I have about 400 categories which cover products and accessories. I want to handle two exports - one for products and one for accessories. The products are in about 50 categories which I just highlight in the list and it works perfectly.
When I go to select the 350 Accessory categories on my next export template, I can select uo tp about two thirds of them in the listbox before I get an 'Invalid Token' message when I try to apply the template. If I had a radio button option 'Include/Exclude Selected Categories' it would mean I can select the product categories (50) and Include for my product template and select the same 50 product categories but Exclude on my Accessories. In the backend code the radio selection would just insert a NOT when Exclude is selected.
@babyishcare ... I think you're on the wrong website? Are you playing Sims?
How many times have you seen this written at the beginning of a thread? After bringing up the point about there being too many categories in the forums, some of them even being duplicated, I have been noticing this phrase popping up more and more often in the forums. Do you agree that they should reduce the number of categories to make it easier to navigate? Too many categories is counterproductive imo.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
i would merge the expansion and gamepack sections into one section for discussion of all the paid content
but other than that I think it's fine? what changes would you make?
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
I'm not sure what they can do to make the categories more clear for you, then. How would you change these so you would understand the differences better?
Forum Ideas & Feedback
Share your feedback & suggestions on The Sims forum
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner
Give us your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 Game Feedback
Give your feedback on the game thus far.
The Sims 4 General Discussions
The new place to talk about The Sims 4 and Stuff Packs
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
I'm not sure what they can do to make the categories more clear for you, then. How would you change these so you would understand the differences better?
Forum Ideas & Feedback
Share your feedback & suggestions on The Sims forum
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner
Give us your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 Game Feedback
Give your feedback on the game thus far.
The Sims 4 General Discussions
The new place to talk about The Sims 4 and Stuff Packs
If you read previous responses in this thread, you will see that I am not the only one who has had problems with this. If you go look in the sections you list above, you will see that there are all kinds of ideas and feedback spread throughout all of them! So, obviously some people are having problems figuring out where to put some of their threads... not you, of course.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
I'm not sure what they can do to make the categories more clear for you, then. How would you change these so you would understand the differences better?
Forum Ideas & Feedback
Share your feedback & suggestions on The Sims forum
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner
Give us your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 Game Feedback
Give your feedback on the game thus far.
The Sims 4 General Discussions
The new place to talk about The Sims 4 and Stuff Packs
If you read previous responses in this thread, you will see that I am not the only one who has had problems with this. If you go look in the sections you list above, you will see that there are all kinds of ideas and feedback spread throughout all of them! So, obviously some people are having problems figuring out where to put some of their threads... not you, of course.
I recognize that. I'm wondering what potential solution there is that would maintain the categories, which make search actually useful. I'm genuinely (and professionally) curious about how you would rephrase these things to create the clarity you need. It was not a rhetorical question.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
I'm not sure what they can do to make the categories more clear for you, then. How would you change these so you would understand the differences better?
Forum Ideas & Feedback
Share your feedback & suggestions on The Sims forum
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner
Give us your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 Game Feedback
Give your feedback on the game thus far.
The Sims 4 General Discussions
The new place to talk about The Sims 4 and Stuff Packs
If you read previous responses in this thread, you will see that I am not the only one who has had problems with this. If you go look in the sections you list above, you will see that there are all kinds of ideas and feedback spread throughout all of them! So, obviously some people are having problems figuring out where to put some of their threads... not you, of course.
I recognize that. I'm wondering what potential solution there is that would maintain the categories, which make search actually useful. I'm genuinely (and professionally) curious about how you would rephrase these things to create the clarity you need. It was not a rhetorical question.
For me, I would like to see fewer categories. As someone posted earlier, some sections of the forums have very few comments in them. They probably could be removed, for a start.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
I'm not sure what they can do to make the categories more clear for you, then. How would you change these so you would understand the differences better?
Forum Ideas & Feedback
Share your feedback & suggestions on The Sims forum
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner
Give us your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 Game Feedback
Give your feedback on the game thus far.
