[HPFGU-Feedback] But if size is an issue ...

[Shaun Hately]

On 23 Nov 2003 at 5:12, whizbang wrote:

> ...and it is for me, then all the more reason to consider a forum 
> style message board.  I can't all read all the messages every day.  
> There are only so many hours in the day.  Refining my interests can 
> help me to focus.  I know it's unusual, but I belong to a thriving 
> forum of well over 10,000 members and growing.  It works beautifully 
> even with this large membership.  And the only emails I get mailed 
> to me are from threads to which I have subscribed, so I do have to 
> scan for new threads often.  That way I can keep up with the new 
> material.  

Is there a conflict here? You say you can't read every message every day? OK, I 
guess that's fair enough. However, generally speaking I *can* read every 
message every day - in fact, reading every message on HPFGU takes about 30 
minutes most days - and I can skim every message in less than 5 minutes - 
generally I don'd do that but I can.

The thing is - using the e-mail forum, this is practical for me - I do a mail download 
every morning and it takes about 5 minutes - 20 minutes if I haven't been online 
for 24 hours, but generally speaking I have been. I then have every message sent 
to the list - and I can peruse them at my leisure during the course of the day 
whenever I have a few minutes to spare.

On a webforum I wouldn't have this option - I would have to be logged in all day 
and I'd have to deal with any server downtime, any lag, etc, just to look at the 
messages. That is not practical for me - so moving to a web forum would render 
HPFGU fundamentally useless for me.

You can choose not to read messages after you've downloaded them - most e-
mail programs will sort by thread if you only want to read certain threads.

I *want* a forum where I get the message delivered to me so they are resident on 
*my* computer. I wouldn't have joined HPFGU if it wasn't that type of forum and I 
will almost certainly leave it if it changes.

You may see the size of HPFGU as a problem. I see it as a plus. I like the idea of 
a large and active forum.

And we have one. Maybe a web forum can do that as well, but I really would see 
that as moving from something that we *know* is working (at least to an extent - I 
think there can be improvements) to an unknown quantity. I think the suggestion 
of running a parallel web forum is a decent idea - give the idea a chance to prove 
itself. But don't change unless and until it has.

And to an extent, I think the status quo should be preserved - fact is we basically 
know that anyone active on HPFGU at the moment is at least willing to accept an 
e-mail forum, even if it's not their first preference - because they have accepted 
such a forum. Any change is, IMHO, almost inevitably going to lose members 
initially because whatever the change is some of the people who have accepted 
an e-mail list won't accept the new alternative. Long term you might get more 
people back - but personally speaking I'm not sure I'm happy about the idea of 
sacrificing some members wishes to get even more members is a good idea... if 
the forum was suffering from a *lack* of members, I could see the point of taking 
that type of risk.  But it's not.

There's always a conflict between what different users want on any forum. I'm 
pretty happy with what we have now. I just think everybody needs to bear in mind 
that just because *they* would prefer another way, doesn't by itself mean that's a 
better way.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at ... | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia