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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

That's exactly it That forum is built with the same software as A-U, so any options they have, we should technically be able to have.

For "nested" subforums, the way it should work is that we can decide whether members can post on the first board (the way there are a bunch of threads under Request Celebrity Address) as general topics, or have to choose a sub-forum to post in first (in which case it would look like viewforum.php?f=53 ). Like the site to which you linked, while the sub-forums aren't listed in nice friendly letters like normal boards, you do have the option to list them as Subforums: Forum 1, Forum, Forum 3 on the index page (again, just as how Not Found is listed under Request Celebrity Address).

For example, we currently have setups like this:

Category: Book Discussion --> Boards: FotR Discussion, TTT Discussion, etc.

We could set it up as:

Category: LotR Discussion --> Boards: Book Discussion ( --> Sub-forums: FotR Discussion, TTT Discussion, etc., with any misc. topics taking place on the main Book Discussion board), Movie Discussion, etc.

So basically you can go as many nested levels deep as you want to. It's like Inception, except slightly less dangerous. Make sense?

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

Looks good, thanks for the visual example.
Here's a couple of inputs for tweaking it... sorry for a long post, I tried to make it reader-friendly...


RPG & Gaming
I think it's crucial that we get opinions from active RP'ers on whether we can combine 'New Characters' and 'Help and Ideas'. Either drag a couple of them over here to have a look or post a thread in the RPG-section to get a yay or nay. There's currently being worked on attracting more RP'ers so we need to support them the best we can.

Minor detail: I'd suggest displaying the sub-forums like this with the actual RPGs first in order to show them off in stead of sandwich them in the middle.

Caras Galadhon (LotR RPG)
Sharky’s End (Non-LotR RPG)
The Barrow-downs (New Characters) + Osgiliath (Help and Ideas)
(LotR and Non-LotR Related Gaming)


Concerning the World Wide Web section. I agree members should be able to post own sites but the reason I would take out 'Your site' is simply based on the deadness of the board, it's a graveyard at the moment. And as such members sites might as well fit under LotR-sites or Non-LotR sites. However, there's a slight chance people will start updating their old sites/create new for the Hobbit... What'dya think?

Minor thing: I'd move the 'Fan section' up above 'World Wide Web' and have WWW as the last board. Simply based on current activity... A-U is a massive board and there's a lot of scrolling. And I think it fits nicely and logically under 'Life Outside LotR.


Something that has bothered me is that we have a lot of the same threads in the Club section and the Actor section. I mean we talk about Alan Rickman's movies and his sexiness equally in the actor thread, the actor's movies thread and the dedicated club thread (and Swoon board).

Idea 1: Ditch the Actors-board completely and have all fan-swooning/discussions going on in the club section.
Idea 2: If we want to keep especially the LotR-actors board to honour LotR yadda yadda we could put it as a sub-board under Clubs - easy to find.
Idea 3: Move LotR-actors to Misc. LotR like this:

The Grey Havens (Soundtrack Discussion)
Imladris (Languages)
Dol Guldur (LotR & Hobbit Actor Discussion) <-- Here
The Misty Mountains (Completely Miscellaneous LotR)

And ditch the Non-LotR board (probably dissolve it in Club-section)


Add the Clubs to either Life outside LotR or Fan Section


So my revision

Announcements
The Halls of Mandos (Announcements)
Sub-forums: "The Tower of Ecthelion (Member Awards)" + "Parth Galen (Polling)" + "Dwimorberg (Suggestions and Comments)"


Introductions
The Prancing Pony (Introduce Yourself)


Book Discussion
Bag End (The Fellowship of the Ring)
Helm’s Deep (The Two Towers)
Minas Tirith (The Return of the King)
The Hobbit
Doriath (Other LotR-Related Book Discussion)


Movie Discussion
Bagshot Row (The Fellowship of the Ring)
Ithillien (The Two Towers)
Mount Doom (The Return of the King)
The Lonely Mountain (The Hobbit)


Miscellaneous LotR Discussion
The Grey Havens (Soundtrack Discussion)
Imladris (Languages)
Dol Guldur (LotR & Hobbit Actor Discussion) Them LotR-actors!
The Misty Mountains (Completely Miscellaneous LotR)


RPG & Gaming
Caras Galadhon (LotR RPG)
Sharky’s End (Non-LotR RPG)
The Barrow-downs (New Characters) + Osgiliath (Help and Ideas) Combine?
(LotR and Non-LotR Related Gaming) Sub-forum: "The Party Field (LotR gaming)"


The Actors
Dol Guldur (LotR & Hobbit Actor Discussion)
Caradhras (Miscellaneous Actor Discussion) Includes "Miscellaneous Actor Discussion" and "Non-LotR Actor Discussion" and "Swoon Board"


Life Outside LotR
The Green Dragon (Your Life)
Mirrormere (Movies & TV)
Michel Delving (Literature)
The Golden Hall (Music)
The Glittering Caves (Clubs) Here?
House of Bombadil (Miscellaneous Randomness)


Fan Section
Bucklebury (Fan Art)
The Hall of Fire (Fanfiction & Poetry)
Numenor (Requests)
Dale (Resources & Tutorials)
The Glittering Caves (Clubs) Here?


