64 forums

Rob-hin · #1 (**permalink**) 01-12-2005, 04:15 PM

I feel that Gamebanshee has way to many forums.
It scares of new users and makes things needlessly complecated.

I mentioned this in the past and I feel that Gamebanshee has now reached the point that it's size is endangering itself.

Am I the only one who feels that way?

The Great Hairy · #2 (**permalink**) 01-12-2005, 04:25 PM

Hmmm, I think it's pretty good overall. The Forums are clearly delineated and categorised. Whilst some of the forums are only lightly used (Deus Ex 1 & 2, some of the Action RPGs) others are very heavily used (BG2, NWN).

Also, as more RPGs come out, more forums will have to be added. Personally, I prefer GB as compared to GameSpy, GameSpot, etc., because this site concentrates on the games I play, and there isn't a lot of "interferance" from dozens of FPS's, RTS's, etc.

As for newbies being intimidated, the older posters just have to keep up their friendly and helpful facade. I think the moderators do an excellent job of quashing any problems, and everyone here is pretty open and friendly.

I don't think GB is endangering itself. If anything, it has the potential to become one of the core RPG sites on the web (if it isn't already).

Cheers,
TGHO

Aegis · #3 (**permalink**) 01-12-2005, 06:03 PM

I'm inclined to agree with Rob-hin, on all counts. To me, the amount of forums that go under used should be a strong indication that we don't really need many new forums (for instance, Game Discussion has just been seperated into Game Discussion, RPG Discussion, and MMORPG Discussion. This, to me, is frivelous).

Galuf the Dwarf · #4 (**permalink**) 01-12-2005, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aegis

I'm inclined to agree with Rob-hin, on all counts. To me, the amount of forums that go under used should be a strong indication that we don't really need many new forums (for instance, Game Discussion has just been seperated into Game Discussion, RPG Discussion, and MMORPG Discussion. This, to me, is frivelous).

I'd like to note that the Forgotten Realms forum seems to definitely be dead beyond revival, as of lately. Eberron comes at a close second on my personal list.

The Temple of Elemental Evil, suprisingly, does get SOME activity, though FAR LESS than the Baldur's Gate forums. Of course, ToEE is less popular game, so go figure.

Which forums could be merged could be quite debatable.

I can very well agree with Rob-hin that GameBanshee could risk going the way of the Roman Empire: stretched to thin. It almost sounds as if he's concerned of the size of GameBanshee forums getting to newer members.

The Great Hairy · #5 (**permalink**) 01-12-2005, 08:11 PM

Okay, maybe some of the forums can be trimmed or amalgamated. Roll the two Deus Ex forums into one and the two Freedom Force forums into one. Shut down some of the forums dealing with older games, such as Fallout: BoS and Diablo. Merge the three Discussion forums back into one forum.

However, you are still going to face the problem of new forums for new games. How are you going to handle that? You need constant updating in an online society - you can't rest on your laurels forever. Buck needs to make money from the advertising, which means there has to be new reasons for new people to come here, not just old, stagnating forums discussing old games which no one can buy anymore.

Looking at the article at RPGDot (which was mentioned in the GB News a couple of days ago) there are a dozen or so CRPGs coming out in 2005, some of which are going to be big. Only a couple (NWN 2, Dragon Age) are covered in existing forums, the rest are going to need new forums.

I certainly don't think this website is facing imminent decline. There is still room to grow and develop.

Cheers,
TGHO

Xandax · #6 (**permalink**) 01-12-2005, 11:38 PM

Well - I think most people know where I stand.
I also think we have to many forums, and low usage of a forum is in my view a very good indicator of that.
Some things I personally think:
-Deus Ex being combined to one.
-Freedom Force being combined to one.
-Perhaps even the Fallout forums could be combined, although I'd proberly wait to see what happens with Fallout 3.
-I must admit I currently fail to see the reason behind dividing GameDiscussion into 3 seperate, seeing as it was very under- and misused prior.
-The Action RPG-tab have many forums that I feel could be combined

Personally - I don't even show the Action RPGs or RTS/RPG Hybrids in my view - I have them "minimized".

Now I don't personally "mind" the empty forums, I just think it gives off a bad view when browsing into GameBanshee, because it makes the forum seem less usefull then it actually is. It is just some games are not played much by the people that currently utilizes the fourm, and if the needs arises then they could always be added later.

BuckGB · #7 (**permalink**) 01-13-2005, 12:24 AM

There will be some consolidation going on in the next few days, which is specifically why I broke the Game Discussion forum down into three different categories. That way, I can move our low volume forums over to their appropriate "general" section.

However, I do not think that increasing the number of forums has had a detrimental effect on the number of visitors we receive. GameBanshee is receiving the highest amount of traffic its ever seen at the moment and the forums have easily doubled in all forms of activity over the past year. I remember when having 50 people online at one time was a huge accomplishment and now we've recently even had over 300 concurrent users.

