Goood morning/afternoon, everyone~
As I've been poking through the Help sections these past few months, I've noticed a few recurring oddities.
Firstly, there's this issue with so many people disregarding the fact that bans may not be discussed in the Help Boards. Now, for those of us who know those boards fairly well, we know that the first page of the Big Help board clearly states "Bans may not be discussed."
However, with the introduction of the Child Boards (Game/Site + Forum Help), it seems that more than a few members are completely overlooking the main Help and skipping straight to the specific child boards. These boards lack a sticky at the top that specify "Not For Bans."
Now, I know we can't expect every floof who walks in there to be aware of this (it's just a fact of life when dealing with large groups of people-- somebody's gonna miss something), but I'm just taken aback sometimes when I go into the Help sections and find new locked threads, for the same exact reasons (regarding bans), on a daily basis. Not long ago there were five locked, ban-related threads on a single page. It just concerns me a bit.
Rolling with that, my next observation is the slightly less frequent, but still reccurring, confusion between the Game / Site + Forum Child Boards. Granted, it does sound silly. Game Help for the game, Site + Forum Help for the site and forum. Yes?
However, I still find myself walking into Help threads from members in Site + Forum Help, that ought to be in Game Help, or vice versa.
I believe this particular kind of confusion is based on less critical thinking on a thread-starter's part when they go to ask for help. For example, if someone is having an issue with Map Maker, they'll come onto the forum (which in some cases this is the first time since registration), and see "Help." They click this, and they're led to the two Child Boards. They see Game Help, then Site + Forum Help. In most cases, Game Help makes the most sense, but some might equate being in the forum with any of their posts for help. And so, because they're in the forum, they figure their thread should go into Site + Forum Help. Conversely, someone looking for Forum Help might post in Game Help because they associate everything about FeralHeart, including the forum, with being part of the game.
So, what's my point, here?
Seeing that the Help Boards are all very frequented, it seems to me that both of these issues could be addressed (and to an extent, resolved) if both boards had a little extra clarification within them as to what they are for. For example, the same way this Inputbox has a sticky thread at the top to explain exactly what goes into this board, perhaps the same could be done for Game Help and Site + Forum Help.
Or, the same way Game Discussion has its sticky that states very distinctly, "!! No help threads here !!", these Help boards could have one that reiterates not to discuss bans, or something along those lines. As well as the no-ban-talk clarification, these sticky threads could also explain what makes the Game Help section what it is, and what makes Site + Forum what it is. It would be much harder to miss, especially for those who go directly from the main forum Index to one of the Child Boards, and it would assure that the helpers who mainly specialize in just one of these boards are there to help out with the issues they do best in.
Thank you for reading, and I hope this suggestion is helpful for you guys. c: I know it's a rather detailed idea, and not for an incredibly dire issue, but it seemed like it might be an idea for consideration.
Feel free to comment and critique constructively!