Discussion Improvement...

[Twilight]

Chaps,

Firstly, well done on putting together a great site! Although there are a few rough edges, which I'm sure you'll smooth out in time, overall the thing is very good!

Here's my suggestion...
The discussions are now getting numerous and I've noticed we've started getting repeat threads occurring. I'm guessing that this is because there are too many threads for people to read them all, and also that certain threads are badly titled by their creators.
I thought it'd be a really good idea to set up a search facility where you can search the forums for appropriate hits. Then if I want to find out about 'illegal serves' I can enter that and it'll direct me to the three or so threads that have covered this in varying detail.

A good example of a good discussion forum search is the Lotus Developer Domain forum, which can be found at: 'http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/46dom.nsf'

I hope my comments are useful!
DT

[Hana]

Hi
i think this is a rather spiffing site. However, I responded to the cheating page just the other day and my response seems to have disappeared! i am disgraced of your lac of enthusiasm at my comment. If I may ask; please can you reinstate as soon as possible! Or else Mariana Agathangelou will consult her Father! If that dosen't make you quake in your boots; what will?

[Hana]

Only joking. we luv u really!

[Frodo]

Would it be possible to have the last message posted, displayed first ... as one constantly has to go to the bottom of the last page to view the latest comments.

[grosbred]

As an honorary frog, I agree with Frodo: last message (or at least last page of messages) displayed automatically. That would make things more user-f

Apart from that, it really is a great site, and is improving daily. Congratulations to all !

[Site Support]

Good points Frodo & Ian, and we can understand where you are coming from.

However, as a discussion is linear in nature, it makes sense for the messages to appear in chronological order. If you have read the thread already, then you would like to get to the most recent messages immediately. We now have a 'last' button which takes you to the last page of the thread.

Newcomers to the thread will find it very difficult to read the thread 'backwards' and that is why the messages appear in the order they do.

[Frodo]

maybe we could have it user customisable via a cookie or some other means.

and yes this is a well presented site.

[Site Support]

Certainly an idea for the future - what do others think about this?

We are making improvements to the site all the time, and we have several new features in the pipeline.

[Michael Banks]

Personally I like the existing linear aspect of the thread. It means you can come to the discussion and read as you would a book.

I simply go to the thread and click LAST if I am familiar with the thread and just want to see the last comment.

[MarkAllen]

Gentlemen, why have you allowed the use of aliases? I think particularly of the almost ubiquitous Frodo. If someone has something to say, they should be prepared to put their name to it.

[Site Support]

At the end of the day, we cannot force people to use their real names. We encourage the use of real names, but we don't have the time (or inclination!) to check every account to see if the name is genuine.

Not everyone wishes to be known by their real name - one of the great advantages of the internet is that anonymity is fairly easily obtained and people can speak their opinion without fear of personal reprisal. It also allows people to come out of their shell a bit.

[Michael Banks]

It is a shame that people don't want to use their real names. Even so, I would rather people contributed under a pen name than be to scared to contribute at all.

[MarkAllen]

Reply to Site Support & Michael Banks :

I take your points about (a) the difficulty of enforcement and (b) encouraging contributions. I don't agree about being able to speak without fear of reprisals. People should be aware of their responsibilities, moral & legal, although that doesn't seem to have held them back recently on the "Cheating" thread. Another, linked point, is shrouding what you say in foreign language(s). English only, surely.

[Michael Banks]

Understand where you are coming from Mark. I like things all neat and tidy but the good thing about online communities are that they are self policing.

If someone speaks foreign then they imediately lose the interest of the rest of the group and no one responds still leaving all the open discussions available. Also if there is a feelling that someone is abusing their anonymity they get ignored pretty quick. The guys who do this site do the right thing in leaving the site as it is unless someone gets abusive. It is our community we should monitor and police it ourselves.

[MarkAllen]

Michael, I can only say that my long-term experiences with various on-line communities is a bit of a mixed bag. I agree totally with you about the owners of this site; they're doing a great job. I'm only making suggestions that might encourage civil discussion. I wouldn't want to act as "Thought Police", or be taken to task by someone else acting in that capacity.

[Alex]

Re: Frodo The Frog

I think this person, whoever he/she might be is doing a great job and making some very worthwhile and valid points. Do we need to know who it is? If they put their real name to it how many of you would actually know them...

Think about it, how many people actually know Alex Bergh? To you i am just a name like Frodo The Frog

Regards

[Frodo]

Alex, thanks for your comment.

Michael/Mark .. I aint scared .. I am FRODO The FROG, I leaps over tall buildings .. some people just walk into them ;-)

[rachyuk]

Frodo,

Are you related to 'Freddo the Frog' - they are delicious, especially when you are on a diet and can only afford to eat a small bar of choc!!!

[Frodo]

Rachel,

That sounds like my brother - very tasty .. all the girls like him ;-)

[keenfan]

You should post latest messages first, most sites do it this way as who wants to click on 2 or 3 buttone to get to what they want

[dlp]

The discussion forum has been very popular lately, some days there have been up to 5 new threads.

Is it time to split the forum into subsections, this would make older threads more accessible and easier to search, since there is no search feature. Most threads die once they fall off the latest five threads and often topics are repeated. For instance forums could be coaching, national play, juniors, clubs , general. There are a lot of good discussions which new members will never access, perhaps splitting forums would prevent this and keep threads more active for longer. Keep up the good work !