Help page reorganization

You want to speak about the site or downright to participate in its realization? All the ideas and the notices are welcome …

Re: Help page reorganization

Postby Graen » Sat, 11Jan15 06:32

Second time typing this up, damn power outage!

Okay... Trucla'spost got me thinking. Having sub-sub-forums for each type of game engine would probably bloat the main page, and stray from the realm of KiSS styling. That said, I can appreciate the fact that people would want to find games that run with their new software, like RAGS and such. I also saw something else in Trucla's post regarding the Game Creators section that I will address later in this post.

LRM'ssuggestion of having sub-threads for walkthroughs and hints in each game's own thread, is definitely an decent alternative to what I suggested for having a walkthrough forum. My only complaint about that, is that a moderator would have to set up the sub-thread for each new game discussion thread that was created. That is, if Aceboard is even capable of creating sub-threads.

That's not to say, someone wouldn't be posting a link to the walkthrough thread for a game using the walkthrough forum, but at least it would not have to be a moderator.

Which brings me to what I see as the inevitable, and unenviable, solution to the problem of "People asking for help/walkthroughs in the game discussion thread."

More Proactive Moderation

Right now, aside from removing spam posts, the moderators seem to be busy moving and deleting posts from newly created threads by people who don't know where they should be posting, or just don't know better. Unfortunately, with Aceboard, we don't seem to be able to limit a person's ability to create new threads, if they haven't reached a certain post count first.

The best we can hope for is to make the forums appear as simple and easy to understand as possible, especially since it's read by people from all over the world. That is why I suggested having a walkthrough forum, for all games, so people would know that is the first place they should go for a solution. It has its own problems, as obviously we can't complete a game as soon as it appears on our radar, and write up a complete guide for it. But keeping it open for everyone to contribute to, I feel is a good start.

I'm going to return to Trucla's post regarding having forums for each type of game. I would suggest instead of bloating the main page, keep all the games that aren't made by Shark together. But, with a little help from the moderators, in the "Other Sexy Games" forum start changing the topics of each thread, tagging them with what type of game they are. Tags such as [RAGS] [AIF] [FLASH] [EXE] etc, in front of the title of the game, would allow the search engine to help people find game types that they are looking for. For example: "School Dreams 3"would become "[AIF] School Dreams 3". "Sarah"would become "[HTML] Sarah". This could even be expanded further with more tags, "[AIF] School Dreams 3 - goblinboy" and "[HTML] VDG Sarah - Chaotic".

In essence applying a Manual of Styleto the forums.

Which brings me back to the [no]Creators' Corner[/no] Games Creators section of the forums. I absolutely believe that this section is an important addition to the Lagoon, and I do hope to see it grow as time goes on. Currently the "RAGS Games" forum doesn't see much activity, and I would like to see it merged with the "Other Sexy Games" forum as most of the topics in there aren't posted by the authors of those games. Those topics that are posted by the authors of those games could be moved to the "Projects" forum as they most likely were a work in progress at the time the thread was created.

I hope I was able to clearly explain my ideas; feel free to ask questions, fling insults, and question my sexuality!

EDIT: Forgot to add, by setting precedence with the tagging system hopefully other users would catch on to the system and start creating their threads using the same format.
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby Squeeky » Sat, 11Jan15 11:06

LRM wrote : Squeeky
How did you do that? Single entry cite? I tried to copy and failed. I see no where to find the final numbers and the way I am doing it is a PITA.

L


I am not sure what you mean unless it is to do with the link I created at this point. At another site I do have privileges to do what few others are allowed, but not here. Confirm that the link is to what you refer.
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby shark » Sat, 11Jan15 14:52

This thread is really very interesting. I studied your proposals and here mine:
(Just a precision: sections with other sections inside are not possible with aceboard. Personally, I don't like forums with sub-sub-sub... sections.)

-----------------------------------------------
WELCOME

- introduction : introduce yourself in this section and become official member of the community.
- The lagoon staff : who's who (you can't post in this section).
*

*this section will have to be updated with only the members who will have a particular role:
- lords of the lagoon (mods)
- Masters of the games (a new post : "Masters of the games" will be in charge to receive by PM the proposals for hints or walkthroughs and will decide if they have their place in the new sections.
- Mermaid, guardian of the channel : just an idea, it would be marvelous if our mermaids (Raelee, Dito, tlaero, Lydia.........) agree to welcome the new lagooners in the introduction section... (?)

HOT AND ENTERTAINING

* Shark's Website : your opinion, your ideas, your proposals

* Sexy Girls : They are sexy and drawn in 3D, present your creations or those you like

* The Beach : A quiet place at the lagoon side for speaking about all and nothing

GAMES DISCUSSIONS :

* Shark's Games : here, you can speak about shark's games... but no questions or requests for help please, there is a specific section for that.

