Platform Categories

[bacteria]

I know i'm new here, but thought I would post my thoughts if I may.

I agree with the census here, just separate Sony from Microsoft.

One request - "Hacks and Mods" is fine as it says for all software and hardware mods; however any chance for a new section in "The Garage" for something like "Modding techniques, hints and guides" to show techniques and guides for how to do things? Can be generic from what tools to use for modding, how to use them, how to cut and finish perspex, button hole making, adding LED's, spray painting, etc, etc. Lots of short mini guides, covering a large spectrum subject. Will start a bit bare, sure, but over time will fill out!

One more suggestion if I may, any chance of incorporating the IRC chat into the forum itself, eg sites like PCengineFX have it on the main page, visible to all, will get more people chatting! (IMHO).

[lisalover1]

Sony and Microsoft need to be split, that's for sure. However, subsections are a bit unnecessary IMO

Good point. These days, mixing Sony and Microsoft is like mixing baking soda and vinegar.

[equalsign]

I ask only out of curiosity, but what's the big deal with splitting Sony and Microsoft? Is it just out of principle? Those two combined get only as many posts as Sega and Nintendo do alone. They're only joined as a means of reducing clutter. Together, they are too big for the "Other Platforms" section so they have their own. What would be gained by splitting them? It's not a busy forum as it is.

[Ack]

But as time goes by, they may continue to get bigger, necessitating a split. Sure, it may work for now, but as we grow...yeah.

[Wintermute1981]

One request - "Hacks and Mods" is fine as it says for all software and hardware mods; however any chance for a new section in "The Garage" for something like "Modding techniques, hints and guides" to show techniques and guides for how to do things? Can be generic from what tools to use for modding, how to use them, how to cut and finish perspex, button hole making, adding LED's, spray painting, etc, etc. Lots of short mini guides, covering a large spectrum subject. Will start a bit bare, sure, but over time will fill out! :wink

As someone who likes to add functionality to his consoles, I wouldn't mind seeing a separate section or subcategory for guides and techniques.

[dsheinem]

Do it like this -

Platforms
----------
Sega
Nintendo
Sony and Microsoft (I think there are too many cross platform games to separate these)
PC and Mac (including stuff lie Windows Mobile, iPhone, Apple II, etc.)
Other Platforms

[racketboy]

Well part of the reasoning for more specific categories was to have stickies for each so we would reduce the number of repeat topics.

It would also make it easier to browse for stuff when you're trying to find that one post from a while back that was for a certain console you were interested in...

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I'm with dsheinem on this too much change is bad, a few subtle things here and there progressively is good and won't get people in an uproar.

[Niode]

Dsheinem hit the nail on the head.

We can't split Sony & Microsoft because there are simply too many cross platform games for these systems. What are we supposed to do? Have separate categories for the same game on 2 systems? What a joke! The way it is already is perfectly fine.

I think Other Platforms is a little confusing, I think we should make a PC/Mac forum since we tend to get a lot of people either putting PC discussion in other platforms or Sony and Microsoft. There's a bit of overlap there.

I don't think splitting the manufacturer forums into sub console catagories is a good thing, it will cause too much fracture. The way they are now is fine.

[equalsign]

But as time goes by, they may continue to get bigger, necessitating a split. Sure, it may work for now, but as we grow...yeah.

Still. Given the retro focused nature of this site, I dunno how much bigger they'll get. I understand that with time these consoles are becoming "retro," but I just don't know if they deserve/need it. Just because the Playstation and Xbox are popular today doesn't mean they should be split. To me, it's the post counts that matter.

If Atari topics started flooding the "Other Platforms" section it'd be appropriate to make an Atari forum. If the "Sony and Microsoft" forum started flooding over, it would be appropriate to split them. That's not the case right now. I understand the desire to be proactive, but I'm a big fan of less is more.

I play as much of my Xbox and PS/PS2 as the next guy, I'm just saying.