New areas for the site?

[olsteve]

This is just some thoughts I got after reading some of the 'we need a cp...' thread:
It would be nice if there was one place for newbies and not-so-newbies to go to find out what the community thinks of as standards ie- top three basic control panels, cab designs, sticks to use, button arrangement, materials to use, tools used. All the information is here somewhere it just needs to be organized in a way that helps people a little easier. There are so many great, incredible, intelligent, usefull things in these forums but it is just scattered all over. It needs to be extracted and organized. Just my two cents..

[SirPeale]

There are sticked topics at the top of each forum for a lot of commonly asked questions.  For the rest, there's the main site. 

[GGKoul]

There are sticked topics at the top of each forum for a lot of commonly asked questions.

[zvar]

People aren't reading those stickys

The same people wouldn't read the special board either.

[olsteve]

There are stickied topics at the top of each forum for a lot of commonly asked questions. For the rest, there's the main site.

The main site is way out of date and doesn't include 1% of the information that is contained in the forums. I think that the stickies are good but also the questions that get asked repeatedly should have a section on the main site. I know when I first started here I looked over the main site first to answer questions and didn't find many things.

[GGKoul]

People aren't reading those stickys

The same people wouldn't read the special board either.

How do you know if you dont create it?

[zvar]

How do you know if you don't create it?

While I understand what you are saying, I guess I'm just too cynical to believe people would actually go there and read the board. 
Don't get me wrong, I do think it would be a good idea, if for no other reason than to not have to scroll past all the stickies that are in the various boards and to give one board to point the new posters to.

Steven

[DrewKaree]

The main site is way out of date and doesn't include 1% of the information that is contained in the forums. I think that the stickies are good but also the questions that get asked repeatedly should have a section on the main site. I know when I first started here I looked over the main site first to answer questions and didn't find many things.

Go through and count all the posts in the main forum about:  someone's project, their monitor, a front end, mp3's or jukeboxes, a console...each of these things that currently have a forum.

Then, look at all the questions posed that 75-85% answerable by reading the sticky posts.  The CONSTANT pointing to another thread SHOULD be an indicator to some folks that the information is here.

Lastly, we've ALL read the "I don't use the search because of (insert excuse that is easily answered by searching)"

The "main site" isn't the area to get the latest up-to-date stuff OTHER than project submissions, what's going on with the website, and links to other areas of the site you want to go to.

The FORUMS here are for the latest news, help, and info.

The CP questions SHOULD be almost all there is in the main forum.  That they aren't speak volumes as to the necessity of a CP forum. 

I give you an example of what I'm speaking of below.  As an aside, you'll also note the fact that in the screen snap I give below, you'll see 2 posts about CP's, and 2 others that PERHAPS may relate to CP's (although they don't). 

Out of the twelve I offer for example, EIGHT are better placed in other forums.

The "Everything Else" SHOULD be the one mods are moving stuff from the most, but it seems the only reason anything's moved from there is to move it to Post Hell.  Seems like that forum is working, hey?

Simple reading of what is already offered here will answer the MAJORITY of the questions asked, but if folks already can't be troubled to do that, why would a CP forum be of any assistance to them when it already exists as the Main Forum?  Perhaps the SUBTITLE of the Main Forum should be revised from:

     "Building arcade controls, cabinets, console adapters, etc

Console adapters seem like they should be talked about in "Consoles", yes?  Cabinets in "Project Announcements", yes?  If folks are using the subtitle as the basis for their postings there, that may help to explain why no one can see that we DO have a CP forum - the Main Forum.

[Gunstar Hero]

Does everyone try to read every post, every day? 

I usually hit Main, Buy/Sell, Software, Everything Else and Project Announcements daily and skip anything I'm not really needing to use at the moment.  If we added a CP forum, I probably wouldn't use it much.

I think the current layout is good, but you can add more forums without ruining it. Besides, it's not like people aren't going to put the wrong post in the wrong forum all the time anyways.

[SirPeale]

Does everyone try to read every post, every day? 

*Looks both ways, raises his hand*

Well, I really can't say that.  I don't go in Artwork but maybe once a week, and consoles less than that.

[DrewKaree]

The main site is way out of date and doesn't include 1% of the information that is contained in the forums. I think that the stickies are good but also the questions that get asked repeatedly should have a section on the main site. I know when I first started here I looked over the main site first to answer questions and didn't find many things.

After re-reading your post, and realizing I hadn't been to the main site since first reading through it long ago, I did so yet again.

• Where is this dearth of information on the main site you are referring to? 
• What -to you- makes it "way out of date"?
  

I'm hard pressed to see what the main site doesn't address.  Its purpose isn't to inform to the extent the forums can - that would make the forums redundant, meaning even the need for a CP forum wouldn't exist.  There can be no all-encompassing main site.  It's meant to address common points, a base.

I also can't for the life of me figure out what you think would bring the main site "up to date".  You want a prettier background?  Some stuff that's no longer made to be removed?  More information along with less information?

Gunstar, you are correct that folks will put the wrong thing in the wrong forum.  I ask - is making yet another forum for the mods to police the solution to something that already has a solution?

