Forum Layout
Printed From: MetalMusicArchives.com
Category: Site News, Newbies, Help and Improvements
Forum Name: Help us improve the site
Forum Description: Help us improve the forums, and the site as a whole
URL: http://www.MetalMusicArchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=864
Printed Date: 18 May 2024 at 1:13am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 10.16 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Forum Layout
Posted By: Zoso
Subject: Forum Layout
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 9:09pm
| It is VERY confusing. I think it would benefit you guys if you made a section for each genre of music (well, you can group together similar genres). It would make it heaps easier to post band threads......I want to post a bunch of BM bands but I don't know whether to throw them in the metal chat or in the 'suggest new bands' section..... |
Replies:
Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 2:21am
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If you want to suggest new bands, you should do it in the suggest new bands section. The metal chat sections are for discussing and talking about music. ------------- http://www.lyngby-boldklub.dk/" rel="nofollow - Forever TRUE - Forever BLUE! https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM |
Posted By: topofsm
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 2:35am
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This site is strongly based off the format of the progarchives forums, and as far as I can tell it's pretty straightforward, and IMO it's better doing it by having the subforums divided by type of discussion, rather than having a separate subforum for every genre. This way, we can avoid having a, "Suggest new BM bands", "Suggest new death metal bands", "Suggest new thrash bands", etc. for every genre by having an all-inclusive "suggest new bands" subforum for every band under the sun. ------------- Lost respect for these archives when I saw Creed added, among other bands. Not going to be foruming here anymore. You can keep my reviews if you want. |
Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 2:54am
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Yep and in time as more collabs are included, we will probably have a suggest new bands monitor collab function, just as they have on PA. At least I think that�s a good idea, so that no suggestion is left unnoticed. ------------- http://www.lyngby-boldklub.dk/" rel="nofollow - Forever TRUE - Forever BLUE! https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM |
Posted By: Vehemency
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 4:58am
I actually kind of agree with Zoso, and I have secretly wished own areas for own genres (well, maybe combine death metal & grindcore etc.), it would definitely make me feel more "home" because I'm not going to start random underground black metal topics in the midst of Iron Maiden and Testament threads, you get the point...  Not that I whole-heartedly need to start such topics, because I do have other forums where to post about them. But I'm afraid some other people might think like-wise, so that a one big room for every genre is way too "diverse"... Because when it comes to metal, people tend to prefer certain subgenres and dislike others. A generalization, but still. When, say, an old school thrash metal fanatic comes across this forum, does he feel "home" when there's no actual "lounge to talk about it" except some specific threads in the midst of a place where they also talk about metalcore? |
Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 5:55am
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That could be fixed by asking an admin to make sticky threads for each subgenre under the appreciation main thread. This would ensure that the sub genre appreciation threads were always instantly visible on page 1 when you enter the appreciation thread. Just a suggestion. ------------- http://www.lyngby-boldklub.dk/" rel="nofollow - Forever TRUE - Forever BLUE! https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 7:53am
Thanks for the suggestion, Jonas ! I'll sticky the appreciation threads ASAP.Edit: Done! |
Posted By: Pekka
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 8:24am
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Once we get more people starting appreciation threads for all the subgenres, perhaps we'll divide the subforum to one which houses nothing but the subgenre appreciation threads and other for individual artists and bands. 18 sticky threads is too much I think for one area. ------------- http://iamthreepeople.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow">  <- Click on this!
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Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 8:25am
I�m not sure this is what the others meant, but I think it�s a good idea ( why wouldn�t I, it was mine ) . Looks great Raff .------------- http://www.lyngby-boldklub.dk/" rel="nofollow - Forever TRUE - Forever BLUE! https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 8:28am
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Thanks! For the time being, there are only a few genre appreciation threads. When things get really moving, we will think about having a separate section for them, since - as Pekka said - they might overshadow the band/artist appreciation threads.
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Posted By: Pekka
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 9:10am
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I see the Grindcore and Alt threads are stickied in both Lounge and Appreciation subforums, since they were moved from Lounge to Appreciation at some point. Is it possible to remove them from the Lounge stickys? ------------- http://iamthreepeople.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow"> <- Click on this!
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 11:13am
| The problem is that the topics were moved from the MM Lounge, and here (as on PA) a moved topic leaves a 'shadow' in the subforum where it was originally started. I will have to look in the Admin Control Panel to see if this 'shadow' can be removed - though it will make it harder for users to find their topics if they get moved. |
Posted By: Zoso
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 11:29am
Black/Death/Doom
Metalcore/Hardcore/Grind
Folk/Viking/Power
Thrash/Prog/Avant-garde
Other metal
A layout like that (or similar) where it would be easier to navigate and find what you want. If I want to check out BM bands, I don't want to have to sift through a bunch of other genres to find it, I could just go to the designated section. If I post a load of BM bands, other people wont have to sift through it to find what they want.
