Changes To The Forum

This is the place for everything that doesn't fit elsewhere.
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What do you think about the new additions and changes to the Bear Mountain Boat Forum?

I like it very much, nice job... keep up the good work!
10
83%
It's OK...Maybe I'll like it more when I get used to all these new additions
1
8%
I liked it the way it was before
1
8%
I didn't even know that anything changed here
0
No votes
Other... See my response below
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 12

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Dean in Eureka, CA
Posts: 267
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 10:23 am
Location: Eureka, CA

Changes To The Forum

Post by Dean in Eureka, CA »

How do you like the new additions and changes that Glen has been making to the forum?

I'm sure Glen has been pretty busy these last few days...Image

BTW-Do you like these larger animated emocicons?
Everything will be OK[img::]http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/images ... uryi3b.gif[/img]

Dean in Eureka, CA
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Its Me
Posts: 143
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2004 12:21 pm

Post by Its Me »

The recent changes improve the site. Glenn and Dean are two great poster and tremendous builders.

But I am not sure that gourmet corner belongs on this site. A tripping and destination forum would be good. People could write trip reports and post picture of where they went with their wood boat. People could converse on paddle trips suitable for wooden canoes and kayaks. Also wooden boat meets and events around the world could be written up iand announced in th destination forum. .

You may also want to consider a kayak specific forum and another boat style forum.

Maybe a repair and restoration forum.

The site doesn't appear to get the traffic needed for more than a few subject specific forum so I would limit their numbers. How many? Which ones? That is for you guys to decide. :P

Just some talking points.

Thanks for taking on the responsibility.

George
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Bud
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:20 pm
Location: Clayton, Georgia
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Changes

Post by Bud »

I used to be able to log onto this BB and take a look at the posts everyday in about 10 minutes of time. Now with so many topics, it takes at least twice that long to look at everything. This is seriously eating into my boat building time!:wink: Not to mention my extremely busy social schedule.
Hey Dean, were you so jealous of Kent's big decks, that you had to get some big emoticons? Can the rest of us get them also?
Seriously, I really think the changes are making this an even better site.
Keep up the good work Glen and Dean.
Bud
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Dean in Eureka, CA
Posts: 267
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 10:23 am
Location: Eureka, CA

Post by Dean in Eureka, CA »

Bud,
I'm glad you like the animated emocicons.
I threw a few of them out there by linking from another site, to see what users here thought of them.
Another site that I help administrate on is using them and everyone really seems to get a kick out of them.
I was just talking to Glen about this, when I get back from Hawaii after Christmas, I might become a co-administrator with him. If you guys like them, I'd be able to upload them through an FTP uploader. If you want to get a first hand look at more of them and see how users are using them, take a peek at this link; http://www.mikenchell.com/forums
Everything will be OK[img::]http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/images ... uryi3b.gif[/img]

Dean in Eureka, CA
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GeirB
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Post by GeirB »

Some sites with a active forum has a overwiev over the ten latest postings on the index (start)page. Ok if you visit the site several times during the day. Just click in on the postings you are interested in.

Geir in Norway
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Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Checking posts

Post by Glen Smith »

When you are on the "Forum Index" page there are three small titles in the upper right-hand corner. One of them is "View posts since last visit". Using this "tool" saves you the time of having to go through all of the topics.
Bernie in Illinois

Post by Bernie in Illinois »

Dean, Jeff, you’ve obviously been working very hard on reorganizing this forum. Thank you for your efforts.

When the new software came on line, I too felt the need for indexed categories, and you have done an excellent job of organizing things. My concern, however, is that the site has quickly become more complex. That’s perhaps unavoidable, yet unfortunate. Here is what I mean.

More choices on the index seem like a good thing, but like Bud pointed out, necessitate navigating through lots of categories, requiring more time. That’s a trade-off most of us can live with. I think.

