From: Rochester, New York, USA Insane since: May 2000
posted 03-24-2005 20:35
I think that it is time that we remove some of the deadwood and put it back to were it was originally. We had a period where there was a whole lot more activity than there currently is, and that was a good reason to pull out some forums. However, I think those times are pasted for a while, and that this place would benefit from having itself tightened up.
I am going to suggest the following layout:
OZONE : The general forum as always, this should stay as is
DHTML/Javascript: This forum has been around forever too, I say keep it.
Server-Side-Scripting: This forum is still newer, but I think it should stay because DHTML/Javascript should contain this one
Photoshop: This forum has been here forever, this one should stay.
Multimedia/Animation: This is a really new forum but I think it should stay, it has a broader scope than PS, and good uses.
Philosophy: This is new, and should stay, it gets a ton of use these days, it would clog up OZONE if we dropped it.
Site-Reviews: A Staple of this place it has to stay.
MS Lab: I am a bit iffy on this one. I can see its purpose, It can/should stay I guess, but I think it would be better served to be a little bit hidden, I think it should be readable by any member, but maybe just a link at the top or bottom of the page. Administration shouldn't been seen as a focal point of this place, as learning is the key.
So what was cut and why:
XML - XSL - XSLT - XHTML - CSS - DOM and Stupid Basic HTML: These two topics were big for a while, but they are now parts of other activities. That being Javascript or Server Side Scripting. HTML is a big part of the web, but not big enough to warrant their own forums. The focus of this place is on pushing the envelope, and that can be best done in the other forums.
PS Pong/Big Sig: These topics were popular for a bit, but I think that the PS Forum can easily absorb these topics back into itself, it will make the scope of the PS forum bigger again, but it will also allow people to see more of what is happening with design, and using the tools.
Photo/3D Modeling/Print: These forums are just not being used all that much, with the exception of Photography, which does get some use. I think that Photography might be able to get argued for, but I really feel that the PS forum can absorb all of these 3 and be much better for it.
Outpatient: This one is dead, and we can easily have these conversations in general. The outpatient forum was created to house the offers no one really wanted to see in the site reviews forum. I think we can/should live without this one.
Getting to know the Grail: I think we all know this one. Any conversations here should be held somewhere else, either in admin, or even the FAQ.
There might be some problems with this, because people are attached to certain forums. The big-sig for example. I think we need to have some pain and condense these things. I feel that this place is very fragmented right now, I hardly visit any forums anymore because of the amount of time and chance for inactivity in any given forum. I think putting them back together would help things out a whole lot.
I am really looking for opinions here. If you disagree with me, let me hear it, I want to know why. If you agree, let me know why you agree, you can't agree with my on every point. Well you can, but it would be better if we had some active discussion on this. And I am looking for comments from the newest members too. I don't just want to hear from those who have been here forever. If you have been here for only a day you opinion is just as valid if not more than the others.
I'm all for it. We talked about consolidation issues before, and I think it would help liven the place up a little, as well as just making it more logical.
HTML/CSS should be it's own forum. Server side and DHTML can excompass the other bits from that group.
I think that is pretty good. As I think about it more HTML/CSS is important enough and gets enough action to warent its own forum. I think that if we were to do this that it is important to modify the descriptions of the forums so that a user might have a better idea that a question can/do fit in one of those forums. The reason Server-Side-Scripting came about was that those types of questions were showing up in DHTML and OZONE because the user just didn't know where to put them. It might help a little bit.
I think the Sig forum could stay alive - the contests alone seem to warrant a seperate forum.
The PSPong will hopefully have it's own site...
The photoshop section could well be subtitled (and miscellaneous graphics) or something similar just to make it clear that other subjects can go there as well.
I think the place is in desperate need of this kind of consolidation.
XML - XSL - XSLT - XHTML - CSS - DOM and Stupid Basic HTML: You propose that we remove these; I agree that they should, at least, be consolidated into a single forum. I'm not certain that it's good to remove them altogether since JavaScript/DHTML will end up taking the posts that would go in them. But then, JS/DHTML has been a little slow as of late, so maybe it would be good to combine all three of these into a single "Client Side Technologies" forum of some sort.
PS Pong/Big Sig: I agree that PS Pong is basically dead. I do like having Big Sig around since it's a good place to send the newbies to when they come in with huge banner-type signatures. But maybe it could be moved farther down the list and given less emphasis.
Photo/3D Modeling/Print: I think these three plus the Multimedia/Animation forums should all be consolidated into one single forum. Heck, all three essentially *are* various forms of multimedia.
Outpatient, Getting to know the Grail: Yeah, no real need to keep either of these in my opinion.
MS Lab: I'm OK with keeping this one around for situations such as the one we're talking about right now. But definitely keep it towards the bottom of the list.
From: Rochester, New York, USA Insane since: May 2000
posted 03-25-2005 15:08
I am going to disagree on the Sig forum.
I think that one *needs* to go back into PS. The reason I say this is that, that forum is dying as well. I think that putting all of these graphical competitions into one forum will increase the graphical output and input. It might turn around where we have a huge glut of sig content, but we really don't have that now, or in the past bunch of months.
These forums only worked good separately when we had enough active members in each area to keep them all hoping with new and clever content, and were they to have been melded together would have been too much to work through.
As for having a HTML/XML/CSS I agree that we could/should keep a single forum to compact these two. I still see some really nice stuff going on in the DHTML forum, there is a lot of energy there, which, other than for philosophy I can't say the same.
I think the Server-Side Script should cover the XML related questions since most of the time, the XML flux are parsed via a server side language ... on the other it's also possible to import and parse some XML in JS .
Oh and the DOM should be in DHTML/JavaScript, not with (x)HTML/CSS.
I'll stick with what I said there. I think the Doc's plan was to merge those two anyway and I'd support a general client-side coding catch all forum to cover markup and stylesheets (so it would cover HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, etc. legitimately) - call it "Markup and Styling" if you like
3D, Print, multimedia, etc. have always been low traffic forums. I think having them there does no harm and may draw some people in who will then get invovled elsewhere.
From: Rochester, New York, USA Insane since: May 2000
posted 03-29-2005 02:56
I think that we should keep the ideas of the separate forums alive, but I think making the forums separate is damaging.
I believe that this can be achomplished by adding to the sections descriptions.
With the low amount of traffic the slow forums are going to get ignored and we will lose members to that.
I know for a fact that when print discussions showed up in the PS forum they were getting a whole lot more hits than they do now. That is because the discussion of print/illustrator was something that a good many people who only look at the PS forum have a knoweldge of. You will lose that valueable input by only having the thread looked at by a small subsection of the design populus.
If the description were changed to the following (given an editor with a command of the english language)
Photoshop
Simply *the* very best graphic program ever. Advice and questions, rants and raves, with a smattering of photography, multimedia and 3d graphics make this the forum to visit for all your Photoshop and other design needs.
we might be able to get better discussions for all threads involved.
I think warmage speaks of good things. This combined with the creation of a markup forum (and assimilation of related items) could clean up the forums and keep things well streamlined.
Tyberius Prime
Paranoid (IV) Mad Scientist with Finglongers
From: Germany Insane since: Sep 2001
posted 04-01-2005 11:08
quick note: I know the statistics are still missing - just did not have any time this week. I'm behind on all my 'fun' projects... oh well. Stay tuned.
From: The Land of one Headlight on. Insane since: May 2001
posted 04-02-2005 19:27
"Ozone Encore"
While you're considering the 'compacting'which I can pretty much agree with I'll throw in this thought for your consideration.
"An Ozone Encore"
I'm thinking this works particularly well in the 'Visual Therapy' category but easily includes some of the 'coding' side of things too.
In the photoshop forum for example I remember the first time I saw Warj take us thru "Biker chick" DG's "Head" Was it Izzy who did the 'mirrored Dragon? Mahj with his fire and Dolphin animation. DocileBob
with all the knives & Axes.
