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Questions? - Upcoming changes to forum categories (February 2020)

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  • simgirl1010simgirl1010 Posts: 35,704 Member
    edited February 2020
    Has everyone read the initial post on the upcoming forum changes?

    https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/972007/updates-to-forum-categories-february-2020#latest

    New categories:
    The Sims Franchise
    A new section to chat about The Sims games in general. This will be the space to discuss different generations of the game in a single topic or for those games that don't have their own category (e.g. 'Anyone still playing The Urbz or My Sims?', 'The Sims 3 vs The Sims 4 mermaids').
    Archive
    Categories that are 'archived' (read-only) will be moved in here. For example, 'Community Stuff Pack Project'.

    Changes to existing categories:
    The Sims 4:

    'The Sims 4 Community Blogs' will be removed.
    'The Sims 4 PC Game Feedback' and 'The Sims 4 Console Game feedback' will be combined into a single category - console version of the game is almost the same as PC/Mac version by now! :smiley:
    'Expansion Packs', 'Game Packs' and 'Stuff Packs' are mostly active when a pack is coming/just released, and will be combined into a single category: 'The Sims 4 Pack Discussion', located inside 'Discussion' section.
    'Game Tutorials & Helpful Hints' is no longer used, and will be archived.
    'Artist Haven' and 'Video Haven' will be combined into a single category 'The Sims 4 Artist + Video Haven'.

    The Sims 3:
    'Sims 3 Help Center Bugs & Issues' and 'Sims 3 Help Center iPhone & Mobile Discussions' are no longer used, and they will be archived.
    'Create a World' and 'Create a Pattern' will be combined into a single category 'The Sims 3 Game Tools', which will go inside 'The Sims 3 Creative Corner'.
    'Store Worlds', 'Store Discussion' and 'Store Tech Discussion' will be combined into 'The Sims 3 Store Discussion'
    'Expansion Packs' and 'Stuff Packs' will be merged into 'The Sims 3 General Discussion'

    The Sims Mobile:
    'News and announcements', 'Game Feedback' and 'Social corner' will be combined into 'The Sims Mobile General Discussion & Feedback'

    All The Sims FreePlay categories will be combined into 'The Sims FreePlay'

    Other The Sims Games:
    'The Sims 2 General Discussion' and 'The Sims 2 Creative Corner' will now be 'The Sims 2'.


    Nowhere does it say Sims 3 and Sims 4 categories will be combined.

    The new category will allow for game comparisons and topics that relate to the Sims in general. It can just be ignored for those not interested.
  • Atreya33Atreya33 Posts: 4,406 Member
    I understand most of the changes except for the sims 4 pack discussions. I don't like them all thrown into one big category. I will make it harder to find certain posts about packs. I don't need to see dozens of threads about a new expansion pack if I want to look up information on a game pack. Also posts will be pushed to the second page more quickly because everything will be jumbled together.
  • KatAnubisKatAnubis Posts: 3,241 Member
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    I understand most of the changes except for the sims 4 pack discussions. I don't like them all thrown into one big category. I will make it harder to find certain posts about packs. I don't need to see dozens of threads about a new expansion pack if I want to look up information on a game pack. Also posts will be pushed to the second page more quickly because everything will be jumbled together.

    I notice that you're not the only one with this concern. However, this is a problem even when packs have their own section. That's what "Search" is for. It's not perfect (as I don't believe there is a perfect search function in any forum, Sims or otherwise) but it's what I've found most useful.
  • Me1620Me1620 Posts: 4,983 Member
    bekkasan wrote: »
    @EA_Mai Two concerns.

    1) When y'all (I know you were not around) messed with the forums a few years back many threads were lost and some were able to be recovered and some not. What are you doing to back up and prevent loss of important threads? Some were story threads and some were threads that helped with game. One of mine was a story thread and it was recovered. But, one in particular that I recall was @ciane's thread, was lost with valuable info and she eventually recreated it, but it shouldn't have happened to begin with.

    2) Will this mess with our current bookmarks or links?

    @bekkasan - Very good points. I am going to make a back up of the main pages of the DD thread. BTW, the first page of the DD thread is full of links to other pages in that thread and to other threads.

    While my bookmarks to the old forum pages no longer worked when the current forum was introduced, the thread id number remained the same. When looking for an old thread in the current forum, I append the thread id to "https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/". Hopefully, if the path for the forum location changes, the id numbers will remain the same. Then we can append the id number to the new path and open the bookmarked pages.

    a.k.a. - Jodi and a link to My Page on the Sims 3 website

    To help you organize your stalking of the Daily Deal, please join us on the Daily Deal Rotation and Sales Help thread and please view the DD Spreadsheet
  • Atreya33Atreya33 Posts: 4,406 Member
    KatAnubis wrote: »
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    I understand most of the changes except for the sims 4 pack discussions. I don't like them all thrown into one big category. I will make it harder to find certain posts about packs. I don't need to see dozens of threads about a new expansion pack if I want to look up information on a game pack. Also posts will be pushed to the second page more quickly because everything will be jumbled together.

    I notice that you're not the only one with this concern. However, this is a problem even when packs have their own section. That's what "Search" is for. It's not perfect (as I don't believe there is a perfect search function in any forum, Sims or otherwise) but it's what I've found most useful.

    This was already a problem, yes. But it will be more prominent when all pack discussion are in one category. Searching for something specific is not the same as browsing the forum. With the strict necroposting policy around here I stopped using the search function. Whenever I come across interesting info during a search I have to double check if the post is not too old.

    I was happy about the fact that not every category is taken over by the latest hype. I was still interested in posts about realm of magic while the discover university hype dominated the EP discussion . I don't think it will be helpful if the posts of the latest hyped pack are mixed with posts about the 32 (8EP, 8GP and 16SP)other packs.


  • MendotaMendota Posts: 794 Member
    I agree, the search function is really poor. This is something that really needs to be improved.
  • catloverplayercatloverplayer Posts: 93,362 Member
    edited February 2020
    What date in February can we expect to see this change happen? Like that your combining all the packs into one now also the console forums have been pretty dead glad their getting combined with gamepacks and expansions now. I will have to edit the bookmarks on my smart phone in my Sims Folder but I don't mind doing that. I've got each section of the forum topics in a folder for ease of getting to.
  • SimAlexandriaSimAlexandria Posts: 4,845 Member
    edited February 2020
    What date in February can we expect to see this change happen? Like that your combining all the packs into one now also the console forums have been pretty dead glad their getting combined with gamepacks and expansions now. I will have to edit the bookmarks on my smart phone in my Sims Folder but I don't mind doing that. I've got each section of the forum topics in a folder for ease of getting to.

    It says they'll start applying the changes next week. Not sure when next week or when they'll "finish" but in case you don't get an official answer soon you might want to start bookmarking anything you want to if that is something that needs done first?

  • Sk8rblazeSk8rblaze Posts: 7,570 Member
    edited February 2020
    I like these changes. I disliked when the old CM opened up a dozen extra categories and complicated things. Combining TS2’s categories, consolidating pack discussion for 4, and opening a general Sims one are also pluses.
  • catloverplayercatloverplayer Posts: 93,362 Member
    What will happen with the Speculation sub forum? I'd rather that stay as it is and not be combined.
  • AquaGamer1212AquaGamer1212 Posts: 5,417 Member
    I've only recently bought cats & dogs and seasons. Where will I find discussions on these without having to trawl through years of posts?

    By using the search bar
    ts4_blossom_meadows_world_icon_gif_fan_art_by_hazzaplumbob-d.gif

  • EA_MaiEA_Mai Posts: 1,800 EA Staff (retired)
    Hi everyone! I see you were busy during the weekend :smiley:

    I'm going to split my reply (several posts incoming) so it's easier to read. Also sorry if I miss mentioning anyone!:

