[GeoStL] Re: forums
- From: "BottomFeeder" <BottomFeeder@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 19:41:59 -0500
-
A couple observations re: 'forums' vs 'mailing list' from a mostly
outsider......
There have been occasional rumblings on the list about the potential to =
grow
SLAGA as an organization. And near as I can tell from occasional glances =
at
the 'Latest Members' section on the geostl.com home page, it does seem =
there
is a fairly steady(?) influx of new members. And though I do very little
caching, I also get the impression there is a pretty continual (even if
somewhat slow) increase in the number of caches available to hunt in =
SLAGA
territory. So in a sense, it is growing as an organization.....if things =
are
as they appear from the peanut gallery.
OTOH, 95% of the discussion on this list sure seems to me to come from =
the
same 15-20 people that were generating the same 95% of the discussion =
when I
first joined about 1.5 yr ago. That *suggests* the newer SLAGA members
aren't being pulled into the 'community'.....at least as far as caching
discussion goes.
And maybe that's just the way it is. Maybe newer members are just more
inclined to go out and 'Just Do It' and not talk about it. But *MAYBE* =
it
suggests there's an opportunity to try something a little different and =
grow
the 'community' commensurate with the increasing membership. *MAYBE* the
slight bit of splintering that arises from having a very nice www site =
and a
separate 'mailing list' running completely independent of each other is
enough to keep newer members (for the most part) from becoming active
participants in caching related discussions.=20
And *MAYBE* the web site based forums are the mechanism that can aide in
increasing the 'community'. Maybe not. There certainly is no guarantee. =
But
it seems pretty clear the mailing list isn't doing the job if my
observations are even close to accurate. And quite frankly, the forums
haven't really been provided a valid test of their potential value in =
that
respect. There was a dinky little link on the geostl.com home page for a
while. And just recently, the Group Hunt forum was set up on a *test* =
site.
But they've never been give a place of prominence on the web page as the
'Newsgroup' (mailing list) is.
The only way I think you'll ever determine the real value of the forums =
(if
any) is to turn off the mailing list for a while, force all SLAGA =
related
discussion to the forums for *at least* a few months, and see what =
happens.
Yes, I know that idea will upset some folks who don't feel all that
technically proficient in dealing with the forums. But I'd be willing to =
bet
those same folks felt just as technically inept when dealing with email =
and
mailing lists at some point in the past. There's just no reason the =
learning
curve for the forums needs to be any greater than was the case with =
email.
So, that's a hurdle that seems can be overcome with a modicum of hair
pulling & hurt feelings.=20
And after all, if the forums fail to do as all the big *MAYBE's* hint =
they
might, it's not like you couldn't shut them down and return to the =
mailing
list.=20
Of course, maybe I'm all wet. Maybe the 'community' is maxed out and all
this would do is P.O. a bunch of the current participants on the mailing
list. But my sense is those who do participate here regularly are pretty
committed and are likely to still be involved in the discussions 6 =
months
from now....regardless of the mechanism employed. There may be a fair =
bit of
grumbling about any changes, but ain't it always the case.(??)=20
-=3D Russ =3D- (BottomFeeder)
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