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Hey there folks!
I've tried to search the official forums for information on this topic but sadly the search feature hasn't been working for me ever since the move to 5.0 (it just times out and ends up displaying a blank screen). With that said, my question is regarding forum archives.
I've looked up the entry on archives in the 4.2 manual but I've not really found the information I'm looking for. Essentially, I want to know what role the forum archives play. They're referred to as "search engine friendly archives" but don't the search engine crawlers also visit the normal forums as they appear to regular users? Would a user ever visit the forum archives? For example, if they do a Google search and the search results return a link to a very old thread from my forums, would that user be presented with the forum archive version of the thread?
I guess what I'm really getting at is, what's the point of the forum archives? I'd prefer users to visit the full version of my site, no matter how old the thread is. I've got the forums tailored to encourage new visitors and to attract registration. It seems that a very simplified forum archive wouldn't have those benefits of my main site. So what are the advantages/disadvantages of the archive system. At the moment I'm considering just disabling the archives for the sake of a consistent user experience. Would I also need to delete any previously archived content off my server if I did that (just for the sake of removing unnecessary files mind you)?
As you can see, I have no shortage of questions regarding this feature. :P Cheers for any clarification or direction that the community here can offer. Thanks!
I've tried to search the official forums for information on this topic but sadly the search feature hasn't been working for me ever since the move to 5.0 (it just times out and ends up displaying a blank screen). With that said, my question is regarding forum archives.
I've looked up the entry on archives in the 4.2 manual but I've not really found the information I'm looking for. Essentially, I want to know what role the forum archives play. They're referred to as "search engine friendly archives" but don't the search engine crawlers also visit the normal forums as they appear to regular users? Would a user ever visit the forum archives? For example, if they do a Google search and the search results return a link to a very old thread from my forums, would that user be presented with the forum archive version of the thread?
I guess what I'm really getting at is, what's the point of the forum archives? I'd prefer users to visit the full version of my site, no matter how old the thread is. I've got the forums tailored to encourage new visitors and to attract registration. It seems that a very simplified forum archive wouldn't have those benefits of my main site. So what are the advantages/disadvantages of the archive system. At the moment I'm considering just disabling the archives for the sake of a consistent user experience. Would I also need to delete any previously archived content off my server if I did that (just for the sake of removing unnecessary files mind you)?
As you can see, I have no shortage of questions regarding this feature. :P Cheers for any clarification or direction that the community here can offer. Thanks!
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