Comments on the Pilot Discussion Forum

[Ann Pienkowski]

Thanks to all of you who are helping with the start-up of this Forum. We are still at the pilot stage, but I hope it will not be too long before we can widen this out, and make it more accessible.

There have already been some suggestions about changes we should make to the way this works, and I note some of them here for you to consider.

1. Users should be able to start new threads and post replies without moderator approval, but we should establish a 'protocol' or 'etiquette' thread which will state the 'rules' for using the forum, and point out that threads and posts can be edited and or deleted, and that inappropriate use will result in users being 'banned'.

2. If a user "starts" a new thread, it should be on the understanding that they take responsibility for moderating that thread. They would need to get this moderator status established by the forum's administrator - initially by emailing a request to me.

At present, the system is set up so that threads and posts need to be moderated before they become live. I intend to get this changed shortly, so that they do not need moderating first, to see how this works out. However, it will still be possible for myself and the other moderators to edit and delete if required.

What do you think about this?

Do you have any other thoughts?

You can let me know by posting replies to this, sending me a private message via the forum, or sending me an email.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Ann

[jwheeler449]

Just to check that moderation is now OFF.

[Piers]

Hey ann i never had any notification on my setting when someone required moderation clearance so i apolagise if some things didn't get posted

[Ann Pienkowski]

I never received any notification either Piers - I just kept looking! We did not miss anything, so do not worry, but that is one of the reasons I wanted to make the change. Posts and threads now do not need approval for posting, but we can still moderate them after posting. One of the things we should do, perhaps, is get email notification set to let us know when new stuff is put on. I will talk to our web adviser, John Wheeler, about this. Ann

[Ann Pienkowski]

Hi all

It has been great to see the discussions developing, and the interesting comments made and questions raised.

However, we now have quite a large number of threads, some of which could be grouped together, and some of which are not being used. Here are my thoughts on this so far.

We should close threads which have not had new messages posted on them for a period of time, eg 3-4 weeks. That does not prevent discussions resuming later on.

New threads should need approval by a moderator before they can become live. In that way we can control the number of threads (it is hard to keep track of them when you get too many), and we can keep relevant topic discussion points together. So if someone wants to start a new thread, but it is closely related to an existing thread, we can decide whether it is best to post the message under an existing thread or start another.

Your thoughts on this would be welcome.

Ann

[Ann Pienkowski]

Hello everyone

Now that the pilot discussion forum is getting more widely used, we have re-instated moderation of new threads and posts before they become live. This can only be done by the moderators. We will check for new posts as frequently as we can, but be aware that your messages will not become live instantaneously. We are doing this to maintain the integrity and quality of the site, so hope that you will understand if there are slight delays. We are continuing to explore a range of other options to achieve the same ends.

Ann

[Ann Pienkowski]

It is precisely because some (only a few, I'm pleased to say) people resort to inappropriate language that we have to moderate the posts. We have no intention of restricting reasoned discussion.

Ann

[Ann Pienkowski]

Over the last 2 weeks there have been attempts to use the discussion forum for commercial purposes. This is definitely not what we are about! So, from now on, new user registrations will need approval by a moderator before they are accepted. It would be helpful if, on registration, people could give a short message about why they would like to be involved. No information at all is likely to mean that requests for user registration will be denied. Please be patient if there is a short delay between user registration request and acceptance. We are thinking about any amendments we need to make to the registration process. We are still, after all, in pilot mode.

Ann