[C320-list] Forum "architecture"

[Chris Burti]

Ultimately, the Association leadership will do what it deems to be the best
interest of the membership in light of what the majority demands.

That said, my preference is for a list format. I tend to be an early
adopter of technology generally, so it is not about an unwillingness to
change. Forums just don't seem to work very well for me. I am signed up for
at least four sailing forums and probably more that I have forgotten
about.  I check only one of them with any regularity and then only every
other week or so. As a result, many of the strings that I find interesting
have died before I read them. The main reason that I check it at all is
that it tends to have an active 'for sale' forum. The rest, almost never
and a couple of those were originally lists that converted to forums after
which i have drifted away.

I belong to three other lists beside this one and am active on all four...
but I use email constantly in my work, so I am constantly checking email,
regardless of whether I have an internet connection or not.

My expectation is that if we convert to a forum, that I will become
inactive after a period of time as I have done elsewhere...while some will
feel that is not necessarily a bad thing...my concern is that others will
also drift away. Perhaps people who hate getting emails would prefer a
forum and our membership could grow as a result...I just don't have an
answer.

Best regards,
Chris Burti
Commitment, #867

On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 3:46 PM, Doug Treff <doug at treff.us> wrote:

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



-- 
Chris Burti
Farmville, NC