I hope you don’t mind me starting this since I saw that you asked this very question.
I would suggest that rather than manufacturers that these labels have served me well on other amp centric forums. Maybe put our own fancy names on it to make it special.
1. Amp lounge - for general gear talk and tips, trade secrets, NAD etc
2. Vintage (pre-1980) or so ; discussion and questions both tube and solid state.
3. Modern (Post 1980 or so) and Modeling Amps
4. Amp tech corner (work bench) (DIY, troubleshooting and tech questions)
Something like that. Brands will get quite numerous. Origins like American, British, etc will get large too. Amps by type; tube, solid state, hybrid, modeling is a further option but I like when it’s separated more by era than type
Amp sub forum suggestion box
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JimyTheAssassin
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AGF refugee11/30/08-5/28/20 (8,502 posts)
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slowhand84
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Definitely a great idea, I would personally prefer it simplified just a bit and not so much grounded in the years...something like:
1). Tube Amp Discussion
2). Solid State Amp Discussion
3). Modelers Discussion
4). Tech Corner
That way you can just choose your amp "category" and explore the topics within each.
1). Tube Amp Discussion
2). Solid State Amp Discussion
3). Modelers Discussion
4). Tech Corner
That way you can just choose your amp "category" and explore the topics within each.
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JimyTheAssassin
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- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 1:50 pm
If amps by type is the way of things to be; that’s fine. Definitely a Tech corner/ DIY is essential to filter out all the Gear geeks 
AGF refugee11/30/08-5/28/20 (8,502 posts)
I would add a D.I.Y. 
I sorta view DIY & Tech Corner as separate things with the Tech corner being a lot more Q&A about amp problems
and DIY being more of a "show off your amp builds" plus Q&A about amp building (which is a very different sort of Q&A.)
I sorta view DIY & Tech Corner as separate things with the Tech corner being a lot more Q&A about amp problems
and DIY being more of a "show off your amp builds" plus Q&A about amp building (which is a very different sort of Q&A.)
I tend to like the categories by type (SS, tube etc) rather than age. I also like separating DIY and Tech issues. But there's going to be a lot of overlap no matter how we end up slicing it. For example, a shootout vids of a Quilter vs a vintage AC15 don't really have a neat home, no matter how we organize things.
Do we really need a lot of sub forums? I favor more generic categories with threads on different topics. I mostly just browse by the new posts button so I usually only see the structure when trying to figure out where to put a new thread. KISS and not talkin bout the band!
So I think subforums are good for organization and for attracting new members. I'm like you - I come often enough that I just look over the new posts, check my notifications and that's that. But if I were some potential noob who initially came just to lurk, I would prefer the organized approach. As much great info as we had at the old URL, it wasn't always easy to find...
That said, if there's anything I hate, it's posts that turn into fights about which category the post should have been in. I can't stand that nonsense. If having 6 or 8 subcategories means people are gonna start fighting because something got posted in 'SS' when they think it should have gone in 'modeling,' then I'm good with just 'amps.'
That said, if there's anything I hate, it's posts that turn into fights about which category the post should have been in. I can't stand that nonsense. If having 6 or 8 subcategories means people are gonna start fighting because something got posted in 'SS' when they think it should have gone in 'modeling,' then I'm good with just 'amps.'