Can we keep this forum permanently?


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<- New to the Pandora/gp32x community, Hello.
Ive been through several periods of communities splintering from forum splits. Generally something like this will allow the Pandora community a space of its own to grow and expand. Just because its not all hosted on the same forums doesn't mean that the community will die or not talk and discuss with each other.
 
Personally I would prefer to stick with gp32x and the community there - I specifically wouldn't want a developer with limited time only looking at one forum and ignoring the other. If we stay here, then we will make the most of it, but it would be a shame.
 
I dunno

Possible reasons to change to this Forum:
-The last forum didn't seem as “modifiable” as this (or another) one could be. For example, many people have suggested adding a “FAQ” which first time registers were required to read before posting in a respective area (Like before posting in the Pandora section you'd have to check that you read a list of information like what emulators are likely on the device and who's working on them).
-I've never tried it, but I hear setting up multiple polls were confusing to some. Maybe this is worthy of a change.
-It could be interesting to make a hybrid of a wiki and a forum, This would be good for those threads like “Lets e-mail indie developers and ask them to port their game to our device”. This could allow each person to post their e-mail and the response in the “wiki” like section located right below the topic starter's post instead of requiring the topic starter to edit his post each time someone posts any new correspondence.

Possible reasons not to move to this Forum:
-It would require working on many simple features that every forum (including the one we've been using) already has (reply, quote, new topic, etc). Would the extra work be worth it?
-The Wiz users might feel a little odd going to “open pandora” to talk about what some view as it's competitor, this could be unfair, this could cause some people to fear a prejudice in the community. While I wouldn't care to go to a Wiz forum to discuss the Pandora, I would hate for there to be even more of a feeling of segregation (just because we'll be using different devices doesn't mean we won't benefit from sharing code with each other).
-Does this host have the bandwidth to support all the users of the the GP32X forums?
-Moving to this forum requires creating a new account, why would they want to do that when the old forums will probably already have their account as soon as it's running again.
Judging by the lack of love the GP32X members show towards every new comer who suggests making a new forum, I would imagine the same skepticism would be shown towards this one, making a new forum doesn't show the level of cooperation which open source software tends to involve.
-Lately there have been questions asked about the moderators of GP32X and whether or not they're giving the same speech rights to the Wiz enthusiasts as what is given to the Pandora enthusiasts, creating another forum on the Pandora site would only add to these questions.
-Would it be difficult getting all the previous knowledge on GP32X to this forum? Lots of it is useful, and any that gets deemed “useless” would probably create disturbances in the user base.
-And of course, What happens to the Moderators, who govern these forums, do we hold nominations/elections, or do we just make the previous Moderators moderators of this forum as well? (since gp32x.de would not just go away with the introduction of this forum that would mean they'd have to over see two separate forums, I doubt many would go for this (but of course, can't speak for them).

Over all, I like the idea of a forum with more features, but having to reacquire the user base would probably make it less worthwhile.

Did GP32X have a Wiz section? If not then I think it's cool that this one does seeing as it's on a Pandora website, where as the other board, which is less likely to be biased, didn't include it. Of course, that said; This is a Pandora website, how does anyone who wasn't looking into getting a Pandora even realize this board exists (which makes the Wiz section a little bit on the useless side, still thoughtful though ;) )?
 
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If people want both, we could keep both. Then gradually shift the focus towards the new forum as to not split the community. We could also get rid of the other console talk sections here to prevent duplicate posts.
 
I agree. If we keep this forum, it should be pandora only. After all, this would not supposed to be a replacement for gp32x, it would be a community focused on the pandora completely, contrary to gp32x (which would keep it's pandora section), being a forum for all kinds of open source handhelds
 
Maybe it would make most sense to move whole old forum to this server. Because this server is much more responsive. Maybe current (new) posts on this forum could be merged into the old forum (on this server). And also setup DNS of old forum to point to this server.
 
The problem with that is that the owner of gp32x is not actually part of the pandora team
 
or alternatively move here whole Pandora section from old forum.... I mean - this server is faster. That's the only reason for which this could make any sense. If the other server gets fixed and can survive slashdotting, I would prefer to stay on the previous forum.

With Pandora being increasingly successful we should expect more and more slashdotting in the future.
 
this is only faster for faster now, because there's only about 100 users on at the moment, while gp32x had many hundreds when it died.
If gp32x is restored, its perfectly adequate and fast.
 
not exactly. The openpandora.org server survived slashdotting pretty fine. It wasn't down longer than an hour or two. To the contrary gp32x forums were sluggish even before pre-ordering started, and died after story appeared on slashdot.
 
