Please STOP pushing threads into "Players helping Players" section

CoronHR

yeah moving to 'players helping players' category is lame. your thread's less likely to be seen, therefore you aren't gonna get the help you need.

we need something better, for example, just leave the posts in general discussion

Stinkyremy

[quote="ZOS_Kevin;c-7826185"

• How do you use the forums currently? Are you going to one specific category or do you visit multiple?
• What are your most viewed sections of the forum?
• Do you think the forums have too many categories?
• Do you use the navigation tabs at the top? (Categories, Dev Tracker, Recent, Unanswered, Participated)

[/quote]

I visit multiple but only for specific purposes. general discussion is the main active section we all visit as it is about relevant conversations and actual active users on the forum at the time.
Like I looked at bugs to see if a bug got fixed in the latest patch, or tribute about a card issue but only looking for one thread in each section for a specific reason.
General discussions is where I will go to actively communicate with other forum members.

Forum could use a trade category for each platform. Guild recruitment is pretty much dead, well for console at least as it is all I look at, threads never get replied, people have moved to in game and discord chat for guilds and recruitment, so you could probably open those sections up to guild recruitment and trading, or just delete guild recruitment and change them to trading.

LFG section is dead, like above been superseded by discord or in game, plus there is going to be a better group finder this year.

I never use the navigation tabs, just message replies and I tab threads myself.

Northwold

A recent example: an interesting general discussion on the availability of transmute crystals has been moved to the Crown Store topic based, i assume, on the first post, where it will now die: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/629127/option-to-buy-transmute-stones-in-crown-store#latest

Destai

Northwold wrote: »

A recent example: an interesting general discussion on the availability of transmute crystals has been moved to the Crown Store topic based, i assume, on the first post, where it will now die: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/629127/option-to-buy-transmute-stones-in-crown-store#latest

I found two more examples too. One's moved, one's not.

Danikat

Destai wrote: »

Northwold wrote: »

A recent example: an interesting general discussion on the availability of transmute crystals has been moved to the Crown Store topic based, i assume, on the first post, where it will now die: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/629127/option-to-buy-transmute-stones-in-crown-store#latest

I found two more examples too. One's moved, one's not.

I think the difference there is more that one was very easy to answer because it was basically asking for a repeat of what's already in the patch notes, and the other is asking for something ZOS hasn't mentioned at all and players will only be able to discover by trial and error so it's very likely no one knows the answer yet.

If you look at the topics in players helping players most of them do get answers after being moved, and the ones which don't had generally already been answered before they were moved. When someone is asking a specific question I don't think the total number of replies or how long the thread stays active is always meaningful because if someone has given a complete answer additional replies are either going to be repeating what's already been said or going off on tangents.

It's gotten a lot better now but when I first joined the forum it was actually better to ask questions in players helping players because ones in general discussion would get more replies but the vast majority would be spam, troll answers giving obviously fake advice (like telling people to fix any bug by pushing alt+F4 which was an old joke even then) or mocking the OP for not already knowing the answer. Whereas posts in players helping players might only get a few replies but at least they'd actually answer the question.

Four_Fingers

@ZOS_Kevin
Here we go again moving with out leaving a moved link on a game breaking bug.https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/629277/u37-bugfix-broke-jumping-break-free-interrupting-and-more-on-gamepad-controller#latest

Hamish999

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

So the posts being moved is so that they are in the sub-section that matches the contents of the thread. This is based on the current structure of the forum. The intent is not to harm players or hinder conversation.

However with that being said, we've noticed frustration with some of the moving of conversations and have started looking at how we can better address this problem. That way, those posting get the help they need and we have conversations happening in the right places. We do intend on asking a wider audience here on the forum how they use the forum currently and how that experience can be made better from user navigation standpoint.

But since the conversation was started here, we'll ask some starting questions.

• How do you use the forums currently? Are you going to one specific category or do you visit multiple?
• What are your most viewed sections of the forum?
• Do you think the forums have too many categories?
• Do you use the navigation tabs at the top? (Categories, Dev Tracker, Recent, Unanswered, Participated)

99.99% General Discussion, I'll look at patch notes but get directed to them by the Discord bot, not from perusing other menus or sub categories here in the forum.

Case in point. I interacted with a thread in General Discussion today that I had an interest in and was trying to find it later to see if there were any dev (or interesting) replies. Couldn't find it anywhere in General, eventually had to go to my profile to look up my "comments" to find that the thread had been moved, rather than just deleted.
I don't care where it's moved to, it will never be seen again by me unless I'm tagged or replied to in it.

Hamish999 wrote: »

ZOS_Kraken wrote: »

Greetings,

After further review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic.

Thank you for your understanding.

Not helpful at all. Thanks for nothing. Another dead thread for me from now on (I had to go searching in my profile for my reply in this thread to find it).

Stanx

[*] How do you use the forums currently? Are you going to one specific category or do you visit multiple?

I spend 90% of my time browsing General Discussion and participating in conversations when I feel like I can add to them. Other 10% I look at housing/use the search function/patch notes/unanswered.

