How-To Geek

I have a couple forum ideas I just thought of:
1. Create a few new forums:
Hardware - For discussing how computers work and what components to buy.
Office Software - For discussing Microsoft Office, Openoffice, email clients and any other program for information management. Note: Idea based on one from http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/topic/office-forum
OS Installation and Dual Booting - For discussing all Operating System installation and Dual Booting related questions.
2. Move all topics from Geek Stuff forum into correct forums and remove Geek Stuff forum.
Hardware related questions -> New hardware forum
Office related questions -> New office forum
OS Installation and Dual Booting -> New forum for it.
All else -> Off Topic forum.
3. Move all topics not about Ideas for How-To Geek from the Suggestions section to the correct forum and rename it to How-To Geek Ideas.

I'm interested in what everyone else thinks of those ideas.
Also interested if 2 or 3 are even possible. I'm not sure if they are.

i think that this would help out a bit

i would say to make the main topics that are shown on the bottom like what jd said and show all on the main page except the ot so then it will be a bit more organized and easier to follow for newer users

Well I am all over the Office one (I suggested it earlier today and it's already off the front page), and the Hardware maybe a good one too, though thus far a good number of hardware questions have been after an OS change (Vista->XP or XP->Vista (I suppose I could have said Vista<-->XP)). As for OS installations, most people tend to put them in the forum for their new OS, and considering most OS updates are few and far between...

As for moving threads around, do you hate your moderators? ;-)

We should also add a forum for Budo's poker tilt lol!!1!1!!

jd, the 'hate your moderators' was a funny in a way cause they would have to go thru 1*10^6 topics to sort them out, my attempt at a (rather dry) lol. I like the tag idea, thought that may put a burden on the 'power repliers' as I doubt that many of the new people who join for an issue or two would care about tagging/do it appropriately, though I am sure some generalized 'core tags' could be agreed upon to help facilitate the tagging process.

@Budohorseman: I thought it was but decided to respond anyway since it is a valid point.
Moving many topics could be a problem. I was thinking that maybe a bulk move though or something to help there as many of the topics could fit in a certain category.

@whs: I agree on the value of discussion with everyone.
On the forum I wasn't sure which forum to post in but I suppose the OT one would work better as the home page probably should just have support topics.
I can't move this topic now though.
Maybe The Geek can if all agree it should move there.

whs is right, I'll move this to the off-topic forum, then we can post all we want without bothering the regular folks.

There's a way to do a bulk move, I think... otherwise I'm sure I could just go into the database and do it. It's more a logistical and planning thing than anything else... I don't want to have another OS X forum that nobody uses and clutters up the list... simplicity is a good thing.

As far as the tags go, they are built into bbpress, but regular people don't know how to use them. Even on a forum where everybody completely understands tags, they still end up getting messy and useless (just look at the official bbpress forum)

edit: I've disabled the tags, which is why you don't see them.

I've been considering doing something somewhat similar in a way... but the problem was making it easy to use and/or optional.

It's a pretty good mockup though.