New Forum Structure

Sounds good. I can't wait until the 4th of July!

 

Is there going to be an AJAX thing like on Digg?

Sounds good. I can't wait until the 4th of July!

 

Is there going to be an AJAX thing like on Digg?

 

I can't either.

 

Probably more like a star rating system. We'll see if we can work in some AJAX goodness, though.

My thoughts:

 

Cut "Patches and Fixes" and "Tweaks and Hacks" because that content should be in the "Driver" or "OSx86 Installation" forums.

 

Split "PC Hardware and Drivers" into back two forums as it is now. These are clearly distinct areas of the board with different audiences. Specifically, "Drivers" is a forum for more advanced users.

 

Instead of just "Betas and Old OSs", create a "Leopard" forum now as it should be a big topic by August when it's WWDC preview version is released and work here gradually moves beyond Tiger this fall

 

"Mods and Overclocking" should be "Case Mods, Cooling and Power Supplies" while overclocking is proper subject matter for the "PC Hardware" forum. "Benchmarks" should be a subforum of "PC Hardware" instead.

 

Put "AppleScript and Automator" under "Programming and Development".

 

Cut the "Customization" section by putting "Case Mods, Cooling and Power Supplies" in the "OSx86" section and "Wallpapers, Icons, Themes, and Skins" in the "OS X" section.

 

Finally, move "Forum Info" from the "Random" section and put in "Discuss and Learn" section.

 

EDIT:

 

A couple more things...

 

I would like to see some more in the way of "Tech News". Specifically, I would like a forum to post, link to and discuss the stories on the likes of ArsTechnica, TheRegister and Slashdot.

 

I would also like a see an "Apple Rumors" forum to discuss stories like those of ThinkSecret and AppleInsider.

Overall, I think it's a good setup. Hopefully this doesn't degenerate into a everybody-list-what-I-would-do thread, but...

 

- Programming and Development seems rather redundant. It might make more sense to have it as a general forum under the X-Labs.

 

- I agree with Bofors...I always though that Forum Info was a tad out of place. I'd think we'd get a lot more feedback and improvement if we put in Discuss and Learn

 

- Pro Photography and Web/Graphical Design seem to overlap a bit...perhaps merge them? Pro Design?

 

- Shouldn't coupons stay in the Market Place, rather than move to Buying Questions? I mean, with your setup, would that mean we'd have to limit coupons to Mac only stuff, whereas anything goes in the Marketplace, like before?

 

- Finally...I also agree with Bofors on the Leopard Sub....it might be a good idea to open it for a couple months, and eventually close it, for archival purposes

 

Fin.

My thoughts:

 

Cut "Patches and Fixes" and "Tweaks and Hacks" because that content should be in the "Driver" or "OSx86 Installation" forums.

 

Well, these are actually two different forums. Perhaps we should just rename "Patches" but this is for things like the JaS and Maxxuss patches. The Tweaks forum would be for UI tweaks, etc.

 

Split "PC Hardware and Drivers" into back two forums as it is now. These are clearly distinct areas of the board with different audiences. Specifically, "Drivers" is a forum for more advanced users.

 

Drivers was actually supposed to be subforum - my bad. It's fixed now.

 

Instead of just "Betas and Old OSs", create a "Leopard" forum now as it should be a big topic by August when it's WWDC preview version is released and work here gradually moves beyond Tiger this fall

 

Well, we also want this to be an area for talking about previous OS's, like System 8, etc. Leopard would probably make a great subforum, like Mr. Bond said. Easy to archive.

 

"Mods and Overclocking" should be "Case Mods, Cooling and Power Supplies" while overclocking is proper subject matter for the "PC Hardware" forum. "Benchmarks" should be a subforum of "PC Hardware" instead.

 

Mods and Overclocking goes with customization since it applies to either OSx86 boxes or Apple Macs.

 

Put "AppleScript and Automator" under "Programming and Development".

 

It definitely could go there, but since most people use them to speed things up in the UI, I think it makes more sense in Customization.

 

Cut the "Customization" section by putting "Case Mods, Cooling and Power Supplies" in the "OSx86" section and "Wallpapers, Icons, Themes, and Skins" in the "OS X" section.

 

See my replies above. Not a bad idea, though.

 

Finally, move "Forum Info" from the "Random" section and put in "Discuss and Learn" section.

 

Good idea.

 

I would like to see some more in the way of "Tech News". Specifically, I would like a forum to post, link to and discuss the stories on the likes of ArsTechnica, TheRegister and Slashdot.

 

I would also like a see an "Apple Rumors" forum to discuss stories like those of ThinkSecret and AppleInsider.

 

A general tech forum is not a bad idea at all. What does everyone else think?

 

Rumors can go in the Opinions forum. I can adjust the title to mention rumors, though.

 

- Programming and Development seems rather redundant. It might make more sense to have it as a general forum under the X-Labs.

