For now I prefer the old forum. Mainly out of habit, but also the interface is more familiar and a little easier to use (with a few more posting options). I would be up for moving to this new forum as long as all the old stuff could be moved over along with it. If there were some easy way to port the old forum into the new, that would be swell.
I don't like how there is already a divide between the old yahoo group and the forum...and closing down the forum in favor of this new site would create yet another archive to keep track of...
I for one don't see how the whole archive issue is even an issue, but I guess that's just me. As for porting or transferring information from the Forumer forum, this is (for all practical purposes) an impossibility: Forumer doesn't support (and has no interest in) database transfers, whether free or for a fee.
As for options and features the Forumer forum has, someday our forum may compete with that, but it's a software issue that's largely dependent on the free time and willingness to contribute of the Drupal open source community, which means there's hope, but that's about all there is. (Although the specific desire for a "view new posts" button, I believe, is within grasp - I'm still researching.)
A third option in the poll that didn't occur to me until reading some replies is: Keep them both. The switch from Yahoo group to forum occured rapidly (because lets face it, the forum is ten degrees of awesome better), but perhaps the switch from forum to new forum will occur naturally?
—
~You're only young once, but you can be immature forever. -Dorkistan.com-
I agree about the archive issue -- to me it's a nonissue. I very rarely search the old topics of the Forum and have only once gone back to the Yahoo! group. I would MUCH rather have only one site to consistently visit (and given the other features here, my preference would be this one), and occasionally go to another as an archive, than to be consistently going to two different places (which is already starting to get on my nerves) for essentially the same purpose.
I think the "natural" switch will only happen if/when the forum here at epicduels.com is "better" than the forumer one. The forumer one has so many more options and features, not to mention years worth of material, that it will be difficult to compete with it. You're right (at least in my experience) that the reason we all migrated to the forum was that it was SO much better than the yahoo group. The forum here is, frankly, a few steps backward (not much...but still).
For me personally, my free time exists in little spurts here and there (just enough to stay active on the boards, not enough to handle much dueling or contribute any new content). So, I won't be utilizing all this site has to offer until summer at the very earliest. I can't speak for anyone else, but I would guess if there even is a natural transfer over to this site it will be slow and gradual and could take months if not years.
If porting the forum from there to here is an impossibility then it leaves us (well, I say "us", when really it's "you" being the creater of epicduels.com and owner of the forum) a very tough decision about when, where and how to move the community. If the goal is to move the community immediately, then the only solution is to lock up the forum and force everyone over here. The diehards will follow, not sure about the lurkers or occasional posters. I would say if you want to do that, hold off on doing that until more of the kinks here can be worked out and wait until a few more features can be added
But if you want to wait and see if the community just naturally transitions over here...I think the past month and a half should be evidence enough of how that might work. Some have filtered over, but no one is using epicduels.com exclusively, and most are still using forumer more. I'm not sure that waiting a few more months will do anything to help transition anyone "naturally" over here. If this forum had more options and more incentive to use it exclusively, and the site were a little bit less complicated then I think we'd see more of a natural transition. Just my 2 more cents.
Potential potential potential! Sure, I like the old forum and am very comfortable using it, but I don't doubt the same could be true of this one in time. Besides, doesn't "familiarity breed comtempt"?
The currently active forum is hosted by a 3rd party (Forumer) and comes with ads
but is versatile (not to mention familiar). This new site, emphasis on
new, is an admittedly less robust forum and the interface (of the whole
site, not just the forum) can be daunting to some, but the *potential*
on the new site far surpasses anything we'd get there. (Also, completely
new users would have to register at both sites, but to you guys that's
a non-issue.)
My purpose in this poll is to gauge whether or not
I should continue to maintain the forum at epicduels.com, or simply
have the "Forum" link direct to the Forumer forum. Discuss! Opine!
—
~You're only young once, but you can be immature forever. -Dorkistan.com-
The forum link has been changed to the 3rd party software. A return to an on-site forum will happen if and when better software and/or a database transfer becomes available.
