Forum/Site Reorganization and Improvement

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Well, this was supposed to be a surprise if/when it happened etc. so it was in the mod forum but I would like some input from others as well.

For awhile, now, we're had this layout, and I think it's sort of unwieldy and disorganized, and Zelda is pushed off to the side. Our heatmap has also cooled down in some areas, especially since we don't get a large influx of new members. I think it's great we have so many eager conversators, but I think it would do us better as a forum to half it off, and maybe change the descriptions of the forums around, not only to attract newcomers, but to better suit the forum as a whole. To be honest, if I were new, and I came upon this forum, on first glance I would have no idea it's Zelda related, since the forum list is too us-oriented.

I would say that it would be a lot more convenient and less cluttered if we put some stuff where it needs to be. Some spring cleaning, if you will.
Prespring, anyway.

------

Might I make my own suggestion:

Hyrule.net
[list][b][u]News and Reviews[/u][/b]
[i]News regarding the Zelda series, articles, site news, etc.[/i]
[list][*] [b]Submit your own content[/b]
[i]Submit news, game reviews, etc.
If the content submitted is deemed acceptable, it will be moved to the appropriate area.
[b]PLEASE NOTE[/b]! All content submitted must have the content [b]in the topic's description[/b]!
For instance, [b]The Legend of Zelda Review[/b] etc.[/i]
[*] [b]Help Desk[/b]
[i]Ask for help with the site, or with other non-Zelda related things, and receive it from the loving community.[/i]
[*] [b]Market[/b]
[i]Trade, offer, or request user generated content. Bring your Rupees and services![/i]
[/list][/list]

Hyrule Field
[list]
[u][b]The Legend of Zelda Discussion[/b][/u]
[i]Discuss the series we're all here for! You may talk about gameplay, what you like or don't like, favorite things to do, etc.[/i]
[list][*][b]Gameplay Help[/b] - CONTAINS SPOILERS
[i]Get user help for any of the Zelda games you're playing.[/i]
[*][b]Glitches, tricks, and fun stuff[/b]
[i]What to do for fun on a rainy day in Zelda games.[/i]
[*][b]Zelda Theories[/b]
[i]Discuss solid theories on the aspects of Zelda not directly touched upon in the series.[/i][/list]

[u][b]Royal Art Gallery[/b][/u]
[i]Submit user fan art![/i]
[list][*][b]Non-Zelda Art[/b]
[i]Submit non-Zelda works here![/i][/list]

[u][b]Castle Library[/u][/b]
[i]Submit stories and fan fiction about Zelda and other series.[/i]
[list][*][b]Original Works[/b]
[i]Submit original stories here.[/i]
[/list][/list]

Hyrule Castle Town Square
[list][b][u]Open Floor[/u][/b]
[i]Discuss anything that doesn't fall into any other of the forum's categories here![/i]
[list]
[*] [b]Lobby - Coming or Going[/b]
[i]Just joined the site? Decided to leave ? Get warm welcomes and touching goodbyes here!
Hopefully you're not leaving, though...[/i]
[*] [b]Forum Games[/b]
[i]Play forum based games and have a ton of fun! Your post count does not increase here.[/i]
[list][*] [b]Werewolf[/b]
[i]Play the popular witch hunt style game here! Also known as Mafia.[/i]
[/list][/list]

[u][b]Entertainment Zone[/b][/u]
[i]Talk about the media arts! Movies, music, TV shows, websites, sports, etc.[/i]
[list][*][b]The Game Corner[/b]
[i]Talk about non-Zelda video games and organize online tournaments here![/i][/list]

[u][b]Serious Discussion[/b][/u]
[i]Discuss and debate (calmly!) about serious topics, like world or local news, politics, religion, philosophy, etc.[/i]
[list]
[*] [b]Rants and Raves[/b]
[i]R&R also means rest and relaxation. If you've got something to get off your chest, bring it here![/i][/list]

[u][b]Role Playing[/b][/u]
[list][i]Take a break from reality and get your head into a new world. Run a game, create a new world, and much more. The details are all up to you![/i]
[*] [b]Zelda Role Playing[/b]
[i]Role playing in exclusively Zelda settings.[/i][/list]

[u][b]Wild West[/b][/u]
[list][i]Hyrule.net's night life. Unmoderated and unrestricted. Not for the weak of heart.
This section requires a password. Ask around for it in private messages, but do not request it from a moderator.
[b]You are responsible for what you see in The Wild West
Post count does not increase here[/b].[/i][/list]
[/list]



As for the things I did not list here, I do not know what purpose they really serve here anymore.
Perhaps they're good for removal. I do not know if anyone takes the clan system seriously, and I do not know any methods of joining them. Game Development is unneeded, as well as Hyrule Online, as it's no longer a thing.
Hyrule Radio would be a much more convenient and popular thing if it were something on the actual forum page, rather than a separate entity from it. I'm fairly sure it no longer operates, so I don't know about it anymore.

If radio is ever reinstated, we should do user call outs again. I thought that was a cool idea.
For instance, and this used to be mostly moderators, they would record a line like,
"This is Sahaqiel, and you're listening to Hyrule Radio." and it would play every so often in the radio list. Obviously, we'd have prerequisites for the users who could do this.

My logic for placing the Open Floor related area at the bottom is to remind people that, yes, we are a Zelda forum. Also, since Open Floor area is the most active, redirection to it is very simply a scroll down or a look into the recent topic sidebar.

I think we should prune our moderator list, as it's obviously outdated. Perhaps create a section for past moderators and current moderators, and get the current staff to write their own descriptions.

