Oolite Bulletins

Just reading through some of the unread mails and having found out myself how hard it can be to find that specific bit of information that you are sure must be there, I wonder if it is possible to set up the forum with segregations, like a different 'folder' for each OXP, specific activities, general day to day business and the like. That way someone who has a problem with say Galactic Navy could search that folder for assistance. The search function at the top is all well and good and allows some filtering but the number of hits you get are still quite large and I felt, when looking for information about Neolite, that it would be a far easier to find a specific rock splinter in Galaxy 7.

But with more 'folders' the search could then also be made more specific by checking the specific OXP you were looking an answer for.

That's all fine and well, in principle, but won't work in practice, because all forum members are free to post—and more important: to open new threads—where they want. Therefore, even with the best organization of forums and sub-forums, you can't prevent other people from completely ignoring the set up and posting their questions or remarks outside the structure.

In fact, this very thread is a case in point. You posted it in Suggestion Box, which is set up as "An area for discussing new ideas and additions to Oolite." But your post doesn't contain a suggestion for the game. Instead it's a suggestion for the BB, and would therefore legally belong in Outworld. So, you ignored the existing setup yourself.

Which makes it obvious that the problem is not mainly a lack of setup.

Commander McLane wrote:

In fact, this very thread is a case in point. You posted it in Suggestion Box, which is set up as "An area for discussing new ideas and additions to Oolite." But your post doesn't contain a suggestion for the game. Instead it's a suggestion for the BB, and would therefore legally belong in Outworld

Hmm, not sure I agree here, I read the description to mean: An area for discussing new ideas AND an area to discuss additions to Oolite, which makes kinda sense to me (to have them bundled so to speak) but that might be due to my brain-wiring. .

But the problem is not that people put stuff in the incorrect place, because that happens now (whether unintentionally, by mistake or because of lazyness or whatever), but that there is an aweful amount of information locked inside the current forum. A way to easier retrieve the bits that you need can only be an improvement. And perhaps with a 'better' filing system, people might be more inclined to put their remarks where they are best placed.

So, you ignored the existing setup yourself.

Which makes it obvious that the problem is not mainly a lack of setup.

I am a bit sceptic here, if you don't mind, I do not see the link between some people putting entries in the wrong place (which happens now for whatever reason and in some cases require the assistance of a forum official to move it) to the simple fact that the OXP section contains reams and reams of information about all kinds of OP's and that a 'simple' subdivision would make it easier to find the required information.

Granted that a structuring of a system requires a lot more of energy and activity to maintain its structured state. Entropy hits us everywhere, after all it is part of our universe so will be part of our Ooniverse as well. And the more structure you try to impose, the more effort it is going to take to keep the structure 'clean'.

But that doesn't necesarily mean that you shouldn't attempt it. At least that how I see it.

Hi DredgerMan,
Yeah, finding stuff on the BB can be hard sometimes.
One of the best tools I use (and it is very effective) is the browser plugins detailed here. I normally find exactly what I want immediately using this.

Smivs wrote:

Hi DredgerMan,
Yeah, finding stuff on the BB can be hard sometimes.
One of the best tools I use (and it is very effective) is the browser plugins detailed here. I normally find exactly what I want immediately using this.

Oooohhhhh! Just what the doctor ordered! Thanks Smivs!

You know, this should be made available to all new forum users!

Indeed I believe that a better search option is really all that's needed. Apart from the search plugin mentioned earlier, there is also ye olde Google, which is much more efficient in finding things inside our forum than our own search (kind of) feature. Just enter in Google: site:www.aegidian.org/bb <whatever you are looking for here> and be surprised at how much simpler your life has just become.

DredgerMan wrote:

Oooohhhhh! Just what the doctor ordered! Thanks Smivs!

You know, this should be made available to all new forum users!

Hehehe.. I'm glad you like it..

And it has, at long last, been stickied to make it easier for new users to find. (Thanks, another_commander! )

another_commander wrote:

Just enter in Google: site:www.aegidian.org/bb <whatever you are looking for here> and be surprised at how much simpler your life has just become.

Well, ummm.. actually, that's exactly what my browser plugins do.. they just automate the process and save you from having to go to Google and type site:www.aegidian.org/bb every time you want to search the Oolite BB..