Should I Have An Archive Board?

[clobopallymad]

[Weasley Twin]

I think having an archive board is a great idea. I'm currently in the process of adding one to my forum. Archive boards do come in handy, especially for members, who are serching for an old link or topic etc.

[Vicky]

Spam and such like should be deleted because it just clutters up the forum. But I think an archive board is useful because when threads run their course and there really is nothing any one can input, or the thread hasn't been posted in for a long time, it's nice to store it because then it can be looked over again and it can be used for future reference. Sometimes deleting threads is alright but if you want to keep things to read over and look at, storing them is worthwhile.

[Ќĩɳĝ]

We use an archive board visible only to staff in order to keep documentation of the goings on and such. If we need proof of a conversation or of a purchase in our store or something, we can go back to the archive and look it up. Plus, members like to keep their posts alive, even if the threads are dead.

[Loucifer]

I have a couple of archive boards on my forum.

The first is for what I like to call "Dead Threads". We have regular discussions on the board and once the discussion's over, it seems a shame to delete the thread - especially when many of the members have put a lot of thought into their replies. This board also serves as a place where I can store (locked) polls and announcements so that I can refer to them in the future if need be. The board is open to members and they have the option of PMing me if they would like a particular topic re-opened.

My forum is run alongside a website and on that website I post news on the front page whenever something news-worthy happens on the site. After a while this tends to make the home page too big and I wanted to remove most of it. The trouble was the I still wanted to keep the information, because sometimes it's useful to know when I added certain reviews and interviews and when I redesigned various aspects of the site. So, that's when I created the News Archive board. This board is open for members to see, but they can't post in it. It's purely for reference.

[bluebayou]

I have three archival-type sections on my board.

The first one is for threads that are truly "done." They are moved to the archive and locked, so that they can't be bumped up and re-opened long after the fact. But they're still available for reference. At the beginning of each month, I go through the threads that haven't been posted to in six months, lock them and then move them into the archive.

The second archive is for the threads that are classics. The ones that had everyone laughing themselves silly and are just too darned good to get lost in the shuffle. So if ever a member says, "Hey, what was that hilarious thread we had last year about (fill in the blank)" they know to simply look in the "Treasures" archive. And, when anyone is feeling nostalgic, or simply needs a good giggle, reading any of the threads stored in there is sure to bring a smile or two.

The third archive is hidden to all but the admin team. This is where bad threads go to die. It gets them out of the member's faces, yet still available for future reference, if needed.

[HoudiniDerek]

I really think that the only archive board needed is the one where threads go that are going to be removed. If they are in violation of the rules and such, I think they should be kept for a reference, but hidden from all but the staff view. Other archive boards are fine for some things, but unless you have a VERY active forum with thousands of threads a day, you are less likely to ever really have a situation, in my opinion, where you NEED to save old threads...

[vwscirocco]

Good day!

Anyone know's how to retrieve accidentally deleted thread? We needed to retrieve the discussion we had from our forum.

Many thanks.

[Enchant]

Nov 11, 2007 21:00:47 GMT -8 vwscirocco said:

Good day!

Anyone know's how to retrieve accidentally deleted thread? We needed to retrieve the discussion we had from our forum.

Many thanks.

Please direct all support question to the support board. This is not the palce for it. Thank you.

[vwscirocco]

Enchant,

Good day! I'm just new here.

Sorry for this. Will post from the support thread.

Thanks.

[Enchant]

Nov 11, 2007 21:52:35 GMT -8 vwscirocco said:

Enchant,

Good day! I'm just new here.

Sorry for this. Will post from the support thread.

Thanks.

Thank you and no worries, just for now on post only in these threads if it is relevant to the topic...no need to respond to this post.

[Megooiii]

how do you get one??

[Hyzenthlayfox]

Nov 16, 2007 13:59:06 GMT -8 Megooiii said:

how do you get one??

People, this is not the place for questions. If you have a question, go to the support board. Putting questions here clutters up the thread and makes people mad at you. So please put all questions in the support board in the future.

To quickly answer your question, Archives are like any other board and the are made like any other board.

To actually add to the discussion, I love having an archieve. I put all threads that are old or inappropate (like non-members advertising) in their for referance. Also, I can also retrieve them later if I made a mistake. However, in my archieve, I lock all threads in mine, so the Archieves is a dead board.

[UndeadDeadGuy]

Resident Evil RPG uses an archive board. It was created about one year into the website's existence, and functions as its own board. Each thread within the archive is an RP thread. I thought it was best to keep these threads around in case someone may wish to read them - some of the threads are very enjoyable to read when bored.

Websites such as mine have unique uses for these boards, like what I've stated above. Other boards which don't involve story telling may not find such boards useful at all.

I like to keep my forum's old topics. Some people might not. Therefore, having an archive on your forum is entirely a matter of opinion.

[Cori Lynn]

I use my archives board for threads that have died, closed, the person RPing leaves the site, rules violations or things like that. It's mostly just there so that the old threads aren't taking up the board. i have an adoptions board for the character sheets that have that happen though that way the character may still be used later.