 

Good point - it could really go either place, although the X Labs should really be left for the developers who want to host their projects there..

 

- Pro Photography and Web/Graphical Design seem to overlap a bit...perhaps merge them? Pro Design?

 

There is quite a bit of overlap there, but most photographers don't do web design and vice versa. As a budding web designer, I'd rather have my own forum than having threads about shutter rates.

 

- Shouldn't coupons stay in the Market Place, rather than move to Buying Questions? I mean, with your setup, would that mean we'd have to limit coupons to Mac only stuff, whereas anything goes in the Marketplace, like before?

 

The Marketplace will just become a place to sell your stuff. Coupons make sense to be in the buying forum since, if you're buying, you'd probably like to see them.

Under the random section you have: Pop Culture 'Poparazzi' (Movies, Music, TV, etc.)

 

Is that poparazzi as in photographers? potpourri is a good word too IMO.

Under the random section you have: Pop Culture 'Poparazzi' (Movies, Music, TV, etc.)

 

Yeah, it's a play on the term 'paparazzi' - it's a forum for all the glitz and glamour associated with pop culture. But you're right, popourri is a good word too. It always makes me think of air fresheners, though...

 

Edit: I forgot one - "The Great Debates," a forum in which we'll host debates for the entire Mac community on contoversial issues like pirating and other passionate tech topics.

Non English

-Spanish

-French

-German

-Italian

-Japanese

-Russian

 

It would be nice a Portuguese sub too. I think we are in a good number here

It would be nice a Portuguese sub too. I think we are in a good number here

 

No problem. I forgot to include Portuguese in that list, but we'll have it there!

mashugly,

 

Constructively, I think there are far too many forums and sub-forums. For example, even though there is an "installation" forum, you find many questions on installing on other forums.....so, a reader really need to check them all, which can be a pain. I think it would be much, much better to have a very small number.

 

Whatever your decision, though.....thank you for this site !

... even though there is an "installation" forum, you find many questions on installing on other forums ...

 

Jwalker46 - you are right about that! We spend a lot of time moving stuff to the right place, and sometimes discussion crosses several boundaries, making it difficult. If we just had two subforum threads, I'd bet a fair number of posters would still pick the wrong one... So my feeling is that giving folks more choice is a good thing, but I take your point and we (the staff) need to make sure things get moved to where they should go.

 

Incidentally, our members do a great job of alerting us to stuff in the wrong place. That 'report' button is there for things like that too, and not just for complaining about dodgy entries. If you see something in the wrong place, please tell us. Thanks!

 

-s-

I love this site and hope the new make-up is even better.

 

I've only had a quick browse but one thing I worry about the current site is the number of categories it has. Seems way to daunting . Almost don't know where to reply to stuff. "It can go here but wait it can go there also. Where do I go?" Maybe try and merger a few categories together.

 

Also I would say OSx86 really should stand out on the main page. That’s what most people here come for. But they don't know what to go into because it's not “in you face” enough, which I think it needs to be. Maybe have a picture of a "Dell running OSX" - (and get sued)

Just a note: maybe use the word Hackingtosh- love it.

 

What's the difference between:

OSx86 : OSx86 Installation / -Multibooting

And

Macintosh : Dual Booting

 

Also this will be a new layout so maybe it’s not a bad idea to have some sort of graphical layout map (i know there's a better name for this but what is it?) showing all the directories (similar to what you've done above). Maybe have it on the main page or in the corner of every page. That will definitely help people navigate and know that there is another more specific place to ask their particular question.

 

I know you're from the UK too so you know it’s way to late to be doing this.

 

-AcePlayer

I think we should have an OSx86 Singles group.

Geeks can find other geeks. It will be love at first iSight.

It could be useful for all of those single geeks out there.

 

Sorry ladies, but I'm taken. You'll just have to find someone else.

Hey guys, thanks for all the comments while I was away.

 

jwalker46 (and AcePlayer) - I totally understand your concerns about the number of forums. It can seem a little daunting, but in the end it actually makes things easier. If, for example, we just had one forum labeled "OSx86" for all OSx86 related topics, it would be very difficult to browse for something related to drivers since that topic would be buried with many other posts. By breaking things up in to logical categories, it saves everyone time.

 

Also, keep in mind that it looks much bigger when listed out than it will actually feel.

 

AcePlayer - The difference between the two you mentioned is that one is a forum for OSx86 installation (with a possible subforum for multibooting) and the other is for dual booting an actual Mac. By splitting these up, we make sure everyone knows where to go for each specific type (EFI and non-EFI, etc).

 

If there are any categories you think should be renamed for clarity or combined with another one, let us know! We love the feedback!

 

colonels1020 - That's one of the most unique ideas I've heard in a long time. What about a more general "geek meetup" forum for people to find other people in their area? We could even set up a google map of our forum population.

colonels1020 - That's one of the most unique ideas I've heard in a long time. What about a more general "geek meetup" forum for people to find other people in their area? We could even set up a google map of our forum population.