The Sims 4 General Discussions
The new place to talk about The Sims 4 and Stuff Packs
If you read previous responses in this thread, you will see that I am not the only one who has had problems with this. If you go look in the sections you list above, you will see that there are all kinds of ideas and feedback spread throughout all of them! So, obviously some people are having problems figuring out where to put some of their threads... not you, of course.
I recognize that. I'm wondering what potential solution there is that would maintain the categories, which make search actually useful. I'm genuinely (and professionally) curious about how you would rephrase these things to create the clarity you need. It was not a rhetorical question.
For me, I would like to see fewer categories. As someone posted earlier, some sections of the forums have very few comments in them. They probably could be removed, for a start.
My issue with fewer categories is that the categories make a difference in narrowing down a search. If there are fewer of them, I'll have even more unrelated stuff to wade through in searches than I do now. Search would be basically useless. But that's just me, and might not apply to most people.
However, we've also been told that different people in Maxis read Feedback compared to Ideas compared to General Discussion. So if those *need* to stay so that what we say actually can get to the right people and so that the forums don't become basically useless to Maxis and end up disappearing like lots of other official game forums have, what rephrasing would help you keep them apart?
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
This probably belongs in off topic.
You're probably just bad at deciding which category to post topics in.
I'm good with how things are. I'd even like if every pack had their own subforum.
@Simpkin Off Topic threads deal with topics other than the Sims and forums. You help me to make my point, since this thread is dealing with forum categories, it by all means belongs in a category other than Off Topics! You, of course, are entitled to your opinion.
it's got nothing to do with sims so... as seen, my point was made by moderators But "you are entitled to you opinion "
Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
I'm not sure what they can do to make the categories more clear for you, then. How would you change these so you would understand the differences better?
Forum Ideas & Feedback
Share your feedback & suggestions on The Sims forum
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner
Give us your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 Game Feedback
Give your feedback on the game thus far.
The Sims 4 General Discussions
The new place to talk about The Sims 4 and Stuff Packs
If you read previous responses in this thread, you will see that I am not the only one who has had problems with this. If you go look in the sections you list above, you will see that there are all kinds of ideas and feedback spread throughout all of them! So, obviously some people are having problems figuring out where to put some of their threads... not you, of course.
I recognize that. I'm wondering what potential solution there is that would maintain the categories, which make search actually useful. I'm genuinely (and professionally) curious about how you would rephrase these things to create the clarity you need. It was not a rhetorical question.
For me, I would like to see fewer categories. As someone posted earlier, some sections of the forums have very few comments in them. They probably could be removed, for a start.
My issue with fewer categories is that the categories make a difference in narrowing down a search. If there are fewer of them, I'll have even more unrelated stuff to wade through in searches than I do now. Search would be basically useless. But that's just me, and might not apply to most people.
However, we've also been told that different people in Maxis read Feedback compared to Ideas compared to General Discussion. So if those *need* to stay so that what we say actually can get to the right people and so that the forums don't become basically useless to Maxis and end up disappearing like lots of other official game forums have, what rephrasing would help you keep them apart?
Well then, that is the difference between you and me. I think we should have, and need, those sections, but I would simply call them Game Feedback, New Ideas, and General Discussion. Also, why not just have a section called Complaints? Under Game Feedback, have two subcategories called Positive Feedback and Negative Feedback. Put all of the SP, GP, and EPs under one category in subcategories. I don't really feel we need the Off Topic section, discussing anything other than Sims really has no place here.
These are a few ideas that I think would simplify things and make it a little easier to place threads in the right place.
Regardless of what I say here, it will make no difference with EA. I guess I am just getting really bored with TS4 and the forums and looking for something to spark my interest, again. Thank you @luthienrising for a civil and engaging debate.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
Many users post in "General Discussion" for exposure. I do not believe that the categories are generally misleading, it is just that OPs want the most possible attention paid to their issue. This is understandable on a human level, but not helpful. A forum needs categories. I don't understand how less categories would help at this point and some are even asking for more. I think it is ok to be confused once on a while, that is why a forum has mods.