The problem is that the account got deleted instead of just suspended for some reason. So it should be a little more troublesome to get it back
 
Gp32x is the ancestral home of Pandora.
This place should be pandora only with a link back to gp32x.

Folk'll then use which ever they feel most comfortable with.

I prefer the noise free environment here .. for now.
But I reckon there'll be more discussion at gp32x, even after the cR4p has been filtered.

Hopefully this place won't get used like gp32x, stupid posts won't appear and it'll fill up with useful information for devving and using our soon to be beloved panda
 
I think we should stay with gp32x.de if/when it comes back. No sense in the “community” splitting over this. We have come this far together.
 
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I think it'd be better to stay with GP32X. It would make me sad to leave it. I wonder if it's fixable though...
 
I miss lurking the gp32x forums already. I would prefer to have the pandora forums at gp32x in the future also. I just feels like...home, or something. I dont really think the development of the pandora community will hindered by having the forums stay at gp32x.
 
Phawx said:
One thing is, my order only has the address for the credit card. Billing and Shipping address fields are blank. But the email I got says that the order went through...do I have to correct information with anyone?

Yeah, I have this problem too, I was going to send an email about it, but thought you must be overrun with them at the moment, so decided not to. But if you read this craig, an answer would be appreciated :)

P.s I forgot to add to the dev fund when I pre-ordered, can I still do this or is it linked to my pandora purchase some how? Thanks.
 
Yes, I know the history and thank the GP32X community for their support in getting this device this far. I realize that there are a lot of similarities and overlap between them.

BUT...

Come on people, this is a NEW device with WAY more capabilities. Having this NEW forum is a breath of fresh air.

The GP32X forums are a crowded mess that make it nearly impossible to find Pandora information in them. I'm sure you can find GP32X stuff easy there. The Pandora is WAY more than a GP32X in a new case.

Pandora deserves it's own home. This lets the newbs (me too) find it. This lets the information flow smoother.

Don't hate having a new community with new members and new ideas that are going to dynamically flow around this new device get smothered and confused just because your post count is now in the single digits. We'll all still respect you and your ideas.

The Pandora is going to pull people from a lot of areas, not just the GP32X world. I'm a die-hard Tapwave Zodiac guy (I was a pre-order there too) and always considered the GP32X to be... too limited. Flame me all you want, but that's the feeling.

The Pandora brought us together because it is -NEW- and with any luck will be the ideal replacement for a lot of devices including the Zodiac, the GP32X, the N800, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, Palm Lifedrive... the list could go on for a while.

Let the Pandora be it's own device/forum/entity. Don't chain it to the GP32X.
 
Esslan said:
I miss lurking the gp32x forums already. I would prefer to have the pandora forums at gp32x in the future also. I just feels like...home, or something. I dont really think the development of the pandora community will hindered by having the forums stay at gp32x.

My sentiments exactly. I tend to be a rather nostalgic person to begin with (as reflected in my love of retrogaming) so it's hard to leave. But I will support whatever decision is made. Regardless, I do hope the old forums come back eventually, and soon.
 
Well actually there isnt a device called gp32x, theres the Gp32 and the gp2x. And I guess that maybe the reason for me for wanting to stay with gp32x is because I'm used to it.

But I dont know what you mean when your saying its hard to find info at the gp32x forums. Sure, recently there has been a upswing of unnecessary and just plain dumb threads, but I think that has to do more with the recent publicity the pandora has gotten more than it has to do with where the forums are located. I bet as soon people find this forum there start to pop up here to.

If this does become the pandoras new "home" i hope most of the regulars from gp32x gets their old forum names. Maybe not such a big deal, but think of the horror if the forum user Notaz(as example) suddenly becomes an annoying obnoxious l33t sp3aker because the 100% real original notaz wasn't fast enough to grab that name . :)
 
Lamb said:
Phawx said:
One thing is, my order only has the address for the credit card. Billing and Shipping address fields are blank. But the email I got says that the order went through...do I have to correct information with anyone?

Yeah, I have this problem too, I was going to send an email about it, but thought you must be overrun with them at the moment, so decided not to. But if you read this craig, an answer would be appreciated :)

P.s I forgot to add to the dev fund when I pre-ordered, can I still do this or is it linked to my pandora purchase some how? Thanks.

I thought of the same thing and emailed Gp2xMobile@gmail.com because that's the address the confirmation email told me to contact if I felt I had any trouble with my order. This was the response:

"We only accept the card's registered billing address online for security. If you wish your order to be shipped to a different address, please forward your order number and address details."

The reply email address was icontrolpadsales@gmail.com

hope this helps.
 
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