* Other Sexy Games : You found a free sexy game on the Web, share it with the buddies (no questions or requests for help)

* RAG GAMES : The specific forum for rag games lovers.

HINTS AND WALKTHROUGHTS

* Walkthroughts : you cannot post in this section but you can propose a Walkthrought by PM to a "Master of the games" who will post it if it is a new one.

* Hints : you are stuck in a game, look first here, maybe you can find the hint you seek (you cannot post in this section)

* Help needed: post your questions in this section (In the thread of the corresponding game)

GAMES CREATORS

Your création : First game or new realization, you are welcome, here we likes all the sexy games.

Projects : Here is your place if you want to create a game or to participate to a project.

Creator tools : artwork, coding, softwares, share your experiments in this section


-----------------------------------------------

This proposal requires to increase the staff and a search for volunteers could be made to find:

-3 or 4 " Masters of the games" to manage the "HINT AND WALKTHROUGHTS"section.

-1 specific moderator for the "GAME DISCUSSION" section and a 1 specific moderator for the "HINT AND WALKTHROUGHTS" section (to the beginning, there will be many posts with request or help questions to move or to remove.)

-About the "Mermaid, guardian of the channel "... To the ladies to give their opinion...
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby Greebo » Sat, 11Jan15 19:27

What's happened to the plan to change from Aceboard to something less flakey and subject to originator's whims - is the cunning plan to wait for the sky to fall in again or was Chicken Licken last week's lunch menu? [img]images/icones/icon15.gif[/img]
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby shark » Sat, 11Jan15 21:56

Ok, let us give a progress report on the "migration":

Extracting almost totality of the posts from the aceboard forum is possible by using " acepompe" , a scrïpt which recovers the posts and allows to use them in a PHPBB2 database.
There is a very good tutorial here (but it is in French)
http://www.le-lalf.fr.nf/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=45
which explains how to use "acepompe" and how to transorm the recovered database in a db compatible with PHPBB3
Trucla and Craban carried out tests and they obtained good results.

The problems are :
- I am not confortable with PHPBB3 and I don't know if I am able to manage a PHPBB3 forum technically. I cannot use much my time to manage the forum if I want to be available for the new games creation . Aceboard had this advantage that it is simple to manage.

- The forum receives much visitor and need a powerful server. I am not sure to have the means of paying and especially of managing a new sufficiently powerful server to host the new forum.

Maybe there is a solution: use a free forum host (as for aceboard). I contacted " space-forums.com" which hosted a replacement forum during the breakdown of ACEBOARD (remember: http://sharks-lagoon.space-forums.com/ ). They agree to host the new forum if I provide them with the recover db . I think other forum host could agree too (our forum interests them because it has many visitors)... but I have not the competence to recover the dB myself.

I know that ACEBOARD will die one day (soon?) but I have not the solution yet ...
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby Greebo » Sun, 11Jan16 00:27

Thanks for the update, shark. Your reorganisation triggered my query, particularly since I find the 'search' facility (?) on this forum completely unusable, and I would love to be able to look for older threads of interest occasionally.

Still, if you find PHPBB a step too far, I guess we stay with the status quo - after all, you are the main man (or shark!) when it comes to the Lagoon!
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby Craban » Sun, 11Jan16 16:49

You could still use the PHPBB3 extract but look for another simpler BBS. From what I can see the PHPBB3 format is the one you get the most support and import/export scrïpts. It may be an intermediate format.
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby LRM » Mon, 11Jan17 08:42

Shark I read your post and it is your forum.

I contend most gamers do not read even one post above their own plea for help to help themselves.
That is why I suggested a subdirectory under each of your games.
Perhaps a better way than I suggested would be as follows:
Sharks Games/HA4 Help(Read Only except Mods)/
Sharks Games/HA4 Help(Read Only except Mods)/HA4 Help Me

They would have to pass through a topic that contained hints toward a solution for the most common problems encountered with that game before they add their "I'm Stuck" scream.
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Re: Help page reorganization

Postby Squeeky » Mon, 11Jan17 11:24

Migration in limbo?

I'd gone on holiday toward the time that experiments seemed to be close to reaching a positive.

I had assumed that things were still on-going. Pity.

I hopefully trust that those experiments were sufficiently successful to enable a migration at any time Shark feels comfortable with a "couch" on which to reside.

Given a transfer, and Shark having reservations to admin the forum, I'm just wondering who in our ranks has the skills to advise him. I recall one, think his avatar was "a bearded gent in a hat"; think he said that he ran a PHPBB3 from his own home computer.
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