Forums: This, our new forum layout.

I don't really mind the changes to the rest of the site, but I can't say I'm a fan of this new forum layout.

I know all changes may be off-putting at first, and may just take getting used to. There's one change that I absolutely do not like: the ordering of the posts. Can we at least bring back the chronological ordering of the posts so people can read the discussions normally?

I also thought the red was a little more warm and inviting. But whatever.

Same here...I like the revamped website, however...can the latest posts be at the top of the list of topics instead of buried wherever they once were?

I posted the wide release date for the movie "Up in the Air" topic and that thread stayed in the same place, on page 3 or 4 where that update (or any new conversation) does no other User any good....

And one more thing, can MovieWeb take allof these technolgy/burning/software copyright -downloading movies for free topics and put them in their own section so that the Movie section is about actual movies, not how to acquire them/circ*mvent the studio system?

These two things would be Greatly appreciated!

I just noticed that too. The threads seem to be in random order on the boards. Plus, you apparently can't quote people anymore. Almost seems like we're devolving here.

Brian and comrades, I know you're trying to keep Movieweb current by making social networking an increasing aspect of the site. That's hip, but can we keep the forums separate? I like the discussion format.

''I know all changes may be off-putting at first, and may just take getting used to. There's one change that I absolutely do not like: the ordering of the posts. Can we at least bring back the chronological ordering of the posts so people can read the discussions normally?''

same here and missing all the cool options we used to have on the forum section

''I also thought the red was a little more warm and inviting. But whatever''
Thats what i told my wife , she dint quite buy it , but it is tru

Nice to see you guys are all active. I addressed a few problems to the head honchos as well, and they assure me they're working on integrating all of the old features we loved about the forums into the new system. I guess it's just a matter of patience. I remember the last change made to the forums and it took a while to get used to but was a major improvement over the way it was before.

Hey guys, working on all this... new changes coming specifically to forums...SOON...I promise.

Any word on those changes, Brian? We're getting anxious. I know Rocho has already moved on to another forum.

Hey guys... so looks like we're diving into restructuring some of this forum stuff next. The web is full of different forum software (like vBulletin and PHPBB etc.). Since this new setup is 100% homegrown, we're looking to emulate some popular forums functions you see in these standalone forums.

What kinds of features would you like to see with this new forum? I ask you guys as you've all been really vocal about how you want this stuff to work... so we're here to listen! Let me know!

Yep Like i told ya Brian , still around the main site , i enjoy your upgrade there . But has far has forums goes , well I completly feel lost on the new format , maybe it's just the fact that am a ingnoramus , but still....

Ill let cp first say what he wants back or new for the forums , since am always stuck in the past and would just say bring the old one back.

But like cp said I did find a new home for discussing movies , it aint a movie sites that competes with ya dho , it's a small forum ( with 1 movie blog/review) that were created by ex switchplanet ( wich happen to be a trading site that was recomended by Brian Galagher) dvd traders , so that we could get back at trading dvd's , cd's and games , and we do discuss a few things

Hi Brian! Great to hear from you. We forum-dwellers were starting to feel neglected! As for changes, I think we all liked the features of the old forum but like the performance of this new layout. We can compile a list of specific things, but I'll start by reposting the various complaints/comments/thoughts we've all had since the big move.

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THINGS WE WANT CHANGED:

1. Can We have More Sub- Forum Categories?

Right now we have "Movieweb.com", "Talk", and "Hollywood", with various subheadings. For starters, the name "hollywood" is kind of a misnomer, because that's where the Video Games, Books, Comics, and Misc. Ramblings subheadings are. Maybe that category should be renamed "Other" or something.
But the biggest issue with this layout is that there is only ONE subheading that contains ALL of the movie threads. We used to have Now Playing, Coming Soon, and various subgroups like Horror and Comedy for all of the different movie threads. This made it really easy to navigate, and especially easy for mods because we just had one thread for each film and moved it from Coming Soon to Now Playing to its appropriate genre group when the time was right. I suggest keeping the groups how they are, but change MOVIE TALK to its own main group with the various subgroups under it (eg. Now Playing, Coming Soon, Action, Horror, Comedy, Sci-Fi, etc.). Then you'll have FOUR main groups Movieweb.com, Movie Talk 1 (with all the actual threads for specific films), Movie Talk 2 or Hollywood (with Casting, Soundtracks, BluRay/DVD, etc.), and Other (with comics, music, books, misc. ramblings, etc.)

