Revert back to the old PacNW forum?

[Mike K.]

Some members have asked that the Portland forum be returned back to the PacNW forum now that the SSP:L trial has run for a while.

Good idea, bad idea?

Only Portland forumers vote, please.

[MarkDaMan]

where do you vote?

I like some aspects of the format, it just needs less sub-forums. Maybe a NW forum like this?

[Okstate]

I think general discussion could swallow arts, culture, business/economy into one category. The suburbs are only used by a small handful of posters but it could maybe be linked with Portland infill projects?

[Mike K.]

Ah crap, the poll didn't load up for some reason. Ok, skip the poll and lets just discuss. This might work better, actually.

Ok, so you guys would like to merge some sections? That'd be cool. Now with respect to a NW forum with some sub-sections, what's the thought on that from the group? We could definitely try that as well.

[nwroots]

I prefer to revert back to the way it was. I liked to be able to view both Portland and Seattle threads on the same page. It seems that forumers from both cities were more involved with discussions and better informed on news because they didn't have to dig too deep for the information.

[Sekkle]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I kind of like the Local format. It would be nice if it were combined with Seattle... maybe something like a Local format for the whole NW would be good.

The main problem people have with the Local format, I guess, is that you have to click on different sub-forums to see the latest news. But I like the organization of it. When there are threads for every building, every transit project, etc., it can make it more difficult to find the thread you're looking for. If it's an old thread (or even moderately old with as many projects as there are here), you sometimes have to search over several pages to find the thread you're looking for, whereas with this format, you are pretty sure to find it in the first page of whatever subforum.

It is nice to see what is going on in Seattle, too, and the more people that are involved in the discussion the better. And combining back into a forum for the entire northwest would bring Spokane and other smaller cities back into the mix.

Just my

[sopdx]

Cleaning the section up some would do wonders - too many subcategories. I guess I like being able to click on Portland and just see Portland info. I guess I don't see the difficulty in clicking on the Seattle section, or any other section for that matter, to check on what's going on.

[PacificNW]

⇑ I agree, sopdx. Eliminating some subs would be ok. I always check on the Seattle section (since I moved from there last year). No difficulty for me and I'm and old man.

[zilfondel]

I like the Local format, but it seems to have too many sub categories.

Regarding Seattle, it seems like they all ran off to the general forums, or even skyscrapercity??? They seem to have given up on this website...

but I like how we have a downtown/central city section, a transportation section, an arts/culture section is also nice to have, biz/real estate...

But maybe it should be rolled into a PACNW section, instead of Portland & Seattle being separate. Lots of people just like to see the big projects in the NW, regardless of which city its in.

[Mike K.]

So there's a majority of you who would like less categories, which is completely understandable.

With respect to Seattle, the forumers were declining before SSP:L was launched and the change was touted as a "potential" solution. Obviously it didn't work. Although I have to say things aren't all that bad on the Portland forum. Seems like you guys took on the new format and just ran with it.

[rsbear]

No. I don't miss the city-versus-city "discussions" in the old format.

[PacificNW]

I agree with Mike K's assessment. I visit the Seattle forum daily, and even though they appear to have more construction going up there, there doesn't seem to be as many posts on that forum as here on the Portland forum. I do see that Seattle project updates appear to be more current on the Seattle SkyscraperCity site.

Fewer categories would be cool, imo. I, too, don't miss the city vs. city discussions.

[urbanlife]

I would say to have a northwest forum with two subforum categories, Portland and Seattle. No breaking it up beyond that. Anything involving any suburb development would go in the initial northwest forum.

I think the less divided it is, the more interaction it will get. As for the city vs city thing, sure that can be annoying, but it is better than a dead forum.

[Mike K.]

The big questions is why was Seattle losing forumers prior to making the switch?

Whatever has been attracting Seattle forumers to SSC is obviously lacking here and it could either be a combination of frequent posts by a select group of forumers or what has become a larger concentration of forumers over the years. Either way, I hope Seattle forumers jump back on this bandwagon.

[Pavlov's Dog]

I came here after the switch to local and have to say that I love things the way they are. There is always some tweaking that could be done but I'm really satisfied with the way things are here.

[2oh1]

As a frequent reader (but seldom poster), I have to say that this local version is great, but many of the subcatagories do more harm than good.

I'd vote for:
City
Suburbs
Transportation
...and that's it.

Or, better yet, just Portland and Suburbs.

Too many options lead to more places nobody uses, which then leads to conversations not had since there's nobody there to have them.

...just my $o.o2.

[Dougall5505]

my idea: I definitely would keep the Local format but consolidate more of the sub-forums to generate more discussion and banter between different issues. IMO the recent addition of the recent posts at the top of the page helps, but I would also like to see what time the post was made so I'm not visiting a thread I already visited a day ago or something.
combine: photos, arts/culture, buisness, and maybe even urban design issues all into general discussion.
combine portland with the suburbs
and keep transportation by itself

lets see what the rest of you guys think because of course this is a democracy

[sopdx]

I think that is a good layout.

[PacificNW]

Here is a quote from Hoodrat in the Seattle forum:

"I vote to have them all in one SEATTLE section. That can include Bellevue, Tacoma, et al. Just keep in Oregon on a separate page please. I hated having to sift through all that crap in Portland when the two cities were co-joined in the old Northwest forum."

Are you guys sure you want to go back to the old format? Portland, Vancouver, WA and the other suburbs, are large enough (and growing) to support their own section. Most of you guys are a lot younger than I am so I doubt you really have that much of a problem working the "mouse with your nimble digits" to navigate over to the Seattle section when the desire arises. Just my opinion.

[MarkDaMan]

Okay, here is my idea (please feel free to tear it to shreds)

SSP: Northwest Forums

Construction:
City of Portland
City of Seattle
Cities and suburbs of the Northwest

Misc:
Transportation projects
Life in the Northwest (econ,politics,culture,urban/rural issues)
Other discussion
Photos