[wp-forums] The future of the forums

[Les Bessant]

Given that 2.0.x is going to be around for several years as a supported
version, we're likely to see a lot of questions that belong under all the
headings currently in use.

It would make it easier for people looking for help and for those trying to
provide help if the forums showed a clear split:

Top level:   Headings for 2.0.x and 2.1.x 

Within each of those: Subheadings much like the current forums - thought
could be given to whether the current headings are still the most useful.
(Personally, I'd suggest renaming "Plugins and Hacks", given the ambiguity
of "Hack")

The posting form needs a lot of TLC. A drop-down or a radio button, or even
a text box for WP version[1] would help, and might get more posts in the
right places. As I mentioned before (and Spence has repeated a few times), a
limited set of Quicktags, particularly for entering blocks of code would be
a major step forward in user-friendliness. At the moment, the forums show
WP's heritage as a tool built by and for hackers (of the good kind). Now
it's got a much wider audience of people who really don't understand things
that are second nature to many of us, the support forums need to be more
approachable and easier for less technical people to understand.

Small changes like these would make the forums behave more like those people
have seen elsewhere[2], which would help the newcomers more, IMHO. 

[1] Won't help those who are unsure of what version they're using, of course
[2] A more fundamental change of the layout is probably beyond the scope of
this discussion, and it's been argued before

Les Bessant les at lcb.me.uk
Losing it[1] - http://lcb.me.uk
My flickr pictures - http://flickr.com/photos/lesbessant/

> -----Original Message-----
> From: wp-forums-bounces at lists.automattic.com [mailto:wp-forums-
> bounces at lists.automattic.com] On Behalf Of Kaf Oseo
> Sent: 24 January 2007 06:42
> To: wp-forums at lists.automattic.com
> Subject: [wp-forums] The future of the forums
> 
> Hey!
> 
> In another thread in this list Michael B brought up important points on
> how the forums need to go forward -- mainly dealing with the fact we now
> have two very separate ongoing branches of WordPress requiring support.
> 
> Let's discuss how best to do that.
> 
> Here are some options we can look at, and a few of the pros/cons as I
> see them:
> 
> 1.
> Move 2.0.x issues to their own forum (perhaps a separate board?).
> 
> Pros:
>   * Simplifies so of the moderation and help tasks.
>   * Clearly delineates 2.0 issues from 2.latest.
> 
> Cons:
>   * A single forum for all 2.0.x issues may be hard to sift through.
>   * Not all problems are 2.whatever specific. Mods may have to pick
>     and choose which 2.0.x posts are 2.0.x issues.
> 
> 2.
> Add member profile field specifying ver. Display on each post.
> 
> Pros:
>   * Simple, effective way to flag version.
> 
> Cons:
>   * Requires members set (and keep up-to-update). Previous members
>     would need to be 'prodded.'
> 
> Note:
> Should version shown on topic entries be updated (when member changes
> it under profile) on all or only new entries? Positives/negatives?
> 
> 3.
> Tag version info through a special field (drop down?) at time of post.
> 
> Pros:
>   * Another simple way to flag version info.
> 
> Cons:
>   * Also requires member interaction.
>   * Tying version to topic rather than member might lead to confusion
>     as topics are taken over by other members.
> 
> 
> Options beyond these?
> 
> -Kaf
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