Fasces wrote yesterday (
threadID=28073):
"One idea to get more players to join new and open games would be to have a 4th column in the home page to the left of the forum column.
What it would show is public games which you meet the requirements to join that are starting within the next 24 hours. It would have to show information such as which variant it is, any settings like the EOG, how many people still needed to join to get it to start, etc. By being able to see all games that are starting soon on the home page, it will be easier to find and join games.
The biggest drawback would be space constraints, there are already 3 columns and how small would the columns have to be to fit 4 of them on the opening page?
By having games automatically advertised, the use of advertising in the forum will vanish."
So the main difference I see is what games are to be shown.
- public games which you meet the requirements to join that are starting within the next 24 hours. It would have to show information such as which variant it is,
- New games that have been created since your last logged in. New position that went in CD since your last logged in.
And the main concerns are for doability & lot of work for Oli and for space constraints a 4th column would cause. (well, there's a lot of wasted space on my screen, but I guess it's because it is a 16:9 screen).
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I think it's a good idea. I'm here to playing games. To play them, first I must join them. To choose a game to join, first I must know what games are joinable. So an idea intended to increase visibility of joinable games is surely fine with me.
My main concern, instead, is about partiality of information.
Yes, knowing which games have been created since last time I logged in is good. Also knowing if a player CDed and there's a new Open (joinable) game is good.
Or, looking at fasces' proposal, knowing which games will start in the next 24 hrs looks good, too.
But personally, when I decide I have time enough to play one more game, I like to check all the possibilities. So I look at New & Open @Games and I choose the game I like the most, after I checked all joinable games.
With this in mind, I like the "New games just created & New position in CD" option. It would work like a "what's new", a Bulletin or a newspaper that look more interesting than having a reminder to a game I already noticed days before. Because I open New@Games everyday... it's the most interesting page on this site... after the games I'm playing! :P
btw, in this moment, my central column "Notices" is much longer than the others. I have to scroll down many times before I reach the bottom end. When I'm at the bottom, left & right columns are quite empty.
So: what about putting ALL joinable games in the 4th column? Why it's out of discussion?
If it isn't doable, could we at least fill all the 4th column with as many games as possible? in this latter case, fasces' way looks better if only a few games are cut out (games starting in 10 days, 9 or 8... I'd say no less than 7)