Forum Structure Update Feedback

p.hurst1b16_ESO · May 2014

It is a big improvement, I do not mind seeing the 3 languages and why it bothers anyone is a puzzle.

Would be nice to have some more detailed sub forums for the 4 classes.

Oh, one other thing. Well done for removing the Best Of.... section.

Ojustaboo · May 2014

Very first forum page should be something like

"Welcome to the Forums"
"English"
"Deutsch"
"Fancais"

Then we can all click on whichever language we want and be presented with forum topics in that language, and bookmark that page as our main forum page.

Arthur_Spoonfondle · May 2014

Ojustaboo wrote: »

Very first forum page should be something like

"Welcome to the Forums"
"English"
"Deutsch"
"Fancais"

Then we can all click on whichever language we want and be presented with forum topics in that language, and bookmark that page as our main forum page.

I cannot understand why so many people have a problem with the front page including links to all three languages. Is it really so difficult to find the one for you, [snip]

My only gripe with the new layout is that we seem to have lost "Server Status".

[edited for baiting]

Blackwolfe5 · May 2014

Arthur_Spoonfondle wrote: »

Ojustaboo wrote: »

Very first forum page should be something like

"Welcome to the Forums"
"English"
"Deutsch"
"Fancais"

Then we can all click on whichever language we want and be presented with forum topics in that language, and bookmark that page as our main forum page.

I cannot understand why so many people have a problem with the front page including links to all three languages. Is it really so difficult to find the one for you, [snip]

My only gripe with the new layout is that we seem to have lost "Server Status".

Closet Xenophobes? I don't understand either french or german. Would it be so strange to want a cleaner forum design?

[edited to remove quote]

Mablung · May 2014

Where did the mark everything as read button go? And why is it not marking the threads I do read as read?

ZOS_AlanG · May 2014

We are aware that many find the current multi-lingual structure to be busy, and it has contributed to the general difficulty in navigating these forums; fixing this is a top priority for us on the forums. In addition to the changes made this weekend, we are working on a larger visual and structural overhaul, and this should improve language support and navigation.

Moonscythe · May 2014

I have a question, or maybe two questions and this may be the right place to ask them. Please forgive me if it is not since this first question is directed at the forum developers mostly. Anyway, why is is that I can't do a search on my ID and find all the threads I have participated in? I sometimes want to go see if there has been an answer to something I asked but I can't find the thread. A search brings up only a few threads and rarely the one I'm looking for. Flag is to report a post and nothing else will tag it for my own use. If a thread has had any recent activity it is easy to see which ones I have looked at but not if there has been a lot of activity in general.

My other question regards the comment votes. I thought that LOL was a good thing but think some use it as a down vote because there is no disagree and they don't want to actually voice their disagreement. Is this actually the case?

Moonscythe · May 2014

Arthur_Spoonfondle wrote: »

Ojustaboo wrote: »

Very first forum page should be something like

"Welcome to the Forums"
"English"
"Deutsch"
"Fancais"

Then we can all click on whichever language we want and be presented with forum topics in that language, and bookmark that page as our main forum page.

I cannot understand why so many people have a problem with the front page including links to all three languages. Is it really so difficult to find the one for you, [snip]

My only gripe with the new layout is that we seem to have lost "Server Status".

I don't think it that anyone is a closet xenophobe. I find the other languages to be bothersome if I click on recent discussions. There are times when half the first page is in German or French which I can't read so I have to keep flipping through pages which, while maybe a minor thing in the big picture, is irritating. They may be gems of insightful commentary but I don't want to see them if I can't read them. I'm sure it is even more irritating to the German and French language participants.

[edited to remove quote]

ZOS_AlanG · May 2014

Arthur_Spoonfondle wrote: »

Ojustaboo wrote: »

Very first forum page should be something like

"Welcome to the Forums"
"English"
"Deutsch"
"Fancais"

Then we can all click on whichever language we want and be presented with forum topics in that language, and bookmark that page as our main forum page.

I cannot understand why so many people have a problem with the front page including links to all three languages. Is it really so difficult to find the one for you, [snip]

My only gripe with the new layout is that we seem to have lost "Server Status".

From what we have seen, complaints about having the three languages together stem from organizational problems, it doesn’t have anything to do with the various groups.

As for Server Status, while this section was removed, we'll be announcing server downtime with the forum-wide messaging system going forward. You can also check out the service alerts section on our support site.

Moonscythe wrote: »

I have a question, or maybe two questions and this may be the right place to ask them. Please forgive me if it is not since this first question is directed at the forum developers mostly. Anyway, why is is that I can't do a search on my ID and find all the threads I have participated in? I sometimes want to go see if there has been an answer to something I asked but I can't find the thread. A search brings up only a few threads and rarely the one I'm looking for. Flag is to report a post and nothing else will tag it for my own use. If a thread has had any recent activity it is easy to see which ones I have looked at but not if there has been a lot of activity in general.

These forums did have a "Participated" option on the menu during beta, but it was disabled at launch due to some technical problems. We also recently removed "Mark all as read" for some problems. Both are being worked on, and we look forward to bringing them back when they are fixed!

In the meantime, you can bring up your threads and posts by going to your profile, and you can also bookmark threads by clicking on the start on the right hand side of the thread (and top right corner of opening posts).

[edited to remove quote]

Darlgon · May 2014

Any chance you have plans to make the Dev Tracker show only one column, not three? I end up reading down the page with the longer posts and then having to hike a LONG way back up the posts page to read three or four posts that are in the second column, only to find updates to them when I reach the third column, or that those in the third column actually were replaced by the big long post I stated with...

Saerydoth · May 2014

Please change it so that when you select a language (via the EN/DE/FR links up top) that ONLY the forums for the selected language show up. This is the change that is most needed.

There is really no reason to show all of the languages on the main page. They should each have their own list.

Sindofin · May 2014

Darlgon wrote: »

Any chance you have plans to make the Dev Tracker show only one column, not three? I end up reading down the page with the longer posts and then having to hike a LONG way back up the posts page to read three or four posts that are in the second column, only to find updates to them when I reach the third column, or that those in the third column actually were replaced by the big long post I stated with...

What makes this worse is that the tiles in the columns can be of different lengths, depending on the length of the post I guess.

When scrolling down and one column has a very long post, it takes a lot of scrolling, before the page reloads more posts, and then you have to backtrack, to find where the new ones started to load in. I always feel I miss a lot of posts, because of this less ergonomic layout, in combination with the reload mechanic.

Turelus · May 2014

Thanks for the updates AlanG, I look forward to seeing how the forums continues to evolve and it's really nice to have a back and forth with the team behind it.

LeCreaux · May 2014

I see the confusing rating system is gone, but I do think a simple like/dislike system would be useful. I would definitely like to sort posts by most liked/disliked.

Edit: nevermind...I see the rating system is still here. Then it would be useful to get an explanation of the difference between the ratings.

Arsvita · May 2014

Noswell wrote: »

Can we not attach files to posts in the General Discussion forum? Or is that just me..

I tried to attach a file (screenshot) to an armor discussion last night and was unable to do so. I thought it may be due to the work being done on the forums.

I tried again today, but again no luck. When I first tried there was the usual upload / Image URL choices, but then it was Image URL only.

Not sure if quoted poster, @Noswell was just overlooked or missed, but it is not just Noswell having the issue.

Ojustaboo · May 2014

Arthur_Spoonfondle wrote: »

Ojustaboo wrote: »

Very first forum page should be something like

"Welcome to the Forums"
"English"
"Deutsch"
"Fancais"

Then we can all click on whichever language we want and be presented with forum topics in that language, and bookmark that page as our main forum page.

I cannot understand why so many people have a problem with the front page including links to all three languages. Is it really so difficult to find the one for you, [snip]

My only gripe with the new layout is that we seem to have lost "Server Status".

It's not a matter of having a problem, it just makes it messy.

For instance under the current forum, I go to the front page, I select

Alliance war

I am then taken to another page where I have to pick which language I want.

I go back to the main page, I select

Crafting

I then have to select which language I want.

I go back to the main page, I select

Addons and UI Mods

I then have to select what language I want.

It would just be tidier if there was a simple "what language do you want" at the top level, and all forums beneath it are in my chosen language.

On my PC it's just an inconvenient extra click, on my tablet with limited screen space, longer load times, and fingers that touch screens don't like and I have to use two fingers to make what I want to click on, bigger, else it wont accept my click, having this unnecessary extra level becomes very annoying.

[edited to remove quote]

ZOS_HugoP · May 2014

Noswell wrote: »

Can we not attach files to posts in the General Discussion forum? Or is that just me..

This feature has been deactivated - except in our Customer Support forum

Arsvita · May 2014

ZOS_HugoP wrote: »

Noswell wrote: »

Can we not attach files to posts in the General Discussion forum? Or is that just me..

This feature has been deactivated - except in our Customer Support forum

Thank you @ZOS_HugoP for the reply.
Much appreciated.

<edit here

> Can we still use the Image URL option?

Kingslayer · May 2014

@ZOS_AlanG The problem with the languages is the fact they are mixed together and the developer tracker is a jumble right now. There should be three language sub forums each being self contained. That way their is no confusion and i don't have to use Google translate half the time to figure out the maintenance lol.

esoone · May 2014

Awsome thanks!

Cogo · May 2014

@ZOS_HugoP

Thank you a lot for the general forum and listening to the requests from the players. Again you have shown that ESO not just listens, but add to their work plans how to solve something ESO might not see as a problem.

Also, I'd like to express my graditude that Zenimax keeps on track with the game as it was meant to be, and evolve it towards just what you are doing, a new type of MMO.

Let's see how you will do raiding and if you can beat the best raiding game so far, Everquest. I try to just keep my mind on ESO when I play, but raiding is a very big thing to me, and even the giant WoW could not compete with the outstanding Everquest raidsystem.

This AGAIN shows me that the makers of this game listens to their playerbase.

And for you numbnuts who think "listen to their player", is to give in to each and every single ..I say this very very nicely...request. Zenimax is working on a long plan version. EVERY game that changes thing right away, without thinking, testing, checking with all kinds of people, before they work and change/ add something, will fail.

Let me give you an example. Star wars Galaxies, released by SOE, lived....what. few months, a year? They did not just listen to the whining playerbase, but also did the biggest error you can make in any MMO. They keept making everything easy, very fast, and the long journey to even be able to become a jedi knight, was changed very early cause "MUUUUMMM, IT TAKES ME MORE THEN 2 DAYS TO BE A JEDI.

So SOE made it possible for everyone to very easy be a Jedi knight. The result if this? There where only Jedi knights in the game and not a single person found it fun....because you could do pretty much everything.

WhimsyDragon · May 2014

General. Thank you

theyancey · May 2014

I like having a general discussion forum. Now maybe it will be easier for people with problems to actually get forum space in the CS forum. It will take a lot of modding to weed put the trolls though.

wrlifeboil · May 2014

ron.spark79_ESO wrote: »

Arsenic_Touch wrote: »

ron.spark79_ESO wrote: »

my thoughts on the new forums are this.instead of making the forums easier to use why don't you fix the problems that you already have such as billing body and bug quests.? it seems to me that a little common sense would dictate that the big problems be handled first

You do realize that the people that work the forums have nothing to do with the billing issues or bugged quests, right? so how do you expect them to address them?

Turelus wrote: »

ron.spark79_ESO wrote: »

my thoughts on the new forums are this.instead of making the forums easier to use why don't you fix the problems that you already have such as billing body and bug quests.? it seems to me that a little common sense would dictate that the big problems be handled first

Bah have to edit because the forums doesn't like "= / =" without spaces. :P

Ron, a forums/web design team is not the same team that works game design, programming or development in most cases. To use a terrible analogy you're asking why a plumber can't fix the gearbox in your car.

So many edits because of fail this morning... I need coffee.

I do realize this but since customer service has decided to not do anything I figure there has to be inter office communication between web and game developers even if its on the managerial level.

I sympathize with your billing plight but if the devs had to read the forums, they wouldn't have much time to actually work on the game. Eso isn't an indie game where you can get direct access to the devs every day of the week.

The basic functions of a game forum system is tech support, customer support, and community development. Do that much and do those well and I would think that most gamers would be satisfied. If the devs are basing their decisions on which way the wind is blowing on any given day in the forums, they are going to be constantly pushed and pulled back and forth and end up wasting time and resources.

Wavek · May 2014

How about making the Developer tracker only show the language I have selected? Its rather annoying to dig through all the other language posts to try and find the ones I want.

CombatBeard · May 2014

Move Customer Support back to the top where it should be.

AlexDougherty · May 2014

CombatBeard wrote: »

Move Customer Support back to the top where it should be.

They are rejigging it again soon, they will move the CS forum then.

Pele · May 2014

I like it. Now there's a General Discussion.

Bollerlotte · May 2014

hi there, i posted this somewhere else, but i like to post that here too. i guess this fits more in here.

today i logged on here in forum. Assortmend looks new, "mark all Forums read "feature is gone.

The most player participated Forum: Costumer support dropped to lower end. why is this, do you fear flames and shitstorms or what? Make Costumer Support mean, do not hide it away.

Furthermore i was promissed more communication from/with Communityworkers. for me is that discusion with players in forum and not posting a statement on a uncommentable page. That is frustrating how it is now. one can easy say that by browsing in this Costumer support.
i come from wow, even the german forum has a by far better quote by Blue-comments vs players. If one request seriously a blueposting answer he will get it. here it is/feel like 10,000 player posts to 1 Admin/Green.

i keep complaining about wow-services and teso because i like to game teso on and because i pay same the amount of money for gaming.

Kevinmon · May 2014

Get rid of the multiple languages or I will never use these forums.