I frequent a forum that has THIRTY forums, with TWENTY ONE sub forums.  They were FORCED to add more mods to the site, making more mods for the admins to police, as well as the forums - they're slowly moving back to less forums, as the "need" was purported to be there, and was shown to be served better by less segmentation.

I don't go to those forums as frequently anymore because it got SO split up that it was of little use - it took more time to browse, therefore I didn't, and stopped going there unless I need to.  Now, if there's a technical question I need an answer for, that's the place I'm going, but I've found with all the extra forums, which for us is technically anythingn other than Main and Everything Else, my questions get answered more slowly.  We've ALL seen the person here who's so impatient about his question being answered that he'll post it to two or even three different forums, and claim his question was so important that he simply HAD to do that - he's got a deadline, you know ::)  Usually, the second forum they post in is the main forum, along with the line "I figured it would get seen quicker here so I could get an answer". 

I believe this to be due to the fact that, like Gunstar and myself, there's just a few forums we hit here on a regular basis. 

Think about this - what do you need to know about a CP?

• Showing your work - wouldn't that go under Project Announcements?
• Encoder choice? - wouldn't that go under Main?
• Wiring it - again, a Main item?
• Encoder programming - wouldn't that go under Software?
• CPO printing / designing - clearly Artwork, yes?

What other questions do you have left, really, that haven't been asked and answered already here on the stie?  What joysticks to use?  What type of buttons to use?  Spinner/Yoke/Trackball/Wheel?  Everyone always points to Retroblast, or they're offering an opinion that several dozen members have already discussed to death in another thread - I'd link it here, but "my search button doesn't work". 

What about swappable panels?  It's been done, and it should go in the Main section - even NOW the subtitle is a pointer for these questions - "arcade CONTROLS".

Anything else left is easily answered in Main.

As someone already brought up, what's next, a button forum, a joystick forum, a spinner forum, a wiring forum, a power supply forum, etc blah blah ad nauseum?  It sound simplistic, and you're saying to yourself, there's only two types of buttons, vertical and horizontal - but you leave out all the jukebox buttons, the keypads, the DDR pads, the ....get my drift?

It may seem helpful, but from someone who's SEEN firsthand the uselessness of large blocks of a forum due to segmentation, it'll only serve as another place that the "search" button evidently doesn't find on this board.  Our search button works perfectly here.  There's a REASON there's "Helpful tips and hints to Google". 

If I want to know something about a Campagnolo derailleur or a Shimano hubset, why would you start by typing in "bike parts"?  Those same folks who simply cannot be bothered to read the sticky posts Peale is talking about are the SAME EXACT people who can't figure out how to do a search, along with a few other folks having brain blocks about what to search for. 

[olsteve]

Quote from: DrewKaree on Today at 09:59:32 AM
Where is this dearth of information on the main site you are referring to?

I think that the main site should have all of the basics that this hobby is about:
1-Basic cab design types, upright, cocktail etc. how to and pro/cons.
2-Controls - the site does have a decent list of joystick types and other stuff already. The latest and greatest should still be on the forums.
3-Control panel layouts - why and how to....why should I put in a spinner? Do I need 8 buttons per player? Where do I need to place the trackball? etc.
4-Software - Front-ends...which one to use? Which emulator(s)? How do I get this stuff to work together? Can I have a jukebox with mame and xfront-end?
5-Tutorials - How do I put this crap together?


Quote from: DrewKaree on Today at 09:59:32 AM
What -to you- makes it "way out of date"?

1-Seeing this on the top of several pages 'Very much a work in progress!'
2-Having tons of dead links
3-Stuff in the reviews section is old or dead.
4-There is a ton of information in past forums that should be in the tech&tips section.

I agree that the forums should be the place for the newest things and for more specific questions. However, the main site needs to be a good starting point organized well enough so a newbie can at least get a good idea of what they are getting into. Then they can use the forums for specific questions/opinions or to see the latest bling to put in a cab.

I also agree that if people would read the stickies it would save many repeat questions (maybe the stuff in the stickies needs to be on the main site?).
 
I agree too that adding a bunch of sub-topics

[DrewKaree]

I think that the main site should have all of the basics that this hobby is about:
1-Basic cab design types, upright, cocktail etc. how to and pro/cons.

Check here:  http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_cabinets.shtml how-to/pros & cons are covered in the "plans" section by the individuals - what better idea is there than to see the example and hear from someone who's done what you want to do, and hear THEIR info? 

2-Controls - the site does have a decent list of joystick types and other stuff already. The latest and greatest should still be on the forums.

Dunno what exactly that means - the main site offers it and the forums expand on it...I'm taking that to mean you agree that controls are covered adequately on the main site

3-Control panel layouts - why and how to....why should I put in a spinner? Do I need 8 buttons per player? Where do I need to place the trackball? etc.

This link should take care of the basics:  http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_puttogether.shtml#Layout while the rest of the questions are seriously just a matter of personal preferences and really need to be brought up in the main forum.  How can there be a "one place to put your trackball"?  What if you don't want a trackball?  Does that mean you'll be building a CP with a big blank spot where it'd be?  There's also, in that link I gave, a link to a CP designer so you can play around with your own design.

