Forum design issues

rattbagrwb17_ESO · April 2014

Just wondering if there is any plan in place to overhaul these forums?

I have tried to list a few constructive feedback ideas on the current state of the forums below. Feel free to agree/disagree.
1. Having multiple languages in the same forum is a terrible idea. Can we move language selection to the top level, or have totally separate boards for each language?
2. There is no 'General' board where players can just discuss the game, leaving players to shoehorn their discussions into forums where they don't really seem to fit (eg. This discussion). It makes it hard to develop a community vibe, when we have no forum to socialise in

3. There are too many sub-menus that are hidden inside other menus. Again, this board is a perfect example, to navigate here I have to click 'Forum', then 'Game Discussion', then 'Players helping Players', then 'New Player Questions' and wait for page loads each time (yes, my internet connection has the latency of a 'roo with a pouch full of punch cards). A more intuitive menu system would be much appreciated. (yes, I will address the Categories menu next)
4. The Categories menu on the right is long and unintuitive, making it difficult to read and useless to navigate with. Less than half the options are relevant as many are for other languages, but again, they are not broken into distinct groups.
5. The layout of the page (background) means that even on a very large monitor, the actual forum can only use half the width of the page, and then the Categories menu takes up another 1/3rd of the available space. This means post information is placed above the posts making for incredibly long threads and lots of scrolling between posts.
6. The PvP section of the forum could really use one board for each of the current campaigns!
7. I wish I could change my forum name from the one I was issued with in the Beta...

Xionar · April 2014

1. Disagree here. I like seeing that the other main languages are included as part of the main community, instead of walled off in their own little world, I'm sure they appreciate it too.

2. The forums need some changes, but I do believe they're not planning on including a general discussion. To do this they'll need to expand on their categories but I find it's doable. When there is a general discussion, every thread gets posted there just to be seen, without ever belonging. The real problem is the lack of other key categories such as suggestions and things of that nature.

3. Have to agree with 3, some forums are hidden way too well and won't see as much traffic as they would otherwise. Sub-forums are okay, but sub-forums of sub-forums of sub-forums are typically not a great idea.

4. I don't have too many issues with it, a couple of weeks ago I think it was easier to navigate than it is now, I'm sure improving the forums is going to be an ongoing process. I do recall them saying exactly that previously...I expect some things to change.

5. The scrolling doesn't bother me too much.

6. I think they're waiting to see how this plays out more before doing something like this. A lot of people will be guesting on multiple campaigns and not really setting a home. If that trend continues, having a category for each campaign would be a bit overkill, if everyone is playing in half of them.

7. I'm not sure where the forum name edit thing went...I was able to change my name before the option disappeared. Just after early access launch I think is when I was still able to change it, can't now of course. It may have been disabled due to not working correctly, and when fixed maybe you can change names, that is my hope anyways.

As I said in number 4, I believe the forums are an ongoing project for them, and they will continue to shape and improve them over time.

Sakiri · April 2014

Mobile site resizes and requires scrolling randomly.

Sallakat · April 2014

I think these forums must be one of the worst designed ones that I've ever been to :P

Thybrinena · April 2014

It's very similar to the Codemasters LOTRO forums imo, but whilst they aren't great I'm happy in the notion that it is something that can be bettered in the future. That doesn't necessarily mean they will but hey ***. One can dream.

metaldrummer1962b14a_ESO · April 2014

Agree with the OP, the forums need to be re-designed

Smellyfed · April 2014

These forums are awful - the folder design is clunky and the server running this software is a dog.

Vikova · April 2014

It is a priority thing. Hopefully they will rework the categories at some point, but in-game bugs are obviously more important at this time. That, and keeping the forums actually up and running when downtime traffic hits.

RatsnevE · May 2014

Forum Problems:
1. "My Discussions" shows 5 yet when clicked on only 4 discussions come up.

2. "Unanswered" shows 3 yet when clicked on it now says there are no unanswered questions (none are listed). Earlier, days ago it would show questions others had posed that I was not interested in.

3. If I'm finished with a question or topic I start or participate in is there any way I can 'unsubscribe' from JUST that topic without affecting email notifications of other topics I am still interested in?

Thanks. And I apologize if the above are all very old issues with no solutions--yet.

nerevarine1138 · May 2014

RatsnevE wrote: »

Forum Problems:
1. "My Discussions" shows 5 yet when clicked on only 4 discussions come up.

2. "Unanswered" shows 3 yet when clicked on it now says there are no unanswered questions (none are listed). Earlier, days ago it would show questions others had posed that I was not interested in.

3. If I'm finished with a question or topic I start or participate in is there any way I can 'unsubscribe' from JUST that topic without affecting email notifications of other topics I am still interested in?

