Scaling back the BAJR Fed site

[YellowPete]

The federation is a seperate body from the forum, but for all intents and purposes the issue remains the same. that is that there needs to be semblance of responsibility with the freedom of speech and dialogues in order to keep appropriate, regardless to off topic, to the continuance of the stream.

sub groups can be formed off tangental topics and its actually a sophisticated system, which is and will continue to be difficult to get and keep a grip of.

'Lord Vader!...thats enough' (my take)

Popularity and activity (of the forum, not the federation group) will always be difficult to keep up, but that will have to be the role and purpose of expanding involvement always being about waning interest.

As for secrets:

This is all about people, this is all about people and this is all about people!


The federation in david's tradition of moving the ball park will remain, but whose tradition, can simply be reminded in the non-ownership of the web based freedom of speech.

Moderation and the expansion for inclusion to the moderators, will mean an increase in the involvement of knowledgeable and interested indiviuals being in a position and the opportunity to co-moderate along with those already involved in the process.



for all in a knowlegeable position 'its only the same old story of 'fools gold''

anyways
:face-plain:

[ROB]

Bring back the old BAJR !!!!!

[YellowPete]

i just simply disagree

[garybrun]

I would hang in there David.
People don't like change.
We've been in this forum business for long enough... they will come and get used to it.
I had exactly the same problem when I started my detecting forum... now I have over 9000 members.
For those who don't know take a look at http://www.minelabowners.com It was the first to use phpBB2 and now nearly all of the detecting forums have followed.

I think that what you have built here is a great step forward and it will grow... just takes time.

[BAJR Host]

Thanks Gary. (et al)

I am going to revise the method of entry... so that people (like monty) can enjoy a forum with enhanced functions (like videos and images, links and quoting etc) that make a forum exciting and fresh, however, do not have to get involved in the federation group sections if they don't want... so a person can come here, browse, watch, lurk and join to comment, without having to get into the more interactive Federation section. however, rather than just ditching it, I will kepp it, asnd as time goes by, then using the two in tandem will become second nature.

It does sadly depend on people.... and at teh moemnt archaeologists are worried about other things. However, this will be the palce to gather and consolidate, to share and talk... so... be prepared for a shifting sands on here over the next few days as I work on this ! Fear ye not... it will be worth it... and be happy that when people comment, I am more than happy to react... if its the best all round.

BAJR Federation works... it just needs the doors opened and better signs! :o)

[Windbag]

David: What are the numbers like for the discussion forum? I think we've seen a decrease in the number of contributors and number of contributions compared to the old forum, but how does the new one compare?

[BAJR Host]

halved just now... well... slighty less than halved. we have lost some notables and gained some new. I am busting a gut on this... so hope to integrate over the next few days... though it does mean the slightly disturbing feeling as the walls and floors shift and mutate like a weird trip! bear with me! :face-kiss:

[TheDoc]

I'd definitely stick with it David! The group facility is a good idea and will hopefully grow. As others have said, its a time when many archaeoogists are rather preoccupied in just holding onto their jobs and trying to do more and more in the same amount of time. Hopefully that will change. Keep up the good work!!!

[BAJR Host]

Thanks for all that... I am sorting out the login / register to make it easy... and also allow people to 'just' come and browse... as well as join in. We'll get there. and this is a truely collaborative website!

[chiz]

David, sorry to hear numbers are down. Some of the reasons have been touched on already, personally I don't believe the recession/work worries are a major impact on internet traffic, although it may impact on people actually posting. Maybe actually some of the previously more frequent posters are now more busy out on site at the moment? I know I am!

A bit of constructive criticism: To be perfectly honest I think the site is now a bit overcomplicated (and changes too often). On a technical side it loads pretty slow and goes to that white screen needing a F5 refresh far too often.
I think the balance of the site is a bit off at the moment, and can feel a bit daunting and this may be off-putting to casual visitors. Personally I'm not interested in who the newest members are, what group they have just joined, or whether they have scratched their arse lately, maybe that 'Facebook' aspect has taken over far too much compared to the number of people using it? Maybe give more space to JOBS and real DISCUSSIONS and news on the front page, and reduce the amount of space given to stuff which is of interest to very few.

The old site was very simple, you could see all the latest threads easily and it was fast and easy to use. It pulled people in for a browse of latest discussions and gradually involved them.

I know you have put a huge amount of work into the site, and its potential is great, but I would keep it simple until traffic picks up organically. The potential of the Groups is massive, but there are simply too many of them to keep track of! Interesting topics or news is lost and if you only log in every week or so it is impossible to keep up -we don't all have this site running 24/7!!!

Let the new format settle in, its only been a couple of months, and let it grow as it wasnts, don't try and force people to be more involved than they want, it will only put people off.

keep up the good work!

chiz