    Is there a way to encourage people to add the pack they're talking about to titles in the Sims 4 Pack Discussion forum?
    Would be great if that part of the forum adapted the system from AHQ, like having [OR] in the title for Outdoor Retreat threads etc.
    Could an option for thread tags with pack names, perhaps even in different colors, be added? (Similar to the Announcement tag.)
    Hestia wrote: »
    Other forum softwares have a custom tag/badge/label system. Not sure if Vanilla Forums (The software being used now) has it. It’s such a crucial part of a forum board.
    @luthienrising @darrenfroggy @TamakiSakura84 @Hestia very interesting points you bring up there :)
    A tagging system is something we are not necessarily against and has crossed our minds, although not exclusively for 'Packs Discussion'. However, if we ever implement something like that we want to make sure we do it right, with the right tools. It's not an option right now - but we are open to exploring it in the future should this change.
    What you can definitely do right now (and by you I mean everyone reading this in general) is being more deliberate when choosing topic titles. You are some of the most active people in here, and if you are reading this it's because you care about the forums and how they are organised. New users tend to learn from what they see and imitate what they see others do. ;)
  • EA_MaiEA_Mai Posts: 1,800 EA Staff (retired)
    I've only recently bought cats & dogs and seasons. Where will I find discussions on these without having to trawl through years of posts?
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    With the strict necroposting policy around here I stopped using the search function. Whenever I come across interesting info during a search I have to double check if the post is not too old.
    @flippinmary @Atreya33
    A tip with the searching tool:
    If you want to get only recent discussions, you can use the 'Advanced search' options that allow you to filter the results. For example, 'Date within 6 months of today' would allow you to find content posted during the last 6 months only. Other options and filters are helpful as well, for example: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/search?adv=1&search=seasons&title=&author=&cat=1171&subcats=1&tags=&discussion_poll=1&discussion_d=1&within=6+months&date=today
  • EA_MaiEA_Mai Posts: 1,800 EA Staff (retired)
    bekkasan wrote: »
    1) When y'all (I know you were not around) messed with the forums a few years back many threads were lost and some were able to be recovered and some not. What are you doing to back up and prevent loss of important threads?
    2) Will this mess with our current bookmarks or links?
    Me1620 wrote: »
    Will moving, archiving and combining discussions change the link address of a specific post?
    @Me1620 @bekkasan I totally get this being a concern, and we definitely want to be careful when making any changes. I remember EA_Mage working on recovering a few threads missing a couple years ago, but that was not related to topics being moved or categories renamed. We move topics every day :)
    Also, we are not touching the topics in the 'Stories' sections. This is not a big change like when forums transitioned from The Sims 3 website to here either. Links to topics won't change.
    Links to the categories itself may. For example, if you have 'The Sims 4 Stuff Packs' bookmarked, you will want to update that bookmark. This won't change the links to topics inside those categories, though. (@catloverplayer, you were asking about links as well)
  • EA_MaiEA_Mai Posts: 1,800 EA Staff (retired)
    edited February 2020
    Simburian wrote: »
    a/ What are you doing about the "Off Topic" category?
    Nothing specific for that category.
    'General' section will be moved to the bottom of the list in the main page (off-topic is part of that section), so that game related categories go first - we are here because of The Sims after all! :)
    Simburian wrote: »
    b/ Could there be a Category for Newcomers to give them the information they are currently asking in Activities? eg: Newcomers start here.
    I don't think a whole category would be needed for that - sounds like a good idea for a topic though! May be possible to have an announcement at the top (like we do for news) for new members, I'd need to look into the options there.
    Simburian wrote: »
    c/ I've seen some CEO news about possible new Sims game(s). Is this a way of making room for it? I agree with former comments about not putting Sims 5 stuff into Sims 4 speculations.
    We feel it was time to have a space for discussions on the forums involving different generations (we know you like comparing different versions of the game!) and at the same time we have some legacy games that are not very discussed for which opening a category wouldn't make sense. This is where the new category comes from - especially with The Sims birthday incoming!
    If new The Sims games are announced in the future, we will make room for them when that happens :)

    (@Simburian )
  • EA_MaiEA_Mai Posts: 1,800 EA Staff (retired)
    Simmingal wrote: »
    not sure about archive though will the categories still be there under one bigger archiving category similar to how pack discussions is under ts4 or?
    @Simmingal Yes, something similar to that. The main difference is that 'Archive' (and everything inside) will be read-only. You will be able to see the content in there, but not comment or create new topics.
    What date in February can we expect to see this change happen? Like that your combining all the packs into one now also the console forums have been pretty dead glad their getting combined with gamepacks and expansions now.
    What will happen with the Speculation sub forum? I'd rather that stay as it is and not be combined.
    @catloverplayer As The Sims birthday is tomorrow, we will start by creating the new 'The Sims Franchise' category. You will see me start reviewing announcement threads this week. The idea is starting with the rest of the changes to categories probably next week, depending on how long previous steps and preparation take us :)
    We are not making changes to 'The Sims 4 Console Discussion'. 'Speculation and rumor' is not being combined.
  • EA_RtasEA_Rtas Posts: 2,875 EA Community Manager
    Is it spamming if EA_Mai is answering questions...


    fb9wo9jge2kh.gif
  • EA_MaiEA_Mai Posts: 1,800 EA Staff (retired)
    edited February 2020
    EA_Rtas wrote: »
    Is it spamming if EA_Mai is answering questions...
    Tsk tsk tsk... look at you and your off-topic comments!