Thanks. And I apologize if the above are all very old issues with no solutions--yet.

1. Were you active on the forums in beta? And why does this matter?
2. Could be artifacts from the beta forums, and again, who cares?
3. Pretty sure that when you star/follow a specific topic, it only follows that topic. If you have e-mail notifications turned on for all topics you participate in, you can't opt out of one specific topic for that.

RatsnevE · May 2014

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

show previous quotes

RatsnevE wrote: »

Forum Problems:
1. "My Discussions" shows 5 yet when clicked on only 4 discussions come up.

2. "Unanswered" shows 3 yet when clicked on it now says there are no unanswered questions (none are listed). Earlier, days ago it would show questions others had posed that I was not interested in.

3. If I'm finished with a question or topic I start or participate in is there any way I can 'unsubscribe' from JUST that topic without affecting email notifications of other topics I am still interested in?

Thanks. And I apologize if the above are all very old issues with no solutions--yet.

1. Were you active on the forums in beta? And why does this matter?
2. Could be artifacts from the beta forums, and again, who cares?
3. Pretty sure that when you star/follow a specific topic, it only follows that topic. If you have e-mail notifications turned on for all topics you participate in, you can't opt out of one specific topic for that.

1. I was not interested or active in ESO during beta. It matters because the 'count' is off. If I'm participating in 5 discussions then I would expect all 5 discussions to be listed.
2. Look, if I didn't care I wouldn't have asked the questions. It just might be important if the missing discussion happens to have in it important info I am looking for...and I mistakenly didn't Bookmark the topic. In fact there is such a discussion I am trying to re-find right now. Maybe, just maybe, it is this 5th missing discussion. That's why I care.
3. Thank you. Just wanted to know I wasn't missing a way to un-follow a topic in email notifications.

I'd venture to guess that there must be a ton of little improvements and fixes ppl would love to see happen to these forums?

nerevarine1138 · May 2014

RatsnevE wrote: »

show previous quotes

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

RatsnevE wrote: »

Forum Problems:
1. "My Discussions" shows 5 yet when clicked on only 4 discussions come up.

2. "Unanswered" shows 3 yet when clicked on it now says there are no unanswered questions (none are listed). Earlier, days ago it would show questions others had posed that I was not interested in.

3. If I'm finished with a question or topic I start or participate in is there any way I can 'unsubscribe' from JUST that topic without affecting email notifications of other topics I am still interested in?

Thanks. And I apologize if the above are all very old issues with no solutions--yet.

1. Were you active on the forums in beta? And why does this matter?
2. Could be artifacts from the beta forums, and again, who cares?
3. Pretty sure that when you star/follow a specific topic, it only follows that topic. If you have e-mail notifications turned on for all topics you participate in, you can't opt out of one specific topic for that.

1. I was not interested or active in ESO during beta. It matters because the 'count' is off. If I'm participating in 5 discussions then I would expect all 5 discussions to be listed.
2. Look, if I didn't care I wouldn't have asked the questions. It just might be important if the missing discussion happens to have in it important info I am looking for...and I mistakenly didn't Bookmark the topic. In fact there is such a discussion I am trying to re-find right now. Maybe, just maybe, it is this 5th missing discussion. That's why I care.
3. Thank you. Just wanted to know I wasn't missing a way to un-follow a topic in email notifications.

I'd venture to guess that there must be a ton of little improvements and fixes ppl would love to see happen to these forums?

1. That list is only for discussions that you have started. It won't track other discussions you're in.
2. The "Unanswered Questions" section only tracks discussions that are marked as questions and that haven't been answered yet. So if you were looking at an unanswered question yesterday and can't find it today, odds are it was answered.

RatsnevE · May 2014

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

1. That list is only for discussions that you have started. It won't track other discussions you're in.
2. The "Unanswered Questions" section only tracks discussions that are marked as questions and that haven't been answered yet. So if you were looking at an unanswered question yesterday and can't find it today, odds are it was answered.[/quote]
1. I understand the purpose but in this example if it indicates I am in '5' discussions why won't it display those '5' discussions? It currently is only displaying '4' in number.
2. So if today it 'Unanswered' shows '3' why when I view those unanswered questions does it state that there currently are 'no' unanswered questions and in fact list none?

nerevarine1138 · May 2014

RatsnevE wrote: »

1. I understand the purpose but in this example if it indicates I am in '5' discussions why won't it display those '5' discussions? It currently is only displaying '4' in number.
2. So if today it 'Unanswered' shows '3' why when I view those unanswered questions does it state that there currently are 'no' unanswered questions and in fact list none?

I would imagine the answer to both questions is a minor and completely insignificant bug.

RatsnevE · May 2014

Thanks. I just came up with a great solution to one of these 'completely insignificant bugs'.

