Super Soaker Central

Since it seems like a tie, it's up to me to...not tip it in one way or another. Nobody can predict exactly how such a change will turn out, which is why I don't feel obliged to support any side of the argument, but I think we should clearly weigh the advantages and disadvantages.

Pro--possibly more activity, central board is more convenient for people who are active everywhere like Duxburian, and it will encourage a wider range of viewing for people like me and joannaardway.

Cons--possibly less stability in the long run and uncertainty even in the near future, will mean a large change, and the merging of opinions from different forums might start a fatal clash.

Obviously, I only really hang out here at SSC--it's been a while since I've visited SM and even longer since I posted at iScF [although I get the feeling that Duxburian started similar topics at those sites]. I'm comfortable here, but such a change is something that I wouldn't oppose if it happened. I do support a more central atmosphere, but it would have to be well executed. Naturally, since I wasn't at Aquatica and more importantly since I only hear of the bad news, I have no clue about this.

Already, much change has been, is, or will be going on at the main sites (in other words, not at the forums) of SM and SSC. Will these have a dramatic effect on the current generation of forums? And more importantly, can future projects such as the SSC Store reel in more members and create a base that will keep a central forum very active (though needless to say, none of the current forums are tremendously active)?

I can't offer that much of an opinion yet, but if this does happen, I'll be one of the strongest supporters. Maybe there should be a "branching" site, kind of like a combination of a central site and NiborDude's directory. You'd have one massively central page with the news and forums maybe, and then individuals could have their own "corners"--like an SM tactics page, more personal ones like m15399's site, and others to add more "flavor" to the entire site. Hopefully, having the forums in the main site would keep the activity central.

Well, I was thinking that about the DIY type stuff - I also found the board arrangement at isoaker rather confusing... I suppose I'm just not used to it.

If it says as it is, you can expect me to remain here - if a topic link arrangement were made, then I'll visit elsewhere - but I already visit two spudgunning forums.

Stretching myself to read most of 5 forums will be next to impossible. However, I almost always follow links to topics on other forums - and I sometimes post as well.

At the moment, I'm voting more interforum links - it would boost activity, and would increase innovation.

I also found the board arrangement at isoaker rather confusing... I suppose I'm just not used to it.

Hmmm.. that's no good. I need to make it clearer somehow since if you're confused by it, others probably are as well. Perhaps the forum names need re-working, though the forum arrangement is more-or-less based on the site arrangement. Then again, perhaps some parts of the site could use a better organization as well!

Well, the way I figure it, if a new open-forum is set-up and has a vibe I like, I'll be scaling back the iSoaker.com Forums, anyhow, which should help clear things up at iScF (hopefully ).

I don't find anything wrong with the layout of iScF. If I find those forums confusing too, it will only be because I rarely visit them and because the focus is less on homemades and modded guns.

I support more hyperlinking, too, but it might be a bit of an inconvenience. I clearly don't link as much as I used to because it's just a pain to track down the page I'm looking for and then typing out the URL tag; the exceptions are where it's easier to link to a blindingly obvious article than to repeat all the information.

Also, the people who would most benefit from such hyperlinking (the same people who stay at one forum) aren't very likely to help with the linking too much. The nature of it would mean that since we don't know what's being discussed at other forums, we can't really do much linking anyway!

It's nothing major really about the forums.

I just can't actually find out what some of the icons mean - not the biggest problem. Confused was too strong a word.

It's mostly time limitations that restrict me from giving input to all the forums.

I have this way that I have to read a new topic/post, and I can't easily break away from one forum to view another.