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obit of the day
in spite of the absence of the message board, i will hereby acknowledge the contirbutions of the late gary coleman. he appeared on "buck rogers" and "the boy with the 200 i.q."
S F 35 LOGO
C. RILEY'S DESIGN SHOULD BE THE NEW LOGO.
IT HAS EVERYTHING RELATED TO THE MEANING
AND HISTORY OF THIS EVENT.
THE MARATHON WOULD NOT BE " THE 'THON "
WITHOUT THE NEW AND IMPROVED KLAATU AT
THE FOREFRONT
LOGANS RUN
answer's please
i think we're not in kansas anymore.
The view from the left coast
As I am now the moderator of the board since Dave C took a more backseat role, I've tried to stay out of this discussion here to see how the ideas would flow.
I guess it's back to 'moderating' once more.
I've made my suggestions privately, but I will put out some of them here.
My main idea would be to have this site take over the sf.theboard.net - but leave it's basic structure intact. One could still type in the old address (sf.theboard.net) but you would be re-directed to: bostonsci-fi.com/messageboard. I've seen other dual sites like this out there. It can be done - but by someone with more tech savvy than I.
By now being part of this site, the board could be better integrated into it. You would see links to the other pages on the main site along the side panels as you see them right now as you read this. The "messageboard" would be the center column with the 2 bracketing bostonsci-fi.com panels on both sides.
I have made other recommendations as well as to creating hyperlinks etc.
I do hope something along those lines can be achieved. It would cause the least amount of changes and keep the board humming with as many topics as folks can think up. The main site is limited to a few active topics and you can't herd cats that way. The cats want to run free! BUT, the board would not appear to be a totally seperate entity either. I would look like another page on the site with all the links installed along the side to create a sense that there is more to the site than just a messageboard.
L.A.
Objection!
OK, I have to say I STRONLY object to a forum with the current site layout here. The colors are hard to read and I hate 3 column layouts. Way too much clutter. I really think a message board should have basically the same layout we currently have, in fact it would probably be easier to do with pre-fab software. Almost all of them are structured pretty much the same.
And did I mention how much I hate the colors on this site? Sorry. They look exciting for about 30 seconds, then the eyestrain hits.
I think the structure of the board vs. the structure of this site *is* a big part of the reason the board gets more visitors than this site. It's really hard to find anything over here.
And it's hard to read.
Plus there is too much math involved in posting here.
Hi out there
Is this the actual message board? Is there a list of topics or postings anywhere? How does one quote another post? Will i be required to verify my humanity everytime I post?
Forgive these seemingly silly questions but this is my first exploration of this site as a message board, and I'm feeling a little lost....
Message Board migration
What is the pressing need for this? After all, the message board has been around longer and is a heck of lot easier to use. The posting process on the "official" site is cumbersome and quite frankly, ugly. If you are going to simply incorporate the site without changes, fine, Otherwise, expect a lot less traffic.
Pressing need
Frank,
There is not a pressing need. This process will take place over a period of time to make the transition as easy for all as possible. The motivation behind this is one of growth and development. According to my web designer, we can integrate the message board into the site. When that occurs, we will get more action, i.e. hits and unique visitors. When that happens it will be easier to find sponsors.
We did better this year in attendance, but it required a ton of work. If the site became more of a portal, the work load would be lessened and we should be able to find new fans.
I am attempting to look into the future and see how can we best be sure we are still here in five years, or ten years. That is my goal.
migration
if you can give the same features that the board has....fine. otherwise expect a migration to facebook.
Migration
So rather than respond to someone who is asking for help in something that is needed, the reply is a threat. And that threat is to take your conversation to a faceless, corporation who was willing to deprive your of your content rights. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Please remind me, why do I do this?
Migraintion
Well, to be fair, kirok did say it would be fine as long as we had all the features the current board has. Maybe some of the criticism could have been worded a bit more gently but don't take it personally. We just love our board! A comment section doesn't provide as many possibilities as a forum.
If you build one as good as the one we've got, people will come. But sometimes when you tamper with magic, you kill it without knowing what you've changed. The internets are littered with dead, abandoned message boards with only the occasional spam post. It's nice to have one that is as vital as the one we've got, no one wants to lose that.
So build your forum, make it awesome and convince us it's a worthy place to hang out.
Migration
Metaluna, thanks for commenting. It is appreciated.
All the comments so far have little to do with what makes a good message board, but resistance to change and saying leave us alone.
The reality of the situation is simple. I am being asked to keep this event, this site alive. Up until the past two years there has been a steady degradation in the number of people coming to the Thon. There were several years where the Thon lost money, not even counting the coutless hundreds of labor hours put into it.
There has been a steady degradation in the number of people coming to the site. In fact three days ago 16 people came. That doesn't even support the paying for the host.
The future of the Thon and the site depend on getting new blood, new people. If that is not forthcoming, the entire community will collapse.
The board migration has unanimous agreement from the folks who know about these things. It will strengthen the site and it can have the ingredients the 30 or so message board users enjoy know, but no one has spent the time to explain what it is they like. Your comments have been the only comments which offered any real insight.
Niagravation
I should probably quit while I am ahead, but if you really want honest feedback, here ya go...
I think part of the problem is that nobody really knows what it is that makes the board work. It just does. If you change one little thing it might not work anymore. From our perspective, why would we want to risk that? If there were a magic formula for creating an interesting and successful messageboard, there wouldn't be so many dead ones.
Re: your comment that the board is not even paying for the hosting: my perspective is that the board should be seen as a form of advertisement, not revenue, i.e. it may cost money to run but it can bring money in the form of additonal ticket sales. I don't know what kind of package you have worked out for your hosting but you can buy a years worth of hosting (for the kind of traffic you are apparently getting) for about the cost of one marathon ticket. Really as advertising goes, it's pretty cheap (and tax deductible).
If you want the site to be a source of revenue...well, you need interesting content. And yes, that takes work.
You have to post interesting things on a regular basis, things people can't get other places. You have to have a site that is readable and well organized so people can easily find the interesting content. Honestly, this site is a big mess of advertising looking for a reason for people to come look at it. And it's poorly organized advertising that hurts my eyes.
Personally, I have no interest in horror or anime. I can't download videos or podcasts because I don't have broadband. Other than the seasonal marathon stuff, there just isn't much here to lure me in.
It's true that one great thing about the forum is that you have lots of people creating content, which means you get regular updates more often. As I said, there is no magic formula for message board success, but definitely our members have made an effort to post, to encourage new posters and to keep up fresh content so people will come back. And we do it for love.
To be blunt, I think it's a little unfair to move us over from our happy little board in order to provide content for advertising revenue as opposed to drumming up interest in the event, which is what we signed on for. If you insist on doing that, I think you have to build the forum first and prove it works.
My fear is that instead of the board strengthening the site, the site will kill the board.
Migration
As one of the folks who works those hundreds of hours for NO monetary compensation (and I do not want any), I think I have earned the right to speak my mind. I have been attending the thon since 1978 so I think I have as much invested in making this work event as anyone else. What I am saying is very constructive, you are taking it as a personal attack for some reason.
Again, I will repeat, the old board is attractive and easy to use. This board is not. I think folks have explained what they like. We have tweaked the old board over and over again to get it to where it is now. We like the way board works plain and simple. Copy the format and it should be fine.
Please stop attacking folks who have been faithful to the event since the JD days. No one is attacking you so tone down the vitriol please.
I second that sentiment.
'nuff said