Suggestions for how to split up the Square

vegimator · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:17 pm

mel c wrote:

Does the Square get enough traffic and turnover to justify all the divisions? I never felt overwhelmed by skimming through the thread titles that didn't interest me. And if the search function is up and running, it would seem even less useful to have city or region specific rooms for people wanting to travel/research/etc. I like the idea of city guides in theory, but it also doesn't make sense if it devolves into a chat thread about tots and whistle tips.

What about standardizing thread titles, which sometimes kind of happens, in a stickied rules post?

[City-Meet up] Orgy at Isa's House! 12/31/10
[City] Restaurant awesomeness!
[Country] I'm a tourist! Help me!

Perhaps city/country guides can be something incorporated into the new theppk.com, like a resource area. Like Happy Cow, but more personable (narrative and lists?) and not looking like Geocities 1997.

Yeah, I don't really have a problem with how things were before. It's just going to mean more clicking if we get all crazy with the subsections.

Also, Tofulish, Andi-vert would be part of the North American section. I think torque is our only active South American poster and we haven't had any Central Americans that I'm aware of.

Fee · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:17 pm

mel c wrote:

Does the Square get enough traffic and turnover to justify all the divisions? I never felt overwhelmed by skimming through the thread titles that didn't interest me. And if the search function is up and running, it would seem even less useful to have city or region specific rooms for people wanting to travel/research/etc. I like the idea of city guides in theory, but it also doesn't make sense if it devolves into a chat thread about tots and whistle tips.

What about standardizing thread titles, which sometimes kind of happens, in a stickied rules post?

[City-Meet up] Orgy at Isa's House! 12/31/10
[City] Restaurant awesomeness!
[Country] I'm a tourist! Help me!

Perhaps city/country guides can be something incorporated into the new theppk.com, like a resource area. Like Happy Cow, but more personable (narrative and lists?) and not looking like Geocities 1997.

I like this best. Especially because of vague thread titles like "I'm about to go on vacation to...." and then you open it, hoping it's going to be Baton Rouge - because when is it NOT? - and then it's like Vancouver and you're like "oh, ok, whatever"

andi_vert · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:25 pm

Tofulish wrote:

(e) Other (South America/Africa) (sorry Torque and andi-vert!)

I understand : ( haha.

Hapax Legomenon · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:28 pm

Maybe put the cities who had threads over a certain length on the old boards in their own subfora, and everything else stays together.
I am vehemently(vehemently!) anti-regionalizing the US, because every region hates my state. We're not northern, but the south won't claim us because we didn't secede; the midwest starts the next state over, but we're not east enough to be eastern. When FiveThirtyEight broke the US up they called my region the "Highlands," which I'm pretty sure is an imaginary region invented so Kentucky wouldn't whine about its lack of inclusion in a REAL region.

IsaChandra · **Joined:** Tue Oct 19, 2010 2:21 pm **Posts:** 7651

I feel ok with the most trafficked places getting their own subforum. So that would be:
NYC, LA, SF Bay Area, Philly, UK, Aus/NZ, Portland, Seattle. Maybe Austin, Chicago & Boston. If other places wanted a subforum they could request one. Then the rest of the Square is left as is. What do you all think of that?

I also like the idea of adding travel guides to the main site but that is a whole nother can of worms that would cost a bunch of money (for design and functionality and maintenance) not to mention time, so not right now.

bergedy · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:50 pm

I'm fine with however you break it up geographically. It makes sense that it costs money to put the travel guides somewhere with their own pages and that is prohibitive, but why not let them have a subforum so they are all together and easier to find.

Tofulish · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:51 pm

Could you give us a NJ forum? There are a ton of us on the boards.

interrobang?! · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:53 pm

I think that's a good idea, to split it into the most trafficked areas- then travel guide threads can be incorporated into each country/city subforum so people know where to go asking/looking if they're visiting a certain place.

fezza · **Joined:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:17 pm **Posts:** 5324

interrobang?! wrote:

jojo wrote:

If you're splitting it into countries can UK & Ireland stay together rather than being split into England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland & Ireland?

Yes, this. If would be daft to have them separate with a couple of people rattling around in each one.

