I also suspect this is one of the reasons (in addition to poor communication of the scope) we frequently get miscategorized topics in #using-arduino:installation-troubleshooting.
I have a counterproposal. I was planning to propose it separately from the restructuring proposal, but I'll go ahead and describe it here.
My proposal is to add an "Uncategorized" category as the first category.
The category description and documentation would clearly communicate that no topics should be created in it.
This category would act as a "honey pot". All topics created there will either be from users who just select the first category out of laziness instead of making the effort to pick the appropriate one or spammers.
The benefit to the category is it will make it easier for the forum maintainers to identify miscategorized topics than it would be if they were mixed in with the correctly categorized topics in a normal category. They will also be able to identify the users who need to be encouraged to use the forum responsibly.
I think it makes sense to have development tools as the first real category because it matches the sequence of the typical new user journey (set up development tool, start project).
I would propose to add that "Uncategorized" category inside the first parent category (e.g. Development Tools > Uncategorized) simply because I want to reduce the amount of screen real estate it takes up on the home page.
Isn't that just creating a section for the sake of it when we are looking to reduce them or simplify the layout ?
It also creates an opening for induced discobot engagement as a topic, which should be seperate but would or should come under any melting pot category.
No. The proposed category has a specific and unique purpose that inherently can not be served by any of the existing categories.
There are valid arguments against the creation of an "Uncategorized" category, but "you're creating another category just for the sake of it" is not one of them.
I don't know how the uncategorised category would work out but I think it's a good idea worth trying. I suggest doing it on a 6 month trial basis, I guess it can be removed if no good.
Exactly. By its very nature it is completely disposable. I think we would see quickly whether or not it had any value.
The more difficult evaluation would be determining whether those benefits outweigh the harmful effects of the added category making the forum a little more confusing and messy for the users.
In my opinion, when a new user sees the category "General" or "General questions" then there is no hesitation to use that.
The category "Uncategorized" gives second thoughts (should everything in it be categorized later ? Who wants to be uncategorized ? It feels close to "leftovers" or "rejects").
Regardless of what others wrote about it, I prefer a "landing category" or "honey pot". The Arduino hardware and software might be overwhelming for new users, and this forum should not be another thing that adds to the overwhelming feeling, it should be super easy.
In my proposal, the whole point of the category is that it should not ever be used:
Forum maintainers would closely monitor the category and move (or delete in the case of spam) all topics created in the category. They would make a standard reply on the topic after moving it requesting the user to be careful about categorization in the future.
IMHO the mods are going to be very busy moving posts out of the suggested miscellaneous, honey pot, general, uncategorised section.
I hope Arduino starts to pay them !
Spam has tended to show up in a lot of of different areas.
It might catch a tiny bit more, but certainly not all of it.
Don't see it as a valid reason for a new area.
In the event it needed to be closed, I would not expect mods to be roped in to deal the moving everything that might end up there.
It could be a lot of work moving large amounts of posts to the correct areas. Unless they get paid of course !
If it is done in the staging area as part of testing then it would be proven one way or the other.
Bob, how would this work? Suppose we set this up in the staging area as you suggest how would we get real traffic to it from real new posters to test what happens? I would like to test the idea, but the only way I can see to test it is in the production forum. If you can see a way round this do please explain.
I tentatively suggest adding the uncategorised category at the top of the existing forum now to see what happens.
There used to be some traffic flow when it was initially set up.
Unsure if that changed at any point or if there is an option to allow traffic to flow to both areas.
You would have to ask Dax1
Agree that as an interim measure it could be tried LIVE for a short period
At least that would help give you guys an idea of the flow.
You should state that is is a test area in some form. eg BETA.
It should also be first place in the current list for it to have any meaningful data.
Not against the idea per-se.
Just think there may be some issues that have not been thought out as well as they could be.
That is why I proposed to combine 10 or more categories into a single "General" landing category and keep them there with the addition of [I2C], [Displays], and so on in the title.
There won't be any posts in it because the forum maintainers move all the topics out of the category. That's the whole point of the category. It's a "honey pot" for miscategorized topics.