do you want a 'completed projects' child forum of the projects forum?

[rockin_rick]

How about adding a child forum in the projects section for completed projects.  The recent thread about this got me thinking this. -

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=71242.0

How about having people post in completed if they start the post describing a completed project, and if the project is a WIP, then have them post in the main project forum.  When the project is done, have a mod move the thread to completed.  OR - only allow a user to be able to post in WIP (disallow starting a post in completed), and require a mod to move it when done.

There are many times when I'd like to spend time researching the build of a project, but when it is only part done, it's disappointing to not find out how something was done.  It's like reading a book only to find out it's half written.  With a completed forum, you know that it finishes, and the WIP forum, you know that it doesn't. 

Good idea, bad?
Rick

[Goz]

Only problems I see is that often times projects never get declared as being finished. The second problem is the amount of time it will take the mods / admins to move threads. In order for it to be the utopia you've proposed someone would have to go through every post in the project announcements section.

[Donkey_Kong]

someone would have to go through every post in the project announcements section.

Mission control would probably do it. 

[ChadTower]

What is this "completed project" you speak of? 

[missioncontrol]

I can save the mods time by letting them know my project isn't completed and at this rate it will be a long time so there's no need to move my thread.

[tommy]

People don't finish projects. When they get the monitor and controls in they just stop and play the games. 

[ChadTower]

Not all projects are MAME cabs.  There are quite a good amount that are restorations.

[BOGDOG]

I've been lurking for quite some time and I am currently working on a cabinet.  The build threads in project announcements are awesome! but they do take alot of time sifting through all the different threads - many of them dying out before a completed picture is posted.

I have been through many "project forums" for different things I've worked on including:

computer case mods (back when blue/UV lights and windows were new)
build your own poker table (poker rocks!)
home theater PC (before you could buy one off the shelf)
customize you electric guitar (guitars are and will always be cool!)
overclocking forums (liquid cooled baby)
etc...

I have found that the best of the forums include one sticky within the project forum for people to post one or two pictures of their completed work and include a link to the build thread or personal website.  No comments allowed and the burden to post the completed pics with links are on the cab builder.  If the work is never completed, then there will be nothing to add.  This will be one thread with many pages of only completed cab pics with links, a visual directory.

[bfauska]

Not all projects are MAME cabs.  There are quite a good amount that are restorations.

A little late for questioning probably, but who the f said anything about MAME cabs?


I have seen some forums where there are work in progress and finished sections of the forum and they seem to work well.  The one real difficulty I see is that we rarely consider the cab done, and when we do we are usually wrong.  There are definitely some finished cabs in the forum, but mostly they're WIP.  I've not looked too much at the examples section of the main part of arcadecontrols.com, but it seems like it is sort of the completed project section.  I also don't know if a project that is only documented in the forum could be included there, but if it could then that seems like a reasonable place for finished projects, maybe with a link from a sticky in the project announcement area.

[Level42]

Any piece of art is always unfinished

[ChadTower]

A little late for questioning probably, but who the f said anything about MAME cabs?

Tommy did.  What he is talking about is a common issue with people building mame cabs.  People restoring a dedicated... not so much.