World Development forums?

[Solomon]

What do you guys think about their current state? I keep an eye on them, and try to prod people to review, notify Founders when it is time for them to Review, and generally keep things as arranged as possible. I am pretty much just a caretaker who makes sure things run smoothly, questions are answered, and that there is a healthy amount of activity going on. And honestly, I haven't had much enthusiasm for it lately. I still do my duties, but not with the excitement I originally had for them. The forum just seems so slow. Peer Reviews don't really come that often, except for some really random write-ups. Or perhaps those write-ups are just amazing, and make people want to comment on them? But, like I said, there is no movement in there. Peer Reviews barely get done, only a fourth of the articles, if not less, ever get to the required Five Different People. I don't really receive PMs about the place any more, either. Development has slowed to a near-halt. Why is this? Perhaps I should Peer Review a ton myself? Would that help other people post if they see some activity? Should I PM and pester more people? I get a lot of people who say "Sure, I'll review it soon", but then soon never comes. Is it boring to Peer Review? Is some part of the WD process confusing? Feedback, people! Tell us what you want, how you want it, what you are confused about, suggest ideas, tell me how to do my job better, whatever! <333

[Sairque]

I'll admit that I don't venture forth into the world development forum very often, so I really have no foot to stand on with comments here.

Could there be a way to organize the forum better? A section where articles ready for founder review can be monitored, one for those that are in the pre-approval stages, one for peer reviews. Or maybe divide them by type of development? Skills, cultures, flora/fauna. Something that streamlines the place and cleans it up a bit?

Now that I mentioned it, cleaning the place up would help I think. Deleting threads that get started as a mistake (Like the one by Micachu, or some others that clearly are just clutter) would make the forum look more official and cared for. And making sure that everyone had the same format for titling their threads: [type] Title (stage).

When I first poked around the place, it wasn't hard for me to figure out the process one goes through to get approval for an article. But since there's also a problem with disappearing peer reviewers, perhaps stickying a "Welcome to the WD Forum" that kind of lets people know what a peer reviewer should do, and lets people know that they don't need to be experts to do a review might help.

Just some thoughts, take them or leave them, to prompt discussion.

[Vala]

I totally agree with Sairque about organizing them into separate folders, just to make it less daunting for people.

Also, more peer reviewing is sorely needed. If you were to peer review a couple of the ones that just need that extra bump I'm sure that a lot more would get accomplished.

As someone who wrote a incredibly daunting lore with way too much information, I understand why it was hard for me to get those peer reviews, but even though I know how difficult it was to read it, it was also uncomparably harder to write. It is a little disheartening when I have to cajole, beg, and threaten for those peer reviews. Just a little boost from you would probably rekindle said interest. That and I think finals are coming up for a lot of people... (like me ) and people are having trouble finding the time to work on wikis at the moment. I'm sure when summer rolls around people will find some time again.

I also just wanted to give you a big thanks for doing all that you do to get world development rolling. I'm sure its super challenging without much to threaten or award with to motivate. Keep at it Solomon!