Hey, really enjoy this site for spoilers but I'm curious what the benefit is of splintering the Magic discussion forums into total oblivion. Just under the game discussion alone there are about 40 subforums, and that's not even counting the additional subforums contained within those.
I enjoy the discussions on here but actually finding the right place for a particular discussion where people are actually present to read and participate back in the discussion is a cumbersome nightmare. This is literally the worst forum design I've ever used, and I've been on net forums since 1996.
Does it not make sense to condense the forums into a smaller, easier to navigate section. Something like
Simple, easy to find where you want to be, and will increase the topic visibility to the point that there might actually be consistent, healthy discussions rather than the tumbleweeds that blow through most of the forums. I think a slimmed down forum navigation will bring about more active discussion. Is a redesign something you guys could consider? What are other user's opinions of this? I can't be the only one.
EDIT: Apologies for posting in the wrong forum. Though I can't help but feel that it helps drive my point home a little bit.
This is one of the best forums I've ever been to. The old Gran Turismo site had more sub forums, and lets not get into the several automotive forums I've been on that have major sub forums of all the different generations, then have minor sub forums for NA, Turbo, basic mods, cosmetic mods, aerodynamics, wheels and suspension, and then usually a show of sub forum. Then you have the general discussion forum for all the models, and the for sale area, which is also usually splintered into different regions.
If you know what you are looking for it's not hard to find it on this site, it really isn't. The search function actually works, and the look of the site is beneficial, unlike something like Slottechforums, which is still in 1996.
So, it may seem that way at first, but I prefer the current system. It allows for the best discussion on certain topics without constant sidetracking. It can be annoying at first, but it allows for the most productive discussion, as opposed to just frequent discussion.
In both of those examples, I would think that a user would be much more likely to be seeking something specific, greatly increasing the value of the search function, and due to the sheer volume of variety within these topics (multiple games, 100's of different cars, different tech topics, etc.) it makes more sense in that context.
If you're looking for one specific thing, the search function is fine here and works well. But most forum users enter discussions through browsing topics. By segregating the forums so severely, you end up with a good number of interesting topics that go unseen simply because the correct subforum is buried beneath 3 other ones. In my experience this style discourages discussion (which is the point of a forum) and discovery, which is how most discussion spawns. And I'm still curious how splintering them into oblivino is actually beneficial to this site.
I think OP does have a point. It might be more organized to have more subforums, but you're also in danger of spreading activity too thin. It's not necessarily the case that we have too many subs in the "The Game" category specifically, but I do think we definitely have too many in other areas of MTGS (I'm looking at you, Entertainment), and I wouldn't be dismissive of the suggestion that we have too many in "The Game" also.
Well, considering there is the technology of tagged threads available on this board... maybe some forums could use these rather than subforums. Having a thread tagged as "[Television]" Would be just as informative as appearing in the subforum.
Note that I do not know, agree, nor disagree with any opinions on whether the splintering is bad in any part of the forum; just providing a possible solution if the issue is considered problematic.
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
Personally for me the big issue is the sub forums. There are crystal clear issues with some of then.
For example, in the Rumor Mill whenever a new card is spoiled there's always two threads for the same card - one in the Rumor Mill main forum and another on the New Card Discussion. And some times a third closed one in the /Insert Format New Card Discussion made by those that don't know you can only discuss cards prior rotations in the Rumor Mill. By the way, those sub forums (t2 new card discussion, modern new card discussion, etc) are almost useless because most of the new card discussions are done in the Rumor Mill anyway and what's left to discuss is done in the format main forum.
The same goes for the 'format' forums - It's not uncommon to see a thread for a certain card/deck in the main standard forum and another thread for the same thing in it's sub forums. I also question the necessity for the separation of Proven and Established deck discussions - I never know for sure where the thread for certain decks are beforehand. There are also cases were the same discussion gets separated in several threads because people creates separate threads for different versions of proven decks in the established forums or in the deck creation forums.
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Standard - Serious BGU Control R Aggro
Standard - For Fun BG Auras
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I enjoy the discussions on here but actually finding the right place for a particular discussion where people are actually present to read and participate back in the discussion is a cumbersome nightmare. This is literally the worst forum design I've ever used, and I've been on net forums since 1996.
Does it not make sense to condense the forums into a smaller, easier to navigate section. Something like
[[Format]] - General discussion
-Competitive Subsection (for discussion)
--Decklists (for decklists/primers)
-Casual Subsection (for discussion)
--Decklists
Simple, easy to find where you want to be, and will increase the topic visibility to the point that there might actually be consistent, healthy discussions rather than the tumbleweeds that blow through most of the forums. I think a slimmed down forum navigation will bring about more active discussion. Is a redesign something you guys could consider? What are other user's opinions of this? I can't be the only one.
EDIT: Apologies for posting in the wrong forum. Though I can't help but feel that it helps drive my point home a little bit.
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If you know what you are looking for it's not hard to find it on this site, it really isn't. The search function actually works, and the look of the site is beneficial, unlike something like Slottechforums, which is still in 1996.
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If you're looking for one specific thing, the search function is fine here and works well. But most forum users enter discussions through browsing topics. By segregating the forums so severely, you end up with a good number of interesting topics that go unseen simply because the correct subforum is buried beneath 3 other ones. In my experience this style discourages discussion (which is the point of a forum) and discovery, which is how most discussion spawns. And I'm still curious how splintering them into oblivino is actually beneficial to this site.
Note that I do not know, agree, nor disagree with any opinions on whether the splintering is bad in any part of the forum; just providing a possible solution if the issue is considered problematic.
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Personally for me the big issue is the sub forums. There are crystal clear issues with some of then.
For example, in the Rumor Mill whenever a new card is spoiled there's always two threads for the same card - one in the Rumor Mill main forum and another on the New Card Discussion. And some times a third closed one in the /Insert Format New Card Discussion made by those that don't know you can only discuss cards prior rotations in the Rumor Mill. By the way, those sub forums (t2 new card discussion, modern new card discussion, etc) are almost useless because most of the new card discussions are done in the Rumor Mill anyway and what's left to discuss is done in the format main forum.
The same goes for the 'format' forums - It's not uncommon to see a thread for a certain card/deck in the main standard forum and another thread for the same thing in it's sub forums. I also question the necessity for the separation of Proven and Established deck discussions - I never know for sure where the thread for certain decks are beforehand. There are also cases were the same discussion gets separated in several threads because people creates separate threads for different versions of proven decks in the established forums or in the deck creation forums.
BGU Control
R Aggro
Standard - For Fun
BG Auras