Discussion about server channels and layout

[uneven sleet]

Self explanatory, come here to discuss things about the announcement

[sick trout]

Can we still talk about this in general?

[uneven sleet]

I mean you can but I would prefer if the discussion is mainly kept here as to not disrupt anything

[sick trout]

Okay.

[eager jasper]

This will probably be a long message, I know that, but I'd like to say my honest opinion on (almost) every change.

1. I don't get why #wii has been renamed to #console-tinkering , because this is a Wii community server and I think a Wii channel is kind of necessary, but also because #console-tinkering could be interpreted as #general-2, and, if that was actually the intent, I don't get the point.
2. I really don't get why archive #tech-archive , #gaming-archive and especially #ds . I mean, they weren't the most used channels in the server, I get that, but they were still used from time to time. I can't tell about #creativity-corner though, since I've been inactive lately.
3. I agree on #service-status and #dumb-evc-polls being archived since they were basically dead (even if I'm sad for the second one)
4. I also agree on merging #1203394542896943194 and #1229610492960575518 , not much to say about this.

[uneven sleet]

the ultimate problem I see with Wii and DS being independent channels is basically, this server is based around the Wii especially, I would think that it's just an inevitability that the Wii is discussed anyway

would rather have those channel slots for channels that we can take more advantage of

obviously that's just what I think

doesn't automatically make it correct

the intent of off-topic is basically general-2 without being called general-2

why did I rename it to that from the Wii channel, because I didn't want to archive a channel with 1 million messages almost

but one thing that I have thrown around in the chats here is making a nintendo-discussion channel (renamed from ds) that will serve the purpose of discussion that those two channels previously served

[neon magnet]

i definitely agree with you on the removal of channels like #tech-archive , there was no need to remove them as they were still receiving regular attention, and restricting messages to less specific channels like #general and #console-tinkering will likely increase clutter in those channels

[eager jasper]

Yeah, I think that's a cool idea

[neon magnet]

of course, im just making assumptions about clutter increase

[uneven sleet]

the thing that prompted this in the first place was lower activity in the main channels, which meant that there was no clutter to begin with

there were periods in the day that the channel would just be completely dead

so that manifested into clutter with the channel list

this is basically a process of, we want to increase activity while making the channel list less cluttered

as for tech and gaming, those sorts of channels

[uneven sleet]

I'm pitching a monthly rotating activity channel that would replace those and hopefully be somewhat interesting because of the novelty of switching topics

[neon magnet]

i understand what you mean, but imo i don't think over-generalising channels is the solution to this

[uneven sleet]

or no, not activity

interests

[uneven sleet]

we would pool the community for what they want for that month out of a list vetted by us internally

repeats every month

[neon magnet]

pooling all different topics into general just means that people will have less ability to streamline the topics they want to see and will instead have to comb through general if they want to check things people have posted that are related to their specific interests

[eager jasper]

Tbh, I'm not sure about that. I agree that it would be interesting and original, but I don't know about the functionality of a channel like that

[uneven sleet]

in what way

[uneven sleet]

functionally I've never seen a general chat work in that way, almost always you just have people that pop in and join the active conversation happening at the moment or start talking themselves
it's never someone going up to look for a topic

[sick trout]

I mean this does help me not have to check this server as much so it's kind of good in a way.

Whatever you guys do with this, just don't chat normally in the 'Random' channel, there's a lot of typing going on there. 😆

[eager jasper]

The idea could be cool, but the channel would be too dynamic for me.
I don't actually know how to explain it, so I'll just try to make an example: take the #wii channel for example, after some time it becomes the #ds channel, and after some more time, it becomes #tech-archive .
What I'm trying to say is, I get the purpose this channel would have, but what is said for example this month will be totally disconnected from what will be said next month. This could lead to periods of great activity as well as periods of great inactivity.
I hope I explained it in a comprehensible manner, because I didn't know how to write it either

[neon magnet]

exactly, that's usually what general chats are for, just people popping in at random to chat about literally anything. specific channels like #tech-archive and #gaming-archive are usually used for people who post things like "hey, I've achieved this in a game" or "i just wrote this interesting computer program", so it's not something you have to necessarily engage in conversation about, sometimes it's nice to check these channels just to see what people are doing/making

[uneven sleet]

problem is finding channels that do this effectively without taking up server space and being regularly inactive

which is why I would like to experiment with the generalist approach and see how that turns out insofar as the server experience

[uneven sleet]

so I understand what you're conveying in the sense that it would be dynamic, it's the direct consequence of how the channel works
the way that we would try to counteract inactivity is by making sure the community is getting topics that they actually want, it would be the biggest vote

if there are any especially successful topics, we could weigh making into a permanent channel if yk what I mean

I think the potential success warrants the potential inactivity while keeping things fresh

[eager jasper]

Certainly, as an experiment, it would be pretty interesting, I'd have to see if it goes well or not to make a conclusion

[uneven sleet]

yeah that's the point of keeping these channels archived in one way or another

[neon magnet]

im not sure what you mean about server space, do you mean the channel list getting cluttered? there is a feature in discord that lets you hide channels in your channel list if you want to declutter, so i don't really see the harm in giving the choice to the server members on which channels they want to show in their channel lists instead of outright removing channels for everyone.

[uneven sleet]

if the UX turns out to be worse at the end of the day we can revert

[neon magnet]

you could implement this choice in onboarding too if you really want

[uneven sleet]

it's hard to explain from my position because that is a feature that exists, it's also something we utilize in the case of the International channels via onboarding

but it's the sense that, we want to keep the server efficient and have the channels have a legit purpose

there's also something to be said about the baggage this server has

but that's another story in of itself

[neon magnet]

yeah, i can see what you mean by needing to keep the server as efficient as possible, totally understandable

it would be nice to have a few speciality channels, but of course it's probably good to keep the amount of channels to a minimum, especially in a relatively smaller community server

[uneven sleet]

my logic is if the server grows into a much larger entity, we get more people in comparable to the kind of activity this server used to run, we can consider more specific specialty channels

right now I would rather generalize or switch it up to make sure we don't have channels that get say, 10 messages a day in some instances (actual numbers similar to what #ds had at times)

[hasty dragon]

This new layout is pretty confusing but it's something to get used to

[wind bridge]

#ds , #tech-archive , #gaming-archive and #creativity-corner should not be archived, as people do talk in those channels.

[desert orchid]

#bot-commands should be changed to #commands since that it is used for, I heard someone in #general say the three channel names (general, off-topic, random) are confusing iirc so this could help

[uneven sleet]

might as well to be honest

[manic bane]

its easy to use, take notes ferrari f1 team. stop being so complicated

[hasty dragon]

put on hard tires during the final 5 laps of the race

[manic bane]

yep