By the way, when I want to check what's going on in the forum, I always go to "Recent Discussions" and therefore see all categories. I never go to "General Discussion" directly anymore because I often find more interesting things to comment on in other parts of the forum like the feedback section or the sections for Expansions and Game Packs.
@luthienrising I have a question that maybe you can answer for me. Let's say I have a new lot that I would like to advertise in the forums. Should I put the thread in the "Builders" section under the "Creative Corner" heading? Or, should I put it in the "The Sims 4 Lots" subcategory in the "The Sims Creative Corner" section under the "The Sims 4" heading? Please go and look at the contents of both of these places before answering the question. Where does it belong and why not the other place? This is the one that really confuses me....
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
@luthienrising I have a question that maybe you can answer for me. Let's say I have a new lot that I would like to advertise in the forums. Should I put the thread in the "Builders" section under the "Creative Corner" heading? Or, should I put it in the "The Sims 4 Lots" subcategory in the "The Sims Creative Corner" section under the "The Sims 4" heading? Please go and look at the contents of both of these places before answering the question. Where does it belong and why not the other place? This is the one that really confuses me....
If you don't want to annoy the Sims 3 people whose legacy creative area got moved up the forums for some reason, stick to the Sims 4 one. I agree that the Creative categories are messed up. It used to be clear before that Sims 3 category got moved. The Sims 4 category is clearly located and clearly labelled "Sims 4", and always has been. On this one, i]yes[/i], there's an issue and one that other people have been lobbying about for months - a separate issue from the ones you've had with the various Sims 4 categories and this one. I don't recall seeing people talk in the topic about the Creative Corner problem about having any issues figuring out where to put their problems with the forum itself or what goes in feedback vs. ideas. And it's those issues that I am interested in hearing how you would relabel them so that you wouldn't be confused.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
@luthienrising I have a question that maybe you can answer for me. Let's say I have a new lot that I would like to advertise in the forums. Should I put the thread in the "Builders" section under the "Creative Corner" heading? Or, should I put it in the "The Sims 4 Lots" subcategory in the "The Sims Creative Corner" section under the "The Sims 4" heading? Please go and look at the contents of both of these places before answering the question. Where does it belong and why not the other place? This is the one that really confuses me....
If you don't want to annoy the Sims 3 people whose legacy creative area got moved up the forums for some reason, stick to the Sims 4 one. I agree that the Creative categories are messed up. It used to be clear before that Sims 3 category got moved. The Sims 4 category is clearly located and clearly labelled "Sims 4", and always has been. On this one, i]yes[/i], there's an issue and one that other people have been lobbying about for months - a separate issue from the ones you've had with the various Sims 4 categories and this one. I don't recall seeing people talk in the topic about the Creative Corner problem about having any issues figuring out where to put their problems with the forum itself or what goes in feedback vs. ideas. And it's those issues that I am interested in hearing how you would relabel them so that you wouldn't be confused.
Actually, it looks to me like EA may have changed some of the descriptions under the headings. The descriptions are more precise about the contents. I guess I don't do a very good job about keeping up with changes they make here. But, can you see how some of this could be confusing to some people with the example I gave above?
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
@luthienrising I have a question that maybe you can answer for me. Let's say I have a new lot that I would like to advertise in the forums. Should I put the thread in the "Builders" section under the "Creative Corner" heading? Or, should I put it in the "The Sims 4 Lots" subcategory in the "The Sims Creative Corner" section under the "The Sims 4" heading? Please go and look at the contents of both of these places before answering the question. Where does it belong and why not the other place? This is the one that really confuses me....
