message board

[ptinkc]

Is the message board running good now? I think we should switch to this forum for our club business and dump topica. Lets move the traffic to our site. What does every one think? Seems to me we have a split going on in the cyber world and in order to bring the club members togather we should start by bringing them here to chat.      pete

[DJayhawk]

I'm no expert on Message boards but this software does seem to run smoothly on several other boards I'm a member to.  Even seems like some of the traffic has been up in the last few days.

Keep it up the good work!

[Mike Penney]

I agree with Pete. We should dump topica and go with this forum. I think we will get more input then we currently do from topica. I think it would serve as a much better way to provide information to non-club members. Plus your email wouldn't be flooded by hot topics that sometimes get disccussed.

[gleauzinier]

as if anyone besides pete cares what my dog tells me to think, this site is great. if we're trying to get new players jazzed this offers more than topica seems to.
just like on the course, step up and start doing it.

[D]

good idea, get discussion off topica and on kcfdc.org. Actually I have been trying to get this going for over a year. the new board will help. If oyu notice when you enter a thread you can subscribe to it and you will get an email notification when someone else posts to the topic.

Not quite like getting an email message in your inbox but we're getting there.

I encourage all members to use this board as the primary discussion vehicle.

Dirk

[tedkeith]

I agree. Increase traffic to the site and free us from having to delete all those topica posts from our inboxes.

[jack]

The biggest problem that I have is the history that topica already has for us.  We would need to somehow get all the messages archived to this site for the information to be shared.  Any volunteers?  Both the KCFDC, and the Board would need to be moved.  Some information yeah no one cares about, but many items on the board list were very helpful to me when I first joined the board at finding out information and problems that were handled well.

[Flip]

Are you talking about previous posts that are listed at the topica site?  I was unaware of its existence until recently.  I thought the posts were sent out into the ether and that was it.  I think that has to do with a setting I selected when my account was set up.  Do many people read the topica posts via their site?

One solution would be to link to the previous info and keep our account alive.  I could look into a method of archiving in the meantime, it would be better to have that old info on our server anyway, that way we are in control.

edit: I just went to the topica home page and searched the lists under 'disc golf' and 'kansas city disc golf' and was unable to locate our list- only after searching the messages did a post show up.  My point is that, although the past posts may have value, they are hidden to all but a few who know of their existence.  Posts to this forum are easily located and read by non-members and members alike.  Even a casual google search for kansas city disc golf shows our site and this forum.  

-Sean

[jack]

It is a private list, not a public list so you have to be invited to read the list, you can not search and get in.  It is all archived, I am more concerned about the board list, than the public list for record keeping.  It does have some answers to questions that will stand as precedents.

[John Chapman]

Actually, I disagree.  I like getting the emails in my inbox, and I like not having to go to the discussion board, which I find of questionable value.  Sometimes, it's hard to disseminate the 5% real good, valid information from the 95% crap misinformation, or crap I don't want to read.  If it shows up in my email, I can just delete it.  I don't have to wade through a bunch of crap to find what I need.

I understand about private lists, but I'm on the PDGA Board, and I don't read THAT discussion board either.  It has very little real value, and is full of misinformation.  Maybe our board will be different.

Chap

[Flip]

I think it comes down to choice,  you can choose to check our board daily (as many do) or weekly or never.  With the list, you are either in or out . The list also offers no way to search or catogorize past info- you get  crap, misinformation to inbox, then delete, then gone.  

I think the purpose of a board is to build a community rather than be a repository of correct information.  I agree that a large board, like the PDGA's, with hundreds of posts a day can be more work than it is worth, but a small community board can be followed with a minimum of wading through crap. I also think it is less intimidating for someone  to ask a question on a discussion board rather than sending an email to hundreds of (unknown) people.

Frankly John, given your unique position in the sport, you have little need for any discussion boards or lists, we need you!  Your corrections will always be welcome here

-Sean

[dclabe]

Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.....

I really like this site a lot better than Topica....(first off its easier to find and use).   Getting emails of discussions does not encourage use of the site.  I like the fact that if you want to see whats going on you go to the site and select which discussions you're interested in versus getting all of them in your email.  Plus if you're new to the sport or KC you can skim through past topics (ie beginners) to get up to speed.  I guess that so far I'm impressed with how quickly league, tournament, and tournament results have been posted (DUI on Tuesday!).  To me it just seems the site is much more "alive" than topica.  I skimmed through the 2004 Wide Open photos today....(made me realize how great our courses look during the summer)....I'm also using the event calendar to plan for area tournaments.

Anyway, I'll try to climb down off my soapbox now....b4 I go though nice job to Sean and crew....

[John Chapman]

Both Topica messages and Yahoo Group messages are archived, so you can go back and search for what you need.  I'm just saying even with the email notification (which I will be using to keep track of the one or 2 threads that might interest me), I'd still rather get emails.  I hate message boards for official information.  There's too much risk of the intended message getting lost or misinterpreted.   I'll now go back and hide in my hole.

Chap

[John Chapman]

Also, is there any way we could remove post counts?  One of the big problems with the PDGA Board is that some people will post inane drivel just to drive their post count up.

Chap

[Flip]

I agree that a discussion board is a poor place to post important information, which is why events and official anouncements from the High Command are posted at other places on the site (calendar, front page, etc) free from meddlesome discussionites(unless you count Jack;-).

I have not activated post ranking, so there is no incentive to drive up your post count i.e. becoming "ace master" or whatever.
-Sean