Wouldn't it be better to merge.......

[Raven]

Wouldn't it be best just to change the title of this section to PC Problems And General Chat or something ? Seeing as how it's a mix of pc problems and off topic pc talk anyhow......either that or create a new section for general pc chat and shift the off topic pc stuff in there - makes sense to me.

[gazz10]

it looks ok as it is, in my eyes, pc problems and pc related stuff should be posted in here.

I think your are having a dig at the non pc problem posts, Its pc related so it the most equvilent, section for them to be posted

[Raven]

I think your are having a dig at the non pc problem posts, Its pc related so it the most equvilent, section for them to be posted

Erm who says I was having a dig at anything ? I certainly didn't. I was making an observation and nothing more....as for your comment about non pc problem posts and them being pc related so this is the most equivalent section to be posted in...exactly! It shouldn't be an equivalent anything there should be designated sections for pc chat and pc problems....because obviously somewhere down the line navigating pc problems could be problematic due to the many general pc chat posts that shouldn't even be there as they are off topic hence my suggestion....I'm just wondering how you can possibly find a section filled with off topic posts okay....call me an obsessive compulsive but it does my head in and I can't see how it could be fine since I see it as laziness and potentially problematic in this case.

Now I'm making a point or do you still reckon I'm having a dig ?

I think half of the problem is that too many people are only bothered about the cable section and therefore not really fussed about the rest of the site....and it's that attitude that will hinder the progress of the site in my opinion. As it will end up lop sided.

[.: JaCkPoT :.]

Good suggestion raven but i still think it is ok as it is. As more members come in and as this section is used more then only then will the narrowing down come into affect in my opinion but i still agree with post3

[satsmo]

As always we quite welcome members suggestions regards the way they see/use the forum. As the site grows, (which it is at a good rate), more sections may be added.

This is a logical route which happens with growth. But for now all we can do is have a look and see if it needs to be categorised that bit more.

[Raven]

Hey so long as it will be done all in good time is good enough for me....I just like to see the rest of the site being treated equally with the cable sections....I'm not sure it's healthy to have the onus/focus of the site to be on cable stuff but that's just my opinion take it or leave it. We have a great comunity which is a rare thing in my opinion, and the question is do we really need the cable section to be open to the public for more members or am I jumping the gun a little bit in saying that people should sign up and participate in being a part of this community because they want to and not because they are being made to feel like they have to ?

Personally I think the 5 posts rule to download (or whatever it is/was) doesn't work on a number of levels mainly because you mostly get the takers coming in and posting nonsense to get the 5 posts to download......they should be encouraged to participate but not be made to, I think the downloads should be public but the cable and stuff limited to vip's.

I'm probably jumping the gun but my thinking is in having new people participate and stay because they want to and yet the site isn't at risk in having the cable stuff open to public. That's my logic anyway.

[satsmo]

The site and members are treated equally after all it is a community here. Regards the cable section yes its open like many others. Reason to why I am sure has been discussed before but I am sure DF can answer that.

In my opinion a lot of people who enter forums for the first time will actually bed in first. Meaning they will have a look around and see if its the forum for them. Not only in regards to the information they require but to the general feel they get when looking around. So in regards to posting to become part of the community that's an individual's choice based on their perception of the forum.

The downloads post count is just one, so they can choose to post and run, (yes it happens we all know that), or they can continue to be part of the community. In honesty those who come download and stay are what we need. But the download section isnt really to be seen as an enticement, its a value add to the forum.

As said we always welcome suggestions, as you said previously, "We have a great community which is a rare thing in my opinion". All we can to is to try and keep it that way and we will always try to endeavour to do so.

I am sorry but that is all the input I can give you. I am sure if you have any other queries or suggestions DF will be more than happy to answer them. After all hes the boss :)

[Devilfish]

As satsmo says, I've always encouraged people to speak out and offer suggestions, that's why we have a section for it. This is your forum and it wouldn't be here without the members.

Saying that, we can't just through in a section and expect it to thrive. And this forum wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the cable sections. The starview and eurovox sections weren't here at the start, neither was the cable and satellite dreambox sections, they were combined. The idea is to have loads of posts in the one section, not have 1000 posts thread out amungst 20 sections with each section looking dead, you want the section to look busy. No one will join a dead forum. I continually look at every section to see how it's performing and take action to either remove a forum or expand it. In the past 3 weeks, I have looked at the PC section for this very reason Raven as I too think it's titled wrong. But is the section big enough to split into two or do we rename it? That's what I've been trying to decide.

Regarding downloads, people come here for files, that we know. If some of them stay for the banter, we're doing our job. But there will always be the leechers who take and never return, the quicker people get over this the better. We had a 5 post rule for downloads and it was hellish with all the spam posts so we reduced it to 1 posts. That way all the shit posts are contained in the intro threads and not in the main parts of the forum. I won't give out files for free, they need to at least make a post and this was the best way I saw how to do it. If any of you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me at any time.

It takes time for a forum to evolve and we've only been here for 8 months so I think we're doing ok. :)

[aftermath]

The main reason for this forum starting was because of cable and the knowledge of some of the members.

at the time when it was started most other forums that had cable , decided to drop the cable section because of what happened to another forum a few years ago.

So it was a chance that DF took, and as you can see, we have nearly 10,000 members, and i am guessing that a very high percentage of them googled for a cable related problem, which pointed them to here.

The forum is growing rapidly, and i am sure we will see many more changes as it grows, so keep the good ideas coming as to what you want added and where, everything will be taken on board.

[Raven]

Cheers guys the info is much appreciated! :)

DF I'm thinking that the PC Problems section is probably best for now being renamed to include PC Chat aswell for the time being until the time comes for them to be split into 2 sections. At least that way half of the posts don't look out of place as I'm sure you can imagine somebody going into the Problems bit trying to find a solution to a problem or whatever and them saying out loud "whats all these chat posts doing here its meant to be a troubleshooting bit!"....so yeah I think the title should be renamed to include PC General Chat for now so as to avoid confusion for lack of a better word.

That's just my opinion guys, feel free to act on or discard lol