Console Discussion Organization or Why there shouldn't be any at all (*SPAWN*)

[(((interference)))]

I think it's due to the fact that the *spawn* threads on here are getting out of hand. Having just one big thread with all the next-gen discussion was way more comfortable (even if the discussion got a little messy).

I concur, having 7 next gen threads is a bit too much, not everyone reads all the threads so discussion is more limited for each post and you end up having to bring in or refer to posts discussed in other threads if they are relevant to the discussion in the current thread.

I actually thought the Predict thread worked really well for following the rumours (apart from it needing to be cleaned from time to time), we should have another general thread like it can spawn offshoot threads as needed (like the current one on game sizes).

Maybe also a non-technical, vs thread for the console warriors (like this 'which is better' one)

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I concur, having 7 next gen threads is a bit too much, not everyone reads all the threads so discussion is more limited for each post and you end up having to bring in or refer to posts discussed in other threads if they are relevant to the discussion in the current thread.

But if you're willing to read one thread at 100 posts an hour on everything to do with next-gen, why aren't you willing to read 5 threads at 20 posts an hour? There's no reason not to read every thread on the subject, other than there being a lot of repeated content because people aren't separating subjects. Merging all topics into one thread is like taking the 'science and technology' section of a library and combining all the books together, interleaving pages randomly.

When this is all over and next-gen is released, I'm tempted to take every next-gen thread and merge it into one and crash the B3D server.

 

[Bagel seed]

We were a hive mind in that thread though, dissecting and absorbing everything like the borg

Just have to keep the riff raff from trolling and going OT. Easier said than done right? Maybe delay new user registrations or something.

 

[(((interference)))]

But if you're willing to read one thread at 100 posts an hour on everything to do with next-gen, why aren't you willing to read 5 threads at 20 posts an hour? There's no reason not to read every thread on the subject, other than there being a lot of repeated content because people aren't separating subjects. Merging all topics into one thread is like taking the 'science and technology' section of a library and combining all the books together, interleaving pages randomly.

When this is all over and next-gen is released, I'm tempted to take every next-gen thread and merge it into one and crash the B3D server.

Because, then I have to remember which thread i'm in and whether that other post I was referring to was in this thread or the other one, plus it makes finding posts more difficult, unlike the Predict thread, where if you wanted to find some old rumour you just had to search the thread. It was just much simpler when there was only one thread.

The repeated content is also a major issue with the multiple threads as people don't know exactly which thread to post it in, or perhaps their post is relevant to the thread but touches on something in another next gen thread, so they have to bring that in too.

And, as bkilian pointed out, sometimes the thread designated for the fanboys to skirmish in can end up having more substantial discussion than the thread designated for more technical discussion (as happened with this very thread).

Your analogy is flawed since a single thread discussing the next gen consoles, is nowhere near as encompassing as the entire 'science and technology' section of a library - perhaps such an analogy would be apt if I suggested you consolidate the entire Console Tech forum into a single thread.

 

[rockaman]

I just made an account to say this:

I would like to have it back to one thread. I read here regularly to find out about what people more knowledgeable than me are saying about the next gen systems.

After the thread breakage it has become a huge headache. What took me 10 minutes to catch up on now takes 20, because I have no idea which thread I'm in (everything looks the same), and more than half the time the same discussion about RAM bandwidth versus RAM size is taking place in multiple threads and it's just a huge waste of time.

Put the threads back together, or at least have the PS4/720 hardware predictions/rumours thread back in one place. As it is now is a complete pain in the you-know-what.

I have many other things to concentrate on at once, it would be helpful if just reading the latest on PS4/720 news wasn't something I had to concentrate so hard on too.

Please put everything back together mods, thank you.

Cheers.

 

[Aeoniss]

I just made an account to say this:

I would like to have it back to one thread. I read here regularly to find out about what people more knowledgeable than me are saying about the next gen systems.

After the thread breakage it has become a huge headache. What took me 10 minutes to catch up on now takes 20, because I have no idea which thread I'm in (everything looks the same), and more than half the time the same discussion about RAM bandwidth versus RAM size is taking place in multiple threads and it's just a huge waste of time.

Put the threads back together, or at least have the PS4/720 hardware predictions/rumours thread back in one place. As it is now is a complete pain in the you-know-what.

I have many other things to concentrate on at once, it would be helpful if just reading the latest on PS4/720 news wasn't something I had to concentrate so hard on too.

Please put everything back together mods, thank you.

Cheers.

The mods here are anal retentive and believe fiercely in breaking down conversations to their atomic elements and spreading them out. Exceptionally counter intuitive given the fluid nature of most dialogue, let alone technical discussions concerning yet-to-be released or even announced hardware and its specifications.

