The hardest thing for me in this forum is the million different places to post. I find it hard and sometimes even like hunting for certian threads. I feel for as many people who post here and the amount of love we all share that it wouldn't hurt to bring the number of catagories down to four, no more. Not that we don't have post for the catagories but that we could combine them so more people will see them without having to forum juummmpppp. Just think checking on digital art and seeing the latest traditional art at the same time, oh the wonders it would posses.

My all time favorite forum was the late System Dark forum know as the.Enlight.
It was bustling with active members or at least seemed that way because of the way it was spread out.

I'll see if I can secure a list of the way it was organized, but anyway, does anyone else agree?

Oh and the nav is a killer on me.

If you want a summary of posts without jumping forums, there is a New Posts link along the top which will show you all New Posts since your last visit on one page.

There is also a Keyword Search which can help you find older posts.

If you are viewing a thread, you can subscribe to that thread and find it easily in your User CP at a later time.

I think with the number of posts happening on this forum, it's good that they are sorted into specific categories. I know that you may want to view and reply to every post, but some members only have time to participate in one or two categories that interest them specifically.

I agree with arch at this point...I like to keep things separate so I dont want to mix media per se....but i am not too happy with the number of forums I have either - though I am not sure which forums/categories to prune out...one I thought maybe the ones that see little or no activity like writing one, the philosophy one (this can be borught under Random nonsense maybe), the suggestions forum (j/k). I still want to keep the help forums I know they dont get much joy but they are one of the reasons I started this forum maybe as it gets busier they will be of more use. I could however try grouping them under one forum like Applications Help, etc....I will have to give more thought on this.

If enough members feel strongly about changing the way its spread out I will certainly make the effort to change so let me know.

Good to be under a wing that is willing to change, I would most definately like to see a little re-vamping.

As a webdesign rule, in general we try to keep the "initial information" to 9 or less catagories as research has shown that any more than nine will decrease the usability and friendlyness of the site, If you want any more suggestions, I've got a few I'll post when I've got more time.

With love and adoration, PJ

I can value in both sides of the debate. There are pros and cons for both consolidation of topics and expansion of topics. I sort of like it the way it is currently designed. My two cents worth. :)

I mentioned the navigation earlier and would like to point out that though it is similar to an explorer or mycomputer tree system it works rather poorly here. I believe it is the defualt for the vb forums (not really sure) and would like to see it changed eventually. I would suggest something like over at Bluesfear.com or possilbly somthing else.

Just something else to think about cleaning up.

It is the default for the vb3+ and it seems to work good enough for me, and so far you are the only one that has complained specifically about it, though I do feel its rather boring in the very least. I may look into redoing it when I have the time to sit down and figure out the templates, etc, but its far from a priority at the moment.

I'm a fan of organization. If you need an extra forum or two to keep things seperate so be it. Maybe a photographer doesn't want to look at art, and vice versa. Ya know? But if you have a movies and a games thread, why not merge them? so, yes, there are pluses to both sides. Up to the admin really and what they think is best for the board :)

All true but for me was always a matter of getting used to the board layout and remembering where everything was. I was a little confused when I started posting here but now It's all good.

Theres been no problem for me and don't think there will ever be......SDC forums is like my home....I know where every thing is and who will pop in !!.......

Like the back of your hand...
Well thank you Chris for saying you would redo it, however I realize what 'not a priority' means so I'll try to get used to it.

My suggestions mostly come from the perspective of someone who is new and doesn't know their way around, and all of them pertain to making it easier to navigate. That is the hardest thing about this forum for me, I would love to see a more user friendly layout, navigation, and organization. (for instance: although the main purpose of the forum is art, put the introduction thread on top so its the first thing new people see, this also helps to ensure that new kids will get a warm welcome.)
Stuff like that, amid my suggestions I feel I should add a thank you for putting this place together. I'm not trying to be a thorn or some ungrateful chump, I'm trying to help improve on somthing I enjoy.

Thank you Admin and Moders :P

Thanks Pieter. :) I always want helpful suggestions, and like I say in the posting guidelines is that I want an open door policy here where anyone can voice their opinions.

I could have started this topic myself
First of all the forum looks so much better now.. thanks so much for cleaning it up. Second I think smaller forums work better because you feel the community more. They are easier to browse- they don't take long to load and there are less categories to focus on so it's more interesting to post
When I first came here and saw categories like "debates" separate from "off-topic" as well as "inspired" and "welcome"; "art work in progress" and "art" separate- and then "photos for fun" and "photos" separate I thought that it was a bit of a waste. I think you did an amazing job at this point but why can't some of the categories work together? Smaller forums are much more interesting to browse. They don't bore you when you open up the page- you are more interested in getting to more threads- maybe all of the threads- because you don't have to click on ten pages to open each one
I just don't understand why can't "art in progress" be together with "traditional art".. I mean really.. who actually looks separately at the art in progress section and then the art section? It's the same thing- as time goes by people come back to their post in the "art in progress" forum and post the completed work. If they want to share what they have started- they can post that in the appropriate category of "art" - either graphics or traditional art. This section just seems a bit like a waste sort of like "photos for fun" was separate from photos
I love the photos section- but it was incredibly boring going through one forum for one type of photos where you have a few threads- then clicking on another forum for other types of photos (there was never much of a difference) for other threads.. The same thing right now is happening with the art section- "work in progress" and "art"
Also why can't news, suggestions, introductions and "posting guidelines" be one category? Who will separately click on suggestions and news? That's the most boring part of any forum- especially posting guidelines- why would anybody have a separate forum for this?
I've been here for a few months and I still don't know what the posting guidelines are.. because I'm not crazy enough to go through a separate forum for this
Why not just make it one section- maybe the welcome section? so that any news, introductions, any other announcements or posting guidelines can be there? And any time you will have something to say- you click on that forum for the news or new threads of announcements
You did an amazing job with photography show room being one section at this point. I love to browse this. Actually I think the help section is smaller and more accessible now to a point where even I can check some of the posted topics and be interested in the discussions.. even though I'm not using many of the mentioned programs. And just like "debates" and off-topic is the same section.. why can't "inspired" and "off-topic" be the same section?
Your off-topic forum is a bit slow- if people will post links that are posted in your inspired category in off-topic it will attract more discussion because there will be more ideas tossed around in one forum
Overall I just think that the bigger the forum is the more difficult it becomes to browse. The more boring it is the less you want to check the forums-
some of the best working forums are small
People are more enthusiastic about discussion because they have less categories to check and more to concentrate on. I hope you make adjustments. I don't think there's a very good allocation of many of those topics but once this is taken care of this will be excellent
There's a lot of talent here and you guys are a pleasure to be around
I'm sure we can get very interesting discussions going- especially in the offtopic section and I'm sure this board can become much more interesting to browse as well. When you have less to concentrate on you concentrate on what you have more. But the more categories you have the less you want to post in each one. In a smaller forum there's also more communication between the members
I love this forum- and I think you've done an amazing job- especially in how you've adjusted it already- I think the allocation of categories is much smarter right now I just think it can be better. I can't tell you how much I love the photography showroom- the help section is amazing as well. A few more categories and this forum will be excellent

