[Legolas813]

We get underground previews and reviews posted on the front page, so why can't we also get underground news posted on the news section of the front page? I mean how many people actually check the underground page on a regular basis? Underground news items would be fine on the home page, IMO.

[RLacey]

Our underground news is so superior to the regular variety that it's been elevated to a higher plane. Only those worthy of finding it out (those who know where to look or who read the forums) get to see it.

Of course .

[Jackal]

Originally Posted by Legolas813

I mean how many people actually check the underground page on a regular basis?

Why have a separate UG forum? Why have a separate UG section at all? We have a separation because not everyone is that interested in them. Articles don't happen frequently enough to matter, but news items can add up quickly. We've at least theoretically toyed with the personal option of having UG news appearing, but that's not really a priority.

Isn't a better goal to encourage people to visit the Underground section more regularly?

I'm not sure why this would matter much to forumites, though. You can see all the news headlines at the top of the page.

[Kurufinwe]

Incidentally, you also get both 'normal' and underground news using the RSS feed.

[Toefur]

Originally Posted by Jackal

Why have a separate UG forum? Why have a separate UG section at all?

This is just silly

Originally Posted by Jackal

We have a separation because not everyone is that interested in them.

Where does one draw the line with this slipperly slope arguement? I am not interested in half the news posted on the main page... perhaps you should consider giving that it's own section?

Originally Posted by Jackal

Isn't a better goal to encourage people to visit the Underground section more regularly?

I think it has the opposite effect. People forget about it, don't pay attention to it, etc. I for one am very interested in underground games and the underground scene but the lack of any mention of it on the front page makes me entirely forget about the existance of such a section on the site.

If I, someone who is already highly interested in this area, can thus not be always aware of other news updates in the underground section, how are other visitors that aren't already familiar likely to find it?

Originally Posted by Jackal

I'm not sure why this would matter much to forumites, though. You can see all the news headlines at the top of the page.

As has been stated before by other staff: the percentage of site visitors that actually visit the forums is a very small amount. A lot of the underground news that I find interesting, I don't even realise exists until I see the news updates at the top of the forums. So, and what of people that don't visit the forums...



I just can't see any negatives to major underground news updates being featured on the main page...

[Jackal]

Originally Posted by Toefur

This is just silly

They were perfectly valid questions. And since your "rebuttal" consists of precisely nothing, I'll assume you don't have one.

Where does one draw the line with this slipperly slope arguement? I am not interested in half the news posted on the main page... perhaps you should consider giving that it's own section?

There is absolutely nothing slippery about this slope. A small number of personal preferences has no bearing on anything.

I think it has the opposite effect. People forget about it, don't pay attention to it, etc. I for one am very interested in underground games and the underground scene but the lack of any mention of it on the front page makes me entirely forget about the existance of such a section on the site.

You don't know its effect. I said it was our GOAL to encourage more visitors to UG. One that we're working towards. You did notice we recently hired a bunch of new UG writers, yes? You're commenting on its current state.

If I, someone who is already highly interested in this area, can thus not be always aware of other news updates in the underground section, how are other visitors that aren't already familiar likely to find it?

You mean "choose" not. Not "can" not. Don't confuse not running on the front site with not being linked to on the front page. It's a whopping one extra mouse click to get to UG news.

As has been stated before by other staff: the percentage of site visitors that actually visit the forums is a very small amount. A lot of the underground news that I find interesting, I don't even realise exists until I see the news updates at the top of the forums. So, and what of people that don't visit the forums...

And has been stated before by me, many times. Forumites should not think they represent the majority of our site readers, so really all you're doing is expressing personal opinion. And forumites complaining that they can't get info as easily as they want is hardly anything new, even when it's right in front of them.

I just can't see any negatives to major underground news updates being featured on the main page...

I'm sure for you there wouldn't be any. Anyway, as I already stated, we've considered the idea of making UG news a personal option that people can either choose or not choose to appear on the front page. But you know, sometimes the 6000 other things to do sometimes take more priority.

[Legolas813]

My main issue is that the underground news is not frequent enough to warrant me to visit that page. And putting it on the home page would not clutter up the rest of the news as there are not that many news items coming out of the underground section.

As for the bar at the top of the forum, does anyone actually use that? I barely notice it's there.

[Jackal]

Sure, it's a problem right now. But we're definitely intending to address the lack of UG news (and the general lack of UG content altogether). The ultimate goal is to build UG up into a much more active, vibrant offshoot of its own that people DO visit more often. There really isn't a lot of reason to check UG out these days, and that will change. Whether it ever changes enough to affect the news issue remains to be seen. But I don't want to simply cop out on our larger goal and remove any incentive to work towards it.

[Legolas813]

Fair enough.