But given the technical nature of their background, it makes a level of sense that an 'engineer' mindset prevails and attempt to organize everything into neat little categories. I have nothing against order, but when efforts to achieve it start to become self-deprecating and senseless, well.

Don't get your hopes up.

 

[temesgen]

Not singling anyone out as there are good points for both approaches but its a bit of a damned if you do and damned if don't regarding the mods separating threads. IMO the mods have been pretty patient with some of the post and there is a danger in not moderating the discussions and introducing a mentality into the debate here that belongs other places.

B3D prides itself in part because of the way the conversations take place and lately that has started to shift a little in couple threads so perhaps separating things can keep the rest of the host free from the disease.

 

[BRiT]

I just made an account to say this:

I would like to have it back to one thread. I read here regularly to find out about what people more knowledgeable than me are saying about the next gen systems.

Please put everything back together mods, thank you.

Here is my personal opinion on this....

This is not going to happen. Just because some users are incapable of staying on topic does not mean we're going to turn the consoles forums into one big giant free-for-all cess pool where anything and everything goes. We might as well just merge the entire Console forum into 1 single thread.

 

[Grall]

I vote we lock ALL the current threads, they're too (often monstrously) large, contain a lot of obsolete disinformation, guesswork, sometimes nonsense. Having so many separate threads breeds a lot of redundant posts.

Make one new thread, only spin off new threads if the topic is sidetracked away from the new, upcoming Sony and MS consoles. While having a thread each per console might look more tidy and organized perhaps, it would again breed redundant posts and speculation.

Just my personal opinion. Now do as you wish!

 

[Sonic]

It really helps having 50 posts per page. That way you can break the threads down into more manageable reading, at least for me. Wafting through the garbage has gotten to be a problem, and I am glad to see the devs make offshoot threads out of the main ones. Keeping track of them isn't all that difficult, as I have visual indicators telling me the new posts in a given thread. And I have a memory, and the ability to recall something I've recently read without much hassle.

Honestly, the mods are doing a good job as it is keeping these forums clean from the onslaught of new posters that happens during every new generation launch. What they've done is helped me in following the discussion.

 

[Billy Idol]

One thread is better imo, reduce double infos and concentrate discussion...and helps to avoid crazy talk about 1.5x and 2x without remembering which exact thread of the 7 similar ones to not enter

 

[Mianca]

As far as I see, we currently have at least *FIVE* main hardware speculation threads for PSnext/XBOXnext on two different levels:

*Console Forum*
Next-gen discussion *spawn*
News & Rumours: Playstation 4/ Orbis *spin*
News & Rumors: Xbox 720 aka Xbox 3 aka Xbox Next aka Durango aka Loop

*Console Technology*
Which is better - Orbis or Durango (consider XB360 was better/worse than PS3) *spawn
VGLeaks Durango (Jan 21)

I undestand that having just one big thread isn't the best way to sustain a clear-cut discussion. But the current situation doesn't help either (the main problem apparently is that threads that were originally intended as spin-off threads turned into general discussion threads very quickly).

Given that WiiU is already out and we basically have two main elements (A/B) to discuss: How about just keeping three (A; B; A+B) main threads (preferably on one and the same level):

* Playstation4/Orbis: Rumours and Discussion
* XBOX720/Durango: Rumours and Discussion
* Playstation4/Orbis vs. XBOX720/Durango: Which one is better?

I think this would greatly facilitate a good culture of discussion.

 

[Gubbi]

Splitting it up is great, that way one can ignore the threads with zero SNR. However most of the threads have no place in "Console Technology", it's all speculation and vs threads.

Also, would like a thread for technical discussion of hardware and software choices.

Cheers

 

[AlNom]

As far as I see, we currently have at least *FIVE* main hardware speculation threads for PSnext/XBOXnext on two different levels:

*Console Forum*
Next-gen discussion *spawn*
News & Rumours: Playstation 4/ Orbis *spin*
News & Rumors: Xbox 720 aka Xbox 3 aka Xbox Next aka Durango aka Loop

I don't know what the next-gen discussion was supposed to be, but it seemed a lot of it was for PC comparisons or something. *shrug* I'm sure there are a number of good posts buried in there somewhere.

Lately, I suppose it could have been largely overlapped with the Vs spin-off. *shrug* Another monolothic thread making it even harder to find the good posts, but I suppose we know whose post histories are worthwhile to bookmark so it's ultimately irrelevent.

The News and Rumours threads were supposed to be indices/repositories of "News and Rumours" for easy reference. Ultimately: no versus discussion. Not being in the Technology forum should have been an indicator that it's a more general discussion per platform not necessarily heavy into the technical points.

