Lack of interest [Suggestion] An Archive System

[Greg]

This is something that can probably be implemented using the tools already built in, but it would be way more convenient to have it done automagically.

In order to reduce clutter in the boards, create a duplicate of each forum that's hidden, and has posting disabled and editing disabled, but other than that has all the same permissions of its corresponding forum. All of the duplicates are hidden on the main index, but can be linked to in the footer. As threads are closed, grow stale, hit their length limit, etc. moderators can shuffle them off to the archive, where they can be viewed for reference but don't make clutter on the main page.

 

[KURTZ]

do you mean something like the vb's archive? i noticed that this must be hidden to maximize the traffic ... (check vBSEO guidelines)

 

[Greg]

vB's archive is more like a light version of the site. What I'm proposing is a 'hidden' section of the forums to dump old topics in. It's still readable by users if they want to go search for really old posts, but it keeps the main forums clean.

 

[Shadab]

Might be only used by big-boards.

If implemented, it should have an option to easily Restore the archived threads; on a mass- as well as per- thread basis. So if ever the need to resurrect a thread arises, you won't have to go hunting for the original forum.

An alternative approach would be to mark the thread as Archived (just like the thread states of Closed, Open, Moderated, etc. are stored); which could effectively hide it from the thread listings.

 

[Brandon_R]

Duplicate content, it's really makes no real use in a modern forum. If your thinking of an archive where you can aggregate content, may i suggest the RSS system?

 

[Greg]

Neither duplicating content nor aggregating a la RSS. It's for organizing the forum and reducing clutter.

 

[goyo]

Duplicate content, it's really makes no real use in a modern forum. If your thinking of an archive where you can aggregate content, may i suggest the RSS system?

Greg talked about an archive function/facility, not duplicate content or RSS.

 

[MordyT]

Personally...
We have a thread - its a dev thread and its gets big fast. When a new update is released we split the old (garbage "thanks") posts out into new thread, which we move to a hidden forum. The users post count isn't lost and the post are retrievable by staff. We call it archiving. A one click "archive these posts" would be awesome. Same with threads.
(don't ask why we don't have the dev start a new thread - but thread structure is important - sometimes the dev has a FAQ that another person maintains in the next post, etc.)

 

[Brandon_R]

SO it's something different than the vB's archive system which is basically duplicate content. if it is different than that then i may have understood and for that im sorry

 

[Vossi]

I dont see the point of an archive.

 

[Greg]

Yeah, totally different from vBulletin's "Archive".

 

[XFA]

Isn't the semantic html stuff that Kier talked about the thing you are seeking ?

He said it was a simpler access to the content without js and css.

 

[Alpha1]

So basically you need a hidden forum to move all your archived posts to? Why not use a closed forum for this?
I run a very active big board and have no use at all for archiving. With old forum software (WebWiz) it used to be necessary to archive forums to improve performance. (reduce database size) But now I see no reason at all.

 

[Greg]

I'm not sure what you mean by a closed forum. As I said in the first post, it can likely be made by hand with the features already available, but it would be nice if it could be set up automagically.

 

[Enigma]

Ok, this thread is getting confusing since we're all talking about two different things.

1. An "archive" like vBulletin has-- a stripped down version of all forums/threads for search engine spidering.

2. A way to "archive" threads-- put them in a read-only area so they can still be viewed, but are no longer part of the active forums/threads.

#1 is no longer necessary due to improvements in search engine spiders, and XF is optimised so that the "real" threads/forums are spiderable.

 

[Brandon_R]

Isn't the second part already possible. Just make a forum without the permission to reply

 

[Alpha1]

#2 can be done by closing a forum and moving threads to there.

 

[Brandon_R]

basically what i said yeah, and there is no need for an archive system like vBulletin's because that's what the symantic HTML is for.

 

[Greg]

Yes, I know that this can likely be set up. My suggestion is to have it be managed automatically. So that a moderator can one click archive, rather than finding the correct archive forum and manually moving it there for every thread.

 

[MordyT]

What Greg said. Yeah its doable by hand, we do it. But a one click, sorta like "delete posts as spam" in vB where you can just do it, would be awesome.