Especially considering we can hop back and forward with short flights or drive from the Northern tip of one to the Southern tip of the other within a day.

interrobang?! · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 2:15 pm

fezza wrote:

interrobang?! wrote:

jojo wrote:

If you're splitting it into countries can UK & Ireland stay together rather than being split into England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland & Ireland?

Yes, this. If would be daft to have them separate with a couple of people rattling around in each one.

Especially considering we can hop back and forward with short flights or drive from the Northern tip of one to the Southern tip of the other within a day.

Yeah, you say that... I've yet to encounter you peeking through my curtains though. Disappointed.

mel c · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 3:27 pm

I certainly didn't mean that ppk travel guides should be a priority, just that the non-forum format makes more sense. Or, rather, forum travel guides don't seem as useful as just using the search function, unless there's one person per city going back and updating a single post, which perhaps is another option if people really want one-stop travel guides.

I still think people should be encouraged to use more specific thread titles in the Square though, like in the Parlor.

QueenV · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 4:08 pm

Anek wrote:

I second the continent separation as proposed by Tofulish.
You could have a
North America
Central and South America
Europe
Asia
Oceania
Africa
split, and then within North America
Canada
Eastern US
Central US
Western US

I quite like this. Can sub forums have sub forums???

fezza · **Joined:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:17 pm **Posts:** 5324

interrobang?! wrote:

Yeah, you say that... I've yet to encounter you peeking through my curtains though. Disappointed.

We have to wait til this geriatric cat shuffles off his mortal coil, after an appropriate amount of guilt riddled mourning I'll be there peeping... peeping & trembling.

eight · **Joined:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:17 pm **Posts:** 497

I really like Mel C's suggestion but people would have to really stick to the standardized thread titles.
If you think a division is really necessary, then I would prefer one by content and not geography.

vegefattien · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 9:55 pm

jojo wrote:

I think I'd split it into meet up threads and general threads.

So, if you wanted to plan a meet up in NYC you'd put it in the meet up section but if you were just going to NYC & wanted to ask about where to get cake / were just chatting about say, a new NYC restaurant, that would go in the other section.

very good idea!

IsaChandra · **Joined:** Tue Oct 19, 2010 2:21 pm **Posts:** 7651

Eh. Forget it.

Tofulish · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 10:39 pm

IsaChandra wrote:

Eh. Forget it.

Sometimes I feel like you're just phoning it in...

Drossie · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 10:44 pm

eight wrote:

I really like Mel C's suggestion but people would have to really stick to the standardized thread titles.
If you think a division is really necessary, then I would prefer one by content and not geography.

I think some standardisation is a good idea, and could indicate different kinds of content as well as geography. My suggestion for subfora (if they're even really necessary) would be a simple "North America" and "Rest of World". Or maybe certain North American cities could each have their own subforum alongside "Other (General?) North American" and "Rest of World". As for our newly-combined Aus/NZ thread — so far any meetups have been organised in there, too, without much fuss. There are so few of us that it wouldn't make much sense to go to a different meetup subforum. If we were part of "Rest of World", I'm sure we'd also notice if someone posted a thread like "[Aus] East coast accommodation suggestions?"

ETA: Ha. In the time it took for Firefox to crash on me, re-open, and me finally to click submit, Isa forgot it.

Mumbaikar · **Joined:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:39 pm **Posts:** 36

IsaChandra wrote:

I feel ok with the most trafficked places getting their own subforum. So that would be:
NYC, LA, SF Bay Area, Philly, UK, Aus/NZ, Portland, Seattle. Maybe Austin, Chicago & Boston. If other places wanted a subforum they could request one. Then the rest of the Square is left as is. What do you all think of that?

I also like the idea of adding travel guides to the main site but that is a whole nother can of worms that would cost a bunch of money (for design and functionality and maintenance) not to mention time, so not right now.

what about this (above) plus subforums for
MeetUps-Other;
Cities-Other;
International-Other
+/- Tourist-Help!

abbierae · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:54 am

As long as the search function works, I think having no subforums works fine.

mrsbadmouth · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 11:12 am

IsaChandra wrote:

Eh. Forget it.

Poor Isa! She just wants to make everyone happy and can't decide how to do that.

I'm about to rearrange The Square myself and then everyone can bisque at me about it.

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