# [IC board]  Needs a bit of orginisation. . .



## Shapermc (Jan 21, 2003)

Hola there mods and admins.

I am not one to normally ask things from higher beings, but I think that I am in the clear here from any retrobution.  Well none the less I think that my Subj. header sums it up.  There are becoming alot of games in there (and I have not been "here" that long so the increase in that short of time means that it is not stoping) and sometimes games drop to page 2 within an hour  

Well my idea was that there could be a bit of division for this. . .

In Character 
                    |
                     -Recruiting
                    |
                     - D&D
                    |
                     - Other d20
                    |
                     - OOC Threads
 
I think that something of that manner would be great.  Now mind you that I know that there would be a bit of time for things to get moved or this may even be beyond your capabilities, but if it is not already, with in the next 2/3 months it will be a necessity.

If you need more clarifycation then just LMK and I will fill in sme details.  

-Regards


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## Piratecat (Jan 21, 2003)

Thank you for the heads up!

We'll discuss this. If we do so, what we might do is create "Playing the game" (for all games) and "Talking the Talk" (for recruitment and OOC discussion), or something similar. Then, later, we'll split it further if necessary.  Would this work?


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## Mr Fidgit (Jan 21, 2003)

it would clear up alot of the congestion...


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## Darkness (Jan 21, 2003)

Piratecat said:
			
		

> *... what we might do is create "Playing the game" (for all games) and "Talking the Talk" (for recruitment and OOC discussion), or something similar. Then, later, we'll split it further if necessary.  Would this work? *



Sounds like just the thing that could help there, if we feel the need to do anything at all.


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## garyh (Jan 21, 2003)

I dig P-Kitty's idea.  I think that's enough of a breakdown for now.


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## Terraism (Jan 21, 2003)

Piratecat said:
			
		

> *Thank you for the heads up!
> 
> We'll discuss this. If we do so, what we might do is create "Playing the game" (for all games) and "Talking the Talk" (for recruitment and OOC discussion), or something similar. Then, later, we'll split it further if necessary.  Would this work? *



I've just started frequenting the IC forum, 'cause I'll be running a game soon, and I've noticed the clutter.  (It's actually part of the reason I've steered clear of it before.)  Anyway, I think that's a perfect solution.


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## Dinkeldog (Jan 21, 2003)

Is the table of contents theory not working?  That was supposed to help clear most of this problem up.


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## garyh (Jan 21, 2003)

Dinkeldog said:
			
		

> *Is the table of contents theory not working?  That was supposed to help clear most of this problem up. *




Not everyone is using the table of contents.  And even if it did have a complete listing, it doesn't solve the problem of threads sliding down to the second page so quickly it's hard to tell what's been updated.


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## Shapermc (Jan 21, 2003)

> If we do so, what we might do is create "Playing the game" (for all games) and "Talking the Talk" (for recruitment and OOC discussion), or something similar. Then, later, we'll split it further if necessary. Would this work?




This would be a great first step.  The only thing that I can think of is that this may only be a temporary solution.  Most of the threads in there are IC so by putting the OOC threads seperate that will alleviate the problem of threads disapearing for a bit, but after the pace picks up a bit. . . 

I think it is a great idea none the less. I was just thinking into the future!  hehehe I like to plan far ahead and get it out of the way so that there is less to do later, but none the less it would still help.  Great Idea.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Jan 21, 2003)

I hate to say it, but i think an ooc/recuiting forum woulds help. It really is becomeing hard to tell what's been updated and what hasn't. Especially if you don't want to subscribe to 10-20+ game and OOC threads.


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## Wippit Guud (Jan 21, 2003)

I haven't really noticed that Rogue Gallery is cluttered, but maybe having a Characters forum along with the IC and OOC forums...


