Hi all,
I have been following this thread with great interest, simply because I am
a person who much prefers message boards over email lists.
Everyone has a personal preference, and I believe a message board would
enhance the 'support' fora provided for TB!, not hamper it. No, not every
topic discussed on the mailing list(s) would be covered in the message
board fora but at the same time, those who prefer message boards over lists
would be able to acquire the assistance needed in the manner in which they
prefer.
Good points have been brought up amongst the ret of the discussion:
Per-minute dialup costs hindering message board frequency
Too many emails in mailboxes; many of which are of no interest to recipient
therefore clogging the inbox: ESPECIALLY for those using "limited-space"
email accounts.
Newsgroups possibly allowing for email harvesting/spamming
Message board moderation; who would have the time, who wouldn't, who would
WANT to do it
Message board setup: how should it be set up; what main topics should there
be, what sub-topics should there be
What language(s) could benefit from having a message board, as there are
already board(s) set up for different dialects.
And one *I* just thought of: The time zones.
Someone offered to set up a message board, which spawned this thread, and I
think that is a marvelous idea. The only thing which enters my mind is
maintenance. I host a message board on my website...mainly for comments
etc. I also host many message boards/fora with other hosting sites. While I
may visit the ones on the other hosting sites on a consistent basis, I don't
visit mine all the time and if a TB! message board was set up, it is going
to need constant moderation and upkeep. While I DON'T mind, personally,
maintaining my own board, the thought of totally maintaining a message board
on my own server which has the potential traffic of a TB! message board makes
my head spin. Moderating it alone will be quite a task.
It is with these thoughts that I offer another possible solution, one which
I am sure a lot of you are already familiar with and if not, read on :)
DelphiForums has been around for eons. I host many boards on there, some
for fun, but some are "serious" ones such as the "The Sims" one I host for
Sims Addicts (ok ok OK.. I admit it :P lol), the 9/11 one and the one for a
fatal in-utero disorder. Moderation is easy, and fast. The tools provided to
forums hosts/hostesses are easy to use and quite simple. There is no message
limit that I know of, nor any time limit (I have boards with messages in them
from years ago) that I know of. Delphi offers free memberships AS WELL AS paid
memberships. So TB! users would have a choice, and no matter which they choose
they WILL be able to post in the forum. There are options for subject
matter (folders) and in each folder you can begin your thread(s). Example:
Folder= New User Questions
Folder= Technical-In-Depth
Folder= Beta Discussion
Folder= TB! Add-On Discussion
Folder= Wish List Discussion
Folder= Is This A Bug?
Folder= The Bat!Cave <===for general chit-chat
Folder= Non-English Discussion
and in each folder there will be the discussion threads.
Now mind you, this is NOT intending to offend those who are willing to set
up the message boards on their own servers; only to offer another option
FOR hosting a message board. Since being with Delphi, I have only
encountered three or four "downtime" log-in messages and I have been a
member since 1996 (since 1999 with my current ID). That isn't to say that
they have NOT been down more than that but it speaks well of the reliability.
Maintaining the boards has been a breeze; spamming hasn't occurred nor has
email harvesting (no one has complained to me..and Delphi is VERY strict
with their policies. Not to mention their setup makes it pretty hard to
harvest emails, or do anything else for that matter regarding illicit
activities towards members) as far as I know.
When you log into the main screen of the forum (the "start page") on the
right-hand side a list of current discussions which have "NEW" messages
posted appears. When you go INTO the forum, the message list appears on
the right with only the threads/folders with "NEW" messages appears (this
is an option which can be set in your preferences). This makes it VERY
easy (and much faster, use-wise) for those who are on limited-time dialup
to distinguish between threads of non-interest and those OF interest, and
which ones have new messages and which ones don't, right off the bat (no
pun intended hehe). Also, when you are at YOUR "My Forums" page, on the
right hand side there is a "my discussions" list. This shows you the
discussions YOU have chosen as ones to "watch" ("preferred discussions")
and if they have new messages or not.
You can choose, in your preferences, to be notified via email if anyone
responds to a message YOU have posted AS WELL AS notify you of your "preferred
discussions" and whether or not there are "new messages" in them. This
would definitely be something time-limited dialup users would benefit from
(I personally receive these notifications and it has been a very useful
service while maintaining my forums, as well as enhancing my experience
on Delphi as a whole with forums I am a member of).
Now, if this option is even considered, I would be happy and honored to
hostess the board... HOWEVER: I am admittedly NOT the most technically
inclined individual either on this list or otherwise....so hostessing
and/or maintaining the board would NOT be a problem but some assistance
would be needed as I am sure the traffic would be somewhat heavy and real
life DOES intervene with all of us sometimes regarding our online time.
That and there should be someone (someoneS?) technically inclined as part
of the managerial/ownership team.
In any case, I feel a message board would be a great addition to the TB!
family of help-venues out there on the WWW. And no matter WHERE the board
is hosted (IF a message board is even approved), I would definitely sign up.
:) But given the diverse patronage, I think it would be wise to have people
from different time zones moderating (assistant manager-ing) a board... no
matter WHERE it is hosted.
Excellent idea; my vote is YES. And please forgive if I have been "long
winded" about this :)
Blessings and light,
~~~Angel
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 8:57:37 AM
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