O.K., what happened to the hardware subcategories list on the General Hardware board? (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

What happened to the hardware subcategories list on the General Hardware board? It's gone. The subcategory list makes it hard enough to navigate the site, in my opinion, but it is even harder to navigate the site by having the subcategories with no list at the top of the General Hardware board. I don't know about anyone else, but I try to use the message board drop-down menu as little as possible because the list is long and the font is small. The drop-down menu is cumbersome. Please put the subcategories list back!

 

[PaulKH]

The subcategories are now main categories I think.

 

[KeithH]

Paul, it appears that way. It just makes it that much harder to navigate the site.

 

[RicP]

Keith, I take it you don't like the new split?

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Working on streamlining it all...
Note that priority one is getting setup what discussion sections will exist and which ones will not. That is A1.
Next will be sorting them into headers for navigation. It's a period of transition- but rest assured Parker will get it all sorted out (but he's a bit occupied as he does have a day job).
It's coming along, I promise!

Vince

 

[Brian Harnish]

I felt the earlier navigation scheme was PERFECT. But, then again, that's just me.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

I felt the earlier navigation scheme was PERFECT. But, then again, that's just me.

Except for the fact that it kept a GENERAL hardware area where most people still posted making the entire subdivisions completely pointless.
Added to which there was no area for posting about VCRS, CD players, SACD or any audio devices.
Other than that, it was perfect
-V

 

[Ken Seeber]

Count me as another person who can't stand the major break-up of the hardware section.

It used to be fun to browse the area, never knowing what interesting question might crop up, either that I was curious about myself or that I could help answer. Now there are so many little divisions, it's just not practical to read them unless I have a specific question that I need to have answered. The side effect of that is, I don't know where I would find the time to go in and help other members with questions they might have.

I hate to have a fatalistic attitude about this, but I can see spending a lot less time at HTF, at least in the hardware area. With the recent vote about the split so deeply divided, I'm surprised the hardware area has continued to be broken up so severely.

 

[Peter Loan]

I agree with the general consensus here. I don't like the breakup. A seperate audio and video forum would work also...but not 15 different areas.

 

[Dustin B]

I can live with the current divisions. Although I still feel there are too many also. Killing the Misc Hardware is a good call in my opinion as it does make divisions pointless.

Along with Misc Hardware killed, I'd like to see Audio Sources, Video Sources and PVR combined. Then Wire and Interconnects combined with Tweaks/Remotes/Accessories. Four areas total. I'd be a happy camper.

But it's not my call. I really enjoy this place and whatever the moderators, Ron and Parker decide, I'll be happy with.

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

I second Ken Seeber's post verbatum

 

[John Morris]

Where the heck am I and how did I get here??? I think my wheel mouse was still on the subforum selection area... but while I am here, I agree with Ken S. Aw, shucks, this setup just suX.

 

[Wes]

I'm not sure where the clubhouse is anymore? It seems its more of an Home Theater Information type site and not the relaxing place to hang out and talk with home theater friends about what ever!
Perhaps we will figure all this new dividing stuff out and learn to like it but it will take awhile for me any way!
Can someone point me to the main clubhouse, or I will just hang out at the software area for awhile!
Wes

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Amazing.

The Hardware General area was basically broken up into 4 main areas.

Hardware general had to be broken up-- At the current rate, we're looking at 4-5 pages of new/updated threads Daily, sometimes more. A new post would be bumped off the front page in a matter of an hour!

A lot of good specific info or questions were being lost in the shuffle. I don't know if you were around when they had to first split the Forum into sections for Software and Hardware- but the same idea applied... can you imagine the forum with just one giant page?

We have to strike some sort of compromise between "everything in one place" and "too much information"... And I'm working very hard with Ron and Parker to try to break the General Area up as cleanly as possible- creating basically 4 new areas in place of the one (hopefully they'll listen to me).

I don't think it's too much to navigate 4 areas vs. 1-- you might disagree, but I ask that you give it a little bit of time before throwing it out completely...

Again- it's a side effect of growth-- I don't know if ANYONE wanted it to happen... but it has to happen, and I'm spending as much time and effort as I can to make it as clear and painless a change as possible.

 

[Ken Seeber]

Vince,

I never had a problem with posts being bumped off the first page. That's what cookies are for. Whenever I check an area that I frequent, I keep going until the little red envelopes turn into little yellow envelopes. That way, I know I've seen everything new that has been posted since my last visit.

Isn't that why the software is designed that way?

I'm counting eight separarate areas in the hardware section now, some old, some new, not to mention an additional five categories in the Video Presentation Area. That's a total of 13 hardware sub-categories (with the understanding that at least one of these is going away). Certainly you can see there is a lot of redundancy.

I hope some more of these are going to be combined or eliminated. If there is an area for video playback sources, why is there a separate personal video recorder area? If there is an audio playback sources area, why do we need a receivers/separates/amp area?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Vince,

Just another example that you can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try!

Crawdaddy

 

[Ken Seeber]

Just another example that you can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try!

True, but this should be no surprise to anyone, considering how deeply divided the recent vote was. It's even worse that a vote was taken, then thrown out because of technical problems. I would think there would have been another poll before the decision was made to splinter the hardware area into eight pieces.

Edited to add: I certainly mean none of this as a criticism of Vince. Anyone who's been around here any length of time knows how much great work he has contributed to this forum.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Edited to add: I certainly mean none of this as a criticism of Vince. Anyone who's been around here any length of time knows how much great work he has contributed to this forum.

Ken,

Well, you're criticizing somebody and judging by your remarks your criticism is aimed at HTF's Owners. Furthermore, I don't know how many times Ron and Parker have to apologize to the membership about the Polling issue but at least give the guys a break.

Crawdaddy

 

[John Morris]

I Edited my post because I'm tired of the bitching about this, including my own...
What's done is done. The owners said it had to happen, the HTF is a privately owned business and not a democracy, and it is done. That's the way it is, and we'll all just hafta learn to live with it or go somewhere else, but please, can we stop the bickering now and move on to what this forum really should stand for - helping our fellow HT'ers with their problems and questions(if only I could find them ).
Okay, NOW I'm done with this topic... I hope!

 

[Ken Seeber]

Well, you're criticizing somebody and judging by your remarks your criticism is aimed at HTF's Owners. Furthermore, I don't know how many times Ron and Parker have to apologize to the membership about the Polling issue but at least give the guys a break.

I want to make it clear that I don't mean to criticize anybody, owners, moderators or anybody else. My sole intention is to give feedback on the new divisions. And I certainly wasn't looking for an apology from Ron or Parker. I fully understand there was a technical snafu with the original poll.

Ron, Parker, Vince and all of the other moderators and administrators deserve the highest praise for their work here, and I'd like to go on the record that I appreciate their hard work more than I can say.