Wow, thanks for the contribution of ideas WhiteColor. If only I could put that much effort into my posts. :)

I completely agree with just about everything you said, however I'm a little vexed by your conclusion: "a few more catagories and this forum will be excellent". It seems to me you just finished saying less is more.
Lol, either way I get what you mean, thanks for the positive feed.

Thanks for the suggestions. :) I still cant believe you havent read the posting guidelines...especially because it is in a forum by itself...sitting out there for all to see (one of the problems we had before was nobody was reading them when they were in each forum as stickys)...so I guess I cant see how burying it in another welcome forum will make it more accessible ;)

I will state my reasons/arguments for some of the forum categories below.

Almost every decent art fourm I have been too has the WIP section separate from the finished work, and I prefer it that way myself....I like everything in its place, and I dont feel that WIPs belong in a showroom.

I can agree with combining the Trad art and the other category, I nearly did it during the changes. I would like to hear more feedback on this from the other members and moderators as to what they think before I make this change.

The Announcements forum: I might consider combining the News and Intros in one Forum...but I think Posting guides need to be visible upon first visit...

Thanks again for the helpful feed back....I know already I prefer this new arrangement to the previous.

Thanks for the suggestions. :) I still cant believe you havent read the posting guidelines...especially because it is in a forum by itself...sitting out there for all to see (one of the problems we had before was nobody was reading them when they were in each forum as stickys)...so I guess I cant see how burying it in another welcome forum will make it more accessible ;)

SD no one reads them anyway- regardless where you put them. But since you shamed me I will. I just mean that they can be in the same forum as news and announcements. They don't need to make this page bigger
People will be checking out the news section either way and if it's right in front of them.. then what will be the difference between how it's right now?

I can agree with combining the Trad art and the other category, I nearly did it during the changes. I would like to hear more feedback on this from the other members and moderators as to what they think before I make this change.

I hope you do. I hope the members get back to you soon :fruit:

I completely agree with just about everything you said, however I'm a little vexed by your conclusion: "a few more categories and this forum will be excellent". It seems to me you just finished saying less is more.

I meant more categories ".. need to be adjusted" "Worked on"
I should have just finished that sentence ;)

Wow, thanks for the contribution of ideas WhiteColor. If only I could put that much effort into my posts. :)

Well.. I had a lot to say :fruit:

Please leave the intros where they are now, they're already getting alot more action as is and I've seen an increase in new members since the move, I'm just asking that you don't combine it with the news. New and announcements are the same thing, but having a place specifically for new people to post it is fun and easy to meet the new guys.

The changes thus far have been good and I'm confident that any others will be as well.

Me too.. I think you've done an amazing job already
I think the offtopic section could use some help.. and suggestions combined with news would be nice.. besides people can feel welcome if they'll have a welcome section :grouphug:

I can agree with combining the Trad art and the other category, I nearly did it during the changes. I would like to hear more feedback on this from the other members and moderators as to what they think before I make this change.

I think after the changes you made the forum has improved. I would not go further tho. An art forum can have more specific forums for different kinds of art.

Should you decide to put them together implement a tag rule to people posting art.

like :

[oil paint] name
[speed digi paint] name
[digi paint] name

However I prefer the forum the way it is at this time :dub:

I think after the changes you made the forum has improved. I would not go further tho

well why do you think that if the forum has improved with the changes it won't improve more after more adjustment? The forum is too big right now- it takes forever to load and I open it in about five different windows to get to all of the topics.. But it's just an opinion :fruit:

the forum loads pretty fast for me, but i guess i am on cable so mabe thats a factor...I dont know if i am going to make any more changes atm, I am pretty happy with it. There are a few unresolved issues with the photography section and contests/colabs (if we have them) that I will address inteh future...maybe...

We will need a place for collective colabs, (codename: SteelPod) but I think a sticky might work for the time being.

the forum loads pretty fast for me, but i guess i am on cable so mabe thats a factor...I dont know if i am going to make any more changes atm, I am pretty happy with it. There are a few unresolved issues with the photography section and contests/colabs (if we have them) that I will address inteh future...maybe...

Fine :toilet: I'm done arguing. At least I tried