[Gamoe]

I sometimes visit the lounge to look for (or post) Mac or Apple-specific threads that do not fit in any of the particular Mac forums. Yet other times, one may visit the lounge for threads that have nothing to do with with Macs. Just as there was a political sub-forum made I the lounge, couldn't there be a General Mac forum, either apart from the Lounge, or within it?

I mean, it's a completely different thing to read about Mac related threads than to read about people's relationship problems or how drunk they are. It would be great to have a General Mac Forum. Perhaps it could even be supplemented by a General Tech Forum, which would cover a broader range of interests. Just an idea!

[sideus]

Can we have a Iraq War forum too? When I go to the political forum I go there for other reasons then to read Iraq War threads. Thanks.

[sideus]

Oh. And when I visit the iPod forum, I want to see threads about the iPod mini, not other iPods. So an iPod miniforum would be great.

[Gamoe]

sideus, your sarcasm is not needed nor desired.

There are forums dedicated to specific Mac models. There is a PowerBook forum and an iBook forum-- why not just have a "Mac Portables" forum? Apparently, some people think it's enough of a difference to warrant individual forums. What I am suggesting is a General Mac forum, where everything Mac, but not falling under any of the specific forum topics (that is anything general to the Mac, and not specific to any Mac model) could fit. It's one thing if you disagree, but it's not silly or ridiculous to suggest this.

A lot of time people post general Mac stuff in the lounge, and it gets lost beside all the other non-related posts. In fact, note that your attempt at sarcasm misses my point, because you are giving examples of more specific forums, while in contrast, I am suggesting a more general forum.

[tooki]

1. We proposed merging iBook and PowerBook a while back, since the questions and troubleshooting steps for both product lines are basically identical. (And that was before the 12" PB came out, which is almost exactly identical to the 12" iBook.) We put it up to a poll in each forum, and the PB forum was overwhelmingly for the merger, and the iBook forum overwhelmingly against it. So we left them as is.

2. A general Mac forum has the problem that people will then never bother to look for the correct place for their post. You see this badly enough in the lounge, with the Mac questions that really belong in one of the "real" forums. Creating a general Mac forum would legitimize this behavior which is rather detrimental to trying to locate information and specific expertise.

tooki

[Gamoe]

Originally posted by tooki:
1. We proposed merging iBook and PowerBook a while back, since the questions and troubleshooting steps for both product lines are basically identical. (And that was before the 12" PB came out, which is almost exactly identical to the 12" iBook.) We put it up to a poll in each forum, and the PB forum was overwhelmingly for the merger, and the iBook forum overwhelmingly against it. So we left them as is.

2. A general Mac forum has the problem that people will then never bother to look for the correct place for their post. You see this badly enough in the lounge, with the Mac questions that really belong in one of the "real" forums. Creating a general Mac forum would legitimize this behavior which is rather detrimental to trying to locate information and specific expertise.

tooki

Okay. Those are good points. I just feel like the community is somewhat fractured when I have to be in the iBook forum, or the Power Mac forum, etc, instead of simply the "Mac forum". However, I understand and tend to agree with your reasoning here. Thanks for the reply.

[ManOfSteal]

Originally posted by Gabriel Morales:
I sometimes visit the lounge to look for (or post) Mac or Apple-specific threads that do not fit in any of the particular Mac forums.

Out of curiosity, what threads/topics in particular are you having trouble finding a good forum heading to post the information?

[Gamoe]

Originally posted by ManOfSteal:
Out of curiosity, what threads/topics in particular are you having trouble finding a good forum heading to post the information?

Well, like this thread , for instance. It lives in the iBook forum, but it's really a general Mac thread, not an iBook thread. I thought it was a wonderful thread, but perhaps a PowerMac or an iMac user, who might have enjoyed it, never saw it.

What about a thread about the latest Apple ad? That's not specific to any forum (unless it was an iPod ad, I suppose-- thank goodness there's an iPod forum now!), so it'd have to be posted in the Lounge, next to a post about posting drunk and another one about homemade cake.

Interestingly, I saw a lot of posts in the lounge which would fit in a General Apple or Mac forum.

[f1000]

Originally posted by Gabriel Morales:
Well, like this thread , for instance. It lives in the iBook forum, but it's really a general Mac thread, not an iBook thread. I thought it was a wonderful thread, but perhaps a PowerMac or an iMac user, who might have enjoyed it, never saw it.

I'd say that thread belongs in the Lounge.

[brapper]

Originally posted by f1000:
I'd say that thread belongs in the Lounge.

agreed.

Troubleshooting and advice goes in the specific forums.

[Gamoe]

Originally posted by f1000:
I'd say that thread belongs in the Lounge.

As it is now, then yes. But if there were a General Mac Forum, it would belong there. And, a General Mac forum would not have to deal exclusively with troubleshooting and advice. On the contrary, it would fit in all the other Mac posts.

And, again, I see why you don't have one right now. I'm just making myself clear.

[tooki]

We understand this, too, but we think the downside of having a general Mac forum outweigh the benefits. One of two things would happen: 1) people put everything in there, and don't put threads where they actually belong, or 2) people do put things where they go, and there end up being so few truly general questions that the General forum sits empty.

Neither is desirable, but 1) is what I'd expect to happen, and it'd be chaos.

tooki

[MacGorilla]

I am in favorite of making a no rules anything goes forum, unmoderated, the posts pruned every 15-30 days. Let people vent.

[ManOfSteal]

Originally posted by MacGorilla:
I am in favorite of making a no rules anything goes forum, unmoderated, the posts pruned every 15-30 days. Let people vent.

Sounds like the Lounge...

[Gamoe]

Originally posted by ManOfSteal:
Sounds like the Lounge...

Indeed. Exactly why I'd favor a General forum. So all that rubbish is left in the lounge, while most of the good stuff would end up in the General forum.

Originally posted by tooki:
Neither is desirable, but 1) is what I'd expect to happen, and it'd be chaos.

You're probably right. Nevertheless, would you be willing to let the people decide by themselves? If we had enough support, and people really understood what the new forum was about, it might stand a chance.

[tooki]

If only people understood. Regretfully, a huge number of people do not read the existing forum descriptions, and post stuff in all sorts of crazy places. I wish I could be less cynical, but I have no reason to expect that people would use a general forum appropriately. (I have been mulling over ways to radically change how we could present what each forum is for, so maybe in the future, we can change.)

tooki

[paully dub]

you can't *force* members to post in a certain forum, and an empty forum is a dead forum.

I'd have posted a lot more in several forums if there had been more traffic. Pity that.

I too would love a general Apple forum with clearly tooki defined rules.

Lots to discuss, really. Apple the company, historical stuff, Mac vs other platforms, Steve Jobs' hair...

[rjenkinson]

Originally posted by Gabriel Morales:
Indeed. Exactly why I'd favor a General forum. So all that rubbish is left in the lounge, while most of the good stuff would end up in the General forum.

welcome to 2002.

-r.