If you don't want to annoy the Sims 3 people whose legacy creative area got moved up the forums for some reason, stick to the Sims 4 one. I agree that the Creative categories are messed up. It used to be clear before that Sims 3 category got moved. The Sims 4 category is clearly located and clearly labelled "Sims 4", and always has been. On this one, i]yes[/i], there's an issue and one that other people have been lobbying about for months - a separate issue from the ones you've had with the various Sims 4 categories and this one. I don't recall seeing people talk in the topic about the Creative Corner problem about having any issues figuring out where to put their problems with the forum itself or what goes in feedback vs. ideas. And it's those issues that I am interested in hearing how you would relabel them so that you wouldn't be confused.
Actually, it looks to me like EA may have changed some of the descriptions under the headings. The descriptions are more precise about the contents. I guess I don't do a very good job about keeping up with changes they make here. But, can you see how some of this could be confusing to some people with the example I gave above?
Yep, that particular example has confused lots of people. I just haven't really seen how some of the other ones are confusing. I'm glad you're finding the descriptions helpful, though! I suspect that some could use more changes. If I were community-managing and had loads of time (I've never known a community manager who did, though), I'd probably ask new forum users who post in the wrong category *why* they chose that category. Making less work moving stuff isn't a bad thing if there are common errors. The one I see most is new users posting *here* instead of Sims 4 Ideas Corner, rather than the other way around, maybe just because it's higher up in the forums. The actual descriptions are clear, but this one maybe needs to say "Not about Sims"?
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@luthienrising I have a question that maybe you can answer for me. Let's say I have a new lot that I would like to advertise in the forums. Should I put the thread in the "Builders" section under the "Creative Corner" heading? Or, should I put it in the "The Sims 4 Lots" subcategory in the "The Sims Creative Corner" section under the "The Sims 4" heading? Please go and look at the contents of both of these places before answering the question. Where does it belong and why not the other place? This is the one that really confuses me....
If you don't want to annoy the Sims 3 people whose legacy creative area got moved up the forums for some reason, stick to the Sims 4 one. I agree that the Creative categories are messed up. It used to be clear before that Sims 3 category got moved. The Sims 4 category is clearly located and clearly labelled "Sims 4", and always has been. On this one, i]yes[/i], there's an issue and one that other people have been lobbying about for months - a separate issue from the ones you've had with the various Sims 4 categories and this one. I don't recall seeing people talk in the topic about the Creative Corner problem about having any issues figuring out where to put their problems with the forum itself or what goes in feedback vs. ideas. And it's those issues that I am interested in hearing how you would relabel them so that you wouldn't be confused.
Actually, it looks to me like EA may have changed some of the descriptions under the headings. The descriptions are more precise about the contents. I guess I don't do a very good job about keeping up with changes they make here. But, can you see how some of this could be confusing to some people with the example I gave above?
Yep, that particular example has confused lots of people. I just haven't really seen how some of the other ones are confusing. I'm glad you're finding the descriptions helpful, though! I suspect that some could use more changes. If I were community-managing and had loads of time (I've never known a community manager who did, though), I'd probably ask new forum users who post in the wrong category *why* they chose that category. Making less work moving stuff isn't a bad thing if there are common errors. The one I see most is new users posting *here* instead of Sims 4 Ideas Corner, rather than the other way around, maybe just because it's higher up in the forums. The actual descriptions are clear, but this one maybe needs to say "Not about Sims"?
I totally agree with this. I've even seen some of the people who are members posting ideas for TS4 over in this section. And when I have posted that TS4 has their own ideas section, they will come back saying that the know that TS4 has their own section but wasn't sure where to make their thread at. And even after you tell someone that TS4 has their own section, they will still come back to the Forum Ideas and Feedback section to make yet another thread with ideas for TS4. I once sent either SimGuruBChick or SimGuruDrake a message asking would they consider moving The Sims 4 Ideas Corner up near the Forum Ideas and Feedback section since way too many members old/new were making threads for TS4 ideas in the FI&F section. So I told whoever it was that I sent the message to that once "New Members" come to the site, the 1st thing they see is the Forum Ideas and Feedback and head straight to that section to post their ideas.
