bofors Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 I do not understand why the Website Invitation Exchange is closed while the OSx86 Project administation is contemplating its future. The OSx86 community relies on the bittorrent distribution to exist. As ThePirateBay is still recovering from last month's raid, people still may need access to Demonoid which usually requires an invite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 I agree with what you're saying but there will be a better system in place soon (hopefully within a couple of days). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 I've noticed this too, when I tried to post more invited codes. What's up with that? And what happened to the blogs that we were supposed to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 The blogging system is primed and awaiting the new skins atm it won't work with the current ones as we have never had a need to skin that area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bofors Posted July 8, 2006 Author Share Posted July 8, 2006 In case others are wondering what is up, a thread has been opened for invities here: http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=15386 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 The problem was that when we tried to get a system going for invites, no one used it. I posted instructions for how to request and give invites, but... uh... no one really paid attention to it. Also, so many people were requesting codes that the "Latest topic" part of the marketplace was always about codes rather than selling stuff, and as you can tell, making users scroll down the page more by adding another forum wasn't something I was too keen on. So, thanks for asking - it'll definitely be back. Let me ask you: how do you think the best way to set up the exchange would be? [P.S. The blogs are up and running! If you want a beta preview, switch to the default IPB skin and look for the blogs link at the top of the screen. You can set your own up if you go to My Controls! It'll go live with the new skin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bofors Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 The problem was that when we tried to get a system going for invites, no one used it. I posted instructions for how to request and give invites, but... uh... no one really paid attention to it. Well, this is typical of my biggest issue with this board: way too many threads. If this was Ars Technica or Apple Insider, a vast majority of these threads would be locked and people would be forced to use existing ones. I mean, I bet there are about a hundred thread here on the topic of "What's the best motherboard for OSx86." So, I was negative on proposed request system where everyone wanting an invite starts a new thread. We only need one thread for each type of invitation. We have passed out hundreds if not thousands of invites in Demonoid thread very quickly and with little effort. My only issue is that I would like some way (perhaps by editing my signature) to make it clear that I am not going to send invites by PM or email. It just is not worth the hassle. Also, so many people were requesting codes that the "Latest topic" part of the marketplace was always about codes rather than selling stuff, and as you can tell, making users scroll down the page more by adding another forum wasn't something I was too keen on. I see the forum "bloat" issue. If you need to have the lastest Marketplace thread showing up, then perhaps you should considering moving the Website Invitation Exchange under Internet(s), Servers, and Networks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Well, this is typical of my biggest issue with this board: way too many threads. If this was Ars Technica or Apple Insider, a vast majority of these threads would be locked and people would be forced to use existing ones. I mean, I bet there are about a hundred thread here on the topic of "What's the best motherboard for OSx86." I've been giving this a lot of thought lately and you're right - we've got to do a better job with this. It's a tricky issue when you run a forum because I've been on many elsewhere where good threads were closed down without good reason. I tend toward the "give the members as much power as possible" side of the argument. I see the forum "bloat" issue. If you need to have the lastest Marketplace thread showing up, then perhaps you should considering moving the Website Invitation Exchange under Internet(s), Servers, and Networks. I considered that, but then it hurts discussion in that forum as well. What we may do is this: give it it's own forum at the very bottom of the page, for less scrolling, where only mods can start threads, and then people can request new threads as they're needed. How does something like that sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bofors Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 I've been giving this a lot of thought lately and you're right - we've got to do a better job with this. It's a tricky issue when you run a forum because I've been on many elsewhere where good threads were closed down without good reason. I tend toward the "give the members as much power as possible" side of the argument. Yes, I also was thinking that the "laissez-faire" approach might have some natural benefits whereas the strucutre of the board is reflected by the needs of the users. But it seems clear that it turns this into a nOOb-board: a redundancy of basic information. Something else to consider may be designating some threads "perpetual", like "What is the best motherboard?", "What is a good case", etc... . Really, I think the only place super-nOObs should be creating new threads is the OSx86 Installation forum where they can start one thread on their personal hardware and installation issues. I considered that, but then it hurts discussion in that forum as well. What we may do is this: give it it's own forum at the very bottom of the page, for less scrolling, where only mods can start threads, and then people can request new threads as they're needed. The next time you redesign the site, I think you should consider a "top-down" approach instead. I mean, decided how many top-level forums a reasonable scrolling permits and then work down from there. Moreover, I think you might want to consider making some feature requests to the IPB developers. Personally, I would to be able to customize my top-level view of board by selecting only the forums that I am interested in. I see no reason, to inhibit thread creation in Website Invitation Exchange as this is an area where the discourse is so simple that forum organization is of minor concern. Rather I would just start out by creating a number of "perpetual" threads for Demonoind, Oink, etc... and instruct to people to use them. If a redundant thread is created, have the mods lock it and re-instruct the users to use the pre-existing thread. Really, the same approach should generally be taken accross the entire board. Encourage longer threads with high quality, unique content while locking redundant, trivial nOOb threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swad Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 It's back open! Much cleaner this time around... Also, we're starting a thread in this forum for everyone to help us with common threads that we can close. If you really want to help us keep the forum clean, help us by making a list of common topics (with links) so that we can refer folks to those threads. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts