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".

Try using the developer tracker. It is very hard to sift through when all the long announcement posts are triplicated. That's just the language issue, not even getting to the point where it should be a list of posts that are previews that you can expand, so you can find ones you care about. The whole boxes philosophy is cumbersome and apparently taken from the tablet/console design trends. Metro is the main reason PC users hate windows 8, so it was a bad call to replicate it as a forum layout. At least the metro boxes slide around and do flashy things. These are just ugly and make it harder to get to things for no reason.

Make a theme system and then people who want to pretend they are on a tablet on their computer can enjoy this awful layout without those of us wanting usability having to endure it. Why anyone would want a PC forum to look like its a mobile version is beyond me. I can't speak for Mac users, but they like mouses with only one button, so who can say.

I wish Zeni had used a stock phpbb based forum and just made a custom theme. Its open source, so not sure why anyone would make their own forum system unless they were a company devoted to making exciting new forum systems. If this is based on phpbb, then just put the stock themes back up.

[edited to remove quote]

Here is a suggestion tie your individual language forums to the language selection found in the upper right of every page of eldersrollsonline.com. Directly under categories alone this would hide at least six entries per language. For every category it would eliminate an additional step in reaching the desired threads.

---

I think I'd like to see the following structure when all is said and done.

Replace on the bar that has currently (categories/profile/inbox/sign out) With this: Community Creations/PVE/Crafting/PVP/Add ons/Guild/General

Then place on the side bar to the right

Official news and patch notes
Server status
Web site articles discussions
Customer support
Profile
Inbox
Sign in/out

Removing the links currently there as they (would) already exist for the most part on the top category bar. One click to reach the forums, and one click on any fo these links would bring up a listing of threads instead of further sub menus. Replicate this structure under each each language(Again linked via the language selection already in place in the upper right of every page on this site) and I think you will have a winner of a forum structure. Notice the general threme here as well. Zos generated threads or communications directed at Zos on the right, player chat across the top. Also notice that there are no sub menus in any player originated category but leave such organizational tools handy for ZOS use in a way that would feel more natural since this area is corporate run primarily. I would also suggest cleaning out old threads from this area as they become outdated including an expiration date on such threads so players know any postings here will not remain past the expiration date.

By contrast what happens now is I click on forums and I'm presented with 17 options for what boards to visit as it defaults to categories plus another 2 options listed separately (profile & inbox) for a total of 19 places to go. So okay I select one, lets say PVE discussion what I see is a list of threads and two additional sub categories, one of these(skill lines) lists another seven sub menus and a single stickied thread. In others I first arrive at a language selection then hit another sub menu prior to reaching any boards at all. Two clicks, not four, five, six, or more in order to find a general list of threads in the area I'm looking to post or read is the gold standard you are striving to achieve here. And really for general forums one click from the main website should give me a list of general discussion threads.

Overall the idea here is to simplify how forum goers find the threads they are seeking. While simultaneously removing extraneous organization that really only gets in the way of fluid design. For instance under crafting the natural inclination would be to segregate this into subsections based on each profession. But that's a mistake since the crafting system is so open and there's a ton of interplay between them.

TL:DR flatten out the forums to a one or two click solution for reaching any list of threads from the home page of elderscrollsonline.com

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.

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?

Not sure if anyone's seen and answered you on this @Moonscythe‌ but if you look for the star on the right of any thread title you can bookmark the thread for use as you describe.

thank you for the update, but are you sure that putting a status message 2 sub forums down is a good idea?

Why no list of changes? "We changed stuff. See if you can figure out what it is and provide feedback!" is an AWFUL strategy. Some of these changes are probably useful, but the only one I can identify is that I haven't found the server status section yet...

Enodoc wrote: »

ZOS_HugoP wrote: »

The Server Status 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.

I hate doing repeats for emphasis, but this gives me the option to tag another dev. @ZOS_HugoP‌. I would indeed like to see your forum-wide messaging system used for Server Status, but case-in-point today, you guys did not announce through that system that there would be no scheduled maintenance today. It's as important to tell us there won't be scheduled maintenance as it is to tell us there will be. You should set aside a time (say, 8pm EDT Sunday, Wednesday) every week where you post a message about the next day's maintenance. Then we know to look at 8pm to see when and whether there will be maintenance the next day. Setting aside a specific time for it also means it becomes part of the routine, and is less likely to be forgotten.

+1 that

It also tends to leave some confusion to just when any patch is actually being deployed so some basic information explaining the reason would be useful. As it stands it tends to imply that we will not see any patch update this week as Mon/ Tue are the days identified for these. /quote.

There was no comments about the Eu server for tomorrow.

Here's my constructive criticism: It's still bad, very bad. Do you really need me to supply solutions on how to set up a forum?

Nice we have a GD.

The current "at a glance" layout of your forum is not working very well. I clicked on the little "EN" located in the upper right corner..yet I still see other languages. I don't even mind seeing them but the current layout is a bit hectic to decipher "at a glance".

Ease of access, Ease of navigation...these are staples of a proper public forum.

I like it. It's a lot cleaner now.

Corithna wrote: »

Here is a suggestion tie your individual language forums to the language selection found in the upper right of every page of eldersrollsonline.com. Directly under categories alone this would hide at least six entries per language. For every category it would eliminate an additional step in reaching the desired threads.

---

I think I'd like to see the following structure when all is said and done.

Replace on the bar that has currently (categories/profile/inbox/sign out) With this: Community Creations/PVE/Crafting/PVP/Add ons/Guild/General

Then place on the side bar to the right

Official news and patch notes
Server status
Web site articles discussions
Customer support
Profile
Inbox
Sign in/out

Removing the links currently there as they (would) already exist for the most part on the top category bar. One click to reach the forums, and one click on any fo these links would bring up a listing of threads instead of further sub menus. Replicate this structure under each each language(Again linked via the language selection already in place in the upper right of every page on this site) and I think you will have a winner of a forum structure. Notice the general threme here as well. Zos generated threads or communications directed at Zos on the right, player chat across the top. Also notice that there are no sub menus in any player originated category but leave such organizational tools handy for ZOS use in a way that would feel more natural since this area is corporate run primarily. I would also suggest cleaning out old threads from this area as they become outdated including an expiration date on such threads so players know any postings here will not remain past the expiration date.

By contrast what happens now is I clicnik on forums and I'm presented with 17 options for what boards to visit as it defaults to categories plus another 2 options listed separately (profile & inbox) for a total of 19 places to go. So okay I select one, lets say PVE discussion what I see is a list of threads and two additional sub categories, one of these(skill lines) lists another seven sub menus and a single stickied thread. In others I first arrive at a language selection then hit another sub menu prior to reaching any boards at all. Two clicks, not four, five, six, or more in order to find a general list of threads in the area I'm looking to post or read is the gold standard you are striving to achieve here. And really for general forums one click from the main website should give me a list of general discussion threads.

Overall the idea here is to simplify how forum goers find the threads they are seeking. While simultaneously removing extraneous organization that really only gets in the way of fluid design. For instance under crafting the natural inclination would be to segregate this into subsections based on each profession. But that's a mistake since the crafting system is so open and there's a ton of interplay between them.

TL:DR flatten out the forums to a one or two click solution for reaching any list of threads from the home page of elderscrollsonline.com

Basing it on site language is a bad idea because many prefer main sites in their native language.

ZOS_HugoP wrote: »

scratchnsniff wrote: »

ZOS,


Also, can you put a general pvp discussion? Or just make it so that we can post under the alliance war section?

You can post here Alliance War for all PvP related discussion.

So many comments to read so ill ask. Where is the developers forum with the known issues threads and talks?

I can tell ya this... CS for the forums LOVES you now.

Bet you got a gift basket! (seriously, not clowning~!)

Huzzah for general discussion - now I no longer have to feel vaguely guilty whenever I post!