Sebazz1 2 #51 October 29, 2002 I think regional forums would be a great idea. Especially for posting events and what not. If I post something about Hollister night jumps I need to keep bumping it back to the top with the amount of traffic we have in these current forums. A regional forum I could post some info and move on and not worried about it getting swallowed in the confusion. I also happen to know that many people do not read these forums because there is so much info and BS to process. So they might be more interested in viewing a local board over the current ones. I will add that i like what we gots but change isn't neccesarily bad either. It wouldn't even involve change. Just more variety... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #52 October 29, 2002 Hehehe... I see, your just like a kid in a candy store and need to play with all the options that are provided with the fourm scripts I just set up a small fourm too and thats all I have done lately.. ohh... i need an area for this, and eventually some one might post in this one, and this one and even if no one posts in this one the title still is cool.. hahaha I'm all for something that breaks the fourms up into a place to do events/topics that relate to a specific region only. Anouncing to the world that you are having a DZ.com bbq in outer mongolia does'nt do anything unless it can stay fresh in the minds of people interested in your topic. Other then bumps (that i find annoying most times) a smaller fourm would be nice. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foobar 0 #53 October 29, 2002 This is my first post so be nice! Having lurked here for years I think a problem is starting to snowball. The volume of posts is increasing and it is becoming difficult to identify the "interesting" posts (obviously "interesting" is a personal that will be different for everyone). I think there are two basic alternatives. Forum segmentation or better filtering. First segmentation. The forums are already segmented along thematic lines. The question is how to manage the talkback forum. Suggestions for segmentation could be Geographic, Linguistic, Thematic, Temporal (by timezone!), or what about climate or even gender.... There are many ways it could be done. All of which have problems. Having thought about this a bit I think the only one that would "improve" things is Linguistic segmentation. I suggest HH run a poll on the first language of members of dropzone.com. I suspect there are many people out there who use English as a second language and are stifled by the difficulty of finding people to converse with. Linguistic segemntation would not prevent people from joining the English language talk back group but it would give (say German speakers) somwhere they would be guaranteed to find someone they could talk to. There would need to be a critical mass of speakers before it would be worthwhile. There may only be enough for a few languages. I would guess Spanish, German, French and maybe Italian. Each language would get a single forum for all subjects until it got big enough to support Thematic segmentation. This is all very well but it still leaves the problem of excessive velocity in the talkback form. Splitting into seperate regional forums would reduce cross talk. Culture is defined by common tools practices and beliefs not geography. Geographic segregation seems to defeat the purpose of dropzone.com. But equally when you can't find relevent local information because it zooms by too fast there is also a problem. I think the best way to handle this is to create some mechanism to allow classification of threads or maybe individual messages. Initially threads could be classified as belonging to a single region right down to a dropzone. The dropzone database already has a hierarchical classification of these regions defined. This could be reused. Now the problem is if everyone used it, it would be great but most posts are not geographically specifc. ...... You could reuse the information from the user profile Region, Country, Home DZ etc and let people select from that list for each post. Maybe that would not be too much of a burden. Of course all this is work for HH because there would need to be matching search facilities to filter posts by region...But maybe it would be worth it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jessica 0 #54 October 29, 2002 Quoteor even gender.... I've often wished for a skychicks-only forum, but I know it's not practical.Skydiving is for cool people only Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Magistr8 0 #55 October 29, 2002 Taking your idea ever one step further, if you were to setup a Mirror of sorts for the regional areas that would greatly reduce the mindless whoring that takes place in the General area while still maitinaing an area of enjoyment in the regional section. Furthermore if you had a regional setup it's not to say that people would not be able to post to the general area. Keeping the site segregated will benifit everyone in the long run and I can see what HH is trying to do and just hope that it isn't too much for some of the people who post on here to venture into. One last thing before I wrap this up. I think if you (HH) were to have the important info automatically post to cross threads such as BOOGIE info and RIGGING changes or even the worst news like ACCIDENTS, it would still allow those of us who are not americians to take part in the global community. In the end it's your call and you should do what you want of course, but looking at the poll results it doesn't look like it will go over well, either that or people will find a way to NOT make it work and stick to what they are comforatble with. "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools." Napoleon Bonaparte Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sangiro 4 #56 October 29, 2002 Ladies and gentlemen... foobar. If you think Billvon is scary, well this guy is ridiculous! He also knows me and understand that I see a broader problem developing here that I need to do something about. How are you buddy? I think this is about the spot where you remind me again... how many languages? What percentage of people speak the top 5 languages? John, what about pattern recognition? It looks to me like a problem of organizing information within an already defined cross-border community. Are we trying to identify communities within this one, or just trying to force some IA, facilitate effective communication and manage knowledge share? Isn't this just a manifestation of a very old information problem or is it really