Feedback Requested: App Forum Categories

[Cory Streater]

Yesterday I made some changes to the app forum, and moved apps into categories.

My goal was to:

1. Make it easier to find certain types of apps
2. Reduce redundancy of threads of the same topic. For example, there were a gazillion Facebook threads, what's the best media player threads, keyboard threads, etc.

That said, do you guys like the new format, or prefer the old way better?

It's easy to put it all back the way it was, and the final decision is designed to make the forum better for you guys, not me. So, vote here, and the final decision will be based on the results of the poll.

Cory

 

[robotmonkey]

I wish there was a third option -- I like your idea of subforums; but I feel that there are too many. It might be better if they were consolidated to a handful. For example:

Internet & Messaging and Social Networking --> Internet, messaging & social networking

Keyboards & Voice Recognition, Launchers & Widgets, System Utilities --> Utilities, Launchers & Widgets

 

[sharkerbaby]

I wish there was a third option -- I like your idea of subforums; but I feel that there are too many. It might be better if they were consolidated to a handful.

+1 I agree

 

[Cory Streater]

Consolidation is also an option. If we do keep the categories, I will be happy to consolidate regardless.

 

[levelm]

Yesterday I made some changes to the app forum, and moved apps into categories.

Whew! I thought my computer was going nuts.

Personally I like the old way but that could be due to the fact that it's what I am accustomed to. I will give this a whirl for a while and see if I adapt. I also agree that there are too many categories at this moment. Maybe just a simple Games and Apps category.

 

[Paladin]

Wow that must have been a LOT of work to go through all of those messages and move them like that. Congrats on that alone! ii

As I posted in my other thread, I understand needing to organize however I actually would like to see an option to keep the current sub forums but allow a "top" view so that everything under applications could be viewed and sorted by date. Kind of looking at all the files in all the folders. I am unsure the forum software can do that. ii

Or, as I said, a NEW button that shows only what is new for the forums under the applications heading, not the entire site.

I also think this is going to be much harder to manage since a lot of people will post in the wrong forums anyway.

You guys do good work and it is very hard to please everyone. I am unsure how to vote as I want it both ways! ii

 

[FD2]

Sorry but the new format sucks. That is all. Carry on.

 

[Cory Streater]

It was an absolute nightmare and I started to question the decision part way through. It doesn't matter how much effort I put into it, if you guys aren't happy with it and it makes things harder, then back it goes. It seemed like a good idea in theory, but if I were you, I'd feel the same way.

That said, I will likely stick with the Member Favorites Market Q&A forums. The apps forum was getting way to cluttered with these topics. And a lot of people always want to know "What's your favorite <fill in the blank app>".

 

[Cory Streater]

Sorry but the new format sucks. That is all. Carry on.

I heard you in your email mister

 

[levelm]

WT$%&^%$

73,192 members and only 11 have an opinion on the subject? No wonder Obama's our president.

 

[Paladin]

It was an absolute nightmare and I started to question the decision part way through. It doesn't matter how much effort I put into it, if you guys aren't happy with it and it makes things harder, then back it goes. It seemed like a good idea in theory, but if I were you, I'd feel the same way.

That said, I will likely stick with the Member Favorites Market Q&A forums. The apps forum was getting way to cluttered with these topics. And a lot of people always want to know "What's your favorite <fill in the blank app>".

Maybe you should have done the poll BEFORE you put all that work into it. ii

 

[Cory Streater]

WT$%&^%$

73,192 members and only11 have an opinion on the subject? No wonder Obama's our president.

Lol.

Maybe you should have done the poll BEFORE you put all that work into it. ii

I polled the mods, but yeah I should have for sure. Like I said, in theory it sounded great. The good news is putting it all back would only take about 10 minutes.

 

[ragnarokx]

Why not emulate the Android Market and have 2 categories: Apps and Games? This would minimize ambiguity as it is very easy to separate games from other apps. You could even keep the Favorites forum as a third category.

 

[Aaron C#AC]

gotta say i liked it the way it was before. Now there is just too much to search. Like others said, I would jump to the applications forum 2-3 times a day and see what was new. Now i would have to check EACH category.
I still look at the EVO specific forum, but unless things go back, the apps forum is now less useful for browsing, and would only be used if i needed specific help. I guess it comes down to what the goal is....
For general browsing to see if there is anything new and interesting out there, the old way is better. If you are looking for a specific app, or looking for an answer to a specific question, then the new way is better.
My guess is that most users come here for the latter and stay for the former....its a tough call.

 

[azjerry]

I prefer the old setup. There's WAY too many forums to look at now.

 

[ls377]

That said, I will likely stick with the Member Favorites Market Q&A forums. The apps forum was getting way to cluttered with these topics. And a lot of people always want to know "What's your favorite <fill in the blank app>".

I like this idea. I think you should also make a separate games forum too. While I like the way the new set up reduces clutter and organizes, it makes it a pain to check the forums for the next great app or to help people with questions. Two or three separate forums would be a happy medium.

 

[wowser]

I also like the older format better. With this many categories it takes too much time to look into each forum.

Thanks!

 

[fred72matt]

i usually check the forum from my EVO it was way easier and quicker to see the latest posts the old way. I thought something was wrong with my browser. LOL

 

[indianajonze]

this new format is a disaster. half the fun of visiting the apps forum is browsing discussions for apps i'd never heard of/used before. now i won't discover anything unless i'm specifically looking for it

 

[Cory Streater]

Heard you loud and clear. It's going back to the old way. I'm going to leave the Games forum for now, based on the feedback above, but feel free to chime in if you don't like that either. Thanks to those of you who provided feedback.