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Why so many sub forums?

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  • 19-03-2007 11:56am
    #1
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭


    Why is the Sports menu so long and the tech menu all fragmented into sub forums? I don't see the need for all the sub forums, one long menu is much easy to use. Why not just keep it simply. Biz is the same.

    I could understand if you were keeping it useable on low res like 800x600 but that can't be the reason. Working at 1280x1024 or 1920x1200 these sub forums are a pain.
    Post edited by Shield on


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    #2
    smashey
    Registered Users Posts: 21,676 ✭✭✭✭smashey


    I would think that each sport needs a separate forum. After all, you couldn't have GAA as a sub forum to soccer or vice versa.


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    #3
    r3nu4l
    Registered Users Posts: 17,399 ✭✭✭✭r3nu4l


    I think he means...why are we sub-dividing Tech when we don't sub-divide Sports?

    He likes the fact that Sports isn't sub-divided, giving a big long menu but hates the shorter menus

    In other words, Sports could be sub-divided into:
    Sports>BallSports>>Bowling, Soccer, Rugby...
    Sports>WaterSport>>Sailing&Boating,Swimming,Surfing...

    but it isn't so why are we sub-diving Tech etc?

    I like having the sub-fora menus, for me it makes things easier if similar and related fora are categorised into a parent group.


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    #4
    Hagar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,793 ✭✭✭✭Hagar


    Aha, but is water polo a "Water Sport" or a "Ball Sport"?


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    #5
    irlrobins
    Registered Users Posts: 7,541 ✭✭✭irlrobins


    The reason for the subdividing of the tech forum is to aid people in putting their post in the right forum. For sports, it's fairly obvious where to post; you're not going to post a rugby thread in the soccer forum.

    But tech is a lil different and there is some crossover between forums so the sub divisions are there to point the user in the right direction.


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    #6
    r3nu4l
    Registered Users Posts: 17,399 ✭✭✭✭r3nu4l


    Hagar wrote:
    Aha, but is water polo a "Water Sport" or a "Ball Sport"?
    Ah taxing issue indeed, probably the real reason why a Water polo forum doesn't exist. :)

    IRlRobins, I don't even think that's his problem either. He doesn't appear to be complaining about the number of fora, more that on the DHTML menu they are subdivided in to sub-menus rather than one big, long dropdown list.


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    #7
    irlrobins
    Registered Users Posts: 7,541 ✭✭✭irlrobins


    yea i know that, I'm explaining why they have been divided into sub forums. And because they are in sub categories/forums, the menu appears as it does.


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    #8
    r3nu4l
    Registered Users Posts: 17,399 ✭✭✭✭r3nu4l


    Oops :o


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    #9
    Talliesin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    This is essentially the same issue as any ontology faces.

    There's actual math out there as to the optimum balance.

    In practice though it still comes down largely to what seems best at the time.


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    #10
    GuanYin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15,552 ✭✭✭✭GuanYin


    I think the main reason is that there are less subject-savvy people who would be trying to negotiate tech than sports.


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    #11
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    irlrobins wrote:
    The reason for the subdividing of the tech forum is to aid people in putting their post in the right forum. For sports, it's fairly obvious where to post; you're not going to post a rugby thread in the soccer forum.

    But tech is a lil different and there is some crossover between forums so the sub divisions are there to point the user in the right direction.

    Never occured to me that people get confused between something like Windows, Unix and Mac though. Some of the sub forums are still confusing. Graphics and Laptops. What if you've a laptop graphics question? :) or want to upgrade a laptop? etc. I guess theres always some overlap. Its not just tech though biz does it aswell. I would have though having all the choices in front of you would make it easier to decide rather than harder. The sub forums you are most likely going to confuse are still going to be grouped together in a sub menu so does it really make it easier? Has the sub menus reduced the problem of people posting in the wrong forums?

    Looks a little silly on any normal res and worse on higher res. Huge screen area and tiny menus.


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    #12
    Blowfish
    Registered Users Posts: 5,112 ✭✭✭Blowfish


    You also have to take into account the ambiguous names of one or two of the fora. For instance this thread began life in the 'Building and Upgrading' forum in tech. If B&U was changed so it wasn't a subforum of computers, I could see that happening more often.


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    #13
    Talliesin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    Yes. As a rule names are expected to be interpretted in the context of the parent forum and/or category.

    "Radio" is a forum in the Arts category. It is primarily about Radio as a medium and what can be and is done with that medium.

    If there was a "Radio" forum in the Tech category one would expect it to be about radio as a technology and what can be and is done with that medium.

    And so on for many other forums.


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    #14
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    Blowfish wrote:
    You also have to take into account the ambiguous names of one or two of the fora. For instance this thread began life in the 'Building and Upgrading' forum in tech. If B&U was changed so it wasn't a subforum of computers, I could see that happening more often.


    Its in an completely different main menu so I don't get your point. Besides anyone that puts a thread about upgrading their bathroom in the middle of threads about AMD VS Intel or New Hard Drive needs more help than context. :D I see where you are going with this. But I don't see how someone going to mix up Dental issues or Long Term Illness with Weather or Mathematics. :)

    I'll agree to disagree. Now if only my email subs worked....:cool:


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