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## Shapermc (Jan 21, 2003)

Wippit Guud said:
			
		

> *I haven't really noticed that Rogue Gallery is cluttered, but maybe having a Characters forum along with the IC and OOC forums... *




I was thinking of this. . . but it may be a bit confusing for persons that use the Rouges Gallery to find it if it gets moved. . .


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## Wippit Guud (Jan 21, 2003)

Only confusing for the short-duration, once people get used to it it'll be second nature.


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## Piratecat (Jan 21, 2003)

I'm happy leaving those in the Rogue's Gallery. The forum isn't crowded, and fulfills the task admirably.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Jan 22, 2003)

I don't see anything wrong with Rogues gallery. The main problem is the OOC and recruiting threads in the IC forum.


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## Krug (Jan 22, 2003)

There are some non-d20 games by the way, which I think is fine. A lot of the games are just roleplaying anyway.


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## Citizen Mane (Jan 22, 2003)

I used the Gamers Seeking Gamers forum for recruiting before and it seemed to work fine.  This might make sense with a minimum of rearrangement.  Of course, it doesn't do a thing about the OOC clutter.  Just a thought...

Best,
tKL


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## Creamsteak (Jan 22, 2003)

I'm one who doesn't have a problem telling what threads are updated, but I am on the boards at least 1/day it seems... so it's not that much of an issue for me, however, if you guys decide to do something, I'll pull an hour or two and do what I did for Edena's IR.

That being, I'll go through all the pages of threads in the IC forum and sort them into whatever 'grouping' you guys decide to use, with the links all in one post (or email).

Honestly, the problem really is that I don't think these boards were meant to accomodate 100 total players and 50 games, which is my estimation on the 'climax' to come. If you could view more 'threads per page', or if there was a way to tell what posts have been updated by the DM (which is most of what the players wait on), that would solve everything, and these boards just 'don't know how', and I'm not one who knows if you can 'teach them.'

However, please note that I really don't want to leave the IC forum here. This is the most 'relaxed' role-playing gaming that I've ever had. Move it into a smaller 'sub-culture' (a messageboard devoted to PbP for instance), and I think I'd see what I saw in the 8-bit theater role-playing room -one style dominance. At least here, we can have a vampire the masquerade game right next to Kobold-quest and the 3rd IR.

(Ok, so I'm on a metaphor kick, so what?)

Is there any way to increase the number of thread views per page, I might not have seen it in the user options, but that would remove the 2nd-page problem for some.

(Ok, now without the metaphors and stuff)

*Options I've seen presented, or have thought of:*
Increase the total thread views per page, so as to alleviate the 'it's on page 2 in an hour' problem.

Divide the Forum into catagories (I'll offer my time to sort out which threads go where, and email the list n' links to the moderators): this creates a certain degree of funness to having more OOC talk, and promotes more IC in the IC, in my opinion.

I could email DMs who don't use the Index (and change that post at the top! It's just insulting), and inform them of the general service they would be doing to use it.

Email my players (and other DMs email their own) to learn to subscribe to threads so that they automatically know when they are updated. This alone solves those 1/week posters problem, with an email that goes right to the most recent post they have missed.

Comments?


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## Shapermc (Jan 22, 2003)

creamsteak said:
			
		

> *Options I've seen presented, or have thought of:
> Increase the total thread views per page, so as to alleviate the 'it's on page 2 in an hour' problem.*




This is another good idea.  I like this.  



			
				creamsteak said:
			
		

> Divide the Forum into catagories (I'll offer my time to sort out which threads go where, and email the list n' links to the moderators): this creates a certain degree of funness to having more OOC talk, and promotes more IC in the IC, in my opinion.[/B]




This is still my favorite idea.  It looks more orginised.



			
				creamsteak said:
			
		

> I could email DMs who don't use the Index (and change that post at the top! It's just insulting), and inform them of the general service they would be doing to use it.[/B]




Ahhh indexes. . . .  The reason that I like the orginisation in different forums is because I know exactly where to go.  The thing about index posts is that when I am *cough*at work*cough* my connection is very slow.  It takes time for me, and I know others as well, to load these pages then follow the link and. . . but if they are orginised into different catagories I know what I am looking for and go straight to it.  



			
				creamsteak said:
			
		

> Email my players (and other DMs email their own) to learn to subscribe to threads so that they automatically know when they are updated. This alone solves those 1/week posters problem, with an email that goes right to the most recent post they have missed.[/B]




Again I have similar opinions about this as stated above.  I have more things to check this way.  I honestly just recently set up a website that has all my games with links on them so that when i am in a rush I just open the home page and then surf from there.  

I sudgested this idea for people who are short on time. I try to post once a day, but sometimes I only have 5 min to post, and when it takes 5 min to load all the pages . . . my RP quality suffers  

Just my take on this.  I am not trying to insult your ideas.  I have just never found index handy, or subscribing to posts (free email accounts have a notoriety for being deathly slow sometimes as well.)

/me has just inserted his 2gp


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## Krizzel (Jan 23, 2003)

I really do *not* like the idea of having the OOC threads in another forum.  The point of having the OOC threads, for me, is to discuss rules issues, table talk, etc. without cluttering up the game's IC thread.  

Having OOC all in a separate forum will, from my perspective, encourage people to start posting OOC in my IC threads, simply because of the opportunity cost.  Currently the OOC thread is on the same page or the next page in the forum (usually), so they aren't to inconvenient to get to.

Putting them in another forum increases both the number of clicks to get to the thread and the load time needed (loading the next page in a particular forum is noticeably faster than loading a whole new forum).  While not very difficult, I think the slight increase in inconvenience will lessen the utility of the OOC threads.

Certainly there is an annoyance to how fast threads drop in the IC forum currently.  However, I'd rather we took the time to brainstorm some options, collect them all, debate the merits of each, and then decide.  I think we'll arrive at a better solution that way.

To start off, I think creamsteak's idea of increasing the number of threads viewed per page is a good one.  It keeps more things on the first page without disrupting any of the current functionality.

How about, either separately or in addition to that, pinning the IC threads of currently running games?  That would keep all the 'business' threads up front where they can quickly be checked for updates.

If we go the route of new forums, then I'd rather see one for d20 Modern, one for 'Other', and one or two for D&D, all including IC, OOC, and recruiting threads together in a single forum.  Since that language isn't quiet clear, an example:

The D&D forum would contain: D&D IC threads, D&D OOC threads, and D&D recruiting threads.

That would also slow thread drop and at least keep all the threads related to a single game together in the same forum.


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## Creamsteak (Jan 23, 2003)

So, Piratecat or Morrus, since you two seem to be the resident experts on the software: can you increase the thread views per page in IC by 50%? Anyone can answer, I'm just directing my question to the guys that would actually instigate that kind of change.

I don't want to ask to sub-divide a forum that doesn't need it, and it seems that there are a few paths that should be tried.


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## Piratecat (Jan 23, 2003)

creamsteak said:
			
		

> *can you increase the thread views per page in IC by 50%? *




Nope, any change would be site-wide. We're already at a page-load size that is best for both modem and broadband users, so we'll probably divide the forums up...

and done!  Many threads are moved. I'll move more later.


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## Shapermc (Jan 23, 2003)

Thanks Pkitty!

Krizzle, just enforce OOC post to be handled on the OOC thread.  I know that it may slightly inconvience you, but since the change has been in effect (like what 5 hours) I have seen that the page loads a little quicker for me than yesterday.  If you have any other ideas, or this one really dosent work, it seems like moderators actually listen to the sudgestions in this forum.  Also who knows you may like this setup


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## Creamsteak (Jan 23, 2003)

Piratecat, I posted a list of all OOC threads I could identify. There may be an error or two, and my count of 240 might be off a bit, but it's seriously close. Are you actually going to do all those yourself, or is there some fast way to do this stuff?


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