The Lifestream Forums now online!

Probably the most requested feature on The Lifestream is a discussion forum, where all kinds of compilation-related discussion can take place instead of just the news articles, as is the case now with our front page. Now that the site is properly up and running, we’ve decided to open up the forums now as well! Well, it’s actually been open for a week or so, to create some initial activity and get things straightened out, but with this news announcement, we’re making it public for everyone.

The forums are roughly divided into three parts. The first part, currently at the top of the section list, is the TLS.net Staff & Projects category, in which both staff and members can discuss the content and policy of TLS.net. In the first section under that category, named ‘Active Projects‘, discussions on both current and future content on TLS.net takes place. Because we at TLS don’t believe in keeping such activities secret, it’s a public section, in which both staff and members are free to post. If you think you can contribute to TLS, feel free to post in there!

The second section is a section where you can post news reports, which can then be picked up by our news staff and processed into an article for the front page. Discussion and additions on those reports can also be posted there.

One thing to note by the way is that the forums do not currently have a ‘news’ section in general – all news relating to the Compilation will be posted and discussed mainly on the front page. If you want to post a response to any news, do so on the front page. This is to prevent the forums from becoming completely isolated from the front page, a condition that has affected many other sites throughout history.

On that subject, we will attempt to continue integrating the forums with the frontpage as development of both proceeds. Currently, you still have to register separately on the forums in order to post there (even if you already have an account on the front page), but we hope to prevent this in the future, when the developers of either WordPress or SimpleMachines create a proper integration between the two. Also, you don’t actually need to have an account on the front page in order to be able to comment on the articles posted there.

Back to the forums now, the second main category is the Compilation discussion category. Underneath that category are a number of Compilation related sections, one for each of the major titles, as well as a general section for topics that either span the entire Compilation or aren’t directly related to any one of the Compilation titles, and a special one for Dissidia, the upcoming Final Fantasy fighting game for the PSP.

Finally, the third category is the ‘off-topic’ category, in which the members can get to know each other better – first by introducing themselves in the Introductions section, and second by non-FF related discussions in the General Chat section. Because we don’t want to look too strict, there’s also a general Final Fantasy section in which all non-Compilation related talk goes. Finally, if you have any questions or suggestions relating to TLS, either relating to the front page or the forums, you can post that in the Suggestions & Questions section.

The forums are located at http://forums.thelifestream.net, so make sure to place that in your bookmarks. You can register an account at the registration page, login at the login page, and, when logged in, update your profile at the profile page.