"Make it" produced some fantastic work.
I recall the 'collabrative' efforts entered in various competitions by this place and 'that other place' =)
The '20 line' and KB limited coding entries. I could go on and on... but you get the idea.
So when the 'consolidation' happens... is it worth considering a new forum where 'things' from the archives here... and 'personal' archives
could be 'aired' if you will. Until I lost 2 HD's in 18 months I had archived just a ton of stuff.... and I'm sure some inmates have amassed their own... which could be put forward for consideration.
So the 'why 'of it all, When we have archives? Well Museums have archives that every so often get dusted off...and displayed. I don't know if cross working with the Gurus's network works.. but things like DL's phenominal shapes tut there is a "must" as is Steve's 'curve' and 'pen' stuff.
The Doc's 'Hands-on' for example. It's all well and fine to direct people to the bottom of page link but with an "Ozone Encore" forum
There could perhaps be a few small thumbs of a specific 'tut' with something like... "If you REALLY want to know how to create a drop shadow... start here. What about the Doc drinking coffee and smoking cigs? I realize 'digging can be fun' but I think it's almost kind of a waste... to not make the 'amazing' just that much more visible.
Also it doesn't have to be OLD. I wonder how many of the 5thousand plus inmates haven't seen Bugs 'ajax guest book' ? I mean that's just insane!
Well I guess I better stop (almost) but I've read a lot of stuff in various forums about how this place isn't the same... bla bla ... and certainly it is not...change is inevitable but 'showing,' making easily available... at least some of the astonishingly great efforts that have passed thru these halls & walls... would, I think, go a long way to increasing participation and perhaps even drawing a few of the oldies back to comment on what they did back when...
Just a thought and probably not workable... but there you have it.
This and that 'other place' are imo, still the best out there.
And if I can help on that... more than happy and willing... you'll just have to point me and say... do this ... do that. =)
I like the encore idea although I wonder how confortably it would fit in with a forum setup, however, it would be absolutely ideal for a front page style approach:
Tyberius Prime
Paranoid (IV) Mad Scientist with Finglongers
From: Germany Insane since: Sep 2001
posted 07-12-2005 10:31
here are some (quick!) statistics:
Current Sink stats (meaning that these threads are in limbo, and we should go to http://ozoneasylum.com/smartsink and do some work ;-)):
threads/from forum
410 3D Modelling & Rendering Archives
543 BIG SIG Archives
1461 DHTML/Javascript Archives
3091 OZONE Archives
918 Philosophy Archives
711 Photoshop Archives
203 Print Graphics Archives
226 PS Pong Competition - Archived Games!
1512 Server-Side Scripting Archives
Please note that not all forums do sink at all.
Here are the current threads in each forum:
14 ***WARNING*** BIG SIG APPROACHING
25 DHTML/Javascript
32 Distributed Ward
71 Getting to know the Grail
181 Mad Scientists' Laboratory
374 Multimedia/Animation
216 Outpatient Counseling
104 OZONE
37 Philosophy and other Silliness
282 Photography
21 Photoshop
4 Photoshop Pong, Anyone?
3 Print Graphics
60 PSPong.com - Working Area!
33 Server-Side Scripting - Oh my!
762 Site reviews!
294 Stupid Basic HTML
929 XML - XSL - XSLT - XHTML - CSS - DOM
(Up to the minute stats are on the front page (for most of them)).
You can clearly see that some of them are not being 'sunk', XML for example.
Funnily enough, we have exactly 250 active (ie. thread posting) members in the last 3 months. 194 in the last month, 318 in 6 months. This goes up to 414 if I add in a whole year. (The numbers are: 1 Month = 139, 3 Months = 183, 6 Months = 238, 12 Months = 320 if I exclude anyone with just one post in the respective time frame).
posted 03-24-2005 20:35
it seems the Visual Therapy will go on a severe diet.
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Section Rename
