How would you organize the forums?

[boone]

I am in the process of reorganizing the website, and merging this site's content with that of daysailer.org. I am planning on replacing this forum software with something more up-to-date (see www.phpbb.com).

At the same time I'd like to reorganize the forum categories. If you click on the "View Messages" link, you'll see that there are 14 active categories for this forum. Some categories are well-used, like the Day Sailer I Only category or Repair and Improvement. Others, like Locations and Racing are rarely used.

I'd welcome suggestions for reorganizing the categories to be more meaningful. Is it more useful to separate topics by boat type, or should they be separated by subject? Or should we keep both options like it is now?

Should any categories be combined or removed?

I'd also welcome suggestions for organizing the For Sale/Wanted to Buy forums as well. They have similar category lists.

(Note regarding the DS3 category...I'm aware that this is not a class-legal boat. I was planning on keeping the existing posts regarding this boat, and adding a disclaimer noting that the boat is not class legal...I may keep the category or move those posts elsewhere depending on how I reorganize the categories).

Thanks for your input!

[boone]

I just wanted to add that I will migrate all of the existing messages from this site to the new forum...I don't want to lose all that knowledge!

[Peter McMinn]

I've grown so accustomed to the way things are, I'm hard put to suggest anything. That said, I have noticed in my own posts as well as others that at times, there are significant overlaps between categories. A topic in "Performance" for example, can easily stray into "Racing" and "Sailing Techniques". These three headings might be merged, as they are used relatively little. How about sub topics for some of the heavier categories? "Rigging" might fall under "Repair and Improvement", for instance.

Also, "Miscellaneous" has proven to be quite the eclectic catch-all, where most of the topics really do belong in the other categories. How about doing away with this heading and shifting its content to more appropriate places? Sounds like a lot of work, though.

One more thing. I recently tried to Reply to a thread in the Photo Gallery's Photo Post page, <http://boonedocks.net/talkboard/talkboard.php3?mode=view&group=dspics>. This function doesn't function. If it did, it would really be useful in talking more spicifically about the images that folks post.

Well, I guess I did have something to say.

[Roger]

It would be nice to be able to post photos along with messages. The program should allow for larger sizes of photos as the limits now make it difficult to upload even some medium resolution pics.

Also be able to add a hot link may be nice as I note that we often will refer the reader to another webpage.

Sometimes there is cross over between the DS I and II's therefore a general category could replace or include the misc.

In general, I also think there are too many categories, and these should be merged. I like the ideas you present and back you on those. As well you might put in a 'posts in the last 24 hours' category for those of us, who like to view all of the categories on a daily basis. I know owner profiles are done on another site. How does the readership feel about posting similar information here?

I also like the ability to link directly with the submitter and post them a private e-mail off site. I hope you keep that capability.

[boone]

PHPBB allows creating working hyperlinks in the messages.

I'm currently testing an add-on with the PHPBB software that lets users post photos to galleries, either personal galleries or group galleries. It ought to be a lot better than what's on this site now.

Then inside, user postings, you'll be able to either hyperlink or embed a photo.

There will have to be some limits on the image size since not everyone will be able to download a giant image. The site will eventually be hosted and paid for by the DS class association, so there will have to be some decisions made about the disk space they want to use for this purpose, bandwidth, etc.

PHPBB supports user profiles, but I haven't done much with them. It also has a private messaging system and you should still be able to email members.

[Guest]

You'll never please everybody, but looking at the history and current use of this site, you came pretty close with the current format. I agree that there a large number of categories, but I've utilized the search function to bridge the gaps and eliminate overlaps. A 'wish' as opposed to a suggestion is picture attachments, especially given the difficult and technical descriptions we tend to give each other, so I hope the new program will have that functionality. This is a truly user-friendly website and a great service to new, seasoned, young, and old sailors alike. Thanks for that.

Tom (tom.beames-at-wachovia.com)

[Guest]

Ditto what Tom said! Mike, you have done a wonderful job with this site and have helped a number of us get started and learn to sail our boats. Personally, I started with an old boat, sails, and a wad of rope that I knew nothing about. From this site I learned to rig, and sail. The next winter I used information on this site to launch into a repair project that ended with my old boat (1974 DS II - 4876) being my "new" boat. I have since improved and learned more about sailing and my boat and now feel like I am a competent recreational sailer. Thanks for the help of everyone on this site, but most of all thanks to Mike for putting it all together.
Jim

jim (jimb-at-dsouth.com)

[Guest]

I am in the process of recruiting new sailers to the Day Sailer Association and an easily accessable application would be a great help.

Roger Livingston
DS 11538

Roger Livingston (rnlivingston-at-tccsecure.com)

[boone]

Roger, I'll try to make access to the DS application and other important documents easy. In the meantime, the application is the second link on the left-hand menu at www.daysailer.org.

[Peter McMinn]

Hi Mike:
Just wondering if the new site has a presence yet? Tried going to the sample that was presented a while back but to no avail. How it going?

[boone]

It's getting closer. Sorry about the dead link. I've got a few more pages to complete, and then I'll post the link for the full demo site, and you guys can help me test it.

[boone]

Please give the new site a try:
<a href="http://boonedocks.net/ds2/index.php">http://boonedocks.net/ds2/index.php</a>

Please click on the forums and create a user account if you haven't already. I will use that account's email address to try to link you to the posts you've made in this forum.

The copy of the forums on the test site is old, but you can play around with searching and posting. It will be overwritten with this forum when we make the move.

Please try to post photos there too.

We're getting close! Feedback is welcome.

[Roger]

test results:

I couldn't get anything in members only.

I couldn't see how to upload pictures, although I could see the picture that were there already.

As well in the general forum, I didn't understand, how to insert a link, image etc.

Hope these questions help in developing and tweaking the site. I am looking forward to it being functional. keep up the good work.

Roger

[boone]

"Members Only" doesn't do anything yet. We'll probably put stuff like the DSA membership list there if that gets put into electronic form.

You have to be "signed in" to the forum to post topics or upload images. Create an account first, then log in. In both cases, you need to click into a specific forum or picture gallery, then there should be a button for Upload Pic or New Topic.

[Roger]

I uploaded a pic, and only the top portion showed up. (Better take it off). I reduced it in size to be able to upload it,a nd it dod show the whole picture when I was browsing to upload, so I either did something wrong, or the forum cropped the pic for me.

Also I submitted a message in the DS II forum yesterday, and it does not show up. It seemed to submit ok, but did not show. I'll wait a day or so, and try again.

Keep up the good work there, you'll work out the kinks eventually.

I'll keep checking every few days and test a few other things as I go.