Comments
Re: Forum: Old vs New
For now I prefer the old forum. Mainly out of habit, but also the interface is more familiar and a little easier to use (with a few more posting options). I would be up for moving to this new forum as long as all the old stuff could be moved over along with it. If there were some easy way to port the old forum into the new, that would be swell.
I don't like how there is already a divide between the old yahoo group and the forum...and closing down the forum in favor of this new site would create yet another archive to keep track of...
Your Skills Are Not Complete
Re: Forum: Old vs New
I for one don't see how the whole archive issue is even an issue, but I guess that's just me. As for porting or transferring information from the Forumer forum, this is (for all practical purposes) an impossibility: Forumer doesn't support (and has no interest in) database transfers, whether free or for a fee.
As for options and features the Forumer forum has, someday our forum may compete with that, but it's a software issue that's largely dependent on the free time and willingness to contribute of the Drupal open source community, which means there's hope, but that's about all there is. (Although the specific desire for a "view new posts" button, I believe, is within grasp - I'm still researching.)
A third option in the poll that didn't occur to me until reading some replies is: Keep them both. The switch from Yahoo group to forum occured rapidly (because lets face it, the forum is ten degrees of awesome better), but perhaps the switch from forum to new forum will occur naturally?
~You're only young once, but you can be immature forever.
-Dorkistan.com-
Re: Forum: Old vs New
I agree about the archive issue -- to me it's a nonissue. I very rarely search the old topics of the Forum and have only once gone back to the Yahoo! group. I would MUCH rather have only one site to consistently visit (and given the other features here, my preference would be this one), and occasionally go to another as an archive, than to be consistently going to two different places (which is already starting to get on my nerves) for essentially the same purpose.
Re: Forum: Old vs New
I think the "natural" switch will only happen if/when the forum here at epicduels.com is "better" than the forumer one. The forumer one has so many more options and features, not to mention years worth of material, that it will be difficult to compete with it. You're right (at least in my experience) that the reason we all migrated to the forum was that it was SO much better than the yahoo group. The forum here is, frankly, a few steps backward (not much...but still).
For me personally, my free time exists in little spurts here and there (just enough to stay active on the boards, not enough to handle much dueling or contribute any new content). So, I won't be utilizing all this site has to offer until summer at the very earliest. I can't speak for anyone else, but I would guess if there even is a natural transfer over to this site it will be slow and gradual and could take months if not years.
If porting the forum from there to here is an impossibility then it leaves us (well, I say "us", when really it's "you" being the creater of epicduels.com and owner of the forum) a very tough decision about when, where and how to move the community. If the goal is to move the community immediately, then the only solution is to lock up the forum and force everyone over here. The diehards will follow, not sure about the lurkers or occasional posters. I would say if you want to do that, hold off on doing that until more of the kinks here can be worked out and wait until a few more features can be added
But if you want to wait and see if the community just naturally transitions over here...I think the past month and a half should be evidence enough of how that might work. Some have filtered over, but no one is using epicduels.com exclusively, and most are still using forumer more. I'm not sure that waiting a few more months will do anything to help transition anyone "naturally" over here. If this forum had more options and more incentive to use it exclusively, and the site were a little bit less complicated then I think we'd see more of a natural transition. Just my 2 more cents.
Your Skills Are Not Complete
Re: Forum: Old vs New
Potential potential potential! Sure, I like the old forum and am very comfortable using it, but I don't doubt the same could be true of this one in time. Besides, doesn't "familiarity breed comtempt"?
Re: Forum: Old vs New
The currently active forum is hosted by a 3rd party (Forumer) and comes with ads but is versatile (not to mention familiar). This new site, emphasis on new, is an admittedly less robust forum and the interface (of the whole site, not just the forum) can be daunting to some, but the *potential* on the new site far surpasses anything we'd get there. (Also, completely new users would have to register at both sites, but to you guys that's a non-issue.)
My purpose in this poll is to gauge whether or not I should continue to maintain the forum at epicduels.com, or simply have the "Forum" link direct to the Forumer forum. Discuss! Opine!
~You're only young once, but you can be immature forever.
-Dorkistan.com-
Re: Forum: Old vs New
The forum link has been changed to the 3rd party software. A return to an on-site forum will happen if and when better software and/or a database transfer becomes available.