Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Return of the Sandbox — Parallax Forums

Return of the Sandbox

BumpBump Posts: 592
edited 2011-05-27 04:11 in General Discussion
We're considering opening up the Sandbox again, but first we would appreciate your input.

Why Mr. Bump?
A long time ago in a forum very similar to this one we had a Sandbox, and it was good. But one day the Sandbox was vaulted to a higher position on the Forums and its name was twisted into the "General Discussion" forum. Just like that the nature of discussion was changed, there was no place to discuss nonsense and non-Parallax related things.

We've had complaints
By description the General Discussion forum is for items "related to Parallax products but not..." yet because we removed the miscellaneous chatter forum by default all the nonsense ended up back in the general.

And so...
Do we need a return of the Sandbox? The decision ultimately falls upon the forum community as it will play more towards your desires and you'll be filling it with content/love/stuff?
«1

Comments

  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2011-05-24 15:01
    I am in favor of bringing back the sandbox.

    Rich H
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-05-24 15:03
    By appearances, the Sandbox continued to exist, just under a different name.

    Yes, bring back the Sandbox in it's official form.. It's a good general meeting place to get to know folks.

    OBC
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2011-05-24 15:12
    If the sanbox has Beach sand Iam all for it . but no bleached sand Please .

    Iam all for it !

    Peter.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-05-24 15:15
    A sandbox by any other name... 'Not sure it matters what you call it. There's nothing wrong with "General Discussion" IMO; but it's still the sandbox. Whatever you name it, though, please keep it topmost. I think it having it there really has worked for keeping non-Prop topics out of the Propeller Forum.

    -Phil
  • Jeff SteenckenJeff Steencken Posts: 32
    edited 2011-05-24 15:47
    I am relatively new to the forum, but I really enjoyed The Sandbox and would like to see it back as well.
  • BumpBump Posts: 592
    edited 2011-05-24 16:25
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    A sandbox by any other name... 'Not sure it matters what you call it. There's nothing wrong with "General Discussion" IMO; but it's still the sandbox. Whatever you name it, though, please keep it topmost. I think it having it there really has worked for keeping non-Prop topics out of the Propeller Forum.

    -Phil

    General Discussion will stay where it is, and you've hit on the primary issue with why we haven't just created a Sandbox again.

    Let's say it's created tomorrow and 'The Sandbox' is added to 'Social Forums', but 'General Discussion' remains. Two weeks pass and only 20 topics have flared up in the sandbox while the general discussion rages on with topics ranging from programming to cute kittens being used in mock crash-tests (no idea why that topic came to mind).

    What have we done in this scenario? Added another useless forum.

    OTOH - We create 'The Sandbox' and add it up next to 'General Discussion' and it works as intended; the programming stuff goes to general and the kittens fall into the sandbox (poor kittens), but as a result we now have two 'meh' forums before you can get to the sweet-meats of the Propeller, Robotics, Etc forums.

    We have no intention to nuke the General Discussion, it serves its purpose well. This is more used as a gauge to see if we should create a different area for -other- topics or just broaden the general discussion to allow the full range of digression it currently exhibits.
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-05-24 16:46
    Bump wrote: »
    ... the kittens fall into the sandbox (poor kittens)

    Depending on their needs at the time, that may be exactly what they want.

    (Just practicing for the return of the sandbox, if it returns.)
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2011-05-24 16:48
    If the intent is to create a divide as a "General Electronics Discussion" and a "Sandbox for anything in your head" then I would say to bring it back. That would remove the non-electronics items to a central location and solidify the General forum.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2011-05-24 16:54
    Bump wrote: »
    We've had complaints
    By description the General Discussion forum is for items "related to Parallax products but not..." yet because we removed the miscellaneous chatter forum by default all the nonsense ended up back in the general.

    Or you could simply change the General Discussion forum description to be "A sandbox where you can talk about anything you want." You needn't specify a by-line as including electronics or anything technical as the main purpose since everybody is already here for the same interests.

    I thought the Builder's Forum was a great name. Having both The Sandbox and General Discussion could be a bit confusing to dopes like me, though Phil will probably be able to identify the proper place to talk about Browser the cat.

    Ken Gracey
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-05-24 16:56
    Bump,

    I would vote for broadening the General Discussion guidelines. After all, the old Sandbox is already archived there, and nothing has really changed, topic-wise. Frankly, the only time I ever go to the main fourm page is to start a new thread. The rest of the time I use the "What's New" button and pay no attention to which forum something was posted in.

    -Phil
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2011-05-24 17:40
    Perhaps renaming General Discussion to General Parallax Discussion; {Topics related to the use of Parallax products but not specifically addressed by an individual forum}. And adding Sandbox; {Open forum for everything not related to Parallax or Parallax Products}.

    I like the sandbox concept. Sometimes I just want to have a place to babble with friends and "family" I've come to know. How I do like to babble. :D

    I vote bring back the SandBox and place it immediately under the General Parallax Discussion.

    Paul
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-05-24 17:43
    Agree with all of the above, except, place the Sandbox just above General Discussion. This way the sand is caught before it can filter downward to the other discussion areas.

    OBC
  • BrowserBrowser Posts: 84
    edited 2011-05-24 17:47
    sumtimez i miss the sanbox. [sidez arent high enuf.]

    -browz
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2011-05-24 17:51
    One reason I would like to see the Sandbox return is because many times I have been tricked into reading a post thinking it was about one thing but it turns out it was really about something else. I do have a sense of humor but it does wear on me occasionally when I read a string of posts that have nothing to do with the reason I visit here. I would like to be able to communicate with the community without restrictions and I feel that everyone should have a place to do that but at the same time I want somewhere to go where there is more structure and less goof.

    Rich H
  • SSteveSSteve Posts: 808
    edited 2011-05-24 17:53
    I like the Sandbox concept, but I don't think it's worth splitting it out from General Discussion if it is going to be positioned above the "sweet-meats." Stuff that gets pushed "below the fold" tends not to get noticed. Case in point: It wasn't until after I went to last month's Propeller Meetup that I realized there was a "Propeller Meetup" forum.

    Plus, I don't remember ever having been put off by any of the topics in General Discussion, so maybe it isn't that big of a deal.

    If you do decide to make a Sandbox, I like Paul's suggestion of changing the name to "General Parallax Discussion." And perhaps the tagline can refer to the sub-sweet-meat Sandbox for non-Parallax discussion.
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2011-05-24 17:54
    Browser wrote: »
    sumtimez i miss the sanbox. [sidez arent high enuf.]

    -browz

    Browser, you may be showing signs of a urinary tract infection. Perhaps I should give you a thorough physical exam. Call me.
  • SSteveSSteve Posts: 808
    edited 2011-05-24 17:56
    doggiedoc wrote: »
    Browser, you may be showing signs of a urinary tract infection. Perhaps I should give you a thorough physical exam. Call me.

    Browser, you should make him change his name to kittydoc before you call him.
  • RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
    edited 2011-05-24 17:58
    I was always fond of the sandbox... It was a cool place to talk about things that didn't necessarily involve electronics. I would be in favor of reinstating it:)
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2011-05-24 18:05
    The Sandbox would be good to bring back. Then someone could create a 40 page thread of gibberish and techno babble and it would fit right in.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2011-05-24 19:18
    Yes, bring back the the Sandbox! It was a wonderful, more general forum where I never felt guilty about shamelessly posting pictures and videos of my twins in marginally-related technical posts. Like what my twins were doing while everybody else was at UPEW: running madly through Chaco Canyon, NM! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDVDNHT7rS0
  • vaclav_salvaclav_sal Posts: 451
    edited 2011-05-24 19:39
    As stated - officially the General Discussion forum is for Parallax related but not covered in other forums issues. I have noticed that majority of all Parallax forum users are not only versed in Parallax product but in general electrical / electronics knowledge. This knowledge shows up in General Discussion forum often. Technically it is against the rules. And it is still techno-talk going on.

