* Forum Changes

[ColeValleyGirl]

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that I have implemented the subject-specific sub-forums and forum changes that we've been discussing. Please can we let this bed in for several months to see how well it works before we embark on further changes.

[Gowermick]

Sorry Helen, but must comment that to have sub-folders below the General Query posts doesn't seem a good idea!

Would the subfolders be better positioned at top of General Queries folder, with General Query Posts below. It then might encourage/remind users to post in these sub-folders rather then the General Queries Folder. At present these sub-folders are off the screen, and the expression out of sight, out of mind springs to mind

[LornaCraig]

I've already raised that point with Helen but unfortunately the practicalities make it difficult.

If you click on one of the subforum links in the General Forum description you'll be taken straight to the subforum. If you get into the habit of doing it that way you won't need to scroll down to see the subforums. (I know old habits die hard!)

[AdrianBruce]

I've already raised that point with Helen but unfortunately the practicalities make it difficult. ...

I do sympathise - the first time I went into the General Forum, I couldn't find the sub-forums. I presume from what you're saying that either it's not possible to reduce the number of threads per screen, or it is but what would you set it to, given that the potential number of lines on a pane of glass could vary radically?

Having said that, me personally, I would only be explicitly accessing the sub-forums when raising a thread in one of them - I'd be looking at the list on the Board Index to see what sub-forum to navigate to, seeing it was a link and clicking it there. Otherwise, as I say, I use the "Unread Posts" facility which doesn't need me to access any forum name. So despite the initial weirdness, I think it may be a non-issue for me.

[BillH]

I also think the subforums are a bit hidden at this point. Just thinking out of the box a bit... what if the General Usage forum was renamed as the Family Historian Usage forum and the General Usage forum were moved to be the first subforum in the Family Historian Usage forum and all postings in the current General Usage forum were moved to the General Usage subforum. This way there would be only subforums in Family Historian Usage forum and the General Usage forum would be at the top.

Family HIstorian Usage
    General Usage
    Diagrams & Charts
    Exporting
    Installing, Migrating & Upgrading
    etc.

Bill

[Gowermick]

I've already raised that point with Helen but unfortunately the practicalities make it difficult.

If you click on one of the subforum links in the General Forum description you'll be taken straight to the subforum. If you get into the habit of doing it that way you won't need to scroll down to see the subforums. (I know old habits die hard!)

Fine, but those links don’t tell you of any unread posts

[jelv]

I suspect that if the list of the sub forums with their descriptions was to be displayed at the top of the General Usage forum we'd have other users moaning about having to scroll down past them to get to the posts (particularly those using the forums on a mobile device).

[LornaCraig]

what if ....General Usage forum were moved to the General Usage subforum. This way there would be only subforums in Family Historian Usage forum and the General Usage forum would be at the top.

On similar lines I suggested an Unclassified Questions section to hold topics which the questioner can't classify, as well as all the old topics. This would be followed immediately by the section for Subject Specific Questions

Unfortunately it seems the old topics can't be moved en masse, and there are more than 10,000 of them!

[BillH]

Lorna,

Smart minds think alike.

Can an entire folder be moved to be a subfolder including all the topics in the folder?

Bill

[Mark1834]

I am fine with the current setup, as I only ever go to a specific forum when initiating a new thread.

One minor change that might serve as a reminder until muscle memory is retrained could be to change the title of the pinned top post in the General Usage forum to something like "Forum Changes - Please use the new sub-forums where possible". It prods people to use them, not just remember they are there.

[jelv]

I'd suggest a more permanent title without any reference to "changes" as the current title (and Mark's suggestion) wouldn't encourage new members to read the post ("it's the first time I've been here, why do I need to know about changes?"). I'd suggest it should also include the list of the forums (with clickable links) and their descriptions, and additionally some of the guidance that Helen wrote when proposing the changes.

[tatewise]

I could kick myself for not realising how the subforums would be presented as there were existing examples for the old FH versions and the closed wish list entries.

I agree with the others who think that scrolling to below the General Usage forum is not ideal for new users.
Also, the long descriptions and subforum links push many of the top level forums off the screen which requires new users to scroll down to find them.

In addition, the RELEASE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS subforums could confuse new users to FHUG who are still using those versions because the subforums are locked. Perhaps they should be in sub-subforums.
Interestingly they are not in alphanumeric order, so does that mean subforums can be reorganised into a 'logical' rather than alphabetic order?
When those Release Specific subforums were created, how were the postings bulk moved?

Furthermore, having seen the subheadings SUBJECT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS and RELEASE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, might it be reasonable to have other subheadings for a) Plugin Technical Support & Development and b) Importing and c) New Wish List Requests. In other words, put some, if not all, the FH topics inside a single top level heading.

[Mark1834]

I don’t mind longer descriptions, but IMO the old v2-4 forums should be deleted altogether, as they just clutter the page. It’s time to let go...

[brianlummis]

I don’t mind longer descriptions, but IMO the old v2-4 forums should be deleted altogether, as they just clutter the page. It’s time to let go...

There could also be an argument for culling anything over, say, 5 years old as, most probably, any answers may not now be appropriate and already features in the Knowledge Base. If anyone is feeling precious about their old postings they could copy them before the axe falls and repost them

[jelv]

My inclination would be to not delete them, but to bury them out of the way so they can still be accessed and found in the searches if needed:

Create a new forum in a new category Archives at the very bottom of the main board index and make the release specific and lost post archive forums subforums of the new forum.

Still there but totally unobtrusive.

[Jane]

Release Specific Forums have been archived.
Sub Forum List now appears top and bottom of the topics.

[AdrianBruce]

... Sub Forum List now appears top and bottom of the topics.

Thumbs up to that...

[jelv]

Sub Forum List now appears top and bottom of the topics.

Jane,

There's an unintended consequence of this that doesn't look too good if you click one of the category banners.
For example:

FHUG category display_-_2023-05-14_17.17.22.png (58.53 KiB) Viewed 874 times

If you have them at the top, I'm not sure also having them at the bottom serves any purpose.

[Jane]

Removed from bottom.

[Gowermick]

Jane,
Am I missing something, as all sub-topis still appear at bottom, i.e. no change.
Or is this related to me using Safari on an iPad?

[LornaCraig]

Are you by any chance using the Marina Orange theme? I was, and I saw the same. I've switched to Metrolike and the subforums are now at the top. (User control Panel > Board Preferences > My board Style)

[Gowermick]

Lorna,
Quite right!
i changed to ‘Metrolike’, and thought at first nothing happened, as colours stayed the same.
Then quickly realised the layout had corrected itself
Thanks