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 The Designers' Café was originally made so that there was a forum for DISCUSSION about designing, but now it's just turned into another help forum.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.

I'm fine with either. And I miss the old Resource Center, especially the Designers' Cafe being casual discussion rather than a help forum, as you said. It's my baby.

The Community Center's organization is old. Even with the many Interests subforums, something different would be nice.

yeah I def. agree about the Designers Cafe that used to be one of my favorite foums, but now it's all about help. Maybe we should have like Graphics help or something, but other then that i kind of like the way the forums are now.

^ Yeah I agree, we need a graphic help forum and Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, gimp, etc, would be the categories. I can deal with the way it is now but I like your suggestion's better.

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?

I think a request forum is a great idea it would clean the forums up because a lot of topics is requests topics.

The showcase really needs to be divided up more. I hate going in there and having to sort through Myspace, Xanga, etc. when all I want to see are the regular graphics and blends

I really missed the old organization of the resource center. It takes some getting use to but I did like how it was organized on how the showcase and help was under myspace and same and so forth for livejournal, xanga, etc.

Also yea I thought the designers cafe was more for discussion not some huge help center. I guess with this newer version we lost a lot of positive things about the resource center. I suppose we gained some new things but of course I feel like their not getting used very much

I personally think the request forum should be brought back in some ways. In others not so much just because when we had them last time almost all topics ended up closed and never reopened and the ones that didn't have to be closed would just sit there...so if we did bring it back I think we shouldn't have any requirements to make requests...and it would just be like a new forum like the Official members lounge was just made (although in community, this would be in resource) and just name it Requests and its just a plain forum and we could have one pinned topic or like little fill out forms for each time of request.

Great idea, Anna!

*applauds*

I mean, Alysia.







xx

I miss the designers cafe, where we just discussed design related things. and sorting through the showcase is annoying, i dont want myspace or any of those layouts, i only want to see graphics, ya kno?

^ I just miss the old way the Resource Forums were. I think we should come up with some fresh ideas for the community forums.

^As for the Community Center, it has been brought up before here and here.

you mean to say alysia = anna, the one who james gave his password to and was lurking backstage for months and months?

^OOHHHH so thats what happened?


Oh I think the best thing to do if they want to keep the same organization as it is now, then it would be best to put subforums in the showcase center to kind of copy the look of the support center.


That's Anna? O_O

You know, respecting privacy is never a bad thing.

Anywho, if we're going to make a siiingle change to the forums, it is definitely to devide up Showcase. Wayyy too confusing in there.

Wait, I'm confused. Are you saying the organization should be that way? Because it never has. We haven't had subforums that specific.