2. Forum Search

The forum search tool we used to have worked really well (other than it would not search less than four characters, meaning you couldn't find a title like 300 or Ran). Now we only have a general search function that searches the whole site. A dedicated forum search is key, especially for moderators. Combining this issue and the first, if I want to find a Spider-Man 3 thread, for instance, I have to scroll through hundreds of pages of the Movie Talk group whereas I used to either be able to go to the "Adventure/Fantasy" heading and have less to look through, or type Spiderman into the Search and find all results.

3. Ordering of threads

Threads used to be ordered based on how recent they had been posted in, but it seems like now they have all gotten mixed together, making it very difficult to navigate. Also, what has happened to STICKY threads. That was a nice function for allowing mods to keep the most popular (and important - such as the Terms of Service) threads right at the top.

4. SPAM

There are a ton of threads dedicated to advertising third-party sites (Technology / Convert / Rip / Circ*mvent paying for movie titles). This was a problem even before the changes, but since the changes there are now no moderators to try to keep it under control. My solution for a long time has been to have a post count filter that prohibits users from posting links or starting new threads until they have contributed to the site. For instance, say you cannot post any links in your posts until you have 50 posts, and you can't start new threads until you have 20 posts, thereby preventing spambots from starting new accounts and cluttering the boards with a bunch of new advertising topics. TV.com has a similar forum filter that doesn't allow new users to attach links until they've reached a certain post count. The idea is that only legitimate posters will stick around long enough to reach that target.

5. Forum Profiles

This is not a really big issue, but it was nice to be able to see users' location, post count, age, etc. right next to their avatars. It helps us get to know each other and know whether we're addressing a guy or girl. Stuff like that just makes the place a little friendlier. There is also healthy competition in trying to "out-post" fellow users. Custom titles (eg. Banshee and I had "the mod squad") are also fun.

6. Formatting issues/coding options

The new size constraints have caused existing posts with images embedded to display really wonky, with the images really squished. Also, things that used to exist like quotes and spoiler tags have all disappeared, so existing posts look really funny. Quotes now look like they're being said by the quoting user, for example. The heart of the matter is that none of these options exist, but the posts that once used them still do, so there is a discrepancy. It would be really nice to have those options back like the old VBcodes that allowed us to post links, videos, images, and make bold, italics, quotes, and spoiler tags.

7. View new posts

I don't know if anyone else used this as much as I did, but I see it as kind of crucial. I save time by hitting that every time I come to the site, rather than browsing through the forums. The new "MOST COMMENTED THREADS" bar on the right side is useful, but again it is usually cluttered with spam topics.

8. Mods

Any plans for re-instituting moderators, or are you working out a new security system. Mods are useful nonetheless for keeping the place looking clean. I was always on top of merging duplicate threads and keeping threads in their proper place, which helped make navigation a lot smoother.

That's all I can think of for now. Anybody else think I missed anything, feel free to post it!

Well said Josh.
1. The MovieWeb heading is good. I get that.
2. The Talk heading is too inclusive. I agree that before, the heading Movies was better. Then the sub-categories, Coming Soon, Now Playing, Action, Comedy, Horror, Indie, Trailers, etc. was just easier to use.
3. The Hollywood heading is OK but too inclusive. Celebrities, Awards, Top Lists, Rumors, etc are good there but you need that fourth heading.
4. Miscellaneous would be for TV, Books, Games, Comics, Music, Miscellaneous Ramblings, etc.

I also liked the individual post counts and the info beneath your avatar. Like Josh said it makes it friendlier to know when someone started and where they are (it was fun knowing you were trading ideas and opinions with people all over the world).
Quotes and spoiler tags would be nice to have again. Oh and how about Bold and Italics for our posts.
I do like the flagging option. There will always be spammers and this lets all of us have a hand in rooting them out.
Over all I'm just glad the Forums are still here so thanks for that. With a little tweaking maybe they'll become something like they once were.

Here, here with Josh's demands. I remember when the forums were the center of the Movieweb user community. I miss the feeling that on the other end of these posts are living people. Let's bring it back, please. Internet anonymity is overrated.

Another thought. We see a lot of threads that are just spam. Now, there is a "flag" button, which alerts the site admins to the problem with that thread, but the thread still stays there, at least until it is reviewed and taken down. What if flagging a thread automatically hid it, so that no one could see it except the admins. That way, the place would look cleaner, and when admins had the chance to go through and officially delete the thread, they would still be able to restore anything that was flagged erroneously, and we wouldn't have to look at dozens of spam threads all the time.

Just saying, right now eight of the ten threads on the right hand "most commented" list are spam. That's pretty ridiculous.

Hey everyone. Thanks for the input. I've noted it all...and trust me, we're working on refining all of it. Stay tuned... big changes coming, and a lot of this stuff taken care of. One request though in terms of having more "sub categories"... can you guys possibly come up with a conclusive list between yourselves and let me know? It'd be greatly appreciated in helping us organizing all this stuff. Thank again!

I'll suggest the following, and everyone else can weigh in their agreement or disagreement:

Main topic 1 : MOVIEWEB.COM
Subheadings:
-Welcome New Users
-Movieweb.com Ideas
-Movieweb.com features
-Movieweb.com suppport
-Miscellaneous Ramblings

General Topic 2: MOVIE TALK
Subheadings:
-In Theatres
-Coming Soon
-Action
-Adventure/Fantasy
-Sci-Fi
-Horror
-Thriller & Suspense
-Musical
-Comedy
-Drama
-Indie films
-No Budget/User-made films
-Doc*mentaries

General Heading 3: OFF-SCREEN: HOLLYWOOD & TECH-TALK
Subheadings:
-DVDs & BLU-RAYs
-Trailers
-Soundtracks
-Casting
-Rumors
-The Movie Club
-Celebrities
-Awards
-Top Lists
-Home Theatre

Main Heading 4: OTHER MEDIA
-TV Talk
-Games (Card games, board games, & tabletop RPGs)
-Video Games
-Comic Books/Graphic Novels
-Books (Novels & Poetry)

All in all, that's great. I like the "No budget/user-made films" addition. Put in "Animation" and you're done.

Actually, one more thing: from an organizational/aesthetic viewpoint, I think the MOVIEWEB.COM section works better at the end rather than the beginning; it orders the menu: most relevant to film-->least. "Miscellaneous Ramblings" makes more sense at the end, no?

Also, bring back the Edit button so I don't have to keep making more posts.

The first thing that needs to happen is everybody going back to their original screen names. Like ClarkParker and elrocho. To the subject at hand, good work CP. Of course I have a couple of ideas to expound on your hard work. Take Miscellaneous Ramblings and Home Theater, move them both to #4 and call it Other Stuff and drop TECH-TALK heading from #3. Then like that-kid said, add Animation to #2 and Misc.Ramblings needs to be last but leave MOVIEWEB.COM #1 at the top. You have Games in the right place but it should be for forum games like Movie Name Game and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
Generally, I also agree about the edit button for posts, that was a great feature. I'd like to bring my previous ideas up again here.
I also liked the individual post counts and the info beneath your avatar. Like Josh said it makes it friendlier to know when someone started and where they are (it was fun knowing you were trading ideas and opinions with people all over the world).
Quotes and spoiler tags would be nice to have again. Oh and how about Bold and Italics for our posts.
I do like the flagging option. There will always be spammers and this lets all of us have a hand in rooting them out. Josh's idea about hiding them once they are flagged is also a good idea.
Over all I'm just glad the Forums are still here so thanks for that. With a little tweaking maybe they'll become something like they once were.

Good ideas all around. I actually forgot about animation and "movie games" categories. Those should be added in as well.

As for screen names, I've been hoping to find a way to change mine from ClarkParker to Josh for a long time, and the site overhaul did it for me!

Yes. Being able to edit our own posts is something I think all of us miss.