MasterRussian Forums' structure

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September 17th, 2010, 08:19 AM
CoffeeCup

MasterRussian Forums' structure
Some time ago MasterAdmin asked about the forum structure. There are some suggestions to restructure it, to join some forums and to add new ones:

New Group (Category)
GENERAL DISCUSSION
- General Discussion forum
Group (Category)
LEARNING RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
- The Way Russian Looks
  New name for the forum "Grammar and Vocabulary"
- The Way Russian Sounds
  New forum which should include all the topics from the old forums:
  Pronunciation and Accent, Audio Lounge, Videos
- The Way to enter Russian for Beginners
  New forum which should include all the topics from the old forums:
  Getting Started with Russian, Daily Progress, Russian Word of the Day, Picture Dictionary
- Translate This!
  New forum which should include all the topics from the old forums: Translate This!, How do you Say... in Russian?
- Learning Resources (Textbooks, podcasts, websites etc..)
  New forum which should include all the topics from the old forums:
  Book Reviews, Dual-Language Books
- So, you think you can write in Russian? (Practice your Russian here!)
  New name for the forum "In Russian ONLY"
There is no more group (category) Learning Resources

Group (Category)
RUSSIAN CULTURE, TRAVEL, HISTORY, ETC.
- Politics
- History
  History should be a separate forum, split of "Culture and History"
- Travel and Tourism
  This old forum should include all the topics from the old forum:
  Russian Cities
- Immigration to Russia
- Society
  This forum should include the "Culture" part of the old forum "Culture and History", also this forum should include the old forum "Russian Names"
- Music, Songs, Lyrics
- Sports and Olympics
- Movies, TV, Shows
- Literature
  New forum
- Fun Stuff
I hope such a structure will make it easy to navigate the forums.
Suggestions are welcome.
September 17th, 2010, 08:22 AM
MasterAdmin

I think it's better to rename:

The Way Russian Sounds --> Speaking and Listening Skills
The Way Russian Looks --> Reading and Writing Skills

And have separate sections for:

- Grammar, Sentence Structures and Patterns
- Vocabulary, idioms, word lists

I am going to create two test forums with examples of different structures. They will be visible to the test group only.
This will help us decide which one is better. I'll add you on the test group. If anybody else wants to see the test forums let me know.
September 17th, 2010, 09:38 AM
sperk

I like the idea of general discussion being separate.
One thing that annoys me is that translate this and grammar are in different sections. Also audio and video are separate. I think all "serious" russian language learning should be in one section. Trivial russian learning like how do you say in russian or russian names can go in another. Some categories get almost no action and could be done away with. Also, sticky topics taking up half the page is annoying.
September 17th, 2010, 10:00 AM
CoffeeCup

Quote:

MasterAdmin
And have separate sections for:

- Grammar, Sentence Structures and Patterns
- Vocabulary, idioms, word lists

That is the main point. Do not make many subsections. This would extremely complicate the navigation. Less subsections = easy navigation.
September 17th, 2010, 10:19 AM
MasterAdmin

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

That is the main point. Do not make many subsections. This would extremely complicate the navigation. Less subsections = easy navigation.

I don't completely agree. Subsections may serve as an effective way to sort messages. Kind of like folders in Windows. If you put everything in one place it becomes a mess. You should be able to see the test forums now (in the very bottom of the homepage). I think that will make things more clear as to which way is better. Perhaps it will be a mix of both.
September 17th, 2010, 10:39 AM
CoffeeCup

Ok. I can see the test forums.

As for the subsections. I do like the idea of the subsections for "Other Languages". The subsections will perfectly fit this forum (The subsections for Slavic, Eastern or whatever languages).
September 18th, 2010, 04:54 AM
MasterAdmin

I've made some reshuffling.
How does everybody like the new structure?
September 18th, 2010, 05:26 AM
sperk

much better

p.s. the "good" smiley doesn't work
September 18th, 2010, 06:51 AM
it-ogo

Yes, much better.
September 20th, 2010, 05:16 AM
CoffeeCup

The subsection of English Language in Germanic Languages section is really in the wrong place.

The forum has learning Russian section
The forum has learning English section (English for Russians)
But then again one more English sub-section (former ESL) in Other Languages section.

It would be better if the English (ESL) subsection subsection will be merged or moved to Learning English section.
September 20th, 2010, 05:27 AM
MasterAdmin

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

The subsection of English Language in Germanic Languages section is really in the wrong place.

The forum has learning Russian section
The forum has learning English section (English for Russians)
But then again one more English sub-section (former ESL) in Other Languages section.

It would be better if the English (ESL) subsection subsection will be merged or moved to Learning English section.

They are different. The English in the Germanic section is for everybody, including people who don't speak Russian.
The ESL for Russians is more specific because many Russians visit this forum and they can learn using the Russian language.
The way these forums are named and organised makes it absolutely perfect to have them both.