4-Software - Front-ends...which one to use? Which emulator(s)? How do I get this stuff to work together? Can I have a jukebox with mame and xfront-end?

Granted that it could be updated, but this has been discussed in the Software Forum and reasons for why, even within the FORUM there's not a comprehensive list have been given and explained as to the difficulty of this.  Check this link:  http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_software.shtml#frontend  As for your questions - a front end is again an individual choice, making more than basic information unrealistic, and it's why on that page you are directed to the Software forum.  How to get it to all work together?  The vast number of choices available makes such information a futile effort at best, as your computer is different from mine, meaning a different possibility of setting them up, different problems, et al.  Going to the home page of the software you will use is BY FAR the most efficient manner of figuring that out.  To try to do this on the main site would simply make it so bulky and cumbersome that folks will more than likely skip it and ask in the forums.

The jukebox question is a valid point, but again, anything more than basic information and links to the software developer's site (again, another possibility of a dead link too) is unwieldy and unrealistic to implement.

5-Tutorials - How do I put this crap together?

Specifically?  How to wire?     http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_wiring.shtml

How to slap together a cab? http://arcadecontrols.com/files/Miscellaneous/newbie_guide.zip

How to put together the rest?  http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_technical.shtml

If you're looking for a simplistic walk-through, just check this out:  The Step by Step Guide

I don't mean to be difficult, but it seems as if the main site has the answers to the questions you brought up, and  I was easily able to find answers to on the main site.  The questions it doesn't answer, it shouldn't answer, as the endless possibilities make that an unrealistic goal, or something not possible to answer on the main site due to the myriad configurations of each person's cabinet.

There may be something I'm missing in your point, so hopefully this has either been helpful to another newbie, or I've helped you see my point and what it is that I've been missing and you just realized it and how to flesh it out for me.

Look forward to your response

[DrewKaree]

I think adding a few of the things you speak of might be good, but with all the information presently on there, it seems to posses 98% of what's needed.  The 2% not there could easily be gleaned through the "examples" section, and the stickies.  Adding the sticky posts to the main page would seem to round that out.  Good idea.

I get the "out of date" now - I just looked at it differently.  I viewed it as needing an update, I read out of date to mean information no longer needed or useless due to changing technology.

There is currently too much junk going into the forums. Why do we need a conga forum or 90% of what is in the 'everything else' forum? If someone wants to debate politics or religion why would you come to BYOAC? There are plenty of other sites that cover that stuff or you can PM someone if you want to talk off-topic.

Getting a collection of people together will provide more information for you when trying to make a decision.  It also means that a feeling of "belonging" or community will happen.  This means folks will share things they find interesting and which may be a benefit to said community while not dealing with the topic of BYOAC.  While I personally don't like the conga lines, if you take a look at them, many long-time members here have benefitted from them, and appreciate the forum.  I believe the conga forum was created for the purpose of NOT crapping up ANY OTHER forum - kind of a way to segregate it from the rest of the forum.  Reading a few posts by Saint lead me to believe that shortly after the New Year, the conga posts, threads, and forum itself will be removed.  Another thing to consider is that some of the folks who frequent the conga forum (okay, maybe just 2 or 3  ) may have actual ideas to contribute, and may have never thought of building an arcade cab, but now may - I admit, that's probably a stretch, but they CAN provide help to current members.

As for politics or religion - it's why they happen to be in the "Everythng Else".  It's not a rigidly structured board where nothing other than BYOAC can be discussed, as will happen with ANY forum that's worth its salt.  Limits can and will be set up, as they have been in the Everything Else forum.  To say that there's better places on the net for those topics to be discussed denies human nature, and the fact that, indeed, this can be one of the best places to discuss such topics.  While not relating to BYOAC, these folks are a community sharing something we find interesting and helpful - the sheer number of replies shows an interest in the topics brought up.  As for the other areas on the net to discuss this, by and large they will be places that agree with your viewpoint, which helps no one, as a differing viewpoint will simply be shouted down - the topics allowed to be discussed here garner a stance that may never be brought up, or explained to someone with differing views. 

Lastly, since the conga line forum was created, I have only posted there or read something there when I chose to.  It's simple.  Click the "back" button if you don't want to read 'em.  The subtitle of the Everything Else forum makes it pretty clear that non-BYOAC topcs are allowed in there. 

The only other thing that I think could possibly be added would be a poll section........
-Rate the joysticks
-Rate my design idea
-Rate the front-ends
-Rate OS's to use in a cab

You do know that you can create your own polls, correct?  Each topic you brought up could be its own thread, complete with polls at the top - the board still allows for discussion in the thread too, so you get the best of both worlds.

[Bones]

I just like the word "dearth".

[DrewKaree]

I did that just for you.....I noticed from your PM that you're using every chance you can to use it too!  Am I your "word a day" calendar? 

Today's word is perspicacious.

Tomorrow's word is actually a descriptive term - inanely bovinious

More to come 

[Bones]

IToday's word is perspicacious.

Sounds discriminating, yet intelligent.....

[DrewKaree]

Milksop!