Forum topic breakdown

[Adelie]

It works okay the way it is, but I voted to change it. I'm in favor of adjusting what we already have instead of redoing the whole thing. We don't need the 70th Anniversay Box car (how long will that be a topic, until the 75th Anniversary car is released?[:D]). Having a separate topic for Electrical/DCC is a good idea. I'm not in favor of splitting it up by scale for the reasons mentioned above-some of the discussions wind up being useful across scales.

[jxtrrx]

I like it as is. I enjoy wading through the General topics. It doesn't take that long to simply skip the ones that don't interest.

[Anonymous]

I voted yes, as I think an Electrical/Electronic area would be beneficial. I did not participate in the Weathering poll so I am not as up to speed on that area as one that could use a seperate Topic area, although I personally think that it would make an interesting addition. Some forums have a seperate "Coffee Shop" area entirely for chit-chat.
Will

[jfugate]

I voted yes because the suggested breakdown by subject area ... electrical, scenery, operations ... is how my forum is broken up and it works pretty well. You go to the topic that interests you and you don't have to wade through a lot of chaff and unrelated stuff. See: http://mymemoirs.net/model-trains/forum/phpBB2/index.php?c=4

For a newbie, especially, a more topical organization would be particularly helpful.

As it is, we have the 500 pound gorilla (general discussion) and then a couple of canaries (layouts and prototype). A more topical structure might even that up more, which I would see as an improvement.

[MisterBeasley]

I think Ed makes a good point about "Balkanization" of the forum topics. I think we all pick up a lot of information from reading posts outside of our primary area of interest, and we end up contributing to the discussion of a wide variety of topics.

Suppose you had spent last week over in Layouts or Prototype Info. You would have completely missed out on Grandpa Coyote's fun thread about MR as an art form, and some great shots in Photo Fun or Midweek Madness would have gone right by.

One of the Commandments of Engineering is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

[joeyegarner]

Sounds like a great idea!!!

[howmus]

QUOTE: Originally posted by egmurphy

[We already have two sub-forums here (prototype info and layouts and layout building) and they both get a lot less traffic just because people tend to gravitate towards the general forum.

There is a lot of questions that should be asked on the Layouts and Layout Building sub-forum (including DCC) that are asked here because most everybody spends the bulk of their time here. I think a lot of good threads might be missed if the forum were split into more sub-forums. I try to check out the Layout forum often but tend to stay here most of the time.

[egmurphy]

QUOTE: How about keeping the general forum and adding forums for DCC, different scales, scenery, locos and rolling stock, equipment exchange, scratchbuilding, new releases, etc?

Since you asked... in general I'm against any significant changes, as I think it works well as it is. I'm very much against dividing it by scales. Other major forums are broken down that way and I really enjoy the interchange of ideas with people from other scales that I get here. I'd really hate to see that change.

I recognize that the popularity of the forum causes some topics to move to page two quickly, but I think it's just as easy to just click on page 2 after looking at the topics on page 1, as it is to have to switch to different sub-forums.

Just my guess, but I doubt that Kalmbach wants the hassle of providing a sale/exchange forum. These are already available on other model railroading websites.

We already have two sub-forums here (prototype info and layouts and layout building) and they both get a lot less traffic just because people tend to gravitate towards the general forum.

In any case, just my point of view. But thanks for asking.

Regards

Ed

[edo1039]

I voted yes for same reasons mentioned above. Sublevel topics would be very helpful for those just coming into the forum and for those of us who miss alot of good info that is dropped off to quickly. My opinion.

[grandeman]

One other benefit would be to allow users to concentrate on their favorite areas of the hobby. Some of us are into RTR models, some into kits, some into electronics, etc Different strokes for different folks.

[stokesda]

I voted "yes" because I think maybe it could use a little tweaking. I'm not sure if we need a whole topic devoted to "Where is the MR 70th Anniversary Boxcar," when there are other subjects that are equally deserving of their own topic. I like the suggestion of having a scenery/scratchbuilding topic. I don't think we need different topics for different scales because, as others have noted before, there is a lot of crossover (e.g. scenery tips, etc.) that would get missed if I only looked in the HO topic and not the other ones.

[grandeman]

First, let me start by saying thanks to the folks who provide and run this forum. I've had a great time here and don't want to be misunderstood as to what I'm trying to say.

That said, I'd love to see some changes to the format of the board. What I'm thinking of is a better breakdown of topics. How about keeping the general forum and adding forums for DCC, different scales, scenery, locos and rolling stock, equipment exchange, scratchbuilding, new releases, etc?

The problem I see with one big open forum is that some important topics drop off to quickly. Need an example? How about Aggros tree making post or some of Joe Fugate's clinics? For someone new signing on, a better breakdown would make finding things easier. Some will say, why not just use the search function? That's fine for a specific search, but you might gather more useful info that you hadn't considered while surfing specific forums. Also, how many redundant questions get posted here? That could be minimized with better topic segregation.

What do you think???