[Site Question] Why the threads in Showcase forums are ordered by created date?

General Discussions
#1

Created date, as in Thread Creation Date.

I would like to suggest that the Showcase threads should be ordered by Last Updated Date.

Reason:

  • When a showcased game/demo is updated, guests of Java-Gaming.org can be able to view most recently updated version of our showcased games/demos. This in turn may generate more chances of obtaining feedback from playtesters and other people that only viewed/glanced the first page of the Showcase forums.
  • This lets others know the showcased games/demos are updated. How should we let others know about this is something I’ve yet to consider.

Of course, the above suggestion is merely a suggestion that is easily debunked. I like to voice my thoughts. Thanks for reading this.

#2

The Showcase board is exactly that - a showcase. Everybody gets their exposure at release, and their game isn’t immediately swamped by overly chatty threads. This is the fairest approach I came up with. If you have a better one, by all means…

#3

Order “Latest in Showcase” panel by release date, and order forum by last update ?

#4

A suggestion is to render the showcase entry-page in a matrix view. (compact Projectname/link and one Thumbnail)
like 4 or 5 project-pictures “wide”,

together with the options, order by : submission / latest comment / most views.

gives it more an appstore look,
and makes it easier to browse around quickly and visually.

#5

My game Squaball was moved from WIP to show case and it didn’t get a new date… It is like really far down… I don’t get this.

#6

I only use “unread posts since epoch” so it doesn’t matter to me.

#7

Last Moved Date.

A thread, when created, is also when it’s moved into Showcase (i.e., Last Moved Date = Last Created Date). If a WIP product is moved into Showcase, the Last Moved Date is updated to reflect the actions a mod has done by movibg the thread to the Showcase. However, if thread’s #1 post is updated, the system must automatically move the Showcased thread back to the WIP subforum. That way, rules aren’t broken, and people’s project will definitely get the exposures they wanted.

To move a WIP thread to Showcase, the old rule applies, to enforce moderation from abuse of the system.

#8

Far too complicated, and some potential issues - just editing the original post doesn’t necessarily mean the project is being worked on. Not to mention, not all showcase threads originate from WIP.

#9

I never browse the showcase anyway because the images take too long to load.

#10

Here’s a last suggestion:

Go with what Facebook does with applications. Right beside the application attachment, there’s an option to “Update Revision.” It may be possible to update the user’s project in the database with the latest revision, and simply flag it for showcasing.

So, there will be two columns of people’s works in the Showcase web page. One column, or side, will contain the newest products for showcasing and will be sorted by last created date, while the other column will contain updated revisions and will sort by last revision updated date. To combat the issue of loading, one can simply mark the option to disable displaying images in the Showcase section.

If this won’t work, then I guess I’ll have to accept the current layout design.

#11

The wip/showcase/featured threads piggyback on the SMF forum database. There is no such thing as “Last Moved Date”, “last revision updated date” or “flag it for showcasing”.

Also, I can’t reset the date of moved threads (from wip to showcase), because the sorting is done on the topic ID, which isn’t changed as easily as you might think, because that’d break all existing links to that topic. Additionally, creating a new topic, and merging the old topic into it, doesn’t work, because SMF merges the smaller topic into the larger one.

#12

So, can I change my suggestion?

It is that the rules in the WIP should reflect upon the forum database design. One dev, working on a WIP, should be reserved to post only one Showcase thread that showcases the WIP project, instead of being moved by a mod, and getting sorted by topic ID, which pulls the newly moved thread into an older spot.

Once the dev finishes the WIP project, the dev then is to create a new thread in the Showcase to showcase the finished product, and must link back to the WIP thread for good measure.

From then on, all future revisions/updates must be posted in the WIP thread, and not in the Showcase thread.

#13

That’s not enforceable.

#14

I think it works fine as it is now, why change something this isn’t broken?

I doubt anyone actually looks through the boards anyway besides when they are searching for specific answers to questions. I personally know I only browse the showcase board when I’m bored and have nothing else to do! I personally think that most people here just look at the recent posts and that’s it, so why change something?

#15

It’s the most effective situation with pros/cons I don’t like, thus I question it. After questioning, Riven revealed to us that it’s due to the way the forum database works, which in the 1-year-old thread that asked about the same thing did not reveal back then.

Since Riven has given the word that it’s not enforceable, I rest my case. Sorry for your inconvienences.