    If it is really necessary to have social forum, so bring the Soapbox back. I will volunteer first rant!
    But I am against putting it up front, let's keep the site technical first and social later.
    Cheers
    Vaclav
  • SSteveSSteve Posts: 808
    edited 2011-05-24 20:03
    erco wrote: »
    Yes, bring back the the Sandbox! It was a wonderful, more general forum where I never felt guilty about shamelessly posting pictures and videos of my twins in marginally-related technical posts. Like what my twins were doing while everybody else was at UPEW: running madly through Chaco Canyon, NM! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDVDNHT7rS0

    If that isn't cause enough for having a Sandbox I don't know what is.
  • TinkersALotTinkersALot Posts: 535
    edited 2011-05-24 20:05
    hmmmm...something we said? what if we squish every flying bug even if it is outside , does that make us a buzz kill?
  • Jorge PJorge P Posts: 385
    edited 2011-05-24 20:20
    I have seen in other forums that moderators can move threads to a different section, can't that be done here?
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-05-24 20:29
    Yes, it can be -- and is -- done. Some moderators are more proactive in this regard than others.

    -Phil
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-05-24 20:29
    I did enjoy the sandbox and am in favor of bringing it back, but I think we need to be careful that we don't end up with so many subsections that they end up being moribund.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-05-24 20:35
    An alternative to bifurcation might be the assignment of new icons to a single forum, like the SOLVED and NOT SOLVED icons. Parallax-related stuff could have one, another could be for rants, and yet another for cat- and kid-related topics. That would make it easier for picky folks to bypass stuff they don't want to read.

    -Phil
  • Jorge PJorge P Posts: 385
    edited 2011-05-24 20:57
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    An alternative to bifurcation might be the assignment of new icons to a single forum, like the SOLVED and NOT SOLVED icons. Parallax-related stuff could have one, another could be for rants, and yet another for cat- and kid-related topics. That would make it easier for picky folks to bypass stuff they don't want to read.

    -Phil

    I like that recommendation since you can click, in the projects forum, on "Completed" or "In Progress" and the rest of the posts are filtered out. That is a nice feature for a forum to have. But I didn't know about it until about 3 days ago when I accidentally clicked Completed.

    I just knew I could mark my own posts as answered/unanswered but had problems editing posts in IE with advanced mode, so I finally got Firefox.
  • graffixgraffix Posts: 389
    edited 2011-05-24 22:14
    doggiedoc wrote: »
    Perhaps renaming General Discussion to General Parallax Discussion; {Topics related to the use of Parallax products but not specifically addressed by an individual forum}. And adding Sandbox; {Open forum for everything not related to Parallax or Parallax Products}.

    I like the sandbox concept. Sometimes I just want to have a place to babble with friends and "family" I've come to know. How I do like to babble. :D

    I vote bring back the SandBox and place it immediately under the General Parallax Discussion.

    Paul
    IMO best idea
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2011-05-24 23:24
    I like the idea of there being a place where we can just write about stuff. The sandbox had some great discussions in it! The AI one comes to mind, not that it was of any serious academic value. It wasn't, but some of the ideas people had were just fun! (and to me, something that tells me a little about others, and I enjoy the social part of people, where it makes sense)

    Can't we just say general discussion, is general discussion, minus politics and religion? I actually enjoy discussing both, and do, but there are places for that, and IMHO, this is not one of those places. The value here is building the hobby for all of us. Having a little fun, or bonding with one another, etc... is a good thing, so long as it's not taking away from other, more important, good things.

    My own behavior was to check the sandbox, from time to time, and jump in. The "old computers" thread was absolutely great! It ran for a very long time too. So, we lost that with the current format. I think that's a loss worth thinking about how to recover.

    All of that said, if we do NOTHING, the current value of the forum is high. No matter what, that really needs to be primary, because it is why we are all here, and Parallax shares it with us closely. Honestly, that's special, and I sure wouldn't want that synergy broken.
Sign In or Register to comment.