So I was thinking that it would be nice if they had some sort of system in place that could help people with making posts and help them guide them to where they should be at. It would be nice if we had some type of pop up box that comes up when we hit the Post Comment button that can alert the member that the thread that they're about ready to post should be in such and such section and not in this section. Let's say that someone makes a thread over here that has ideas for TS4, then when they click on the Post Comment button a box will pop up alerting them that this post should be over in The Sims 4 Ideas Corner or something that says something along the lines of "Your post contains ideas for TS4, so if you okay, then your post will be posted over in The Sims 4 Ideas Corner instead of Forum Ideas and Feedback". I don't know what could of program could do that but I think it would be nice if there was something like that out there that the makes of the Vanilla forum could add to their Vanilla programing.
I remember when this site first opened up and we had the ability to move our own threads to the proper section if we had ended up posting it in the wrong section. Now why that got taken away, I do not know. I'm thinking that the reason may had been due to the fact that when someone makes a post over in the section that they felt that it should go into only for the moderators to move it where they think that it should go and then the OP would want to know why it got moved to the other section when the thread wasn't about the section that it was put in, so the OP of the thread would end up moving back to the original section that it started out in only to have the mods move it back to the other section. So that's what I'm thinking on why we lost the ability to move our threads to another section.
I think there are too many categories. I see a lot of EP and GP discussions in general. And a lot of general gameplay discussions moved to the GP or EP sections because someone else in a thread might mention an EP or GP during the conversations.
I also think TS3 and TS4 creative corners should be totally separated and unjoined. Nothing mixed, because let's face it, if you are looking for TS3 stories or vice versa the last thing you want to do is have to flip through the other game's stories. It should go back to the way it was before, including those that were combined, as in TS3 and TS4 or TS2 video sections. Trying to make us all get along with that is only off putting for those who want to see a funny video as opposed to a zillion Let's Play thread videos and links. Nobody who wants to see a TS4 Sim or TS3 Sim wants to wade through pictures of the other.
Then there is the speculation threads where I was happy it was added where people would no longer get in 'trouble' for speculating. But the last thing you want is gurus entering to 'correct' someone. That only embarrass someone who was merely speculating and we all know speculating is fun and sometimes get heated but after all it's only speculation. Many game discussions also get moved to speculation.
Even gameplay questions and rants get moved to bug threads. Maybe people just want to say something instead of it moved to bug threads.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
I think there are too many categories. I see a lot of EP and GP discussions in general. And a lot of general gameplay discussions moved to the GP or EP sections because someone else in a thread might mention an EP or GP during the conversations.
I also think TS3 and TS4 creative corners should be totally separated and unjoined. Nothing mixed, because let's face it, if you are looking for TS3 stories or vice versa the last thing you want to do is have to flip through the other game's stories. It should go back to the way it was before, including those that were combined, as in TS3 and TS4 or TS2 video sections. Trying to make us all get along with that is only off putting for those who want to see a funny video as opposed to a zillion Let's Play thread videos and links. Nobody who wants to see a TS4 Sim or TS3 Sim wants to wade through pictures of the other.
Then there is the speculation threads where I was happy it was added where people would no longer get in 'trouble' for speculating. But the last thing you want is gurus entering to 'correct' someone. That only embarrass someone who was merely speculating and we all know speculating is fun and sometimes get heated but after all it's only speculation. Many game discussions also get moved to speculation.
Even gameplay questions and rants get moved to bug threads. Maybe people just want to say something instead of it moved to bug threads.
Sometimes I can't decide whether a thread belongs in "Speculation" or the "Game Ideas" section. If you speculate about something, isn't that a new idea?
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
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I detect a fake brand new spam account
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
but other than that I think it's fine? what changes would you make?
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Sorry, @Simpkin, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I guess we were both wrong since EA moved this thread to Forum Feedback. They didn't like where I thought it should go, and they didn't move it to Off Topics, either. This is the point I am trying to make... too confusing!
