Proposed Forum Changes...

MSE_Martin · 5 March 2009 at 2:46PM

Thanks for all your feedback in the forum changes suggestions thread. We've been through them all, done some, considered lots, and rejected just a few (often as they conflicted with others). So I wanted to talk you through them and get feedback before we progress further.

Already Changed

Some things were so obvious, uncontroversial or minor we've done them...

MoneySaving Old Style Renamed to 'Old Style MoneySaving’
Discount Vouchers We’ve removed “online and offline” from the title
Motoring & Public Transport This is now a main board with Parking Tickets as a sub-board
Savings & Investing Renamed to Savings & Investments
ISAS, TOISAS, PEPS & TESSAS Renamed to ISAs & Tax-free Savings
Referrers Moved to bottom of For Who & Where You Are section
Budgeting & Current Accounts Renamed Budgeting & Bank Accounts
Vent, Bent & Heaven-Sent Renamed Praise, Vents & Warnings
New board: Consumer Rights
Gas & Elec Renamed Gas & Electricity
It Pays To Watch and Make Me Rich boards Have been merged into the Appearances board
Fuel & Other Heating Has been renamed LPG & Heating
£50 Post of the Month Has been merged into the Most Popular Chat Tips board

Changes to come

These are things we're definitely doing, but some work or prep needs going into them so they haven't happened yet. So if you've any final objections let us know asap.

New board: Digital TV – sub-board of Utilities
New board: Food Shopping & Groceries Done
Travel, Trips and Holidays Rename to: Overseas Holidays & Travel Done
Days out To become a main board and Rename to UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments Done
New sub-board: Theatre, Concert & Events Tickets. To be sub-board of renamed Days Out board Done
Small Biz & Charity Organisers to go into Work & Benefits section
New MoneySavers: Pls read this' board Being redesigned into a non-forum section within the forum to be linked to via a big link/graphic from the top of the forum. Once done this section will be removed
Utilities Section: We're working on designing this so that there's no longer a weird you can't post bit, as you click through, IE it will become a hub section for the boards under it.
Reclaim Boards We’re reformatting this to look the same as the new utilities section Gas & Electricity board once it’s done, with Reclaim PPI, Reclaim Bank Charges, Reclaim Credit Cards and more as sub-boards
Re-ordering the Shopping Boards:

1. Grabbit
2. Food Shopping and Groceries
3. Shop But Don’t Drop (new sub-line – Strategies, techniques & ways to cut costs)
4. I Wanna
5. Discount Vouchers
6. Ebay
7. Freebies No Spend
8. Freebies Low Spend (if going ahead)
9. Competitions Time

Proposed Changes (we’d like your feedback)

These are some of the proposals we like but there's been debate on in the thread, so we'd like to test the water on them.

Bankruptcy and Living With it Make this a main board with IVAs as a sub-board
New Board: Freebies Low Spend Create new board to go below Freebies: No Spend with the description “Just pay p&p, make a call, send a text or sae”
Argos sub-board Remove and merge into grabbit
Anything Else To be deleted (old posts would be merged into the I Wanna board)
Consumables Merge into Shop But Don’t Drop
DFW Create a Diaries sub-board Done as a Trial board
Pensions Move to the Work, Home & Play section

Hope you like them all - do let us know (I’m sure you will)

Martin

Update Note: Answering Some Issues.

A quick response to some of the points made in the thread below. The first thing to say is the main aim of this is to improve the forums usability - we've not done a thorough review of the boards in the six years they've been running; so we wanted to do it now.

My hope is by asking for suggestions as we've already done, and now consulting, the change will make this forum even better for people to use.

This is only about board changes. Hi, there's are lots of suggestions about things other than board changes. This is only about boards, their names, organisation and which should be merged and which new ones we need. Once this is over I will do a forum improvements note - though do remember many of those require technical development.
Disagreements. Some of these changes (e.g. a DFW diaries sub-board) tend to be split into two vehement camps. My tempation on these things will be to try it for a month - and then remerge it if it isn't working.
Small Boards: There are quite a few requests for splitting smaller boards, but in general my aim is to avoid this. For example Mortgage Free Wannabee is usually less than 50 people in it at any time, to split that up more would overly dilute it. In general we want boards that work and hit the critical mass - so less boards not more unless they're major areas is the aim.

And just to answer one request unrelated that came up "we need moderators". Im afraid that will never happen, legally if we moderate the forum then I become liable for everything everyone writes as we're deemed to have approved it.

As their are around 35 paperback books worth of info written here daily that's not feasible. The 'report and takedown' system we operate is the only way to protect the site.

Martin

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Numpty_Monkey · 5 March 2009 at 3:18PM

Please Mr Martin don't create a diarys sub board on DFW,

They are an integeral part of DFW and what keeps DFW human, and has made us "huggies" a little community of our own, if that makes sense

becky_rtw · 5 March 2009 at 3:23PM

I second that!! The diaries are interesting for newbies too - they often start out reading them before they post...dont lose them somewhere

Also when are you going to re-fix the house board??

System · 5 March 2009 at 3:29PM

Yeah, dont separate the Diaries. What about a DMP board as you have an IVA board?? I would keep the DMP with DFW though

shelly · 5 March 2009 at 3:33PM

I'd like to see a change to the forums as a whole that threads over a certain age that haven't been posted on for say 2-3 months are locked automatically, not deleted just locked.
I think just locking them instead of deleting them is ok as they can be then found through the search and can be useful for info purposes. I have done this many times myself, needed advice, searched and found the answer I needed without having to start a new thread.

It bugs me that I can see a thread title, read the OP and subsequent advice, go to reply only to realise the thread is maybe 2 or 3 years old but has been resurrected by someone posting advice to the OP. By then its so out of date the OP would have had the problem sorted out long ago.

Also when someone has correctly used the search but hasn't found their answer they tag onto the end of a thread. This is ok if the thread isn't very old but if the thread is years old and not been posted on in a long time you don't realise its been resurrected until the last post asking for new advice.
In those circumstance I think a new thread is better.

I am trying to solve the problem (that might only bother me) for myself by looking at the date of the OP but sometimes I forget then get annoyed when I realise how old the thread is.

Maybe its just me who feels like this? Maybe I am asking for something that isn't possible tecnically

I don't know but I feel better for getting it off my chest

So_Sad_Angel · 5 March 2009 at 3:38PM

Hi,

I definately agree with BR&LWI as a main board.

It is a sign of the times that Bankructcy is such a hot topic at the moment & we are seeing an incredible uplift in new posters/threads over there. New people to the site need to know that help is available & that such a contenscious & important subject as BR is given priority.

I agree with Numpty on the diaries on DFW though....often it can be reassuring to pop into a diary whilst looking at that board & also makes sure that the regulars see & can help new posters as & when they pop in without having to go back & forth between boards.

Hope that makes sense.

Angexx

So_Sad_Angel · 5 March 2009 at 3:40PM

Also IVA as sub to BR&LWI board & then a new DMP sub board to DFW.

lorweld · 5 March 2009 at 4:01PM

:T:T:T For the freebies low spend board!!!

claireabelle_2 · 5 March 2009 at 4:04PM

I agree with splitting the diaries from the DFW board, would be clearer...
the proposed changes look good!

Marty_J · 5 March 2009 at 4:08PM

Someone is going to spend all day moving posts from "Digital TV" to "Techie Stuff".

Tarry · 5 March 2009 at 4:13PM

Sounds good to me

Proposed Forum Changes...

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