I understand what you're getting at in terms of time but we approach forum and thread content from a different angle. We would like to think that much of the content posted by members forms an historical record or archive which can be readily acessed now (1) and in the future. There are other Message Boards which contain accurate and reliable information but many of them don't retain posts permanently. TRF does, and we now have a continuous record of royal (2) events stretching back to 2003-2004.
(3) The structure of TRF can be likened to a library. As the volume of posted material increases there are more books on the shelves so to speak. The more topics that are readily identifiable, the more discussion (4) there will be. We now have about 13,000 threads and closing in on one million posts. It is essential that we break up general topics just as we have broken up larger forums (eg the former 'The Balkans' subforum (5) has been split into separate Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia subforums; what was once a 'Royal and Princely Houses of Germany and Austria' thread is now a separate subforum with individual threads for many of the (6) families). To use the British Forums as another example, the annual Garter Ceremony, Royal Ascot, Trooping the Colour, Chelsea Flower Show, Remembrance Day, Christmas etc have individual threads. Charles and Camilla have individual and joint current events threads as well as a thread each for their activities relating to their patronages. There are separate threads on the Prince of Wales title, the Duchy of Cornwall and the POW's pet projects such as the environment, alternative medicine, urban planning, rainforest protection etc. Many of these threads could be lumped into a "Queen Elizabeth II activities" or "POW activities" thread but they would be a mishmash of different topics with interesting discussions quickly becoming lost or crowded out.
(7) As the volume of posts has risen we've increased the "standard" thread length from 10 pages to anywhere between 25-30, and often more. All current events threads now have start and end dates in the title line to make access and research quicker and easier. To rationalise storage in the major forums, current events threads that have been closed for 12 months are moved to a 'Current Events Archive' within each forum.
(8) The Forum structure is also a reflection of member interest and knowledge. Thus we have separate forums for jewels, fashion, media and genealogy. Threads relating to Danish royal jewellery, Danish royal fashion, Danish royal books and documentaries and Danish royal genealogy could be moved to the Danish forum but each is a subject in its own right attracting members with a general interest and/or expertise. Therefore it's considered appropriate to have these 'stand-alone' forums that are quite separate from the Royal Houses home forums.
I agree that having a large number of topic-specific threads rather than a smaller number of general threads can be confusing for members who
(9) don't know where they should make their post. However, the
(10) Moderators know how their forums are organised and what threads they contain and it's a simple enough procedure for them to move a post or posts from one thread to another.
(11) Although being pressed for time is a common condition, it can pay off to spend a couple of minutes every so often scanning through the list of threads in a forum or subforum. Who knows, members may come across a topic of personal interest that instead of being "lost" in a general thread had been moved into a thread of its own. That in itself generated further discussion and allowed that discussion to develop over a longer period of time. As a result the member is presented with an ongoing discussion containing a wider variety of opinions and greater depth.
Thank you for reply, Warren.
I've allowed myself to put numbers in
bold in your post to keep it simple.
(1) I don't see that as a problem using my proposal.
In fact dividing the various official threads of the royals into years, say from 2011-20XX would make it easier.
If you combine that with a weekly "diary" which list the various events of a family, it should be possible to flip through that "diary" for each year and figure out where a specific event is most likekly to be covered. (You can even add links in the diary).
I'm willing to start writing such a "diary" for the DRF, in a trial period, to show what I mean.
(2) So much the more reason to clean up, or rather reduce the number of topics to be opened from now on.
That could be done from a specific date. say 1. July. From then on only the new topics will be used, all other loose threads will be locked. - It's unlikely posts are made in those threads anyway. It's very rarely I've seen new posts in threads going back several years. Except for the historical threads/topics.
(3) Yes, but where is the table of contents (for the individual families)? Having a list of threads filling several pages makes it hard to get an overview.
(4) Way too many threads in my opinion. Keep in mind that this board is thriwing and expanding. It's almost impossible for a new member to plough through even those subfora which involves a few families. Let alone those who look for something specific.
You will eventually have to establish an "archivist section" where members can ask where to locate a specific piece of info and enthusiasts will dig it up.
I realise that there are those who enjoy exploring the forum and finding new stuff and that is indeed fun if you have the time. But what about those who wish to know about something about XX attending an event a couple of years ago or XX's affilliation to something specific?
(5) Fine. That's a sign that the forum is thriwing. And increasing the number of subfora only makes it easier to find something specific. It the main topics within these subforas that I believe needs to be looked at.
(6) Fair enough. What may be practical for a fairly small royal family as the DRF, may not be ideal for a larger and perhaps more high profile family as the BRF.
That would basically be up to the members who focus a lot on the BRF.
Another family, which may be in exile or simple very small, or there is simply not enough attention on that family, could be organised in a way that is even simpler than the one I have proposed for the DRF.
My point is: Keep it as simple as possible and the number of threads down.
(7) No problem. Move all topics labbled with a year, like: "Mary, official events, July, August & September 2011" to the archive after a year.
(8) Put up a links section on the front page and lock it. It will take some work to set up, but that is work saved in the end, because you don't have to move post from a subforum about a specific family to another forum about, say jewelry.
People can look at the links and simply click and go to where their topic of interest is located. And those who are interested in a specific family don't have to plough through the general section in order to figure out where for example Mary's fashion is.
(9) That's a big problem! It's also a problem for those who wish to follow a debate that may be the reaction to a post, only to discover that that post is gone... And who was it who posted that and that?
(10) Good. But that puts a strain on the moderators. Who has to deal with moving post around all the time and answering questions from the members about: where is the post about XX?
The moderators do have lives outside the forum I presume.
(11) Indeed. The problem is when you wish to find something specific.
I often find myself in the situation, where I wish to back up what I'm saying or verify what I'm saying by going back and refer to previous posts. - If I'm lucky I can find it pretty easily. But often I find I have to narrow my search down to 10-15 threads which I'll have to go through. I mostly don't have the time to do that, so I give up and rely on either my personal archive or just post a fairly vaque reference.
