Why do we have Child Boards on Current and Finished Projects?

van883 · August 27, 2009, 12:07:55 PM

If the child boards are used then what will be in the main bit??
e.g I am about to post a pic of a new aircraft whif-where should I put it? In the main section or the aircraft section? or both?

Van

cthulhu77 · August 27, 2009, 12:22:57 PM

I don't care for the child boards, and don't visit them. just put it under current projects.

van883 · August 27, 2009, 12:28:31 PM

I've posted in both !

Shasper · August 27, 2009, 12:58:12 PM

Same here, I aint to shure about the CBs . . . Didn't the ARC forum crash sometime ago because of too many boards?

ChernayaAkula · August 27, 2009, 02:23:50 PM

I'm also not too sure about the child boards.

I mean, Figures, Cars, Etc. hasn't had a new post for 9 days. Sci-Fi's last new post was 8 days ago. Last in Ships was three days ago. Only Armour and Aircraft seem to run at some speed.

Quote from: Shasper on August 27, 2009, 12:58:12 PM
<...> Didn't the ARC forum crash sometime ago because of too many boards?

Yup! There were some serious stability problems.

Captain Canada · August 27, 2009, 05:41:21 PM

I like the child boards. If I'm looking for a boat, I go to ships, etc.

Besides that, doesn't everybody use the 'unread topics ' function to see what's been going on ?

I also find the practice of posting the same thread in more than one board frustrating. I like to see what people think, if they see the kit the same way I do, or if there is any response to posts I'm interested in. If a thread is divided into two, then you have to check both, which doesn't make any sense.

When I hear people say "I only look here....and I'm not going to look anywhere else" then that's your loss, as there's much more to this place than just the 'current and finished projects board'.

anthonyp · August 27, 2009, 05:47:56 PM

There's child boards because us mods are anal-retentive data managers who have been wanting to come down with an iron fist on this site the same way our role models at other, JMN friendly sites do...

What? I wasn't supposed to say that out loud? Oops.

OK, what I meant was, it was to make things easier to find... yeah, that's it.

kitnut617 · August 27, 2009, 06:14:24 PM

Quote from: Captain Canada on August 27, 2009, 05:41:21 PM

I also find the practice of posting the same thread in more than one board frustrating. I like to see what people think, if they see the kit the same way I do, or if there is any response to posts I'm interested in. If a thread is divided into two, then you have to check both, which doesn't make any sense.

I'm in agreement there Todd, I made a post on a thread after viewing it in 'unread posts since last visit' then when I went back to it I opened up another thread on the same subject without realizing it and it was like --wait a minute -- I just made a post---where's it gone ----

Mossie · August 28, 2009, 05:19:09 AM

I like the child boards too, but like most I rarely browse the main forum & use the unread posts function. I think the main reason posts still exist under the main title is that it'd take a lot of effort to sort all the old posts into new boards?

I remember seeing a while back that some prospective new members had been put off because they assumed we were all about aircraft modelling. We're not of course, I think we pretty much reflect the hobby as a whole , but aircraft does dominate & armour/ships/sci-fi etc. can get a bit drowned. I don't think it matters too much if other boards are posted in as often as aircraft, just that the posts can be seen more easily.

van883 · August 28, 2009, 08:11:28 AM

I like the idea of the child boards but would like it better if the main bit could be locked so no new posts could be made there-so it would function as a sort of archive much like the "my stash just grew again" board is locked at the end of a year.

Van

Sauragnmon · August 28, 2009, 09:58:44 AM

I love the child boards, as they help filter up the thinner project sections like ships/armor/scifi/cars/whatever else. As I said before, there were times I could easily have felt like I was one of a very small group of ship modelers. I didn't know of Thorvic's penchant for ships until the one week GB, and I'd never stumbled over Anthony's ship stuff, so it felt kinda empty.

I don't quite agree with locking the main forum, because they were originally (the sub forums) an optional use thing. I used to post everything in one big thread, and I still keep that thread for use at current, but if the admins say "we shall lock it" then ok, I'll divide and shuffle and add.

Shasper · August 28, 2009, 01:25:26 PM

Like I stated before, I'm not enthused about these child boards (Who are their parents anyway?) because to me it seems like it complicates things (especially with the way the search function works), and I'm talking about the forum as a whole here. If there is a viable need for a CB then so be it, but otherwise they take up space that could be used for other things.

Sau, I started following your & others example by having one big thread instead of many smaller & more specific threads, figure I'll have that in the main build forum with links to whatever topics I start in the CBs. Only exception being any old projects I started but have yet finished (and that's due to not being able to move those threads).

Sauragnmon · August 28, 2009, 01:31:15 PM

Well, the child boards are good for information sorting, and it helps filter out a few things. You're talking to one of the parents of the child boards (I suggested Ships, why do you think I'm the mod?) In this case, the need is the at times heavy propensity for low ratios of some subject matter to be lost in the general demographic - anything other than aircraft tends to get diluted out by the high predisposition of most of the membership towards aircraft. It's a problem of demographics and activity in some cases more than others - I am NOT pointing fingers, simply stating observations.

Shas, that's not a bad idea really - having one thread in main as a Central Listing of your material, linking to individual projects in the child boards. Sort of an indexing concept. Random thoughts running off again.

ChernayaAkula · August 28, 2009, 02:49:55 PM

Well, and the gain is what?

Ships have their own section now, but they don't get more exposure than before. Number of posts shows that, I guess. A new post today. Other topics have not had new post for days, if not weeks. So all it promotes secession (in my eyes). People that earlier on wouldn't look at ships, will now definitely not look at ships. Those that earlier on looked into ships once in a while may now no longer to look into the special sub-forum. And I think the all-encompassing approach here on whatifmodelers is what makes it special to me. Other sites are sorted by jets, props, some even by scale - here you'd get the whole enchilada!

cthulhu77 · August 28, 2009, 03:51:23 PM

agreed...one you insert division, you start to lose people. If I want to look at just ships, I go to a ship site, etc...I'm happy the mods are happy with the child boards, but I personally think it is a step in the wrong direction.