The VG Leaks thread was just to try and separate it from becoming a casualty of the Prediction thread. It's a big enough topic that it should warrant its own discussion, and lo and behold, we have one of the highest signal to noise ratios in it compared to any recent thread. It's a hell of a lot easier to read through rather than all the filth that can crop up in between. If that's bad, then I don't know what I'm doing here anymore.

the main problem apparently is that threads that were originally intended as spin-off threads turned into general discussion threads very quickly.

Well, yes. People should think more about what they're posting as to whether they actually contribute to the topic instead of adding more life stories about their purchasing habits or just mentioning obvious comparisons to PC or that you don't care about the next gen if such and such or if MS and Sony are <insert adjective>.

I don't come to B3D to read such mundane issues. There are plenty of other places for that.

It's a technology forum. Thread titles exist for a reason too.
If posters are too lazy to adhere to forum etiquette, then it's time to stop posting. Aren't we all here for the technical posts?

 

[Arwin]

I agree with the current setup. This way the Technjical threads can be pruned of people throwingin off-topic stuf, and even if something useful comes into the other threads first, it will eventually end up in the tech thread with low signal to noise, and save everyone who is interested only in that a lot of time.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

How many times do we need to hear, 'I'm disappointed with these specs,' or 'So PC will be better than the consoles?' Worse still, why are some people obsessed with repeating these views every time a bit of new info comes up?

When I enter a technical thread in the technical forum, I expect to be reading tech discussion about hardware and software. When I open a thread about X, I expect to read about X and not Y, Z, or $. Let's take a moment's glance at the typical evolution of an open discussion. The VGLeaks thread for today has had someone saying, 'I'm disappointed', another saying, 'What are the consoles going to do to compete with the PC?' and a start into Durango vs. Orbis.

We had things going pretty well some months back. Threads had a degree of freedom that was pretty self-regulatory, and only needed a little moderation to remind people of topic or branch off a valuable/popular discussion every once in a while. The next-gen prediction thread was great and survived for years until new blood broke it. Maybe all we really need do is ban anyone who joined in 2012/2013 and just be left with those with the sense to hold intelligent discussions that recognise the value structured discussion a la forums bring as opposed to informal, meandering chats?

 

[AlphaWolf]

I really disappointed with cake. Pie is better.

Seriously I love and hate the monster threads. It can seem like a chore to find something in them, but at least you know where to look. I doubt any choice is going to satisfy everyone. We're mostly adults we can cope. I think the mods do a good job considering the compensation.

 

[(((interference)))]

I vote we lock ALL the current threads, they're too (often monstrously) large, contain a lot of obsolete disinformation, guesswork, sometimes nonsense. Having so many separate threads breeds a lot of redundant posts.

Make one new thread, only spin off new threads if the topic is sidetracked away from the new, upcoming Sony and MS consoles. While having a thread each per console might look more tidy and organized perhaps, it would again breed redundant posts and speculation.

Just my personal opinion. Now do as you wish!

I agree with this, have one main thread and spin off thread discussing things like uses of ESRAM or game sizes when they arise.
This is what used to happen when the Predict thread was live and it worked very well IMO (we also had the next gen discussion thread for more general, less technical discussion)

The only issue is people going offtopic or trolling, which needs strong moderation to control (which I have no problem with), but that in itself is a separate issue to how many threads there should be - I see people like temesgen above unfairly conflating the two.

We had things going pretty well some months back. Threads had a degree of freedom that was pretty self-regulatory, and only needed a little moderation to remind people of topic or branch off a valuable/popular discussion every once in a while. The next-gen prediction thread was great and survived for years until new blood broke it. Maybe all we really need do is ban anyone who joined in 2012/2013 and just be left with those with the sense to hold intelligent discussions that recognise the value structured discussion a la forums bring as opposed to informal, meandering chats?

Agree with that Shifty, we definitely had an influx of console warriors derailing the discussion, trolling or posting complete nonsense.
For example, look at Xenio right now in the 'Which is better' thread
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1699470&postcount=791
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1699480&postcount=795

 

[oramay]

I don't know how best to organize the discussion, but I do agree the sqawns have a lot of overlaps in what they do. Things are now more difficult to track than before.

...
Maybe all we really need do is ban anyone who joined in 2012/2013 and just be left with those with the sense to hold intelligent discussions that recognise the value structured discussion a la forums bring as opposed to informal, meandering chats?

No no no! With the console war coming, it's time for this forum to be ambitious and expand its reach.

 

[milk]

I don't mind it the way it is. But that's me.