Feedback wanted on the forum structure!

[beancounter]

I've said this before, but now that other members are recognizing the issue, I think it's worth repeating:

We need an entire section devoted to new veg*ns
We need an "Intro to veg*n" /"Ask you veg*n questions" thread, stickied to the top.
We need to move the FAQ hidden within the Wiki, to a sticky thread prominantly displayed at the top.
Other subtopics as the need arises.

Steps off soapbox, and takes a deep breath.

 

[Ansciess]

I might also like to see an animals in the news section. I think some of the animal news stories don't really belong in the "debate and current events" section because either there's not a debate about it, or in a forum with people with a special interest in animals they might best be highlighted and separated more than that section can provide.

I was thinking of an animal story currently in the news about chimps and there isn't a place that seems quite right for it.

Maybe I would put everything specifically about animals - activism, news, etc. into one section (with different categories) just below the veg section. Then put the health section (with its different categories) below that.

 

[Second Summer]

I've added a forum called "New vegetarians' help desk". Also moved the Health section so it comes before the Academic section. Still contemplating what to call the proposed new section that will contain the veg and animal advocacy forums.

 

[Lord Snot]

Woo

I'm thinking of some threads to put in there so newcomers will want to join up and post.

 

[Ansciess]

I might like to see one general "product reviews" section - a non country-specific one perhaps after the "recipes" section. It might seem like a good idea to contain them within the country sections, but I think they get lost there? I mostly think this is a good section because new veg*ns in particular might be interested in knowing for ex. what veg cheeses are good and such before purchase. To me it's not an essential category, but just a thought.

I might also move the relationships section above "academic disciplines." The reason for this is that when people are wanting to join a veg board they might have issues with friends, family, etc. about their veg*nism. So that category seems more relevant to the purpose of the board - and why people might join up - than the academic things, which to me fall more into the "social" category (now that we're all here, and we've established ourselves as veg*ns, let's find something interesting to talk about...) and thus might be farther down the page.

 

[KLS52]

I might like to see one general "product reviews" section - a non country-specific one perhaps after the "recipes" section.

I keep going to the UK product thread and just when I'm about to post, I realize it's UK specific...but that's just because I can't seem to remember to pay attention to which forum I'm in.

 

[Ansciess]

I hope I'm not posting too much here! This is how I might organize the first 4 sections of the board, for consideration:

First section:
Intros
Announcements, questions, feedback

Second section: veg*nism
Veganism
Vegetarianism
New to Vegetarianism

Third section: animals
Animal activism and advocacy
Animal rights and welfare
Animals in the news

Fourth section: health
Nutrition and diet
Health issues
Physical exercise
(leave the sexuality section here or not - it might better go into a "members only" section farther down the page which includes the lounge and any other member protected forums)

Categories 2-4 are what I think primarily draw people to a veg discussion board.

Next I would do the relationships section, then the food/recipes section (in this order because food/recipes is a bigger forum with all the subheadings).

 

[Rosie1]

^^That looks pretty good. You'd just need to add in some sort of Entertainment section for tv/movies/games/books, etc. as well as Computer/Sciences section.
I don't know if you'd put a Companion Animals part in the 3rd section or have it somewhere different. Maybe even a catch-all section for the more personal stuff: pets, photo threads, relationships, etc.

 

[Ansciess]

There would be more sections after that (the academic disciplines, entertainment, etc.), I was just thinking that those first 6 are the ones people see first and kind of sets the purpose of the board - and why people would initially come to a veg board, even if they stay to socialize about current political events, entertainment, technology, etc. I think companion animals could go with the relationships section as it is now (actually, maybe separated out as below).

There are better, more inclusive boards for entertainment, technology, etc. so no one is going to search and join this place for an entertainment forum for example. But I think after people are here, and they get to know each other, or they want to discuss something from an AR point of view, those areas are useful, I just don't think they should be the first or most prominent areas of the board.

 

[Ansciess]

Fifth section: relationships
Family and friends
Children

Sixth section: (I think companion animals might be better by itself because the issues can be so specialized)
Companion animals

Seventh section: food and recipes
General food and drink discussion
Recipes

Then everything else can fit into other sections in any order, most under a general discussions heading I think.
- the current events/debate forum
- the countries
- the entertainment, gardening, etc. forums

I would include an environmental forum somewhere in there too.
And like I said I would make a members only forum where the private forums go.
-

 

[beancounter]

In the receipe section, "Main dishes" should be moved to the left hand side where "other" is currently placed.

 

[Second Summer]

In the receipe section, "Main dishes" should be moved to the left hand side where "other" is currently placed.

Hmm, I'd like to keep it alphabetical, except for the Other category which should be last. I've just move Other last.

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback lately. I'll try to implement some of your ideas once I have a bit more time. (Or I might delegate the task to my mod minions.)

 

[mlp]

I think Ansciess and Beancounter are both making great suggestions.

I also like Lord Snot's suggestions of using the Veggie Views title (or some variant thereof) to highlight the fact that animal, vegan and vegetarian issues are at the heart of this forum.

 

[mlp]

I think it would be good to have a stickied thread for veg*n online shopping resources. Local shopping resources by country could be started as separate threads in the same area.

I know that it's sometimes difficult to know where to look when you're just starting out as a veg*n, and I think that searches for such info could bring new members to the board.

 

[Second Summer]

I've started re-arranging & adding a bit based on feedback. Does anyone have a better title than "Animals in the news"? It just reminds me too much of another board ,....

 

[Ansciess]

Not a lot different, but maybe Animals in [the] Media? Not sure if that would make it seem like fictional media too though.

 

[FortyTwo]

I've started re-arranging & adding a bit based on feedback. Does anyone have a better title than "Animals in the news"? It just reminds me too much of another board ,....

Newsflash? Animal Rights News? Vegetarian News? Animal Issues?

 

[Rosie1]

Animal Headlines?
Maybe have a "News Around the World" section for all of that - animals, veggie stuff, issues, etc.

 

[FortyTwo]

Animal Headlines?
Maybe have a "News Around the World" section for all of that - animals, veggie stuff, issues, etc.

I like the idea of having a News section with subsections for specific animal issues - after all, vegetarian issues are separate in a way from certain other issues involving animals.

 

[Second Summer]

My thinking initially was to have a forum structure that stood out a bit from the typical veg*n board. I wanted it to appear at first glance like a classy general discussion board, but upon close inspection the veg*n / animal-friendly nature of the board would be clear. It would be a way to make veg*ns and veg*n causes seem more ... "normal" for lack of a better word.