How about a Frappr map?

colonels1020 - That's one of the most unique ideas I've heard in a long time. What about a more general "geek meetup" forum for people to find other people in their area? We could even set up a google map of our forum population.

 

Sounds good to me.

 

How would we set up a Google Map of the forum? That Frappr idea sounds good too.

Mash,

I know this isn't really restructuring…. more of a complete redoing.... but please consider changing the search function to something a lot more useful.

 

When you ask for help on forums people generally are helpful but some try and remind you about the search function built into the site. The thing is I would use it if it wasn't useless. Actually it's not useless but seems like it sometimes.

 

Why?

 

Because when you make a search for a word (like the model of your sound card), it gives you a list of pages and pages of possible threads. When you decide to enter one thread you need to go through 'all' the posts (pages of 'em often) to find out it’s just someone’s signature. The same has to be done to the remaining 999999 threads left.

 

I end up googling it most of the time adding OSx86Project to the searched word [this works sometimes guys- heard it here first].

 

What would be great is if it actually allowed you to maybe see a section containing the searched word as google does.

Failing that maybe at the leasssssst take us to the direct page.... is that so much to ask.

 

I know that would mean having several results from the same thread but it's worth it the way i see it. Maybe it might be possible to group them under some tree-branch structure.

 

 

Anyway just my (god knows what that means..i use £s)

AcePlayer

 

PS: The thing doesn't even tell you what you're searching for just in case you want to be sure you spelled it correct or for whatever million reasons we all have every now and again. Only place I can see it is at the end of the address bar :mellow:

AcePlayer-

 

We're going to try and include some new features to make things easier to find, like a box at the bottom of the screen with links to similar topics. If we can, we're also going to include a Google search box built into the pages.

 

It sounds like you might be interested in the "Show results as posts" button on the search page. It highlights the searched term in the posts you search for.

 

There's really not too much we can do about the actual search, since it's built into the Invision forum software.

Here's a revised structure, based on your input.

 

Enjoy!

 

--------------------------------------------

 

The Top Six

Front Page News and Rumors (User voted news)

Apple Opinions and Discussion

The Great Debates (See post below)

Buying Questions, Reviews, and Recommendations (and coupons)

Tutorials (The Genius Bar)

Forum Info

 

Discuss and Learn

General Tech

Windows Discussion

*nix

-Darwin

Internet(s), Servers, and Networks

Real Life

Pop Culture Poparazzi (Movies, Music, TV, etc.)

Thunderdome

Laughs

Marketplace

Website Invitiation Exchange

 

OSx86

OSx86 Installation

-OSx86 with Windows and VMWare

Patches and Fixes

PC Hardware and Drivers

 

Macintosh

Apple Computers

Mac Accessories

Boot Camp

Virtualization (Parallels)

 

OS X

Applications

iLife + iPod

Gaming

Betas and Old OSs

Programming and Development

 

Customization

Mods and Overclocking

-Benchmarks

Wallpapers, Icons, Themes, and Skins

Tweaks and Hacks

-AppleScript and Automator

 

Multimedia

Pro Video

Pro Audio and Music

Pro Photography

Web and Graphical Design

 

The X Labs

 

IRC Chat

 

Your Languages

-Spanish

-French

-German

-Italian

-Japanese

-Russian

-Portuguese

What about CrossOver Office for OS X? It doesn't fit under Virtualization, and it doesn't fit under Boot Camp. Shouldn't it have it's own thread?

Is it just be, but do most people use the main PC Forum and OSx86 Installation interchangelby. A lot of people are asking installation questions in the PC Forum.

 

I wounder if OSx86 Installation shoud have more of a dominant role. Maybe. Adding it within PC Forum (which i understand clearly why it's there) seems to make it more difficult to find and lets admit it. That's really what people come to this site for.

 

I'm not really sure if moving it to its a root position is ideal but it would make things a lot simpler.

 

At the least we should about it.

colonels1020-

I think Crossover fits under virtualization since that's still what it's doing, right?

 

AcePlayer-

"Installation" will be a root forum. The "OSx86" part in bold is just a label for the forum, not a forum in itself.

I think Crossover fits under virtualization since that's still what it's doing, right?

 

Not really, they don't emulate a virtual cumputer in wich windows runs. They make a compatibility layer betwen the exe and OS X. using a independent (non microsoft code) implementaion of the windows API for OS X (or linux), it even uyses real OS X directories as the diectories of C:/

It looks GOOOOOOOOOOD (Bruce Almighty Style).

 

Love that OSX86 is a root folder now!!

 

Good work Mash and Team.

WOW! I like the new forum. It's really nice. Nice work.

 

colonels1020-

I think Crossover fits under virtualization since that's still what it's doing, right?

 

You're right. Sorry about that. I'm was just asleep at the keyboard and not thinking. My bad.