6 replies to this topic

[Dutchie]

I know it's a bit brutal to start this topic, but I couldn't find a place where I can leave my comments about the site, so I hope you see this as an usefull topic.
I think x64bit.net is a great site with people who know what they're talking about. But one thing make's me a bit dizzy, the site and the forum are a bit a maze. Maybe some boards can be put together or something like that. I mean there are 30(!) boards. Don't feel attacked, it's just what I think, if you (moderator) don't think so, I respect that.

Edited by Dutchie, 19 June 2006 - 06:41 PM.

[theman]

Thanks for bringing that up, and its a good point that it might seem somewhat complex with all the topics we have..but we're working on fixing that problem actually. For now though, it's something ya have to get used to.

[tntoak]

As someone who's created several forums myself, I would note that when building any forum, you have to find a balance between complex and simple. If the design is too simple (e.g., you have too few subsets), you run the risk of having too much information in a given subforum. OTOH, if you make an endless number of subforums, you run the risk of things getting lost in the shuffle.

To a certain extent, it is a matter of trial and error. While it's easy to sit down and say we should have 'x' subcategories for a given topic, you might find that one of more of the subcategories is underused or that one should be split into seperate areas In that case, you would have to look at consolidating and/or expanding them.

One advantage of IPB is that you can nest the subforums inside your top level categories in order to streamline the overall appearance of the boards. This is something I have done myself to strike the afroementioned balance.

Edited by tntoak, 20 June 2006 - 02:47 AM.

[error51]

Well I kept my mouth shut for a couple of days on this so congradulate me people.

Anyways I've helped a friend run a site once and I've organized a couple of layouts and such. This forum has a vision of slowly making a transition for 32bit to 64bit when the time comes that the technology is more prefered. Because of that, there are a couple of extra sections now to keep it seperated out. I have to say that this is one of my favorite forum layouts on the web. While there are some duplicate subjects in places, it is easy to find stuff. The one thing that I like about here is that since day 1 the goals and visions have stayed the same.

My second congrats is based on the realization that this site is almost never down. If it is, the server company is restarting their servers at 3am in the morning after a critical patch from MS is released. When this happens the server is down for like 3 minutes and then back to full operations. This is one of the most up sites I have ever been a member of and I think that Dave should get some credit along with Lino for keeping us streamlined with updates.

Now my favorite part about the board is that we don't really have a section to place feedback comments. I like that it eliminates a whole ton of bullshit from the daily browsing. It's the brutal truth, but forums are just like business industries in that there isn't much to invent. You can insert different numbers into formulas, you can paint stuff new colors, you can come up with new names and hope you get lucky with setting a trend, but you can't come up with anything really new and unthought of. At least that is my take on it. I have to tell you that in my short 18 years of life I have never seen a suggestion on a feedback section of a forum that wasn't thought of by the staff at least 18 times. And that is why I really don't see a need for the feedback section. Plus a feedback section would just add something else to this thing that other people call a maze. And for the record, I don't have any trouble finding the nearest exit with the cookies and cheese at it.

*EDIT* This topic should be in the X64Bit Cafe by the way cause it is kinda where you put odds and ends. This is where you post news which I'm in turn supposed to post on the portal.

Edited by error51, 22 June 2006 - 06:35 AM.

[theman]

~Topic moved to Cafe

[Sphere]

error51, on Jun 22 2006, 08:32 AM, said:

Anyways I've helped a friend run a site once and I've organized a couple of layouts and such. This forum has a vision of slowly making a transition for 32bit to 64bit when the time comes that the technology is more prefered. Because of that, there are a couple of extra sections now to keep it seperated out. I have to say that this is one of my favorite forum layouts on the web. While there are some duplicate subjects in places, it is easy to find stuff. The one thing that I like about here is that since day 1 the goals and visions have stayed the same.

Well, there's a good point imo. Officially, we are here because of the future of the 64bit systems, but we also stay in touch with the good old fashioned 32, I myself am in the middle with my 32bit dual CPU system. But the problem of the maze is mostly I think indeed because of the popularity of 32bit systems still, while here we want more 64bit systems, but can't force our users to do just that.

[tntoak]

I'm apparently in the minority here, because all I run is 64-bit. Haven't touched a 32-bit Windows install on a computer I own since February of 2005. Work is another story, unfortunately.