BTW, is there any indication from Zenimax that there might soon be forum improvements made?

Of course they won't spend money on 'completely insignificant bugs' so we'll just have to live with various message counts never making any sense.

Saihung423 · May 2014

Honestly, I really can't stand these forums much. Who wants to click through 3 screens just to get to the section they want? Even using the side links, you still aren't taken to the page you want, except for server status.

No general section. No off topic section (which is only a problem if you enjoy non game related banter).

When someone has a technical issue or a bug they want opinions on...they don't want to spend time sorting out which of 30 forums they should post in.

Nor do people like being dinged according to some arbitrary forum point system for making posts that others read and respond in because it is "off topic".

Oh. And screw reddit. Not joining some 3rd party site with ANOTHER username and ANOTHER password just to chat with ESO players about stuff just because it is "off topic".

nerevarine1138 · May 2014

Saihung423 wrote: »

Honestly, I really can't stand these forums much. Who wants to click through 3 screens just to get to the section they want? Even using the side links, you still aren't taken to the page you want, except for server status.

No general section. No off topic section (which is only a problem if you enjoy non game related banter).

When someone has a technical issue or a bug they want opinions on...they don't want to spend time sorting out which of 30 forums they should post in.

Nor do people like being dinged according to some arbitrary forum point system for making posts that others read and respond in because it is "off topic".

Oh. And screw reddit. Not joining some 3rd party site with ANOTHER username and ANOTHER password just to chat with ESO players about stuff just because it is "off topic".

Starting a discussion about your morning habits is off-topic in any gaming forum. You would have the topics moderated there the same way you did here.

Saihung423 · May 2014

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

I would imagine the answer to both questions is a minor and completely insignificant bug.

Subjectively speaking of course. Right?

Because to those who try to utilize those features it would be likely more than minor and insignificant.

Gedalya · May 2014

Wut needs fixing?

Cybrdroyd · May 2014

Ya I have to agree, these forums are horribly designed.

Saihung423 · May 2014

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

show previous quotes

Saihung423 wrote: »

Honestly, I really can't stand these forums much. Who wants to click through 3 screens just to get to the section they want? Even using the side links, you still aren't taken to the page you want, except for server status.

No general section. No off topic section (which is only a problem if you enjoy non game related banter).

When someone has a technical issue or a bug they want opinions on...they don't want to spend time sorting out which of 30 forums they should post in.

Nor do people like being dinged according to some arbitrary forum point system for making posts that others read and respond in because it is "off topic".

Oh. And screw reddit. Not joining some 3rd party site with ANOTHER username and ANOTHER password just to chat with ESO players about stuff just because it is "off topic".

Starting a discussion about your morning habits is off-topic in any gaming forum. You would have the topics moderated there the same way you did here.

Ri-ight.

Because on the other forums that other games employ, I just avoid the off topic section and write in new player questions about my morning habits.

Let's see.

EQ, EQ2, CoH/V, STO, DDO, WoW, DCUO, just to name a few who employ much better forum formats and include a General Discussion and Off Topic area on the forums.

All of these communities I've been a member of and all of which I've had more enjoyable experiences in game due to the interactions on the off topic sections.

Some of which became enjoyable enough that I wrote guides for the game and did weekly updates for the new players.

I and an unknown number (to me) of others do enjoy off topic conversations.

lol, as it stands here...I am losing interest. Point here is, these forums would get a Fail if they were graded pass/fail. And one reason for it is clunkiness and missing elements.

....

What morning habit did I write about anyway? I don't recall mentioning the 5 AM daily poo...was it about my drive in to work?

I did almost post here about swallowing a tooth today. Perhaps I should make a poll to see how many people think my butt will grow teeth.

Blackwolfe5 · May 2014

You'd think that it would be easy to make a forum layout that doesn't look like something the Khajit dragged in.

It's a bad idea to have all the language subforums in a big confusing mess like they are now. It makes it annoying to navigate. I DON'T want to see non-english posts in recent discussions or the devtracker unless I specifically want to check them out for some reason (using google translate of whatever). Speaking of the devtracker, how about having a sensible devtracker? If Molag Bal had designed a devtracker to punish people with, it would be what we currently have now.

Heck, most forum software give you a sensible layout almost right out of the box.

Crumpy · May 2014

This forum design is ***.

For a big release like this.... I mean, really?

Chryos · May 2014

Well, whatever you do, dont try to be humorous, they dont like that.

myblackbox123 · May 2014

Fire the junior high student who developed these forums.

Travail · May 2014

It's not that these forums are bad... It's that they're so bad they make me want to push my finger through my eye, into my brain, and swirl it around.

(points for whoever gets the reference

)

-Travail.