Forum Reorg.

I have to admit I like the new reorganization of the forum. I have few issues though:

1) iPad Apps and Hardware should be moved up one line so all three "Apps and Hardware" forums are grouped together.

2) I almost think that the ATV forum should be up with the iOS stiff (iPad, iPod, iPhone). Since it's an iOS device it seems like it could go there, but it could stay put as well.

3) I think the Mac OSX Software groups should be right below the general discussion groups. Just my opinion.

Thanks for the feedback. We may consider moving ATV if it ever gets apps and behaves more like other iOS devices. For now, it just doesn't fit.

Will quote my other post here cause I think it applies here also.

Actually I don't like the changes. I see where you went with them and I like the idea. But I think it's just a lot of multiple areas covering the same things. If it was me I'd have done it like this.

iphone Hardware and Accessories
ipod Hardware and Accessories
ipad Hardware and Accessories
iOS - Operating System
iOS - Applications and Games
iOS - Development

That way of doing things would keep it inline with the others areas of the forum such as the Mac and OS X. They are just my opinions.

And also I see you've moved some of the other sections of the forum around. And these other moves I agree with 100%. Now they are all in the areas they should be.

Click to expand...

Well, a plus of the "current change" is that a person with only an iPhone or only an iPad doesn't need to sort through the irrelevant threads.

Another problem is, if the forums labels are too broad, members tend to label threads very poorly. You're never really sure what device they are going to be talking about in an "Operating System" or "Applications and Games" forum. There are slight to moderate variations between iOS and apps between the devices.

But making the forums broad does make it simple place a thread. But it shouldn't be an issue.

I like the new re-org. Makes it a lot easier to scan through all the posts and keep things in order.

I never understood what this forum has against using sub-forums.

baggss said:

I never understood what this forum has against using sub-forums.

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Because they're confusing for people who aren't used to forums (which are most non-technical people) and the few times in the past where we tried them, they rarely were used.

schweb said:

Because they're confusing for people who aren't used to forums (which are most non-technical people) and the few times in the past where we tried them, they rarely were used.

Click to expand...

Actually if you organised the sub forums so the sub forum links appeared on the main forum page as well as well as in the forum they are sub to, then it would work.

But I think the aim here to simplify things here. A lot of the people who stumble across these forums find it a struggle to navigate through the finder and to other basic tasks in OS X. And we don't want to scare off this crowd by making the forum any harder to use then it should be.

We've never had anyone complain about not being able to find something. We just have lazy people who just default their new threads to "Anything Goes". I would think, if anyone who is scared away by the navigation of a forum is more likely to not understand sub forums, anyways. So it might not be a bad thing that we don't have sub forums.

I'm not sure we have ever scared someone with the forum navigation here.

I'm not sure if this happened during the recent reorg. (probably not)...but I was trying to help someone out with a question (and I knew the answer was in the "Community Information Center")...but for the life of me I couldn't find the Community Info Center.

Then I finally found it...at the top of the forums list...but by default it seems to be in the "closed state". I'm thinking that this is probably pretty hard for new folks to find...and if the Community Info Center was in the "open state" (by default)...that would be more visable for new members.

- Nick

p.s. I'm guessing this was done to "shorten" the length of the forums list.

pigoo3 said:

I'm not sure if this happened during the recent reorg. (probably not)...but I was trying to help someone out with a question (and I knew the answer was in the "Community Information Center")...but for the life of me I couldn't find the Community Info Center.

Then I finally found it...at the top of the forums list...but by default it seems to be in the "closed state". I'm thinking that this is probably pretty hard for new folks to find...and if the Community Info Center was in the "open state" (by default)...that would be more visable for new members.

- Nick

p.s. I'm guessing this was done to "shorten" the length of the forums list.

Click to expand...

Are you talking about the double arrows that expand and collapse the forums? I'm not sure, I've seen it collapsed by default.

Are you referring to the double arrows, like the one in my attachment?

iWhat said:

Are you talking about the double arrows that expand and collapse the forums? I'm not sure, I've seen it collapsed by default.

Are you referring to the double arrows, like the one in my attachment?

Click to expand...

Yes...that's what I was referring to. The Community Info Center being collapsed by default. I wasn't using the arrows to expand it (but that would work as well)...I clicked on the Community Info Center title...and that sent me to a page with all of the Community Info Center sub-forums.

The font size of each forum section is smaller than the font size of each sub-forum title.

For example: The forum section title "General Discussions" is a smaller font than the sub-forum "Switcher Hangout" (which appears to be a larger font & bolded). I think that this is fine if the sub-forum section is expanded...but when a sub-form is collapsed (like the Community Info Center) this makes it less visible.

Like most things...after you discover it for the first time...then all is good. I'm sure I will have no trouble finding it in the future. But for brand new members or recently new members...this section (Community Info Center) may be tough to spot.

- Nick

p.s. Ahh...I also just noticed that after I clicked on the "double arrows" to expand the Community Info Center...then upon subsequent Mac-Forums webpage "reloads"...this section stays expanded.

I'm not sure if this happened due to a previous update to the Mac-Forums home page...or if maybe I accidentally "collapsed" this section previously.

None of the forum sections are hidden by default. So you must have accidentally clicked that at some point.

schweb said:

None of the forum sections are hidden by default. So you must have accidentally clicked that at some point.

Click to expand...

Good deal...I guess it must have been me!!!

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Good deal...I guess it must have been me!!!

- Nick

Click to expand...

Yeah, there's not even a setting for us to make that happen.

But either way, it's a cool discovery, I don't think I ever clicked that button before!

schweb said:

But either way, it's a cool discovery, I don't think I ever clicked that button before!

Click to expand...

Yeah...the interesting thing is...if the "double arrows" are clicked for "expanded or collapsed"...the setting seems to be retained when Mac-Forums is reloaded after visiting other web page's. Unless it's simply a "cached" page or "cookie" thing.

- Nick