A brief explanation of the forum changes in progress

[matthew]

We are making some changes in our forum sections. This is in direct response to input from users who have been saying that the forums seem a bit cluttered, especially on the front page.

What we are doing is merging the different sections that were based on the older Ubuntu releases; Warty, Hoary and Breezy into the Dapper sections and then making two sections; "Ubuntu Assistance" and "Other Support". In other words, we are eliminating the separate forums for each release. We have instituted a tagging system for all posts and the older posts will be tagged with the name of the distribution release from their section of origin.

We are also merging some categories that are somewhat interrelated.

Third Party support now has its own category.

Here are how things are going to look very shortly (or to which they may already have been changed).

The Beginner Community
- Absolute Beginner Talk
- News & Announcements

Ubuntu Assistance
- General Help
- Desktop Enviroments
- Apple PPC
- x86 64-bit
- Sun Sparc
- Installation & Upgrades
- Networking & Connectivity
- Hardware & Laptops
- Multimedia & Video
- Ubuntu Development Discussions
- Edgy Eft
- Breezy
- Warty
- Hoary

Other Support
- Accessibility
- Education & Science
- Gaming & Leisure
- Art & Design
- Servers & Security
- Faqs, Howtos, Documentation, Tips & Tricks
- Respositories & Backports
- Programming
- Ubuntu Users Mailing List

3rd Party Projects
- (All current projects)

Community Discussions
- Ubuntu Cafe
- Ubuntu Forum Feedback & Help
- Resolution Center
- The Jail
- The Fridge
- Community Marketplace
- Other OS Discussions

We are also discussing some subtle changes in the Development section. Since the posts in that area are only certain to relate to the specific alpha, beta, or release candidate versions of that release we will most likely NOT be moving posts or "how tos" from the development section into the Other Support forums. We request that all how tos, etc., that are written during development be tested by their authors (or others) after the final release of the new Ubuntu version and then posted to the appropriate area at that time. This will help staff as we have tried in the past to sort through and figure out what needed to stay in the development areas and what should be moved. It will also help us maintain the record of conversations during a development cycle in their proper location while minimizing clutter in other places.

If you could give us a few days or maybe a week for the dust to settle and then give us your feedback we would appreciate it. I'll leave the thread open so you can comment...again, please give us some time to sort things on our side (and find bugs) before overwhelming us with suggestions/critiques/criticism.

Thanks everyone for your understanding!! Here's hoping we can do a good job of responding to felt needs without messing it all up.

[IoCaster]

Thanks for the detailed info and all of the excellent work that the forum staff does daily. I understand that these types of forums are very dynamic in nature and that it's often necessary to do these kinds of structural adjustments.

This has quickly become one of my favorite destinations on the net. Thanks again for all of the hard work by everyone involved and rest assured that's it's very much appreciated on my end. =D>

Best regards - Joe

[matthew]

Thanks for the detailed info and all of the excellent work that the forum staff does daily. I understand that these types of forums are very dynamic in nature and that it's often necessary to do these kinds of structural adjustments.

This has quickly become one of my favorite destinations on the net. Thanks again for all of the hard work by everyone involved and rest assured that's it's very much appreciated on my end. =D>

Best regards - Joe

We genuinely appreciate the kind words. Thanks for the encouragement!

[Mr. Picklesworth]

Looks good so far!

I'm assuming you guys aren't done yet since a few sections aren't there yet, so I'm looking forward to the end result

While you're at it, are you able to change the Alt text for the post icons?
They seem a bit odd...
This () is definietly not angry looking, this guy () doesn't come across as exactly cool, and this () is certainly not a thumbs up.

Big thanks for all your hard work here!

[y6FgBn)~v]

I agree with IoCaster. The work you guys do is outstanding and I very much appreciate all the effort. The forums have been an indispensible tool for me. Thank you Matt and thanks to the rest of the staff here,

Sincerely,

Bill

[autocrosser]

I echo loCaster--when FireFox opens my Homepage--here I am. It has been my FIRST stop on the net almost from the first day I installed Warty--all I can say is----


GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!!!!

[ubuntu-geek]

Looks good so far!

I'm assuming you guys aren't done yet since a few sections aren't there yet, so I'm looking forward to the end result

While you're at it, are you able to change the Alt text for the post icons?
They seem a bit odd...
This () is definietly not angry looking, this guy () doesn't come across as exactly cool, and this () is certainly not a thumbs up.

Big thanks for all your hard work here!

Which Sections are you not seeing?

[Mr. Picklesworth]

Off the top of my head, I'm not seeing the Breezy, Edgy, Warty, or Dapper sections under Ubuntu Release Assistance.


Oooh, I just noticed I can edit my thread titles by double clicking from the thread view!

This is an incredibly nice forum...

[ubuntu-geek]

Off the top of my head, I'm not seeing the Breezy, Edgy, Warty, or Dapper sections under Ubuntu Release Assistance.


Oooh, I just noticed I can edit my thread titles by double clicking from the thread view!

This is an incredibly nice forum...

Ah those sections were merged under Ubuntu Release Assistance to the correct categories.

[KrayzeKaliber]

Yeah, we definately owe you a thanx for making the ubuntu forums as comfortable as possible.

It was just a little thing that was slightly pestering me, but thank you for getting rid of the fully capitalized forum titles (like the HOWTO section.) Now, it's crisper and more efficient than ever...I think that deserves a victory dance: