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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
 Posted - 01/03/2005 : 11:31:19 AM
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Some things therapy just can't cure,
Spoken as a licensed Psychologist. |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2005 : 12:26:51 PM
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What I was thinking of doing was going through the postings and inferring what the categories might be. It is a standard system analysis process. Sarah is doing that same thing as I type this with a flat file of descriptors of images that pathologists use at Yale Med School. A few categories *would* be hall of fame, like Peter's disquisition on legality (and it would contain other similar posts, too), but, there would be other categories that are generally popular and recur. I like Puna's notion of a kind of Directory, too. The first result would be a list of candidate categories. Then, The Commander could decide which scare him, or whatever. The next part, after a *nonbinding* poll (OTW, this would be like Yale, where the inmates are in charge of the asylum) on the suitability of each or all categories, would be the the identification of posts and threads with a forum/category and, finally, the moving of threads, or hot links(which would be in a single header post), or both, into the new subforums/categories. The last step would require admin privs. Capisce?
The only tech hook that I am not sure about, is moving posts in and out of the archive. There is gold in there, and archiving should be more selective, dependent on "value" rather than simply age. "Value" can be inferred, for the *most part* (because there are things that people ought to know, even if it does not interest them) by the number of "views".
So, folks gotta buy into the whole package before I start (and it will take some time, but not *lots*), because I don't engage in workus interruptus.
...The Nigerian is not fiction and is not a Sumo, but a fantastic physical and intellectual specimen with a great personality, who is a contractor for the FAO of the UN, now in Rome. I just hired that old white man as a "beard" to accompany the lovely Sarah. |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2005 : 12:40:13 PM
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Ouch Reid & Lawrence! Your comments, and ideas are well noted, and appreciated.
From a customer, and technical service department background I can certainly see where your coming from when viewing comments from "newbies" or anyone that seem repetitive, and basic in nature, but thats what a forum such as this provides.
For many newcomers to the site, it is their first inquiry exposure, and only source for slack key information.
For this very reason alone Andy, it is the hallmark of this site, and why it is here. Good work there...don't change.
I like your inputs R & L, they are valid and good. Let's not discourage new players from wanting to know & learn more on any level at the same time. The FAQ, outside resource refrence is a good suggestion.
Maybe the more seasoned TPer's can be available, off the TP site, for their valued comments rather seeing repetitive email litter. That might be a good compromise?
-slkho
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Gary A
Lokahi
USA
169 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2005 : 3:25:06 PM
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I agree with Reid's and Lawrence's original comments that there's not much that I'd like to see change. I enjoy the slow pace and small size of the Taropatch.net. I find when a forum gets too big I have a hard time keeping track of all the participants. When there are lots of posts then it starts to take a lot of time to keep up with all the conversations (time that is probably better spent playing the guitar).
Regarding things about the site that work well, I think the Kanikapila Forum is a great idea since it encourages people to meet face to face and make music. I think the Taropatch CD project was another great idea.
One possible solution to the "newbie" problem is to have a separate "Beginner's Forum". It would help keep all the beginner questions in one place where they might be easier to find. It also may encourage people to post who might otherwise be too intimidated. One downside is that some interesting discussions may not develop because the question is segregated in the Beginner's Forum. Another downside is that people may be confused where to post their questions because they're not sure if it's a beginner's question or one of general interest.
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 01/04/2005 : 06:29:05 AM
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One (of many) things puzzle me as I look around the site and try to find and analyze stuff. The answer(s) to it may simplify some things.
Above, you see a button labled "Learn" (and it is on the splash page, too). When clicked, you see a listing of slack key artist's books and videos. At the top of that page is a hot link to "tunings". When you click that, you see a list of common tunings and the tuning applet. So, why are there questions about tunings? Is it a "human factors" thing (e.g., does "Learn" mean much to you?, would it be helpful if there were separate buttons for each Learn subtopic and should there be more Learn topics?)? Is it laziness? is it a combination of both? Is it something else entirely?
Also, above, there is a button labled "Links". Links to what? Well, lots of things,mostly artist's sites, but including Dancing Cat that has *lots* of info, including a vast amount on tunings, recordings, history, a glossary, and much more. There is only one link to a Hawaiian language page, and no link to the very important collection of online dictionaries, but that single one *does* exist. There is no particular organization of the links and there is only a little indication of what the link gets you to, if you click on it. Do people here ever click that button and go to other sites? Would it help if there were some categorization and more annotations for the links? I am convinced that there should be more links, and we could all suggest what they might be, and Andy has placed a request for additional links on that page. Opinions? (Sure you do :-)
Believe me, the stuff above is not meant as a slam. If I were Andy, I wouldn't even have taken this burden on in the first place. We owe him a medal. But, maybe a few simple changes to those things would help, and, again, I volunteer to do them.
And, just a reminder about my modification of my statement about finding posts and topics: I am interested in *all* of us finding important and useful things, not just newbies finding them. Let's say that I am selfish and want to find things that I alone am interested in. If similar posts on a particular topic were grouped together in a forum or subforum it would be a piece of cake for me to get to the info efficiently and, most important, get complete info.
But, if the concensus is No Change, I can live with that very easily.
OK, I lied. I had another question that nobody addressed: How can we make this place more hospitable for the pros? I know that they have lives and that they have more difficult/busy lives than many of us, because musicians are always scuffling - it is a tough racket. Do you think that Peter could be made happier to post again, for instance? I would give a lot to have some more of his encyclopedic knowledge.
...Reid |
Edited by - Reid on 01/04/2005 06:34:40 AM |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 01/04/2005 : 7:02:43 PM
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I'm all open to constructive criticism. And my approach to this whole thing was to do what we do with simplicity. Although, I know that people have had some difficulty finding things over the years. Not even seeing the "cool links" page is not uncommon.
Things have developed and been added since starting in 2002 so I'm not allergic to a website update. So I'm willing and appreciate your offer to help Reid. Only thing is nothing major will take place over night, but it can be done in reasonable time. |
Andy |
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