RobotShop + Lynxmotion Forum Merge

RobotShop acquired Lynxmotion back in mid-2012 and we are committed to developing the brand as well as the community. The Lynxmotion forum is considered one of the top robotic forums where enthusiasts can meet, discuss their projects and ideas, as well ask questions. There are a number members who have given a significant amount of their time and energy to building up this brand, and for this we are incredibly grateful.

In the spirit of creating an even larger robotics community where people can discuss not only Lynxmotion products but also products which RobotShop sells, we would like to get your feedback about potentially merging the RobotShop forum and the Lynxmotion Forum into one. This potential merger would also allow us to implement some new features which would encourage participation and reward active members.

We look forward to your feedback.

robotshop.com/forum/
lynxmotion.net

To address some of the questions which have already been raised:
• The merge would retain all users from both forums (and corresponding information). No need to create a new account.
• We would retain all posts
• We would retain user seniority of the Lynxmotion Forum and do our best to retain it from the RobotShop Forum.
• The Lynxmotion website would not be touched
• We would likely use phpBB

Some potential new features:
• The new forum would use the same header and footer as the other RobotShop sites (e-commerce, blog).
• Implement surveys
• Photo of the month
• Point system?

Potential Forum structure:

1. Help and Technical Support (This would be for more public Q&A)

a) Robot Parts
i. Communication & Control
ii. Electronics & Components
iii. LCD, Display & Lighting
iv. Mechanics
v. Microcontrollers & Accessories
vi. Motors, Actuators & Controllers
vii. Power Systems
viii. Robot Sensors
ix. UAV & Drone Parts

b) Robots and Kits
i. Robot Construction Kits & Parts
ii. Robotic Arms & Grippers
iii. Humanoid & Biped Robots
iv. Hexapod Robots
v. Quadruped Robots
vi. UAVs & Drones
vii. Wheeled & Tracked Robots
viii. Electronic Experimentation
ix. Alternative Energy & Beam

c) Schools, Teachers & Education
d) Tools & Equipment
e) Domestic Robots
f) Robot Toys
g) Professional and Service Robots

2. Lynxmotion (A place to discuss mostly Lynxmotion products and related)

** a) Robots**
i. Arms
ii. Bipeds
iii. Multi-Leg
iv. Robonova-1
v. Rovers
vi. Servo Erector Set
vii. Sumo
viii. Tracked Vehicles
ix. Scale Robots
x. UAVs / Drones

** b) Electronics**
i. Servos
ii. SSC-32
iii. BotBoarduino
iv. Bot Propeller
v. ARC-32
vi. Bot Board
vii. Wireless Communication
viii. Remote Control
ix. Playstation 2 Controller
x. General Electronics

c) Software
i. RIOS
ii. SEQ
iii. LynxTerm
iv. FlowStone
v. Linux
vi. Mac
vii. Microsoft Robotics Studio
viii. RoboRealm
ix. General Programming

3. Projects and Design (more general robot discussion, like if you were working on a custom robot)

   a) General Discussion
   b) Robot Project Showcase
   c) FlowBotics Studio
   d) MyRobots.com
   e) Education / Learning
   f) Microcontrollers and Programming
   g) Communication and Control
   h) Electronics and Electrical
   i) Mechanical Design and CAD

4. News and Guidelines (Company news, forum guidelines etc)

Duplication of the a)'s and b)'s? Is this basically a Roboshop / Lynxmotion division?

Means more to cover, however it will serve to maintain both forums.

Alan KM6VV

in a previous discussion about this, and from the opinion i gave i feel that you have answered many of the question i asked. i feel after considering what you have outlined in the above i also think it may be a good idea. Maybe a trial?

Remember… Keep it simple.
J

True. This approach ensures the Lynxmotion forum structure pretty much stays intact, though the Lynxmotion part would be more relevant to Lynxmotion products. Would it be better to merge the two? Open to ideas

Certainly see if this is possible. We’re very open to ideas you might have to try to ensure such a trial would be a success.