If the place is set up like the above, you get no more than 3 or 4 'suggest new *insert genre' bands' stickies in each section.
It's not my forum so whatever you want to do, that's fine, but this current layout is just jumbled and unorganized. I've been to tons of metal forums and they all had the basic layout I listed above. This forum is just basically putting everything together and it makes it a bit more difficult to find what you want to find.
Also, someone closed my BM thread in the suggest new bands section, which is fine, but I DID use search and it told me there were no results for that band so perhaps someone should look into that....I never make a thread in a forum without searching first but I got a red box that said it didn't find anything,
Anyways, I'd love to stick around here for I have a large amount of bands I would like to share but this layout is a huge turn off and I would rather go back to my regular metal forum where it is organized....I'll give this place a try for a bit but it's not a very good layout, imo.....
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topofsm wrote:Posted By: Pekka
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 11:50am
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^So you were suggesting a general discussion concerning that band? If so, you got us confused, as the suggest new bands sub-forum is for the purpose of suggesting bands missing from the database altogether, and not for other discussions about them. ------------- http://iamthreepeople.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow"> <- Click on this!
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Posted By: Vehemency
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 11:58am
If I were to decide a layout, I would have one area for general metal discussion, and then genre-based areas (with some combinations). I find it unnecessary to have different areas for polls, appreciations, recommendations etc... Those could be discussed in either the general metal discussion area or then in the genre-based areas. Just some of my thoughts on the matter. The current one is okay and I'm not complaining much but I think it COULD be a lot better, well, at least to my taste. ;-) |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 12:51pm
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@ Zoso: I closed your thread because that band was already in the database. This is something we do for a reason - to keep track of what has already been added in the Suggest New Bands section. At the moment, I am the only Admin active, and, even if there is not a whole lot of traffic, it is very easy to let things slip and let the site become a mess. As regards the layout, the site owner and webmaster used the same layout as his first website, ProgArchives. This does not mean it cannot be changed, especially since the site has only been around since March 25th. Just for the record, though: it is not 'our' site - we are just collaborators, and the final decisions rest on the shoulders of those who actually own the place and work behind the scenes to make it happen. Anyway, I am sorry if the layout is such a turnoff for you that it prevents you from sticking around... MMA is (like most websites) a work in progress, and every suggestion for improvement is welcome. |
Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 1:01pm
Now I�m a bit confused .
Don�t let the layout turn you off because as Raff said it�s a work in progress and if there are good suggestions for changes ( which should be posted here http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=2 - http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=2 . Hmm... I see that�s already handled), I�m sure mailto:m@x - m@x and Phil ( the site owners) will welcome them and implement them if possible) ------------- http://www.lyngby-boldklub.dk/" rel="nofollow - Forever TRUE - Forever BLUE! https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM |
Posted By: Zoso
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 2:47pm
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^ I read why you closed it, I am just saying that I did a search and got a red box that said nothing about the topic was found so perhaps there is an issue with the feature or something. I was just letting people know because you assumed I did not use the search button when I did :)
I was looking for a place to make a thread and actually discuss the band, for there may be fans here or people who do not know the band and would like to look into them. Like I said, the layout is a bit confusing and I did not know whether to post it in that section or the general metal section because both sections kinda look like anything and everything is thrown into them. I wasn't looking to add anything to some database, I was just looking to share the band and find some other fans or find some people who never heard of them before.
Maybe I just have the purpose of this forum confused but I was just looking for a forum to post band threads and discuss them.....I understand this place is still 'under construction' and I hope no one is taking any of this the wrong way, I am just trying to offer suggestions to make this place easier to understand and more oganized than just having all genres in the same sections.
I also had asked that if my thread were in the wrong section, it be moved, but it was still closed, which is confusing to me....if we are allowed to make threads about bands and discuss them, I don't see why it was closed instead of moved to the correct discussion section....
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 2:54pm
I didn't assume anything ...Anyway, if you want the thread to be moved in order to discuss the band, I'll do so. I'm afraid there was some misunderstanding in the first place, which is not uncommon on the Internet.
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Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 2:54pm
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^ahhh I understand now. I thought you were suggesting the band for inclusion on the site ( as you posted in the suggest new artist thread). Therefore I assumed you hadn�t searched for the band in the right corner on the frontpage. If you made a forum search and nothing came up it�s just because no one has posted anything about the band yet. ------------- http://www.lyngby-boldklub.dk/" rel="nofollow - Forever TRUE - Forever BLUE! https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 2:56pm
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OK, the thread is now in the Appreciation subforum, open for everyone who wants to post there.
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Posted By: Zoso
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 5:08pm
Thanks everyone for clearing things up, much appreciated!
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: 08 Aug 2010 at 5:25pm
I am the person who closed that thread ... Only Admins can do that, and I am one (or perhaps the only one left, who knows ?). Anyway, the thread is now in the Appreciation subforum, and ready for anyone who wants to discuss the band.
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