The New Group Build Format ?

The only thing I dont like is that it opens up a new window when I click on it

I think it has limited the number of posts due to the fact that you need one more step to view them , but I think we all have to admit , the number of GB's in armor anyways was getting almost higher than help questions in here , plus some GB's were stuck in here for eternity with no end date etc , I think the TIGER1 1/16 should be given a break here as that is one complex kit even without AM parts , so I think that one should go a full year anyways , some of the guys are using that insane ABER kit too , which needs at the very least a break or two every now wnd then . But I do think I prefer it the old way , and the staff at FSM were just trying to help by responding to our complaints about it being the way it was , 5 plus armor builds going at once ! Group Builds should be a vote process or stay this way , to be honest , that way if anyone has questions , they can be answered without going through 3 pages of stuff ! But then again posting is also down due to summer as well . Just my opinion here .

I too use the posts “since last visit” button. This tool added to the new format really makes it easy to view what I am interested in. I can skip right over the AC posts and see what has been added to the Armor forum. After checking all the interesting posts on the armor forum I can breeze through the posts in the Figures, and Diorama forums on my way down to the Group Builds. If anything, since the new group build forum, I have started to read more of the forum while still being able to find EXACTLY what I am looking for. As far as the groups not being very active, well at least the Pz IV group is still quite active.

I really think that it was a good thing to get rid of all the stickies that were building in the individual forums. While I don’t have time right now to join another group, I also think that having all the groups in one place encourages people to try new subjects. I have found some of the other forum’s group builds quite interesting and might not have discovered them if they were not all in one place.

just my $0.02

i was in the small afv build,the format i dont mind,since i dont do too many group builds,but i found it hard to follow some of the threads.

gdarwin[roy]

I am part of the Helicopter Group Build, and have not found any inconvenience to posting in it using the new system. I like seeing a dedicated Forum on the main Forum List that shows the Group Builds. That doesn't make it out of sight for me, and I can go right there to post in my Group Build. I'm watching this pretty closely as I might be willing to participate in more Group Builds. I even have an idea for one that I may propose later!

I must say, I like the fact that more new posts can be seen now that everything is unstickied. I was really getting put off by the number of stickied posts that seemed to be growing out of control. Thank you for making an effort to fix this situation.

I know this has been kicked around by alot of people,so I don't want to make waves...

QUOTE: Originally posted by phroosh ................................. I find the new format a bit out of sight out of mind for me, ....................

but, that was my only point. I just didn't know if I was the only one who thought it.

I agree with Joe.It is a work in progress.
I have posted less in my two builds since the initial change. (Small AFV, Towed Gun) This may also be due to the fact I have very nearly finished, and like to do the last bit under radio silence! Larry, I have liked following your and everyone else's progress from the beginning. You never posted unnecessarily. I find the new format a bit out of sight out of mind for me, but I am always willing to adapt to a groups decision. I just hope on the few occasions I can help, I am around to do so. I am think we will wil work it out. I am sure all responses are being listened to.

Feedback is always appreciated.

Rob brought up some good points in the Sci-Fi thread which is inline with a couple things Lawrence and I have discussed.

the new format is still being played with. in fact it has changed several times so far. for those who dont care for it, please be patient. i am sure the staff will get everything ironed out it will just take some time. as far as it killing some of the threads, i believe that is just because members are still tryinging to get used to the new format. once they do the number of posts will rise again in these threads.

joe

The group builds are definitely chatty, particularly here on armor. I wish they were still around, though, as now they are basically dead, as they aren't really part of the "life" of the forum anymore, there so you can see it.

I see where they are coming from, trying different things, but the real point of a group build is to get people to feel like they are a prt of somethiing, which might increase the chances of building a kit. If you don't see the group build, chances are you won't build for it..

Ironically, sometimes I had the same problem with the Towed Gun build that Ron had -- I had a hard time following it. I say ironically because I was definitely part of the problem, probably posting more than I strictly had to.

To remedy that, I'm going to create a website, maybe this weekend, to showcase the gun builds in a gallery, no bs, just the pics. People can e-mail me their pics and I will add them. Then I'll add the url to my sig file. I may even change the group build patch thing so it's clickable and brings you right to the web page. No big deal if the build isn't done already. I'm a little late too, having just put the wash on the gun and truck, so late submissions will be ok.

I like it. It has cleaned up the other forums and seems to work well for me. Since I browse the forum by looking a posts "since last visit" it works well.

If I have a post for the GB I'm in, I just go to the GB Forum, find my GB, and post...no hassle. Just my .02.

Enjoy your modeling,

Rob, even though it wasn't me, I apologize for that certain incident on that posting. I think the person misunderstood what you meant and everything went down from there. I hope you won't let that stop you from posting in the scifi forum though, you are a big part of it.

As for the Group Build changes, I haven't looked at any since the change took place. I guess I liked the old set up too but will just have to buckle down and get used to it. After all, I am supposed to be in a figure build and Star Trek scratchbuild!

Regards, Dan

I won't say much on this subject since I got attacked on the sci-fi forum for admitting I understood the reason why they un-stickied the topics.

I followed the towed gun build and built a little arty piece but after a while it got real hard to follow the threads. You miss a couple of days and the thread would go from 14 to 18 pages. A lot of good information got buried in the pages.

I think they should have set up additional threads for posting in-progress and completed photos and left one thread for questions/answers and discussion of the build. Might have helped, or might have just created multiple multi-page threads. I don't know.

well, it seems that the threads do not appear in the main section, no matter when someone posts.
i am following the towed gun GB.
not sure if posts are down because it was supposed to end yesterday,
or because you have to go thru the extra link or two.

i had thought when they set them up like this that the thread would still 'be'
in the 'home' forum to float to the top or sink down depending on traffic,
and that the main difference would be that GB's would not be 'stickied'
to the top spots.

i would prefer that the thread still showed up on the armor pages,
as well as linked thru the GB page, or the GB 'topic' that is sticky.

but i am not sure if it has had the effect of reducing posts & reads
to the GBs.