OC Forums + Overclockers.com: Reunited

[I.M.O.G.]

We'll be depending on subject matter experts within the forum to produce quality reviews, and we'll be learning from mistakes we inevitably will encounter. Most importantly however we'll be looking to tie our articles in VERY closely with forum discussions, so the articles can be augmented with the community input - this will help us to quickly recognize shortcomings and areas needing improvement, as well as ensure anything misleading is properly brought to light. Essentially we'll be looking to close the loop between article and extensive forum feedback.

It will take some time to flesh things out, establish style guidelines so we have consistency/professionalism now that its not a one man show, and overall establish a structure that will stand up on its own without depending too much on any given individual. The most important part of this is extensive community contributions, as the members of the forum and readers of the frontpage will be the content generation engine behind the site - we'll be looking to highlight the great stuff already going on here on the forums.

There's a lot of work to be done, and we've already discussed a lot of necessary items for setting up a solid foundation to make this a success - we had been planning our own frontpage prior to being made aware of the iNet acquisition. We'll continue building that structure outout, and in the meantime we'll be looking to expand out further into the forum. I already have started a list of members who have PM'd me looking to contribute, and the forum moderation and seniors have already been sending articles my way so we can start getting a feel for who we can depend on for content as we also work in the background to provide a structure that ensures our content is quality stuff.

 

[Mayonati]

I think this is a great move, bringing the forum and frontpage back together as it once was - as long as iNet don't intend to essentially turn OC into a giant advertising engine, or worse, allow product sample bribary and advertising to sway articles and reviews in a biased way. It's easy to say "That can never happen here" but it happens easier than you think - look at some of the other large and supposedly nonbiased sites out there, and match their review scores to their advertising. Hmm..

That said, if the forum members will be taking a more active role in producing articles, that shouldn't be a problem .

Additionally, I think it would be nice if we could get someone with either industry/inside knowledge to post more about the status of AMD and it's progress vs Intel - I've really missed those articles since Ed left and while a lot of people claimed "Another day, another AMD post" I actually found them very useful and informative. I think that's been one of the main losses to the frontpage since Ed left and Im struggling to find regular, good quality, and unbiased AMD news (*Is not an AMD fanboy.. Currently running an Intel rig.. I just find the news very interesting, especially near times of upgrades and determining when to take the leap*). So, if you're looking for suggestions, there's my $0.02.

 

[juane414]

This is really exciting Are we by chance going to see a new look at the overclockers.com site? Don't get me wrong, I love the site itself, but it does look a little... 1990s. No offense to whoever designed it, but a fresh new look would be welcomed I think.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

A redesign is pending, so that both the forums and the frontpage can look like they belong together, so to speak.

 

[ricflairw000]

A redesign is pending, so that both the forums and the frontpage can look like they belong together, so to speak.

please leave it black

I use AS400 at work and it blends in pretty good so when the boss walks by its easier to hide

and i like vbulliten
Internet Brands bought the car forum im on so we get the newest VBulliten

 

[Omega Destroyer]

I suggest that we have a "peer review" program of sorts.

Potential front page articles and reviews can first be posted in a new section of the forum called something like "upcoming articles".

They can be edited by the author and developed as testing progresses.

Meanwhile, other people can post comments or criticisms about the testing methods and the results obtained. Once an article is deemed acceptable (that doesn't mean perfect) it can be posted on the front page.

This is similar to how scientific papers get published in journals and works reasonably well. Of course we could restrict who has access to the "upcoming articles" section or who gets to post comments and criticisms. This way, potential sources of problems and errors can be identified by people who actually know what they're talking about.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

please leave it black

That was one of my first opinions I expressed with the redesign - we have a lot of people who do a lot of reading here. The dark background causes less eye strain.

I'm not sure if or by how much the forum design will be changing. It depends on whats required to bring it in line with the new overclockers.com design.

Omega: Good suggestion and its something we've touched upon in preliminary discussions amongst forum staff. We're working out how best to execute those sorts of things, and keep the process organized and manageable. I'd be very interested in a more open community format like this, and I consider it a long term goal with this transition process.

We'll need people in place to setup the framework and examples for how it will work. We're looking at involving more people in this in a calculated manner also so that we are meeting our goals now, and planning so that we'll meet our future goals also.

If you'd be interested in taking part in supporting that part of things once we're ready, SEND ME A PM and I'll get back to you when the time is right. If you are interested in writing anything for the frontpage, send me a PM.

 

[JoeC]

Joe, when you say you'll be around for at least a year working on this does that mean you plan on retiring?

I doubt I'll ever fully retire from Overclockers.com - but as I said competing demands on my time are such that I had to make some tough choices or not sleep. My number one objective was to make it better with any move I made and I am positive that the level of interest among many Forum Members is strong enough to ensure a very successful future.

