SOLVED Clanmech Subforum(s)

I'll get used to it. However, this is certainly something that should be considered in larger detail for a site with such a bunch of information as this one. I felt like posting my thought process below as a weird way of study-avoiding behaviour.

TL;DR the best possible outcome is probably to have all mech-building forums collapsed by default.

What might be worth mentioning is that the site DOESN'T SAVE your collapse/expand preferences. So whenever you load MechSpecs again, you're greeted with a giant wall in your face.

The current configuration is more consistent with IS mechs in their current form. Though, the clan mechs are very different in their configurations than IS! So IMO if we need another structuring for their build style it'd only make sense.

Current implementation is basically just as much clicking as the forumception. Clicking collapse/expand (which is currently looking to become the only way to navigate without breaking your scrollwheel) is just as much effort as clicking to one subforum and then to the variant/section you need, and both obscure (a part of) underlying forum structure until someone clicks on it, collapse/expand more so than a yo-dawg-chain (we put a forum in your forum in your forum!).


I would structure clans like this:

[Clan Assault (Coll/Exp)] >
[Clan Assaults Discussion] >
[Warhawk (Builds) / King Crab (Builds) / Dire Wolf (Builds)]​

Forumception not necessary! This layout is just as effective, the intermediate per-chassis discussion forums are not required, considering how little is posted in them. They could simply all be in the [Clan Assault Discussion] like the Dire Wolf 1k club, Warhawk 1k club and KC 1k club would be in the same place. That effectively reduces the Clan forum clutter when expanded by ~60% (10+ big subforums forums becomes 4).

The IS mechs are actually the problem in structuring. Because you can't put every variant in the same section, you need another layer while the Clans are just all variants frankensteined together. Assuming we follow the same pattern I suggested for clans, but then for IS mechs, we get:

[IS Assault (Coll/Exp)] >
[IS Assault Discussion] >
[Chassis] >
[Variants]​

The [IS 'Type' Discussion] seems to be not exactly useful. You can ask about comparisons between chassis but the topics will run out more quickly than the chassis-specific topics even. However it does create a way to make all chassis types compactly organised, reducing the clutter from IS mechs when forums are expanded by 88% (from 33 to 4). Since there is this nice collapse option, we don't HAVE to have everything open at the same time though. So I think that for the IS mechs, since they require extra clicks anyway, collapsing might actually be the best option. Also prevents an insane amount of work which is roughly equal to nope². It'd probably be best to have them collapsed by default so that people instantly get familiar with the software, and on first sight the forums look tidy.


If IS mechs are collapsed by default, it would be weird to not have clans do the same, which also subsequently means that the originally suggested way to structure clans is no longer really any more beneficial than the current system. The only way it would help is by putting some scarce chassis-discussing threads together in one forum.


So this leads to my conclusion: Collapse by default for the clan/is builds only (if possible) would be the easiest way to do it. If this is somehow not possible and people are greeted by a webpage that's as long as a trip from earth to the moon, at least clans can be structured in a more compact way, but IS would require a lot of work and forumception to make it any better with all the new IS mechs releasing.


P.S. I want to add that having so many collapsed forums looks very aggressive with the current forum skin. Lots of very high-contrast bars is not exactly pretty and actually makes it difficult to find the forum you were looking for. So, before doing that we might want to look into refining the current look of the forum. I know that his is brought up a lot and takes time and money, but I think that it could have just as much an impact on site navigation as restructuring forums if the sizes/colors of the forums are a bit less bulky and have a more restful colour scheme.

 

What are you on about SS? the site saved my preferences, but I use chrome.

 

When you log out and log in (which I do to click banners) all the collapse/exapnd is expanded by default.

 

Nevermind the not-saving comment, it has been saving my collapse preferences lately!