I also propose that the Gameplay Help section be comprised of several pinned threads for each of the Zelda titles, as well as a whole post spoiler tag rule so that spoilers remain in the threads and not in susceptible eyes.

This is just forum work, but I'm more than sure the main site needs a tune up.

I have the sudden urge to revive the site into its proper glory.
So,

[Cirt 612]

Saha, I think you've got a good point. We do have some forums that haven't been used in a while and they are virtually useless to the site now. I mean, really, the site doesn't have much to it now except for the forums and the chat and the news that people post.

This reorganization would probably increase the new user join rate but, it would also annoy a lot of the vets who are so used to knowing where everything is.

I think we should take a poll before making an executive decision. That way people will kind of have a heads up before we actually do anything.

I'm in favor, though.

[Adr990 2]

Yes, the forums might need a little update/cleanup on forums.
Lots of forums parts are dead. And do people even know the passwords of the old Clans? I totally forgot the Great army of Hyrule Password.

[removed]

[Kimmy 0]

Why is Roleplaying and Wild West under Serious Discussion? I think it's pretty hilarious that WW is there actually.
I'm totally up for reorganizing the forums though. I'd want to talk to Tappy first to
1. see if there was any way to back up the original shit in case things went south/I totally screwed up somehow.
2. make sure I can do it right.

He's not too invested in this forum anymore but he is still very helpful and willing to give us a hand.
I'll worry about this like, in a bit. I'd like to hear more talk about it and also Nabe is here so yeah. <3

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Wait,

oh, lol.
That's my bad.
Fixed.

As for the vets, I'm p. sure they'd be OK with it. We've reorganized a few times before, only then it was without warning. But we got used to it. So.

It's just like moving your furniture around. It'll be a nice, fresh change.
Also it will be less cluttered.

Oh, and maybe we could get people to be News Submitters again and not have it be a dead title? Like, let's prune the dead titles or make them useful again? The only officers we have here are mods or admins. We could make some kind of promotional thing. Send out the word that we need more active News Submitters.

Also, any opinions on the new descriptions and forum titles? I am pretty sure I am not the only one a bit embarrassed about our Gaming Zone description, and I feel that the descriptions on some of the forums are a bit unnecessarily lengthy. The additional disclaimer in the Wild West description also seems p. necessary.
Sahaqiel

[Adr990 2]

I can send news as Sage, although, just to point out: I believe the settings are messed up for each Title, as it is done manually for each Title afaik.


Anyhow, I would really like to see Saha's forum layout.
As Open Floor on top doesn't really fit, let the News Section and Help Desk etc be on the top.


As for the Clan forums.
I think some of us like the main idea, but.. you know.. no one uses it unless there is promotion of the existing Clans..
I mean, when they were re-opened, they where quite active. Now they start to be inactive.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Moving thread for increased interest.

[Rika Code 29]

Updating the homepage might also be a good idea

[Chase 390]

^ this.

The homepage almost has nothing to do with Zelda, really. We need something amazing to replace it.

[Rika Code 29]

Didn't we use to have seasonal banners or something

[Eka 387]

Agreed on pretty much everything, and especially the Hyrule Radio callouts. Heck I thought even hearing my old username said on the radio as a winner for the User Awards one year was cool!
Once Skyward Sword releases, a new banner and color scheme should probably be enforced since we've had this old one for such a long time. Also I'm wondering if colors should be the same or different... I've always warmed up to the original 'Hyrule Green' that the forums used to have on the homepage (and only have on the forums now) but I don't like it when I come on here to the homepage (blue layout) and then walk into the forums (green layout). I want to say that it should be one universal color, but I don't know if people would really want for this forum to be anything but Hyrule Green, and we've already abused that color on the old homepage.

Also maybe a selection of more MODs. There was never a huge amount of MODs initially, but I still think we need more. (If there are actually quite a few, an apology on my part then. I'm not on as much and honestly there's really not a lot of moderating I see around ^^; )
Maybe some sort of censorship should be established anyways, actually. I mean I joined up when I was 12: if I had just joined at that age and saw the stuff that goes on on this forum specifically in the Rants & Raves section, General Discussion etc., I wouldn't feel comfortable. Obviously not every 12 year old is going to waltz in here and join, but only 'if.' Zelda is rated between 'E for Everyone' and 'T for Teen', so I think we all need to keep that in mind (myself included).

But just my thoughts, anyways. Bottom line anyways, reorganization is in order.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Yeah, I didn't think of that.
We should definitely get a new layout for Skyward Sword, even if it isn't Skyward Sword. We're going to have increased user influx, so we need to look our best.

I'm a fan of the Hnet green. It's easy on the eyes, and it looks neat and clean.
The home page does need a change, too. I mentioned that.
But yeah.
Sahaqiel

[Cascade 741]

I pretty much agree with everything that's been said. Just to add another opinion to the fray :>

[Jareddude 62]

I like this idea!
Sounds great!
And didn't Tappy have some sort of icon for the homepage?

Can us normal members help too?

By the way, I noticed under the mods name, it just says "Icon" and not an icon.

Also, on this page, ([url="http://www.hyrule.net/games/oot/Fun_With_Zelda.php#dyn"]Here[/url]), everything says I and such. really unprofessional.
Can I rewrite it? Maybe for some karma?

Also, the emoticons need an update, to fit with the green background, as most of them have white.

[Linkprow 42]

Let's try and actually do this. I'm tired of seeing this site's many ideas and plans just die over time.

Also I think I should be a mod. Imagine what this site would be like with me as a moderator.