Do we keep the Recent Threads sidebar?

Discussion in 'Forum Features' started by GhostSheets, Dec 9, 2013.

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Do we keep the Recent Threads sidebar?

  1. Yes

    50.0%
  2. No

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  3. Neutral

    50.0%

Do we keep the Recent Threads sidebar?

Discussion in 'Forum Features' started by GhostSheets, Dec 9, 2013.

  1. GhostSheets

    GhostSheets Opus Eponymous

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    Hi everyone,

    Lately the Recent Threads sidebar has been bothering me a bit. There are a lot of posts that fall off the sidebar and become lost in the depths of the forums. I know that I personally tend to browse only the Recent Threads sidebar to see what's going on and almost totally neglect going into the individual forums to see what's going on.

    Some really good stuff goes unnoticed or gets bumped off the sidebar prematurely. I know other communities that do not use the sidebar precisely for that reason. They want users to be interacting in specific forums.

    Can anyone else relate? I wanted to throw a poll out there to see what people think.

    Thanks!
     
  2. Doomforge

    Doomforge Mr. Self Destruct

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    I'm sure i miss things but i would really hate to loose the sidebar. I really think we would be having more posts missed, I know I don't want to take the time to dig through each sub section.
     
  3. CrazyKillerCat

    CrazyKillerCat Admin & Graphics Designer

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    I personally miss 90% of all new threads without the sidebar, but I'm also lazy. I could get used to it being removed. Voted neutral.
     
  4. GhostSheets

    GhostSheets Opus Eponymous

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    Maybe we could try a few days without it to see how it goes? We'd have to manually navigate to specific forums :O

    Which is... sort of what I want.
     
  5. eod_punk

    eod_punk .

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    I almost exclusively use the new post link when looking at the forums.
     
  6. Kowlefe

    Kowlefe .

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    Personally, I think it should stay. I have noticed a trend in the recruitment threads when they don't show up on the side bar with fewer people viewing the thread itself compared to when the thread stayed on the side bar. Even with the different tabs, I feel that not many people actually use it. I know the battlefield division will keep up with the thread if the sidebar is removed, not trying to take a shot a ps2, but they are the ones I see the trend occurring in.

    If we remove it, I think it will negatively impact recruitment and that is what we need people to see and do so applicant may join us officially.
     
  7. GhostSheets

    GhostSheets Opus Eponymous

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    My biggest gripe is that we live through the sidebar. There is very little perusing of the forums. Which is what should be happening. The Recent Threads sidebar almost gives us an excuse to not check anything else. Could just be me though.
     
  8. GhostSheets

    GhostSheets Opus Eponymous

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    This is the point, if a recruitment thread gets bumped off the sidebar, it's gone for good.

    If we don't have the sidebar people will have to delve into the specific forums. We also have the alert counters at the top of the site to let people know where there are new posts.
     
  9. IOLAR2011

    IOLAR2011 Shoutbox Operator Extraordinaire

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    I like the thread side bar as it is very good for very recent activity and is pretty non invasive. I post on another forum on boards.ie and they have the option to follow forums and sub forums. From the main page you can navigate to a tabs page and that lists all recent threads in your followed forums. It has about 3 pages of storage so it can store more recent threads than the sidebar we use. But on the downside you have to navigate to a separate page. It doesn't fit with the regular page so you need to have two bookmarks for quick navigation. One for the main page you go to. And one for keeping an eye on recent threads.

    I voted yes because I still like the sidebar and find it to be an advantage over other websites
     
  10. Phaedo

    Phaedo The Weeaboo Hunter

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    I have to agree with you on this one ghost, but at the same time I don't know what I would do with out it. Navigating specific forums is totally going to take a little longer but I'm pretty sure we can handle it. so I voted for neutral... but it's more of a neutral no. I would like to trial it for a few days like you suggested. I think getting more members actively searching throughout the forums will stop confusion and will possibly increase discussion.