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
I don't see why it's confusing. There's only one category that's about the forums themselves, and that's this one.
@luthienrising No disrespect intended, but have you ever had a thread moved?
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
No, I haven't. I find the category descriptions and names clear. And that's (*heads to check*) 209 threads. Sorry, I just don't see ambiguity in the category names or descriptions. I certainly don't see how you would think to put a thread about forum organization into "Sims 4 General Discussion"; it's about the forum, not about Sims 4. And "Ideas" and "Feedback" seem pretty distinct to me as well: one is about what we don't have, the other about what we do.
Well, I am glad that you do not have any problems with posting and navigating these forums. I guess I am speaking for those of us who are a little more challenged with what comes easy for you. I look at the forums like I look at our government. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to understand and follow.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
I'm not sure what they can do to make the categories more clear for you, then. How would you change these so you would understand the differences better?
Forum Ideas & Feedback
Share your feedback & suggestions on The Sims forum
The Sims 4 Ideas Corner
Give us your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 Game Feedback
Give your feedback on the game thus far.
The Sims 4 General Discussions
The new place to talk about The Sims 4 and Stuff Packs
If you read previous responses in this thread, you will see that I am not the only one who has had problems with this. If you go look in the sections you list above, you will see that there are all kinds of ideas and feedback spread throughout all of them! So, obviously some people are having problems figuring out where to put some of their threads... not you, of course.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
I recognize that. I'm wondering what potential solution there is that would maintain the categories, which make search actually useful. I'm genuinely (and professionally) curious about how you would rephrase these things to create the clarity you need. It was not a rhetorical question.
For me, I would like to see fewer categories. As someone posted earlier, some sections of the forums have very few comments in them. They probably could be removed, for a start.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
My issue with fewer categories is that the categories make a difference in narrowing down a search. If there are fewer of them, I'll have even more unrelated stuff to wade through in searches than I do now. Search would be basically useless. But that's just me, and might not apply to most people.
However, we've also been told that different people in Maxis read Feedback compared to Ideas compared to General Discussion. So if those *need* to stay so that what we say actually can get to the right people and so that the forums don't become basically useless to Maxis and end up disappearing like lots of other official game forums have, what rephrasing would help you keep them apart?
Well then, that is the difference between you and me. I think we should have, and need, those sections, but I would simply call them Game Feedback, New Ideas, and General Discussion. Also, why not just have a section called Complaints? Under Game Feedback, have two subcategories called Positive Feedback and Negative Feedback. Put all of the SP, GP, and EPs under one category in subcategories. I don't really feel we need the Off Topic section, discussing anything other than Sims really has no place here.
These are a few ideas that I think would simplify things and make it a little easier to place threads in the right place.
Regardless of what I say here, it will make no difference with EA. I guess I am just getting really bored with TS4 and the forums and looking for something to spark my interest, again. Thank you @luthienrising for a civil and engaging debate.
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
By the way, when I want to check what's going on in the forum, I always go to "Recent Discussions" and therefore see all categories. I never go to "General Discussion" directly anymore because I often find more interesting things to comment on in other parts of the forum like the feedback section or the sections for Expansions and Game Packs.
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"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
If you don't want to annoy the Sims 3 people whose legacy creative area got moved up the forums for some reason, stick to the Sims 4 one. I agree that the Creative categories are messed up. It used to be clear before that Sims 3 category got moved. The Sims 4 category is clearly located and clearly labelled "Sims 4", and always has been. On this one, i]yes[/i], there's an issue and one that other people have been lobbying about for months - a separate issue from the ones you've had with the various Sims 4 categories and this one. I don't recall seeing people talk in the topic about the Creative Corner problem about having any issues figuring out where to put their problems with the forum itself or what goes in feedback vs. ideas. And it's those issues that I am interested in hearing how you would relabel them so that you wouldn't be confused.