World Wide Web Moved
Dwarrowdelf (Favourite Tolkien Sites) Includes member Tolkien sites
Haradwaith (Favorite Non-LotR Sites) Includes member non-LotR sites
Bree-land (Your Site)
Amon Hen (Site Help) + Orthanc (Resources and Tutorials)

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Woops! I think I've missed alot of this conversation, as I've been very busy with exams.. But I just scanned over Eä's post and the word RPG caught my intention.

I think the New Character and Osgiliath subforums should not be joined together. Why not? Because they are two very different sub forums, which now might seem dead, but hopefully with a revival of the RPG section, both might revive again.

Some RPGers do not really care about bios and stuff but there are many dedicated players that have the most awesome thread with character bios, and though many may have left the forum, I think their threads can still provide as inspiration or examples to others. I think almost every RPer has a character thread and at some times their are updated and sometimes not, but by joining it with the other sub-forum it would become one big mess.

The Help& Ideas subforum is the place where new ideas can be pitched or where plotting threads of existing RPGs are created. So all in all there are also a great many threads which are actively used.

So by joining two subforums which are completely different and have the potential to be quite active in the future I say no to this fusion!

And I will try to catch up on the other things you discussed, but I just didn't have the time yet.

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O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

I have a minor suggestion. . . Wouldn't it make sense to have The Hobbit book discussion above FotR, as The Hobbit is basically the prequel to LotR? Just a thought.

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Click here to visit my site!

^I agree with Harthad, but it's a minor detail.

And I think Eä's suggestion looks good, but again I'd suggest moving Introductions somewhere else, like Announcements. Also, I think Clubs can be moved to the Fan Section, as that's where I think they fit best, even if not all of them are fan-related.

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by Lembas

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

^ No I think you're right Ellie! Video games do not belong in a RPG section, but among the literature, movie and music subforums.

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O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

This is getting cluttered but if anyone keeps count of votes...

Aye, Hobbit-book-forum ought to go on top.

I agree with JF, the Introductions board actually doesn't bother me being on its own - 'tis welcoming!

LotR-sites or Non-LotR-sites - I never use the forum.. mostly because it has been dead for so long... which is why I propose to combine some of the WWW boards.

The reason why I wanted to ditch the Actor-boards was because it was becoming so small (only two sub-forums) and because we do have many threads talking about the same. It spreads the discussions over too many threads as it is now.


So how do we go about doing this? We all have small details we want to see happening... do we make up 2-3 versions and simply have people vote on them? Do we have a trial period with all the boards that have been suggested - say 3-5 months to see if say the Video games board get a good start or perhaps the WWW-boards will pick up activity and evaluate afterwards?

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^I say things should be decided now. Having a trial period really only means more work for later, and I think it's best to get it all over with now.
I only suggested moving Introductions because it was said that the forum looks big and cluttered, but it doesn't really matter to me where it is, so if people want it to stay where it is we don't have to think about that anymore.

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by Lembas

I'm sure you don't.

What I'm saying is that we're doing this work now and I really think it's best to get it all done now, instead of having to go back at a later date and change things. In my experience, things that are "left for later", often don't get done at all.

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by Lembas

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

What happened to the respectful tone A-U usually prides itself with?
Some have said that this Revival may divide A-U more than unite us but I don't see why this should happen. We have always been able to deal with diversity and different opinions - sometimes better than others. And I've always seen the diversity as one of A-U's strengths.

But this isn't pretty to watch and it makes me sad.
And it doesn't do A-U any good.



The reason why I mentioned a trial period was mainly because it seems like we're agreeing on the broader lines (the main sections' content and placement) but have different but equally valid points on minor details like sub-boards. And playing the "I think this.." "I think that.." game could go on forever...

Personally, I don't ever venture into the WWW-forum or RPG or Gaming simply because they're not among my interests. But I know they may be main interests for a lot of people. On the other hand I might love travelling and sushi (which I actually do. ) so I might propose that we set up new boards dedicated to said topics. If the mission is to make this a member-driven board, or even a democratic board, my suggestions would be valid even though people do not agree and share my interests.
BUT then there's a question whether my sushi board and travelling board would actually generate topics and people and activity. If they don't we might want to ditch them after a trial period because A-U is massive enough as it is and we don't really want to expand... but on the other hand why not give it a try? Since my suggestion might be as valid as anyone else'.


So I'm touching on mainly those two topics:
To what extent should the community listen to every members wish? (if it comes down to two equally valid points)
How to decide when to keep/add/delete a board? (Based on its activity? It's relevance to Tolkien's or Peter Jackson's work? Other?)

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Banner credit: Shadowcat & Nurrantiel Mashiara