    Imagine that wall of text in a single post...
    giphy.gif
  • EA_RtasEA_Rtas Posts: 2,875 EA Community Manager
    edited February 2020
    EA_Mai wrote: »
    EA_Rtas wrote: »
    Is it spamming if EA_Mai is answering questions...
    fb9wo9jge2kh.gif
    Tsk tsk tsk... look at you and your off-topic comments!

    nfcxpcnmw6hz.png


  • lisamwittlisamwitt Posts: 5,079 Member
    edited February 2020
    Mendota wrote: »
    I agree, the search function is really poor. This is something that really needs to be improved.

    I have NEVER been able to find what I needed with the search. I always get a ton of threads that have nothing to do with what I'm trying to find, or posts so old that if I post on them they'll just be locked and I won't get an answer.
    I have better luck just googling what I want to know. And those results frequently contain helpful forum posts from here, interestingly enough. I guess because their algorithm works differently.
    Gallery ID: LadyGray01
  • SimburianSimburian Posts: 6,906 Member
    edited February 2020
    lisamwitt wrote: »
    Mendota wrote: »
    I agree, the search function is really poor. This is something that really needs to be improved.

    I have NEVER been able to find what I needed with the search. I always get a ton of threads that have nothing to do with what I'm trying to find, or posts so old that if I post on them they'll just be locked and I won't get an answer.
    I have better luck just googling what I want to know. And those results frequently contain helpful forum posts from here, interestingly enough. I guess because their algorithm works differently.

    I sometimes feel that Search doesn't understand me. :(

    Putting error codes and notifications in the search boxes for Google and Bing instead also help I find. Sometimes you don't need to go to Answers!

    Thank you @EA_Mai for answering my questions.
  • Atreya33Atreya33 Posts: 4,406 Member
    EA_Mai wrote: »
    I've only recently bought cats & dogs and seasons. Where will I find discussions on these without having to trawl through years of posts?
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    With the strict necroposting policy around here I stopped using the search function. Whenever I come across interesting info during a search I have to double check if the post is not too old.
    @flippinmary @Atreya33
    A tip with the searching tool:
    If you want to get only recent discussions, you can use the 'Advanced search' options that allow you to filter the results. For example, 'Date within 6 months of today' would allow you to find content posted during the last 6 months only. Other options and filters are helpful as well, for example: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/search?adv=1&search=seasons&title=&author=&cat=1171&subcats=1&tags=&discussion_poll=1&discussion_d=1&within=6+months&date=today

    I just tested it by searching realm of magic within the last 6 months. If I leave comments checked, I see the same discussion 5 times in a row. If I unckeck comments , it will only search the title but I will miss any posts that are about realm of magic but have only RoM or spellcaster in the title, not the actual pack name. Or am I still missing something? What is the best way to filter out a pack when all of them are thrown together on one big pile?

    I am not saying this because I want to be annoying. I understand that the decision has been made and am mature enough to respect it. I am just trying to figure out how the filter can help in finding my way.
    I really appreciate that you @EA_Mai have taken the time to listen to our concerns.
  • SuzyCue72SuzyCue72 Posts: 526 Member
    The Sims 3: •'Sims 3 Help Center Bugs & Issues' and 'Sims 3 Help Center iPhone & Mobile Discussions' are no longer used, and they will be archived.

    •'Create a World' and 'Create a Pattern' will be combined into a single category 'The Sims 3 Game Tools', which will go inside 'The Sims 3 Creative Corner'.

    •'Store Worlds', 'Store Discussion' and 'Store Tech Discussion' will be combined into 'The Sims 3 Store Discussion'

    •'Expansion Packs' and 'Stuff Packs' will be merged into 'The Sims 3 General Discussion'

    This, the bolded text, I don't understand, there's people posting in "Sims 3 Bugs and Issues" section almost every day, did it myself only a week ago, so it's indeed being used, but of course it's not as active as the General discussion, that's to be expected.
  • catloverplayercatloverplayer Posts: 93,362 Member
    edited February 2020
    Looking foward to updating my bookmarks for each section on my phone tomorrow.
  • Me1620Me1620 Posts: 4,983 Member
    @EA_Mai - Thank you for responding and clarifying about the bookmarks.
    a.k.a. - Jodi and a link to My Page on the Sims 3 website

    To help you organize your stalking of the Daily Deal, please join us on the Daily Deal Rotation and Sales Help thread and please view the DD Spreadsheet
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