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Paizo has indicated that the threads in Product Discussion (and the threads for historical blog posts) are gone forever due to technical reasons caused by the launch of the new webstore.
What puzzles me is that they've said this despite the fact that visiting the correct URLs (using /threads/ instead of /products/ to access the old threads) still works to view the old content, so making them readily accessible again should (in theory; I've done plenty of web development but haven't used the particular tech stack that the legacy Paizo site uses) be as simple as adjusting what URLs the site generates when displaying a page and adjusting a few display templates so that those pages just show the actual thread rather than also showing product info or blog content (since those are now elsewhere).
It's really confusing to me as to why Paizo seemingly chose to consign all sorts of useful historical content, especially the GM comments posted on things like Society scenarios, to the dustbin of history rather than having their technical team spend what should likely be only a few hours to preserve the content in a more readily accessible state vs. the somewhat clumsy-to-access state that they instead left it in.
The lack of attention to that comparatively-simple preservation of content does have me rather worried that once they're ready to ditch the legacy site entirely, they may nuke all the old forum content rather than migrating it someplace new, which IMO would be a disastrous move given how for many years this was the primary place where GMs would share useful advice and tips on running Paizo's adventures. The usefulness of the forums as a resource are a significant part of the value of Paizo's adventures themselves (since it's where GMs have posted advice to improve the adventures or fix the issues they were printed with) and it's worrying to me to see them not treating them as such, as already seen by the Society scenario discussion threads being treated as though they can't be restored.
Community & Social Media Specialist
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I can say though as for your future worries that we have no intention to get rid of all the old forum content when we get new forums! It's just way too much useful conversation to get rid of. We're trying to find the best solution that does not involve getting rid of all this.
I'm so glad to hear that you are planning to keep the old content around (I don't envy the work needed to make that happen... migrations are always tricky, and I imagine that migrating a forum with as many different things going on as this site does isn't exactly one of the easier ones!). Hopefully even if the tech team doesn't get to it sooner than that, at that point the old Product Discussion and Blog threads can be restored to easy access during the course of that migration. Thanks so much, Maya!
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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It is very difficult, but we're doing our best! Since I spend the most time in the forums on our team, I've been deeply involved in the talks about the migration. I'm looking at how I interact with you all and how you all interact with each other as huge factors that we need to make sure still shine through in whatever system we use. Some things can of course be improved, like thread organization on the main forum page, but the spirit of how we interact should still be consistent. I'll do my best, AFigureOfBlue ^_^
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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Just for the record, I did not say old product pages would be coming back. I said we have no intention to get rid of the old forum content, which is not the same thing, unfortunately. The product pages are not technically "gone." They still exist, but they're kind of hidden within the site and can no longer be added to. The aim when we switch forums is to not have the old forum content hidden in the same way.
Ideally, we'd want it to still viewable and easily visible as a resource, but also will not be able to be interacted with, more like a library than a forum. The reason being that the new forums would also have their own Play-By-Post ability, but because it would be impossible to make sure all campaigns are finished before a switch like this, we'd need players to still be able to access their campaigns so they can continue them on whatever the new forums end up being.
Please also keep in mind these are all goals and aspirations for a plan we are still working on. Nothing is set in stone right now!
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I don't think anyone's seriously asking for the old product pages to come back (or at least I'm not)... just for the threads previously displayed on those product pages to be made readily accessible again, as standalone threads in a category just like this thread we're currently viewing is a standalone thread in the General Discussion category. The threads and the product page/description are two separate concepts; the product-related threads (and blog-post-related threads) should be readily able to be made more accessible the same way any other thread in the forums are.
I also feel I should point out that the old product discussion threads can still be added to, in the same way that they can still be viewed, it's just very inconvenient to do so for the user (but seems like it should be simple for the tech team to make it easier to do). I just added a post to the thread about "Pathfinder Harrow Deck (Foundry VTT)" by way of example.
That all said, I do think that 'freezing' the old forums when the new ones launch is a pretty good realistic goal to aim for... not as ideal for the users as a proper migration, but that sort of migration seems like such a nightmare that I think preserving the old content in a readonly form and having a new venue for new content a very reasonable spot to land in assuming that things are indeed able to land there.
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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You bring up some good points, and I'll be sure to include a Product Discussion section when the new forums get made!
You're also right in that some of the old threads can still be added to as this is a rolling process the team are still working on. Some can and some can't, but the aim is to have none of them have the ability to be added to. It's just honestly a rather painstaking process.
Thank you for seeing our vision for freezing the old forums but keeping them viewable and read-only! It's impossible to expect everyone to remember exactly what they were just talking about when they want to continue, so I think that's the best way to do it. We'll still keep you updated on the changes when they come around!