I think the forum is kind of disorganized. Some sections are too specific and some are too general. If you want to discuss music you have to look through thread titles that are also about games and movies. If you want to read product or store reviews for a specific category you have to look through thread titles that can be about any type of product or store. I think the forum should be separated into more simple, general categories where reviews and stores related to that category should be discussed in that section as well as general shopping discussion related to it. Here are my suggestions. Separate Movies, Music & Games: I think these categories are big enough to be separate. You have to look through topics you might not be interested in to find a thread about games or music for example. I suggest one section only for Games, another called Movies & Televsion, and another one called Music & Audio. Remove Mobile Apps & Games: Mobile apps should use the Software section and mobile games should use the Game section. I just think games and apps are two very separate things and should be in different sections. Removed Product and Store Reviews: I think these sections should be removed and instead post icons should be added to show if your thread is a review. Review threads would just be in the sections under Shopping Discussion. My main problem is having to go to different sections or go to sections you don't care about to read about topics you like. My suggestions are aimed to make the topics under Shopping Discussion more of a central place for discussion and so people only see the topics they're interested in and avoid the ones they don't care about. I still think certain sections should either be combined or removed for better organization and new post icons should be added to show certain types of deals or offers your thread is about. This would allow you combine to more sections that are closely related but still have them organized.
I agree that there is a lot going on but I'm actually alright with that. It opens up more options for discussion. I agree that some sections are immensely specific. Perhaps, unnecessarily so. Organization seems to be more of an issue over quantity. Not sure removing these sections fixes the issue of having to root around for certain product and store reviews, though. Sadly, it seems, a lot of issues are user based. Things are posted in the wrong sections. Bizarre thread titles. Will removing some sections afford less opportunity to post in the wrong sections in strange ways? Yes. But the issue will still exist.
I do like the idea of post icons being used, but I'm afraid that not a lot of people would think to use them. Having a dedicated forum just for reviews isn't necessarily bad. I do agree that some of the rest of the forum could be maybe pruned down a little or reorganized some.
I think that they are quite a bit of sub forums that aren't really being used all that often. This would be a great idea to cut down on some of the section to make the forum seem a bit more alive.
I completely agree, with all due respect the forums are a bit of a mess, and that can be a turn off for users. I think the seasonal deals area should be removed, and instead a sub-forum can be added when the time is near for a shopping holiday (No point in having a Black Friday thread in March). Simplicity is definitely key for forums and this would be a much needed improvement.
There seems to be two or three possible places to look for and post the same information. I agree with simplifying the site a bit. I also notice that many of the posts requesting information are pushing a couple of years old - if it is a comment about a store, it makes sense to keep it there, but if it is a should I buy A or B question, the poster has moved along or long forgotten the query.
