New forum section?

GhostMjr · August 22, 2011, 11:57:31 AM

This is something I have sort of done on my own before and tbh I am surprised we haven't thought of it sooner.

Why don't we have a separate dmw events section for national events that people attend?

So say when I go to the Gamerfest at the NEC then that person can advertise they are going and meet up with some other dmw members.

I was talking to Dick yesterday about EuroGamer that a friend told me about and he is interested in going to that one.

So thats two so far this year!

Anyway this could help with gaming development, advertising of the community the works!

People who go could be partially funded possibly and then advertise us through t-shirts and then write up a report at the end of their trip.

Meaning we find new games talk to gaming developers and pimp the community.

So I guess we could either have it as a section with Gaming Development as that would be where it would be more useful or we could put it into dmw events but it isn't an official dmw event if you catch my drift?

What do you think?

Penfold · August 22, 2011, 12:07:27 PM

Personally I like the sound of it

KKND · August 22, 2011, 12:12:28 PM

Sounds like a good idea GM.

BrotherTobious · August 22, 2011, 12:14:19 PM

We could have it for everything, Like sporting matches, gigs etc

TeaLeaf · August 22, 2011, 01:25:25 PM

Quote from: GhostMjr;331468So thats two so far this year!

I like the idea but am unconvinced we need a new forum section given what will be such a low level of traffic. I think the way we handle things at the moment works well with posts in appropriate interest sections and the availability of the calendar. What benefits would a new forum topic bring?

GhostMjr · August 22, 2011, 02:31:48 PM

I see your point.

There are several ways we could do it and these are my thoughts

What we could do is try promoting this idea within the gaming development section and if there is a need we can make a sub topic section in gaming development. As you say its overkill to begin with.

The problem with doing it that way however is that these single topics are good for advertising the events but I don't want reports and the like to be mixed up in the general gaming development section as separate topics as people might not see them.

So a sub section would work best however if someone creates a topic like Dick has then attendees can then write a report afterwards within that and tell us what they have found.

This can then be highlighted to GL's and CL's.

Maybe I am expecting those who attend to write a huge report I guess a few lines would be enough and as you say if its only a small number of events theres no need for a sub section.

So in conclusion I think we should go along with a topic to advertise and then encourage reports/ photos/ meetups within that one topic which they're probably do anyway.

I'll post up a general sticky about events and what's happening in gaming generally which people can add to as and when needed as an ongoing thing.

Hows that sound?

I do see Toby's point though about social meetups.

We are very LAN based.

Yes we speak on teamspeak but a social meet sub forum could be a good idea too.

TeaLeaf · August 22, 2011, 02:47:05 PM

Best thing is to copy the content you want to a new post then imo. Events can take many different types and people will tend to look for them in the relevant section which might not be Gaming Development. Make a stickied post with that you want for reference, the event thread then drops into normal old content and onto Page 2?

Penfold · August 22, 2011, 03:00:07 PM

Why don't we try it and see how busy or empty it is? If it's a non-starter then we can always kill it.

We could have a header saying Events or Current Events where the Current LAN XX is and make LAN XX (or subsequent ones a sub forum of that) along with a subforum for other events. I can't think it's a major problem and it may just be used.

I reckon it's worth a shot.

smilodon · August 22, 2011, 03:16:32 PM

From a techy point of view: Creating forums is a doddle, especially if they have no specific permissions set i.e. they are viewable by all. it's usergroup's that cause the problems. As to whether we have too many forums or not

I think we've passed the point where we have a forum that can be scanned quickly or where every single post gets read by everyone (anyone). we have the tools to manage and control what we as forum users see so one more forum won't make or break us.

So if you think the forum is worth having or trying on a temporary basis then I can set it up. Moving live events into it and archiving old ones isn't an issue. I don't have a whole lot of things to do running the forum these days. So it's no bother keeping a new forum current.

Whitey · August 23, 2011, 08:56:17 AM

Quote from: GhostMjr;331468People who go could be partially funded possibly and then advertise us through t-shirts and then write up a report at the end of their trip.

It's a good idea and I don't see any reason not to have a subforum, if it's not used then it can be removed later. I don't agree with the "partially funded" part as we all provide our time as volunteers. If someone is going to the event anyway then great but IMO we shouldn't be paying anything towards it.

Penfold · August 23, 2011, 09:29:19 AM

I missed that bit but totally agree. Actually I feel like a trip to Disneyland with the family. We're all prepared to wear dMW T-shirts :norty:.

I propose:

1. We have a forum under dMw Events called, umm, Events.
2. We move dMw LAN XX to that as a sub forum and we can create subforums for other events that people want to visit etc.
3. We have an 'archive' sub forum for events that have passed can be stored.

That way we have no more forums than as current and it's a nice resource for those wishing to easily find stuff. If people also want to advertise it in their own section then they can always link off to it.

GhostMjr · August 23, 2011, 12:11:13 PM

Sounds great to me.

A sticky linking the section and gaming development would be great as people visiting these events need to tell us what happened there, which I can create along with a sticky for what events are occurring throughout the year.

Rather than listing them how does the calendar work and can that be included in a forum post?

I don't mind keeping an eye on the section and leave the lan event to the current LAN admins?

I agree about the fees.

Just thought I'd put it up for discussion anyway.

Penfold · August 23, 2011, 12:31:06 PM

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. After all we're realistically taking about half a dozen events in the year. Rather than go all out linking it to the calendar and what not let's just get it up and see how many things get listed.

Penfold · August 26, 2011, 10:34:20 AM

Smilo,

Can you please initiate this and set it up as follows. I've spoken to TL and whilst not in agreement he's pretty ambivalent:

1. We have a forum under dMw Events called, umm, Events.
2. We move dMw LAN XX to that as a sub forum and we can create subforums for other events that people want to visit etc.
3. We have an 'archive' sub forum for events that have passed can be stored.

We'll then see how busy or quiet it is and can remove it as necessary.

FWIW I forgot totally about the Beer festival thing which I would have liked to have visited. TL, were you away then? Anyway, that's the sort of thing we could list.

Thanks

Ghosty: As this is your idea, please can you trawl back through the posts to find any open event threads which need to be moved.

GhostMjr · August 26, 2011, 11:00:52 AM

Pen no worries Want me to make a list here?