Forum Changes - Please Read! - Page 2

Alexander Turcic · 05-30-2003, 03:45 PM

jfs01, I don't want to confuse you or anyone here. You know, when I started this board I had mainly one thing in mind: to start a community. A mobile-minded community or something in this direction. Now, with the recent restrictions I want to give us an incentive to be more communicative and to interact with each other. I hope you understand my reasoning.

That said, just feel free to post anything or reply to anything you think that is interesting. It is all what is needed to get the community rolling

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement.

Alex

Alexander Turcic · 05-30-2003, 03:45 PM

User upgraded:

volcanopele

LSAlford · 05-30-2003, 11:58 PM

I'm in.

jfs01 · 05-31-2003, 04:39 PM

ok...

kitten_moon · 06-03-2003, 03:49 PM

Hi,

My experience with online forums (and offline ones too for that matter) is that you can't force people to contribute.

Unfortunately there will always be a percentage of people who will not contribute, but just silently benefit from the work of others without even so much as a note of thanks. When you remove their access they will simply go elsewhere - and you don't end up expanding the community at all. So instead of 1000 visitors with 30 contributors, all you get is 30 visitors and 30 contributors (OK maybe an extreme example but you get the idea).

I used to run a BBS about 10 years ago and found the same thing back then - it's a matter of human nature I suppose.

My advice is to be patient and keep working - you can build an online community, just by providing a reason to visit. The more reasons to visit, the more visitors you get. The more visitors you get, the more contributors. Und So Weiter...

In short: I highly recommend you reconsider this policy.

Another thing: If you do want to continue with this policy, I suggest changing the "you have no access" screen. It currently says that you have no access because you haven't registered. This is not quite right - even if you do register you won't necessarily get access to the information! I think this needs to be spelled out.

I found this site looking for information on how to get iSilo to work with a given site. I used the search feature on the site name, and got a link. The link sent me to the access denied page. This is mildly annoying - I was led to believe that by registering I would get access to the information I was after. This was not the case.

Bear in mind that I had no idea about the access restriction policy. It was only after digging around a bit that I found out about it.

Thanks anyway for a great site (the bits I can see of it anyway

Alexander Turcic · 06-04-2003, 10:05 AM

kitten_moon,

Thanks for sharing your concerns. I agree with you that in general forcing people to contribute is not a good thing.

But let's face it. Since I implemented this relatively small restriction, user participation has increased by several 100%. And it is sooo easy to gain access.

All the best,
Alex

Alexander Turcic · 06-04-2003, 10:08 AM

Users upgraded:

crh3f
kennethmgreen
Aragorn

Alexander Turcic · 06-04-2003, 12:05 PM

User upgraded:

jreifsnydr

cbarnett · 06-04-2003, 08:15 PM

I've only just registered isilo and joined the forum as well, but I plan on hanging around (and losing the newbie status

)

As has already been said however, I don't want to post just for the sake of posting, as that seems pointless. Having said that, I will contribute when and as I can.

We could also improve turcic's profile by doing some "advertising". Contact the guys that run news sites like Clie World, tipsheets, etc, and ask them to plug the site. That can get more people interested, and perhaps get them participating in the forums too.

Hey, maybe we need a forum for new forum suggestions!

jreifsnydr · 06-05-2003, 12:51 AM

Thanks for the upgrade, Alexander ...

Alexander Turcic · 06-05-2003, 03:32 AM

Quote:

We could also improve turcic's profile by doing some "advertising". Contact the guys that run news sites like Clie World, tipsheets, etc, and ask them to plug the site. That can get more people interested, and perhaps get them participating in the forums too.

Yup, I agree. We will work on this. Especially a lot of non-PalmOS-users (such as PPC users) haven't heard from us yet.

Quote:

Hey, maybe we need a forum for new forum suggestions!

Heh, we have that already!

See here.

Greets

cbarnett · 06-05-2003, 07:43 PM

Hey, how do I lose this "Junior Member" status, hmmm?

cbarnett · 06-05-2003, 07:44 PM

Oh, and get access to the links....<g>

exjoburger · 06-05-2003, 08:51 PM

Out of curiosity, what is the ratio of posts to members on other Forums?
I know that on some of the ones with lots of posts, there are numerous duplicate postings.

drc54 · 06-05-2003, 10:00 PM

Hmm, trying to comprehend this new policy. Actually, was looking for other users who may had experience problems with their SD 64Mb Sandisk card. I know there are other forums, but was hoping it would be easier to navigate on this site.