[*] What are your most viewed sections of the forum?
General Discussion.

[*] Do you think the forums have too many categories?
Yes absolutely.

[*] Do you use the navigation tabs at the top? (Categories, Dev Tracker, Recent, Unanswered, Participated)
I only really check unanswered and only very occasionally.

FeedbackOnly

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

So the posts being moved is so that they are in the sub-section that matches the contents of the thread. This is based on the current structure of the forum. The intent is not to harm players or hinder conversation.

However with that being said, we've noticed frustration with some of the moving of conversations and have started looking at how we can better address this problem. That way, those posting get the help they need and we have conversations happening in the right places. We do intend on asking a wider audience here on the forum how they use the forum currently and how that experience can be made better from user navigation standpoint.

But since the conversation was started here, we'll ask some starting questions.

• How do you use the forums currently? Are you going to one specific category or do you visit multiple?
• What are your most viewed sections of the forum?
• Do you think the forums have too many categories?
• Do you use the navigation tabs at the top? (Categories, Dev Tracker, Recent, Unanswered, Participated)

@ZOS_Kevin this is just my opinion but problem is general section shouldn't exist. Everything goes there and nobody thinks twice

Androrix

FeedbackOnly wrote: »

@ZOS_Kevin this is just my opinion but problem is general section shouldn't exist. Everything goes there and nobody thinks twice

Yes and no. If the general section did not exist I doubt I would bother with the forums at all. You are correct--it is the only place I go though. My suspicion is that killing the general section would be killing the golden goose...cutting off your nose to spite your face...throwing the baby out with the bath water. Ummmm...one of those LOL.

Lauranae

How do you use the forums currently? Are you going to one specific category or do you visit multiple?

First time of day, i go directly to Notifications to see what people posted. Then i head to General ESO Discussion.
I love to have the recent posts in one place (by recent i mean of the day, at max 3 days)

What are your most viewed sections of the forum?
General ESO Discussion

Do you think the forums have too many categories?

YES way too much

Do you use the navigation tabs at the top? (Categories, Dev Tracker, Recent, Unanswered, Participated)

Not during the week, but only on saturday and sunday for Dev Tracker.
I used to check Recent, but since the moderator moving post very past, i stopped. I propably miss some interesting discussion, but i dont like doing a marathon of each categories

Sturmfaenger

I daily check the general ESO discussion in german and english, also the english housing section.
Dev-Tracker, Patch Notes and the PTS section occasionally.
Thats it for me.

BlackKnight556

A perfect example of this was a thread titled 'Twitch drop can't be claimed' which was honestly a support issue in need of help from ZoS instead of players. That thread will now die and the poster won't get the support they need.

Here's the link if you want to try helping. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/629519/twitch-drop-cant-be-claimed#latest

Elsonso

BlackKnight556 wrote: »

A perfect example of this was a thread titled 'Twitch drop can't be claimed' which was honestly a support issue in need of help from ZoS instead of players. That thread will now die and the poster won't get the support they need.

Well, that is something for customer service, not the forum, anyway.

BlackKnight556

This is why it boggles my mind that a forum mod moved it to the players helping players section rather than giving them advice themselves.

TaSheen

One thing I really would like to be considered is devs moving to better forum software entirely - Vanilla is uh.... not really very flexible, unlike phpBB3.

wolfie1.0.

Personally I spend most of my time in general, and only some of my time looking at other categories. General is where most people are.

My feed back would be to have fewer categories but implement a tag system that gets selected when you create a topic. Such tagging would allow for faster and better topic searches. I could for example tag a question I have on how to design a house with "housing" and "help" or "question" to get a response. Or "player vs player" and "build" for a pvp build guide.

Destai

BlackKnight556 wrote: »

This is why it boggles my mind that a forum mod moved it to the players helping players section rather than giving them advice themselves.

I'd love to see this change. It would make the forums feel more welcoming too.

wilykcat

I do like vanilla forums though. The forum software is very good. These forums are awesome but they can be better.

Just fix some of the sub categories by merging some with others that are similar into one or two categories. And also adding better descriptions for them.

Here's my idea:
☆ Merge all pvp sub categories into one category: includes pvp combat & skills, Alliance war & imperial city, campaigns, battlegrounds and dueling. Called PvP Warlord's Discussion.

☆ One for general (general discussion) no sub categories.

☆ Merge the quest and exploration with the lore sub categories into one category. Lorekeeper's Guides.

☆ Merge: sub categories: add-ons / mods, community creations, fiction & role-playing, into one category called Player Generated Content.

☆ Merge: crown store & eso plus, and , tales of tribute, into one category called Merchant's Square.

☆ Keep these as seperate categories: dungeons, trials, and arenas. PTR. Events and contest. Guild recruitment. Customer support.

☆ Get rid of categories: players helping players, general help, and looking for group.

This will result in:
10 categories instead of 33.

