Among the things we have been working on is a realignment of the subforums here. This is a request for comment for a proposed reorganization of some of the sites forum groupings and subforums. The goals: Reduce redundant and largely unused subforums and subforum groups by merging them in to others. Add a few key subforums to encourage specific interactions. First the reductions: Merge the forum groups of Technical and Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts (TTS) under one name (The Shipyard ?) - Merge TTS Weapons with Tech's Weapons - Merge TTS Electrical & Radio with Tech's radio & electronics - The math subforum has a grand total of 9 threads in its lifetime? Merge Math threads into General and remove the subforum - Merge Tech's Hull into TTS Construction. these two subforums seem to be a catch-all of construction related threads already. Remove Next-Gen subforum. Merge topics in to other subforums as applicable - largely General. -- Rationale: Next-Gen is lightly used, and seems to attract dreadful ideas from individuals with no experience upon which to base them. Scuttle the Sucttlebutt subforum -- We don't need a subforum for a newsletter that hasn't come out for years. We can stick an archive on the site somewhere. Move For-Sale up into General Move Videos and Photos from Multimedia in to Communication. Eliminate the now empty Multimedia group. Change 'Announcements' group name to 'News' Add two subforums: Vendor Announcements - Subforum with new thread creation restricted to Vendor members, Vendors will post new product announcements, events they are going to, giveaways, etc here. Event Announcements - Any member with an event can post a thread here to announce their event. Under General add an Off-Topic Lounge *currently tentatively named The Pelican's Perch. The Perch will be restricted access, and can only be seen and used by members with a minimum number of posts and time passed since registration (Currently our thinking is 10 posts and 30 days). This is not the Smack forum of old. This is the place for those threads that don't belong elsewhere, for folk who want to talk about some other game they're playing or hobby they partake in. Posts here will not increase a user's post count (for folk who find that to be a relevant measuring stick). Rules of civility will be enforced here as elsewhere. The revamped forum listing would appear similar to this: With Organizations and Local clubs following along unchanged.
I think you should keep the "for sale" forum, it doesn't belong in general. Also, 3 different forums for announcements is highly unnessesary.
As you know I'm finishing up a proposal for the next-gen thread and three builds for an addition I call "No-Gun Combat" so at the risk of... what's that? Huh? Oh. Yeah, right. At the risk of being considered even more-so another inexperienced newb with dreadful ideas where would I post it if you move it? I think you should leave it as is. Rob Woods thread about duct-tape covering for loaner boats was actually very good and well received. You never know when a good idea may turn up.
Sheeting topics belong in one of the hull / construction subforums - which incidentally is where i moved the duct tape sheeting thread after I split it off. 'dreadful ideas' usually involve fire, explosives, etc. Seriously, look at the threads in that forum, and do so with the understanding that probably only a small percentage of the 'dreadful ideas' have been expressed in that forum rather than in other threads and other forums. Are you planning on proposing anything like that? (Also if you're planning to propose anything that involves tangling up props in some manner of line, you should reconsider - it really isn't any fun and I think every modern club that ever had rules to support that sort of thing have removed them.) Build threads, armed or unarmed, can go in the Warship builds section, as they always have despite the name. Ideas for new scenarios and gameplay can go in the Scenarios/Gameplay forum. Ideas for new things, like AoS, Civil War, Steampunk, etc can properly fit in to General or Gameplay.
In No-Gun mines would be optional. If I do manage to start a club in the Pittsburgh/Pennsylvania area mines will be legal, at least to start. It seems to me that, after transports, minelayers (slightly modified transports) are the cheapest way for a new person to enter the hobby as an "armed" belligerent. Mine sweepers should be in the same price range- $50 - $75 to build, and a sweeping attachment akin to retractable landing gear for a model airplane easily mounted in the bows of most ships. New people could get involved cheaply, allowed a certain amount of success and then confronted with diminishing returns. Minesweepers would be performing a vitally important and appreciated service. Color coding of mines would allow both to "count coup" on each other. Gun envy would set in, and they would move up to bigger and better things. In effect, the club would "grin and bear it" while the new person(s) went through their "terrible twos" period and grew into responsible contributing "adult" members of the community. I could be wrong, and over time our rules might evolve the same way as the other clubs have. I've never heard of this approach being taken, though, and I think it is worth trying. No, nothing pyro in any of my ideas. I will post in the threads you mentioned.
I like the proposed Re-org. It's been both silly and frustrating to have two forums each for weapons and electrical. And the other proposed changes make a lot of sense. Keep up the good work, Nick!
ReOrg has been completed with a few minor variations (such as combining photo and video subs into a single sub). For Sale remained under Communication, Proposed Vendor announcements are under communication as well. For the time being Event Announcements are near the head of the list in the first group as proposed, though they might be shuffled down to Communication after further reflection (and depending on usage levels).
Why do we need so many announcement forums? Only one of the two vendors for this hobby even posts here.
The medium term plan is to correct that. If that does not transpire I will dissolve it. Costs little to make a go of it.
Hopefully you can get some of the online hobby stores to post here as well as people who make stuff for the hobby like Bob Pottle and Mark Jenks.
