Gruff

I would like to see a new top level forum area called "IDE Options" With sub areas for different versions of VB. Currently these sort of questions are scattered to the winds.

hDC_0

I agree with Gruff's suggestion.

I would also see it as a good place to move "IDE Customization:Tips & Tricks" posts,
like this recent one.

But besides dealing with IDE customization, it could also contain threads
that explore little talked about (and maybe advanced) functionality in the VS.Net IDE perhaps..?

Although many of these types of threads end up n the General sub-forum,
they relatively quickly move off that sub-forum's current page and "disappear" into the forum's archive
where only just the right search parameters can unearth them again.

Having them all in one place means the moderators and experts can quickly
reference them from inside one forum.

As a "for instance" (and this is only one small part of what might addressed
by threads inside this new forum): MEF

MEF = Managed Extensibility Framework
Haven't heard much about it - well it has talked about.

some Automation-related links:
Automation and Extensibility for Visual Studio
Referencing Automation Assemblies and the DTE2 Object
Building Composable Apps in .NET 4 with the Managed Extensibility Framework
Automation and the Visual Studio .NET Automation Model
The Spectrum of Visual Studio .NET Automation
The Automation Objects Chart
Dynamic Source Code Generation and Compilation
VBCodeProvider Class

I bookmarked this AtmaWeapon post where MEF,
DI (Dependency Injection) and IOC (Inversion of Control) are all mentioned:
Note: Not all forum members have fastidious compulsion for bookmarking that I have
and important posts like these could potentially be missed by new forum members
not knowing what to search for
(and sometimes too afraid to admit that).

This new forum could conceivably deal with
System.ComponentModel.Design Namespace questions,
like if someone wanted to develop a custom root designer
(this thread is the only one I know of that talks about root designers,
but I wish there were more).

Creating new forums is a big thing (and somewhat of a hassle),
so I know a decision won't be made impulsively,
but hopefully it will be given a real consideration.

Also hopefully more people will weight in with their thoughts..

Maybe they can ask themselves:
"Do you really understand the VS.Net IDE completely,
(including understanding all that it can do)"?

Is this a topic you would hope to encourage members to ask more about
(and read through the threads to find out what insights the experts of the forum might have to share)?

dilettante

I'd almost like to see a new area for "Web Scraping, SMS, SMTP, and other Server Abuse and Spamming Techniques." No need for separate sections by compiler since I plan to ignore all such questions.

On a more realistic note:

Shouldn't these new forums go with the tools rather than in another new area far away from the different tools? And wow, with a new .Net IDE every two years wouldn't there be a lot of repetition?

Gruff

Not if you volanteer to keep it clean.

Actually I was thinking of VB.NET only so I guess that lets you off the hook

VB.NET options are many and contain many that are difficult to understand.
---

What Existing area were you thinking of putting this sort of thing under?
I thought about it some and If we buried it below an existing forum area I am not sure users would notice it.

dilettante

I just took a serious browse through the existing headings and I think you're right: it needs its own area.

I guess it was the idea that VB, .Net, Web programming, etc. were all going to be lumped together that I was reacting to.

Nevermind!

hDC_0

It has been a few weeks so I have requested a follow-up on this thread
in a place (hopefully) monitored by some of the forum's moderators
(and maybe forum's admin people).

No guarantee of course that anyone who has the power to approve (let alone implement),
this suggestion will ever deem it worthy of a response..