Forums like Temple of Elemental Evil, The Forgotten Realms, or Eberron will most likely never be consolidated, even if the activity becomes a bit slow. ToEE is a very good RPG in its own right and I wouldn't want to point all of the visitors at our ToEE subsite to a general RPG forum for discussion of the game. I have a tough time believing we won't see any new Forgotten Realms games (which will no doubt spark more interest in the setting at a future date) and I'm sure Eberron will pick up once it becomes more commonplace in games (Dragonshard and D&D Online being the first that should bring the setting to life and draw some interest).

Although I will be merging some of the forums, it is inevitable that more forums will be added over time. Some users may not like the growth, but like TGH pointed out, the website cannot succeed by focusing on old games alone... and the website's survival is my main concern =).

Xandax · #8 (**permalink**) 01-13-2005, 12:39 AM

I'm sure nobody minds new forums being added per se. It is when forums are added which doesn't (seem to) get used.
Of course - new forums for new games should be added, and then it should be observed if the game attracts any attention.

There will be some consolidation going on in the next few days, which is specifically why I broke the Game Discussion forum down into three different categories. That way, I can move our low volume forums over to their appropriate "general" section.

Sounds good

(Oh - and I belive that ToEE should keep a forum, not that I play it. However - why Diablo and Deus Ex has 2 forums I fail to se (amongst others)

)

jopperm2 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-13-2005, 08:36 AM

I would be in favor of merging some of the sequels that are not heavily used. Deus Ex, Diablo, etc.. I like the way the Role Playing section is with PnP, D&D, and campaign settings.. I do like the idea of sending some of the VERY underused forums to a categorized game discussion section as long as it is only forums with few posts. For example, DnD Heroes doesn't get a lot of new traffic lately, but there are a lot of threads in there so new players could easily get any info they are looking for. Those threads would clog an Action RPG Discussion forum. Same goes for the Diablo forums.

BuckGB · #10 (**permalink**) 01-13-2005, 08:49 PM

Alright, I merged several forums earlier today. Any suggestions for additional consolidation?

The Great Hairy · #11 (**permalink**) 01-13-2005, 09:38 PM

Maybe merging Dungeon Siege 1 & 2 - but I think that is dependant on waiting until DS 2 comes out, and the amount of forum usage can be judged.

The merged forums look fine to me. I would expect, however, that several new forums will be added over the next six months or so, especially with quite a few CRPGs coming out shortly.

Cheers all,
TGHO

BuckGB · #12 (**permalink**) 01-14-2005, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Great Hairy

Maybe merging Dungeon Siege 1 & 2 - but I think that is dependant on waiting until DS 2 comes out, and the amount of forum usage can be judged.

The merged forums look fine to me. I would expect, however, that several new forums will be added over the next six months or so, especially with quite a few CRPGs coming out shortly.

Yeah, I didn't want to merge the two Dungeon Siege forums until the sequel is released and we can determine if the community warrants two forums. In addition to forums for several classic titles that we're covering behind-the-scenes, I imagine that Troika is about ready to make an announcement on their next title, so I'll most likely be adding a handful of new forums over the next couple of months.

Although we now have less than 60 forums, it's inevitable that we will reach 64 again and surpass that number shortly thereafter. I'm not sure that there is a good solution to keep the number of forums to a minimum, although future versions of vBulletin might make the navigation of so many forums a little easier.

Rob-hin · #13 (**permalink**) 01-15-2005, 06:29 AM

I for one make use of the minimazing of certain forums. It limits the length of my page down sigificantly.

My advice would be to keep the forums up to date, add new games before they go gold. Also, keep older games in check. Don't keep every single game forum, if they don't generate traffic then they are redundant. Where you draw the line is up to you naturally.

Just a side note, I don't think you need to go around and deleting forums. But I'd try and keep the number of forums around 60, 65 but not over 70.

Good luck.

The Great Hairy · #14 (**permalink**) 01-16-2005, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob-hin

My advice would be to keep the forums up to date, add new games before they go gold. Also, keep older games in check. Don't keep every single game forum, if they don't generate traffic then they are redundant. Where you draw the line is up to you naturally.

Just a side note, I don't think you need to go around and deleting forums. But I'd try and keep the number of forums around 60, 65 but not over 70.

Hmmm, but where do you draw the line?

Whilst I (sort of agree) that you can have too many forums, I look at the list here, and I see gaps. No Gothic forum(s). No Heroes of Might and Magic (which has RPG aspects - probably more than Diablo, anyway). No Age of Wonders (similar to HoMM). No Wizardry. No Might and Magic.

Now putting in forums for these games might be redundant as they are older games (although there are rumours of a new Might and Magic being developed), but I would think that adding in new forums is a delicate and difficult decision which has to be made. Just going from that list previously mentioned on RPGDot, there are several games there which will probably need forums. And there new games coming out beyond that list, I'm sure.

Like I said before, I don't think GB is in danger of getting too big. And I don't think GB management should be thinking along those lines either.

Cheers,
TGHO

Luis Antonio · #15 (**permalink**) 01-16-2005, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buck Satan

Alright, I merged several forums earlier today. Any suggestions for additional consolidation?

Well, since all kinds of strategies have been found, and that most of players have them both, I think SoA and ToB forums can be molded into one. There are not that many posts as in last year and the game is almost the same.

I'd also say you could mix BG1 and BG2 (SoA+ToB) into a single forum, but I think not many people will agree with that.