about communities and sub communities? (including cyber, virtual and other non-traditional cultural groups) Should I be looking for definitions of culture or for info patterns - or are those the same in this case? Still stuck in London as you can see! Had some great Rockfort in Antibes. Safe swoops Sangiro Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vance 0 #57 October 29, 2002 Leave it the way it is! If it ain't broke, don't fix it Vance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunshine 2 #58 October 29, 2002 QuoteI've often wished for a skychicks-only forum, but I know it's not practical. That is an awesome idea. ___________________________________________ meow I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #59 October 29, 2002 At least in New England, there are local and regional news groups, "banters," which provide the local touch you're looking for. Skydive Banter at MIT predates the WWW and there are other DZ-centric groups. My vote that's the way to go. Keep DZ.COM global. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #60 October 29, 2002 As an addition, they would not be a bad thing. Would you provide the same regions as USPA? We have a Northern California Skydivers e-mail group, and it pretty much just covers Byron, Davis, and Lodi. I wouldn't mind knowing what happens in the rest of the west, or in another region of the country if I was travelling. Then what regions?UK, Continent, Eurasia, Asia, Eastern Med, Africa, Central/South America, Canada, and Oz? For the Northern California Contingent, I'll be on the news tonight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebazz1 2 #61 October 29, 2002 QuoteFor the Northern California Contingent, I'll be on ******* news tonightReally?!?! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #62 October 29, 2002 Quote Quote I've often wished for a skychicks-only forum, but I know it's not practical. That is an awesome idea. Wouldn't work. If it turned out to be as exciting as the Lifetime channel, we'd all want in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #63 October 29, 2002 Quote John, what about pattern recognition? It looks to me like a problem of Oh no. Apparently now it's not just computer geeky tech type talk that gets me going, it's any kind of highly intellectual post, especially that which employs multi-syllable wording to express sociological and other such concepts. If you'll excuse me. I'm going to step to a private place and close the door for a few minutes. I'll be fine when I return. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
konradptr 0 #64 October 29, 2002 As long as it wouldn't be a replacement. I would think it would be nice to have our global online community, and also the people that we talk to and jump with, as well as local news and updates, in another section... ------------------------------------------ Getting banned isn't that bad...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BikerBabe 0 #65 October 29, 2002 Why not just start with one extra forum, entitled "Local Events" or some such thing? That's where boogie notices, outer-Mongolia DZ.com BBQ's, and other news could be posted. As long as the rules for the forum stated that any new thread have the name of the region or locale in the thread title, I think it would work. That way, the Talkback forum could remain the gathering place, and the Local Events forum could be like the dz.com "bulletin board" for all the upcoming events. It would cut down on the sheer number of forums, and keep those announcements in one place.Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
meatmissile 0 #66 October 29, 2002 Quote ***I've often wished for a skychicks-only forum, but I know it's not practical. That is an awesome idea. Great! My cousin, ummm.... Meatmuffet- read about it and she says she wants in! Please be nice to her, she's a very fragile, sexy thing, with lesbian (although not exclusive) tendencies. -Ferdi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sangiro 4 #67 October 29, 2002 QuoteThat way, the Talkback forum could remain the gathering place, and the Local Events forum could be like the dz.com "bulletin board" for all the upcoming events.Yup - we've discussed that. I think that's definately one... what are the other topics that can be filtered out of TalkBack?Safe swoops Sangiro Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunshine 2 #68 October 29, 2002 Quotewhat are the other topics that can be filtered out of TalkBack? boobies. ___________________________________________ meow I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #69 October 29, 2002 QuoteQuotewhat are the other topics that can be filtered out of TalkBack? boobies. ??? She blasphemes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChileRelleno 0 #70 October 29, 2002 One for all and all for one. ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414 Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #71 October 30, 2002 With a Local Events fourm would it complement the Calendar or replace it? Other possible subfourms are Politics, Relationship help, I want to Cutaway from my *insert topic here*, and the ever popular Sheep jokes...Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
narcimund 0 #72 October 30, 2002 No no no. Those are the things we're LEAVING IN talkback. First Class Citizen Twice Over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jraf 0 #73 October 30, 2002 Let's segregate - I want you to create a separate forum for Circus Midgets - we have the right to be heard!!! For me, please create a sub-forum for Circus Midgets who own Dogs with three Legs!!! And of course an auxilliary-sub-forum for my Three Legged Dog and an auxilliary-sub-support-forum for his fleas, so that they can post to each other where they are going to meet for dinner.jraf Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui. Muff #3275 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cop 0 #74 October 30, 2002 "Jessica please explain to our friend just how far away from English all these 'scribblings' are. " OK, OK. To learn foreign type communication... "You can call me Mike" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lauril 0 #75 October 30, 2002 No way, no regional forums ! Maybe some regional boogies and events forum, so everyone could find/post info about events happening near... If I post, for example a question of some sort, I want to hear opinions all over the world, if I want opinions from europe, I'll title the post 'europeans, I need opinions' or someting... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