Not all posts fall into just one category. For example, say that I’m posting regular progress reports in the Builders’ Forum section (By the way to be correct it should be Builders’ Forum, apostrophe after the s), and come up with a new tool or process. Unlike the old forum which lumped everything into one, I’d need to also post this information in the Boat Building Tips & Techniques section, for everyone to benefit from it. Otherwise, it becomes lost information. In addition, depending on where a post is made, it might not ever get the number of reviews it deserves. In fact, it might not get any at all. Stating the obvious, indexed categories must be mutually exclusive. Although that is the case for the current index, this example clearly indicates that some posts are in fact more likely to be overlooked.

What to do? One possible solution is to limit the number of categories to a bear minimum, and crosslink the search engine so as to search through all categories simultaneously. This will ensure information integrity, but do nothing for posts ignored as a result of low traffic categories.

Finally, site use instructions would be a plus. For example, how to instructions on site use including posting documents, drawings, pictures etc. And, it would be super great if pictures could be directly uploaded.

You are the founding fathers. In time, the site will develop its own character. Keep up the good work
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Glen Smith
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Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

Hi Bernie,

As already mentionned, you can "View posts since last visit" instead of going through all of the forums. The "FAQ" link at the page top may answer some of your questions concerning the use of this forum. The "Search" function allows you to set the parameters so that the search is performed in all of the forums if that is what you want.

As for posting pictures directly on the forum, I think it is something worthwhile and we will be studying the possibilities in the near future.
Peter Kotowych
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun May 09, 2004 8:10 pm
Location: Midland, Ontario

Post by Peter Kotowych »

Pete's 2 cents worth.

Great work on improving the site. Keep it up.

I liked George's suggestion about a tripping and destination forum.

If certain forums do not generate any interest this will be evident over time.
They can simply go the way of the Dodo.
Bernie in Illinois

Post by Bernie in Illinois »

Hi Jeff,

Call me slow, but I cannot find the "View posts since last visit" tool that you are referring to. On the upper right of the Forum Index is the titlle "Builders Forum". Below that on the left, on 2 separate lines, are a total of 8 buttons starting with FAQ and ending in LOGIN. Below that is the selected Forum name, Moderators, users browsing etc ending with Mark All Topics Read. Why am I not seeing it?
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Glen Smith
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Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

Hi Bernie, first of all, my name is Glen, not Jeff. Second, when you login you should be taken to this page: http://www.bearmountainboats.com/phpbb2/index.php . If not, you have bookmarked the wrong page title. On the page I refer to, below "Builders Forum" in large black type in the upper r.h. corner, there are three lines in light brown and the first one is "view posts since last visit". If you click on that link, it will display a list of the messages you have not read and the forums those messages are in. Give it a try and let me know if it works.
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mtpocket
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:48 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by mtpocket »

Glen

Today is the first day I have seen where it says "view posts since last visit". Thanks for pointing this out.

I tend to read and re-read the same posts to refresh my memory. Also, I look at the date stamp on the new posts and the new posts get moved to the top where I see them easier.

P.S. I am still on my winter break :lol:
Last edited by mtpocket on Tue Dec 28, 2004 2:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bernie in Illinois

Post by Bernie in Illinois »

Oops! Glen, please accept my apologies for calling you Jeff. Somethimes the fingers do not follow the brain, or vise versa.

On my system, there appears only two lines in light brown between the Forum Index line and the time and date line. "view posts since last visit" is NOT one of them. I've never registered as a user, perhaps that has something to do with it?

To make absolutely sure that I was looking at the correct page, I even used your link. And it made no difference. From top of page to top of Forum Index, here is what I see:
Line 1: Builders Forum (written in black on URH corner of page)
Line 2: Faq, Search, Member List, User Groups, Register (written on one line in light brown and centered on index page)
Line 3: Profile, Log in to check your private messages, Log in (written on one line in light brown and centered on index page)
Line 4: Time and date (written in black using small text)
Line 5: The Bear Mountain Boat Shop - Builders Forum Forum Index (written in light brown)
Below that is the actual index.

Hope this makes sense.
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Glen Smith
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Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

That's it, Bernie! When you are not logged-in as a registered user, the cookie settings have no idea which posts you have already viewed so you are not offered the possibilty of viewing only the newest posts.

PS: I have been called worse things than "Jeff" before so you don't have to feel bad about it. :lol:
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