There should also be a notification sent to a player letting them know that their post has been moved to another category.

merpins

It would be funny if you just, I dunno, slid this thread into "Players Helping Players."
Just saying. @ZOS_Kevin

tmbrinks

I pretty much just check General, Crafting, and PTS when that's up.

No need to check any of the tabs at top. Dev Tracker is dead since we get less than 1 post a day from a developer, even though dozens or more bugs are reported, so much goes unacknowledged. So few threads for engagement from them.

Recent is just a cluster of randomness, and I will "favorite" any threads that I want to come back to later, so no need for participated.

hrothbern

Looking at all the posts in the General Discussion, on OP topic or sidetracking OP topic...
I think the main use of the General Discussion is trying to influence ZOS.

Often just strongly throwing in opinions that are hindering more open discussions between us that share our experiences, insights and thoughts.
Often opinions that are not really backed up with sound enough facts and observations.

If people discuss something but have no common ground in facts and observations you never build up something together and you only get influencing at the level of RL commercial adverts and RL politics.

I often skip for periods the General Discussion just because I really detest that unconstructive influencing.
But yeah... the latest news on something often pops up in the General Discussion.

UNSeki

• How do you use the forums currently? Are you going to one specific category or do you visit multiple?

I've only started using the forums recently, and I do it a few times a week, with no specific frequency.

• What are your most viewed sections of the forum?

General ESO Discussion; Combat & Character Mechanics; Public Test Server; Players Helping Players; PvP Combat & Skills. Sometimes Dungeons, Trials & Arenas and Battlegrounds & Dueling.

• Do you think the forums have to many categories?

Maybe a little too much if judging by the percentage of the categories I access. I believe most users gravitate towards certain popular categories, such as General Discussion and Combat & Character Mechanics. Perhaps merging a couple categories would improve the scenario. Bug Reports seems useful for posting, but rarely will people enter the category only to read what others have posted — it would be more popular as a general "Feedback" category including player suggestions for the game with it. Similarly, "Looking for Group" would have more awareness if merged with "Players Helping Players". I also don't understand the difference between "Alliance War & Imperial City" and "Campaigns".

• Do you use the navigation tabs at the top? (Categories, Dev Tracker, Recent, Unanswered, Participated)

I use mostly Categories and Participated. Sometimes Recent and Unanswered.

jirusan

And here is a new player who probably feels the warm, heartfelt, welcome of your team.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/7834383#Comment_7834383

Destai

jirusan wrote: »

And here is a new player who probably feels the warm, heartfelt, welcome of your team.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/7834383#Comment_7834383

I saw that too. The character creation doesn't have new sliders as far as I'm aware. Seems like an evergreen topic to me.

Amottica

BretonMage wrote: »

ArchMikem wrote: »

If ZOS gets rid of categories like Lore, because the rest of you never use it I'll be quite unpleasant.

Hmmm, tbh I would love to see more lore discussions in General... I always forget there's a Lore subsection.

And then lore would get lost in the mix of everything else. It makes a lot more sense to have a lore section, and those very interested in it will check on it from time to time.

So yes, Lore is a subforum that should remain as it makes a lot of sense to make it easy to find lore discussions.

Northwold

jirusan wrote: »

And here is a new player who probably feels the warm, heartfelt, welcome of your team.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/7834383#Comment_7834383

Yeah this is another thing...

"In many cases, it's better to create a new thread on a topic that you want to discuss[...]"

But in the vast majority of threads that get necroed and closed, it isn't, because they're threads with a lot of accumulated thoughts on general themes that come up time and time again. That's why people necro them, rather than annoying everyone by starting the whole discussion from scratch!

jle30303

Indeed. In fact, it is usually better to necro an old thread than to start a new one. Especially since, whenever a new thread gets started, it gets closed with "too similar to an existing thread" which then gets pointed to, but as soon as somebody posts IN the existing thread, "OMG necro, we're closing the thread".

Basically: Both decisions are too heavy-handed.

Marcus684

jle30303 wrote: »

Indeed. In fact, it is usually better to necro an old thread than to start a new one. Especially since, whenever a new thread gets started, it gets closed with "too similar to an existing thread" which then gets pointed to, but as soon as somebody posts IN the existing thread, "OMG necro, we're closing the thread".

Basically: Both decisions are too heavy-handed.

It's not really that cut-and-dried. Necroing a thread that went dormant for a few weeks is fine because the conditions in-game probably haven't changed since then. Necroing a thread from 4 years ago is almost always pointless due to the numerous patches that will have been pushed out.

Destai

Northwold wrote: »

jirusan wrote: »

And here is a new player who probably feels the warm, heartfelt, welcome of your team.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/7834383#Comment_7834383

Yeah this is another thing...

"In many cases, it's better to create a new thread on a topic that you want to discuss[...]"

But in the vast majority of threads that get necroed and closed, it isn't, because they're threads with a lot of accumulated thoughts on general themes that come up time and time again. That's why people necro them, rather than annoying everyone by starting the whole discussion from scratch!

Here's another good example of what you're talking about.