forums reorg?

[mscottveach]

so as far as i can tell this is the best place in the world to get in-depth information about using windows 7 tablets...

...and being a recent addict to these things, i bought 3: an asus ep121, a samsung series 7 slate, and a fujitsu T901 lifebook...

...and I am now noticing that the fact the forums are divided up by hardware seems inefficient... I mean
I know that there are differences between manufacturer, but the similarities by OS seems to overwhelm
that... I have found lots of repeated and confusing information across different forums... mostly because
if someone owns a samsung they don't check the asus forum.. and vice versa...


have you guys ever thought about just making it much, much simpler and having one forum that is:

Windows 7 Slate Devices

with a sub-forum that is

Manufacturer Specific Topics

and then there could be stickies for different devices and in that sub-forum?

I guess you would add a sibling of
Windows 8 Slate Devices
in a few months...

...has anyone else suggested anything like this? anyone else care?
i really think it would do a lot to help the site secure it's spot as
#1 place to discuss tablets over the next two years... (which as
these devices become more and more ubiquitous this is not going
to be a given -- site design and other details will matter more and
more)

s.

[Frank]

could you elaborate your ideas a bit further? I don't fully understand it. At the moment the forum is divided in three sections, a general tablet talk, mobile OS based tablets, Windows based tablets.
So it's divided up by software already, that's why I don't get your ideas. But thanks for your feedback, always great to hear improvements.

[Steve S]

Hi, Scott: Information organization is a b****, isn't it?

I understand your underlying thinking, but my personal opinion is that the forum organization is probably about right, given that people tend to think in terms of brands: Microsoft, Samsung, Dell... Having said that, you're certainly right that embedded in all the forums there is a lot of repetition, and multiple people researching and solving the same problems. But I don't really see how that can be avoided because even fairly specific problem solutions that work on one brand may not work on another simply because (say) the device driver is ever-so-slightly different.

It's worth noting in passing that our forum structure isn't unique; its organization is the product of the websites and forums that preceded it, and there have been more than a few. Thus, I'd say that TPCR's forum may not be the most efficient structure ever created, but it seems to suit most users, which is not to say that we aren't open to suggestions like yours.

Let's see if anyone else weighs in with an opinion...

[Seketh]

We're discussing it. I've made some suggestions in the private moderator forums, but it's a complex issue.

If anyone else wants to make some suggestions in how the forums should be organized, feel free to use this thread, all opinions are welcome!