This is a rough draft of an idea I have had for a while now, and would like some community feedback.
RFC: Central Forums Login
One problem I see with forums in the Ubuntu is most areas of the community have their own separate forum with a separate login account. Each Ubuntu variant (official and unofficial), each language, and many LoCo run their own forum. This means members of our community have to create accounts on multiple forums. The Ubuntu Forums could be a leader in this area by providing a central login for multiple forums.
The administrators of these “branch” forums would have control over their forum section. They can get as much or as little help from the Ubuntu Forums staff as they want. There would be certain rules that would have to apply to all areas of the forums.
- All users of the forums must abide by the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is a guiding principle of our community, as should be enforced on all forums. Administrators should consider adopting the Forums Code of Conduct also, which is in the spirit of the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, just adapted for a forums environment.
- While administrators of the “branch” would not report to the Forum Council, but they should be encouraged to seek guidance from the council if needed. Also grievances by users and administrators should be discuss at forums council meetings when needed.
This would not be forced any any group wishing to continue run their own forums. It is only meant as a way to improve the community.
Suggested New Forums Layout
http://ubuntuforums.org – Front page with login area, announcements, and links to forums area.
Ubuntu and Variants – Official
http://ubuntu.ubuntuforums.org – Current tech support areas of Ubuntu Forums.
http://kubuntu.ubuntuforums.org – Tech support area for Kubuntu, or link to existing Kubuntu Forum.
http://edubuntu.ubuntuforums.org – Tech support area for Edubuntu, or link to existing Edubuntu Forum.
http://xubuntu.ubuntuforums.org – Tech support area for Xubuntu, or link to existing Xubuntu Forum.
http://gnu???.ubuntuforums.org – Tech support area the new complete open source variant of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu and Variants – Unofficial
Ubuntu Studios
Gnusense
Ubuntu CE
etc…
Third Party Tech Support
http://thirdparty.ubuntuforums.org – An area for third party projects related to Ubuntu. Moderated by Ubuntu Forums staff, but certain area could be administrated by projects leaders if they choose.
LoCo and International Forums
http://loco.ubuntuforums.org and http://international.ubuntuforums.org – This forum area would contain the Forums for the LoCo Team and forums for non-English language based forums. Moderation would be control by the head of this project.
The Pub
http://thepub.ubuntuforums.org – An area for the community discussion that is not directly related to Ubuntu. A place to relax and chat, where a lighter touch to moderation would be applied. All user must still abide to the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. Current areas from the Ubuntu Forums moved here would be:
Community Cafe
Community Market
The Backyard
Other OS Discussion