Actually, it looks to me like EA may have changed some of the descriptions under the headings. The descriptions are more precise about the contents. I guess I don't do a very good job about keeping up with changes they make here. But, can you see how some of this could be confusing to some people with the example I gave above?
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams
Yep, that particular example has confused lots of people. I just haven't really seen how some of the other ones are confusing. I'm glad you're finding the descriptions helpful, though! I suspect that some could use more changes. If I were community-managing and had loads of time (I've never known a community manager who did, though), I'd probably ask new forum users who post in the wrong category *why* they chose that category. Making less work moving stuff isn't a bad thing if there are common errors. The one I see most is new users posting *here* instead of Sims 4 Ideas Corner, rather than the other way around, maybe just because it's higher up in the forums. The actual descriptions are clear, but this one maybe needs to say "Not about Sims"?
I totally agree with this. I've even seen some of the people who are members posting ideas for TS4 over in this section. And when I have posted that TS4 has their own ideas section, they will come back saying that the know that TS4 has their own section but wasn't sure where to make their thread at. And even after you tell someone that TS4 has their own section, they will still come back to the Forum Ideas and Feedback section to make yet another thread with ideas for TS4. I once sent either SimGuruBChick or SimGuruDrake a message asking would they consider moving The Sims 4 Ideas Corner up near the Forum Ideas and Feedback section since way too many members old/new were making threads for TS4 ideas in the FI&F section. So I told whoever it was that I sent the message to that once "New Members" come to the site, the 1st thing they see is the Forum Ideas and Feedback and head straight to that section to post their ideas.
So I was thinking that it would be nice if they had some sort of system in place that could help people with making posts and help them guide them to where they should be at. It would be nice if we had some type of pop up box that comes up when we hit the Post Comment button that can alert the member that the thread that they're about ready to post should be in such and such section and not in this section. Let's say that someone makes a thread over here that has ideas for TS4, then when they click on the Post Comment button a box will pop up alerting them that this post should be over in The Sims 4 Ideas Corner or something that says something along the lines of "Your post contains ideas for TS4, so if you okay, then your post will be posted over in The Sims 4 Ideas Corner instead of Forum Ideas and Feedback". I don't know what could of program could do that but I think it would be nice if there was something like that out there that the makes of the Vanilla forum could add to their Vanilla programing.
I remember when this site first opened up and we had the ability to move our own threads to the proper section if we had ended up posting it in the wrong section. Now why that got taken away, I do not know. I'm thinking that the reason may had been due to the fact that when someone makes a post over in the section that they felt that it should go into only for the moderators to move it where they think that it should go and then the OP would want to know why it got moved to the other section when the thread wasn't about the section that it was put in, so the OP of the thread would end up moving back to the original section that it started out in only to have the mods move it back to the other section. So that's what I'm thinking on why we lost the ability to move our threads to another section.
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I also think TS3 and TS4 creative corners should be totally separated and unjoined. Nothing mixed, because let's face it, if you are looking for TS3 stories or vice versa the last thing you want to do is have to flip through the other game's stories. It should go back to the way it was before, including those that were combined, as in TS3 and TS4 or TS2 video sections. Trying to make us all get along with that is only off putting for those who want to see a funny video as opposed to a zillion Let's Play thread videos and links. Nobody who wants to see a TS4 Sim or TS3 Sim wants to wade through pictures of the other.
Then there is the speculation threads where I was happy it was added where people would no longer get in 'trouble' for speculating. But the last thing you want is gurus entering to 'correct' someone. That only embarrass someone who was merely speculating and we all know speculating is fun and sometimes get heated but after all it's only speculation. Many game discussions also get moved to speculation.
Even gameplay questions and rants get moved to bug threads. Maybe people just want to say something instead of it moved to bug threads.
@Cinebar ^^^Exactly This!^^^
Sometimes I can't decide whether a thread belongs in "Speculation" or the "Game Ideas" section. If you speculate about something, isn't that a new idea?
"If you build it, they will come." - Movie: Field of Dreams