05-30-2003, 11:58 PM	#18
LSAlford Member Posts: 10 Karma: 30 Join Date: Dec 2002	Well, it's a bit draconian, but what the heck... I'm in.

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05-30-2003, 03:45 PM	#16
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	jfs01, I don't want to confuse you or anyone here. You know, when I started this board I had mainly one thing in mind: to start a community. A mobile-minded community or something in this direction. Now, with the recent restrictions I want to give us an incentive to be more communicative and to interact with each other. I hope you understand my reasoning. That said, just feel free to post anything or reply to anything you think that is interesting. It is all what is needed to get the community rolling Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement. Alex

05-31-2003, 04:39 PM	#19
jfs01 Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 66 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Baltimore, MD, USA Device: Sony Clie TH-55	ok...

06-03-2003, 03:49 PM	#20
kitten_moon Member Posts: 16 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Tungsten T	Hi, My experience with online forums (and offline ones too for that matter) is that you can't force people to contribute. Unfortunately there will always be a percentage of people who will not contribute, but just silently benefit from the work of others without even so much as a note of thanks. When you remove their access they will simply go elsewhere - and you don't end up expanding the community at all. So instead of 1000 visitors with 30 contributors, all you get is 30 visitors and 30 contributors (OK maybe an extreme example but you get the idea). I used to run a BBS about 10 years ago and found the same thing back then - it's a matter of human nature I suppose. My advice is to be patient and keep working - you can build an online community, just by providing a reason to visit. The more reasons to visit, the more visitors you get. The more visitors you get, the more contributors. Und So Weiter... In short: I highly recommend you reconsider this policy. Another thing: If you do want to continue with this policy, I suggest changing the "you have no access" screen. It currently says that you have no access because you haven't registered. This is not quite right - even if you do register you won't necessarily get access to the information! I think this needs to be spelled out. I found this site looking for information on how to get iSilo to work with a given site. I used the search feature on the site name, and got a link. The link sent me to the access denied page. This is mildly annoying - I was led to believe that by registering I would get access to the information I was after. This was not the case. Bear in mind that I had no idea about the access restriction policy. It was only after digging around a bit that I found out about it. Thanks anyway for a great site (the bits I can see of it anyway

06-04-2003, 10:05 AM	#21
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	kitten_moon, Thanks for sharing your concerns. I agree with you that in general forcing people to contribute is not a good thing. But let's face it. Since I implemented this relatively small restriction, user participation has increased by several 100%. And it is sooo easy to gain access. All the best, Alex

06-04-2003, 10:08 AM	#22
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Users upgraded: crh3f kennethmgreen Aragorn

06-04-2003, 12:05 PM	#23
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	User upgraded: jreifsnydr

06-04-2003, 08:15 PM	#24
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	I've only just registered isilo and joined the forum as well, but I plan on hanging around (and losing the newbie status ) As has already been said however, I don't want to post just for the sake of posting, as that seems pointless. Having said that, I will contribute when and as I can. We could also improve turcic's profile by doing some "advertising". Contact the guys that run news sites like Clie World, tipsheets, etc, and ask them to plug the site. That can get more people interested, and perhaps get them participating in the forums too. Hey, maybe we need a forum for new forum suggestions!

06-05-2003, 12:51 AM	#25
jreifsnydr Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 28 Join Date: Jan 2003	Thanks for the upgrade, Alexander ...

06-05-2003, 07:43 PM	#27
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Hey, how do I lose this "Junior Member" status, hmmm?

06-05-2003, 07:44 PM	#28
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Oh, and get access to the links....<g>

Advert

Advert

06-05-2003, 08:51 PM	#29
exjoburger Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 14 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sea Cliff, NY Device: Palm M505	Out of curiosity, what is the ratio of posts to members on other Forums? I know that on some of the ones with lots of posts, there are numerous duplicate postings.

06-05-2003, 10:00 PM	#30
drc54 Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Singapore Device: Palm m515, now TX	Hmm, trying to comprehend this new policy. Actually, was looking for other users who may had experience problems with their SD 64Mb Sandisk card. I know there are other forums, but was hoping it would be easier to navigate on this site.