshening up the community center?