[RESOLVED] A simple request (I hope)

[boops boops]

I wish the connection between the VB.Net Forum and the VB.Net Code Bank were more obvious. On the forum, posters are often told to look in the Code Bank, but it's quite hard to find it the first time. And the second time... etc.

In my opinion the link between them is important enough to warrant replacing the Calender button (which I assume is just a placeholder) by a Code Bank button. But if that isn't feasible, at least please put it in the miscellaneous section of Quick Links.

cheers, Vic (=BB)

[brad jones]

JPnyc (Joe) will need to look at this one. We tend to avoid things that require manual changes on every update. Let's see what Joe says.

Brad!

[JPnyc]

I think it would make a good deal more sense to make the code bank a sub forum of the VB.net forum.

[Shaggy Hiker]

If you mean that it would appear as World Events does in Chit Chat, I would tend to disagree. I certainly see the advantage of having the Code Bank for .NET quickly accessible via the .NET forum, but it seems like it would do so at the cost of making it readily accessible from outside the .NET forum. As an example, I am thinking of posting a project in General Programming, because the comments are meant for that audience (the post would have to do with design structure, rather than anything language specific), yet there would be considerable code associated with it, which would be .NET, and would make more sense in the Code Bank (eventually). It seems like the route to be followed from General Programming to the Code Bank, for anyone interested in the code, would be more awkward if the Code Bank was only accessible via the .NET forum. Of course, if it could appear as it is, and ALSO be a sub forum, then that would have it both ways.

[JPnyc]

how bout the way it appears now in chitchat?

[RobDog888]

Why not just a Linked sub forum in VB.NET pointing to CodeBank? Then CodeBank remains where it is but there is a shortcut forum pointing to it from VB.NET. No changes needed between upgrades and such.

[JPnyc]

well this wouldn't require any changes during upgrades either, but that would also work

[RobDog888]

A shortcut forum link would keep CB centralized for all access from the index page. I think that would be better then moving hte vb.net CB forum as a sub forum of vb.net. We do this with VB.NET shortcut forum under the .NET category.

[Shaggy Hiker]

That sounds like the best of both worlds. Cool.

[RobDog888]

Thanks Joe for the forum link!

[chris128]

Just noticed it pop up as a sub forum in VB.NET - I think its a good idea

[gep13]

Hey,

Nice idea!!!

Does this not make sense to apply to other places as well?

For instance, the ASP.Net Code Bank, C# Code Bank etc?

Gary

[RobDog888]

Yes but we are also considering incorporating the related faqs too. Unfortunately we cant have too many stickies and subforum links and ads and announcements in a single forum.

So we are trying to come up with a plan of attack starting with the VB6 forum.

Soon, very soon

[gep13]

Cool, sounds like there are changes a foot!!

Will be interesting to see what you guys come up with.

Thanks

Gary

[RhinoBull]

Now it looks a bit strange - VB.Net has its own subforum pointing to the code bank but what about other forums that are equally (well, figurally speaking) sharing space (ASP.Net. C++, PHP, others not to mention VB6).
I don't think it's a good idea to make VB.Net "bread and butter" and ignore all the others - if you do it then it needs to be done everywhere or none at all.
But then again, if it's done for the CodeBank then people would want to have shortcuts to FAQ, etc...

... my opinion anyway ...

[gep13]

Agreed, but it seems that it is still a work in progress, or at least that is what I took from what Rob in post #13 after I made the same point.

Gary

[boops boops]

I'd like to thank everyone here for responding to my request - especially JPync and RobDogg for the quick solution.

I must admit that when I first saw the result I had a slight feeling of "be careful what you wish for", because in its present form the new link adds a great deal to the visual clutter at the top of the VB.Net message list. (What do you mean, ungrateful swine?) As things stand I fear that someone paying a first visit to the forum will be unsure which forum they are looking at. I appreciate that the layout is an interim one and will be improved in due course. And, of course, you get soon used to it.

It prompts me to wonder how this and other forums got to be the way they are. There seems to be just a handful of models on which most programming forums are based. I must say I have yet to see one that strikes me as exemplary as regards user-friendly design.

Will a point ever come when a whole forum site like this one gets redesigned from scratch? I have a few ideas on what my "ideal" forum would look like -- disregarding the practicalities of implementing it, about which I know next to nothing. I expect there are plenty of forum users who are really talented in user interface design (as well as many more who think they are) who have something to say on the matter. So I am playing with the notion of starting a new thread asking for people's ideas and sketches for an ideal forum design. But first I would like to know if a discussion on this topic would appeal to those who already put so much work into maintaining and developing the VB-Wire site.

regards, Vic (BB)

[RobDog888]

@RB, if you think it looks cluttered ont he home page with subforums being displayed, then there is an option that could be changed that would hide all subforum links from the home page ("Depth of Forums - Forum Home" should be set to "1"). This is a site wide option/setting so we would loose "world events" forum as well as "game demos" and all of the coding contest forums subforums.

Not sure how the Admins want it though as it would need to be accepted and implemented only once.

[RhinoBull]

I don't think change was necessary - all forums appear to be well organized so additional hierarchy will certainly clutter entire board.
However, like I said if you still want to do it then it has to be done for each forum respectively.

[gep13]

Hey,

What ever happened to this? I see the VB.Net Forum still has a sub forum of the Codebank, but it doesn't seem to have been applied to any of the others?

Just wondering.

Gary