What would the BEST robotic forum be?

i think, to answer your question…
“What would the BEST robotic forum be?”
My answer 'would most probably be a merge between the two as you have described but again it would depend on ones experience with in the forum to know that.
Having lots of content is a good thing but having a great community is another.
I like the phpBB forums and so to keep it in this format would be great.

And with the addition information ported over from RSForum. it could be… The Best robotic Forum.
Will there be more options for the users in the control panel. Like, Active links in signatures? or more colour options for groups.
I LIKE ORANGE> Hint hint. lol

Certainly worth looking into.

I really do not like the idea of merging the Lynxmotion Forums with those of RobotShop, even though it no doubt makes sense to RobotShop (no offense intended). I like both, but I think a forum merger would be a big mistake in the long run. We already have a well managed place here to discuss Lynxmotion products, how we use them, new ideas for them, etc. You should understand that Lynxmotion is not just another brand of products. It’s more than just a particular group of products designed to work together.

These forums make up a true community, with a flavor you won’t find anywhere else. I’m not really sure why RobotShop needs to merge these forums, other than to cut maintenance costs (which I do understand). I really think you would lose something important and special, if you do mege these forums. There is something about these forums, at least for myself, that I do not find elsewhere. I read several different robotics forums, but I don’t participate much in them, if at all, unless I have a specific need (such as for technical support). It’s just different here for me, and I’m not sure I can even explain why.

I’m not sure I would participate as much, if these forums are merged. You’ve got something uique here that you won’t get anywhere else. Please don’t spoil that by merging the forums. It’s much more than just another set of data here, to be moved and merged with other data.

8-Dale

Sorry, but I have yet to warm up to the Roboshop forum. Personally, I find it difficult to find what I’m looking for. I also have another personal reason. I have published many links to the Lynxmotion forum in my posts/publications and would be concerned if they were lost. I visit the Lynxmotion forum regularly. Roboshop not so much.

Dj

The roboshop forum is too cluttered. Don’t like the mess in the left hand margin.

I agree! I have never cared for vBulletin systems, which I think is what RobotShop is using. I registered there just so I could have another avenue for product support for stuff that doesn’t have Lynxmotion’s name on it.

I won’t be spending much time there though.

If these forums get merged into the RobotShop forums, I don’t think it will ever even be close to what we have here now. I don’t want to lose that.

I don’t like the possibility of a merge at all!

8-Dale

I feel the same way. If anything, I feel that the structure of Lynxmotion’s forum should be the template for the merger.

I do have a question; How would you handle username duplication? For instance, I have this username on both forums.

Not sure yet. Perhaps check to see if the e-mail already exists?

We thank everyone who has provided feedback (publicly and privately) regarding merging of the RobotShop and Lynxmotion Forums.
We are finalizing testing and plan to launch the new forum shortly. As you will see, the general layout will have changed, though we have retained all of the content.

Some noteworthy aspects include:
]phpBB (same technology as is used here) was chosen over vBulletin (used in the RobotShop Forum)/]
]Forum login will be at the top left of the page in the same place as it is on the RobotShop e-Commerce site./]
]The new WYSIWYG editor should be a vast improvement over what is currently available. /]
]The top of the page (header) will resemble that of RobotShop (e-commerce, blog) which was the main objective of the merge./]
]The left side of the page will have forum categories and shortcuts (filters, search etc) with a similar look to the RobotShop e-commerce site/]
]The default / landing page will show the most recent posts from newest to oldest, though this will be customizable by the user./]
]The top of the page will allow you to quickly create a new topic in one of three main categories: /]

 1) Q&A: people who simply have a quick question about RobotShop products
 2) Projects: Discuss your robotics project
 3) Lynxmotion: Anything related to Lynxmotion products

As always, we invite you to provide your feedback here after the merge and to report any issues you encounter.