[C320-list] Forum "architecture"

[Doug Treff]

Graeme, 

Probably because it's free, and works with no fiddling by anyone. 

Also, in the past, it was felt that we might lose some people who "just
prefer email" but now that there are gateways to allow forums to accept
email sending and receiving, (phorum allows this with the external
phorummail module and mailinglist module), we really should look at the
possibility. Then we get the best of both worlds... 

On the other hand, there have been times when I've gotten a quick
response to a cry for help on some issue during the off-season and I
wonder how quickly that response would have come if there were fewer
people reading a forum when sailing is not on their mind. Email comes to
you - you have to go looking for a web forum. 

Just my $0.02. 

---
Doug Treff
Catalina 320 - 1996 - September Song - #350
http://savvysailor.blogspot.com/
doug at treff.us

On 2015-07-31 15:19, Graeme Clark wrote: 

> An earlier post by me generated a question about responding to list messages without having to cut and paste. 
> 
> Until now - as a relative newcomer - (from foreign shores, too) - I have remained silent, but at the risk of incurring the wrath of the volunteers who look after this list I am now going to mention this 'elephant in the room'!
> 
> Why on earth are we using this outdated, email-list type of forum architecture?
> 
> It is clunky, and frequently, undisciplined use means that many responses are posted with the inclusion of the entire list message or the entire thread, making it difficult to follow. (Not least because responding is not a simple matter of just hitting 'reply' in your email program. You have to fiddle around and edit the subject title, remove messages from other threads and so on
> 
> You cannot even post messages from the web interface in Google groups either, it's 'read only'
> 
> You cannot add rich text features like bold or italic, except like *this*!
> 
> and its all so ancient an un-necessary!
> 
> take a look here at the C34 owners site
> 
> http://www.c34.org/bbs/index.php [1]
> 
> This is a standard message board format (available as freeware); you can subscribe to receive new emails, choose to follow certain threads or not, and so on.
> 
> Guys and Girls - at the risk of upsetting someone, this froum is the technical equivalent of hemp rope when everyone else has moved on to Dyneema, we are the typewriter to everyone else's iPad, we are the sextant to everyone elses's GPS!
> 
> I am more than willing to help us move into the 21st Century if its help thats needed.
> 
> Or am I missing a trick - is there some perceived benfit to the email list that I haven't understood or some trick to using it that would make it less a labour of Hercules?
> 
> (tin hat on, for incoming!)
> 
> Graeme
> #366 Jaskar, England
 

Links:
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[1] http://www.c34.org/bbs/index.php