 

[JoeC]

I think this is a great move, bringing the forum and frontpage back together as it once was - as long as iNet don't intend to essentially turn OC into a giant advertising engine, or worse, allow product sample bribary and advertising to sway articles and reviews in a biased way. It's easy to say "That can never happen here" but it happens easier than you think - look at some of the other large and supposedly nonbiased sites out there, and match their review scores to their advertising. Hmm..

This is an excellent point that I'd like to address.

Reviews by Forum Members are just that - I frankly don't see how someone can post a sweetheart review and get away with it in this Forum. One of the things I think is important is to enhance any review with comments from interested Forum Members; for example, if someone does a video card review, post the review and post subsequent comments by folks in the Forum who have the same video card or comments on test results.

I think this does two things:

One, peer comments would act as a "policing mechanism" to keep things up and up, and Two, it makes for a much stronger, objective review when others add their expertise and experience to the review process, and the author knows that.

I also think it gives what we do a much higher "credibility quotient" compared to what we have all seen and suspected were "pay for play" reviews. I know who does these but unfortunately lacking proof that will hold up in court, I could never blow the whistle.

Last, in discussions with iNet I was very explicit about reviews that "let the chips fall where they may". I've done that in my work and see no reason to support anything that doesn't pass the smell test.

Don't forget - this is YOUR SHOW and how it evolves is in YOUR HANDS!

 

[JackNSally]

A redesign is pending, so that both the forums and the frontpage can look like they belong together, so to speak.

please leave it black

Just wanted to also say that so far I like what is going on. Also, and no offense to Joe C, but, it's starting to feel like it used to.

P.S. Joe, I liked the "Leisure Links" also, hope they continue.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

JackNsally: If you want to summarize any forum threads you see that are good, or if you want to write an article on your own - contact me via PM. I'm reaching out to everyone in the forum I can, and we need more submissions from the community to make this a long term success.

There are a lot of people here who know quite a bit, but it hasn't been highlighted like it should be... I'm hoping we'll continue to have people come forward and make the frontpage everything it can be!

 

[ihrsetrdr]

please leave it black

I use AS400 at work and it blends in pretty good so when the boss walks by its easier to hide

and i like vbulliten
Internet Brands bought the car forum im on so we get the newest VBulliten

Just quoting ricflairw000 to add a request/suggestion:

maybe enable/add some different vbulletin styles(skins) as sometimes the white-on-black causes some eye fatigue(when viewing the forums for 12+ hours).



I like phpbb. I know that's not an option, just saying.

 

[JackNSally]

I would suggest for color styles making two options. Give the forums the options of what it is now and the color style of the front page. Give the front page the color style it has now and the color style of what the forums are now. That way we can pick and choose which we want and they both can have a unified color theme.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

Not sure those are options - skin updates required for vbulletin upgrades are work/time intensive. Maintaining 2 skins doubles the work.

However, from the technical side simply changing background and text color should be trivial via css. I'll put this on my list to look into.

 

[JackNSally]

Not sure those are options - skin updates required for vbulletin upgrades are work/time intensive. Maintaining 2 skins doubles the work.

However, from the technical side simply changing background and text color should be trivial via css. I'll put this on my list to look into.

Well, to me, if it has to be one or the other, I think the front page should get the color scheme of the forums. Just my $0.02.

 

[hemmerling]

Will there be any change in the URL ?
Do we need a new registration for a new forum, as consequence ?
Will the old contents be preserved = will stay online, after the merge ?

The whole aquisition statement lacks of information about the future and the merging process...

See problem description here, "M&A failure" section

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mergers_and_acquisitions

and here
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=iso-8859-1&safe=off&q=post-merger+problems&btnG=Search



Sincerely
Rolf

 

[I.M.O.G.]

Rolf,

Those questions are addressed throughout this thread.

To summarize, none of your concerns should be a worry. This forum, its members, and its content will be unaffected by the change. We are simply integrating the current forum into overclockers.com, and bringing the style of each site together.

No new registration, no archive of old content, because it will all still be live and unaffected by the changes. Everything in Overclockers.com that's currently stored in a joomla DB will be migrated to a wordpress DB.

The statement in the thread starting post is a press release, from marketing. It is not exactly an acquisition statement, because it lacks the detail and technical information one would expect from an acquisition statement.

The only technical item you mentioned which will be affected is the URL. The forums will be found under overclockers.com, rather than under ocforums.com. The old URL will still work and get you to the forum, however it will not be the primary URL for the forum. This will be similar to craigslist.com - if you put that in a browser, you'll be taken to craigslist.org. In the same way, if you type in ocforums.com, you'll be taken to overclockers.com/forums (just an example).

 

[g0dM@n]

In the same way, if you type in ocforums.com, you'll be taken to overclockers.com/forums (just an example).

I'm really happy it's that way. It just looks more professional to my eye and I'm always a fan of a "professional" look.