"Latest posts" list ?

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Robin Leadbeater
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"Latest posts" list ?

Post by Robin Leadbeater »

As well as separate sections, the VdS forum has a list of the latest threads on the front page regardless of the section they are in.
http://spektroskopieforum.vdsastro.de/
I find this is useful to keep up to date will all posts without having to go to each section in turn. (This is similar to the normal mailing list system.) Is it possible to do the same on this forum?

Cheers
Robin

(PS This is not really the right section for questions like this. Perhaps we need a "forum issues" section)
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Olivier Thizy
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Re: "Latest posts" list ?

Post by Olivier Thizy »

Robin,


on top of the forum, you have the choice:
-consult messages without response
-consult unread messages (this is the one I personally use)
-consult new messages (this is equivalent to what you are asking for)
-consult your messages

I hope this helps.


Agreed we need a "general discussion" or "general annoucements" section. We have to be careful not to multiply the sections - I believe it will be sorted out naturally...


Cordialement,
Olivier Thizy
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Robin Leadbeater
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Re: "Latest posts" list ?

Post by Robin Leadbeater »

Thanks!
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Thomas Eversberg
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Re: "Latest posts" list ?

Post by Thomas Eversberg »

Hi together!

As being active in the german VdS section and the respective forum I highly appreciate that ARAS found the way to such a medium (and even the same tool phpBB). According to our experience in Germany our foum is highly successfull. After more than five years of activity we already have some experience and I want to share it with by giving some recommendations. These main recommendations focus mainly on an easy access, uncomplicated use and a design so that newbies feel invited to participate (more than three necessary "klicks" and a newby goes away). In addition, our forum tries to deliver solutions for different user preferences (forum/mailing list).

1.) A "Last Posts List" right on top is very helpful - It should be visible without additional action. That is highly appreciated by all users.

2.) Connect the forum to the mailing list - Very early we discovered that many users prefer a mailing list so that the forum does not need to be opened. Especially the professionals prefer that. For that reason and after a lot of controverse discussion (convenience for a everybody) we connected the forum to a respective mailing list and address. By using a specific mailing address (e.g., technique -> fg-spek-tech@vdsastro.de) the message is automatically added to the forum thread. The same vice versa. By choice, each forum contribution can be sent to the personal mailing address by a respective subscription.

3.) Carefully consider the different sections and do not "double" them. Our six sections (see http://spektroskopieforum.vdsastro.de/) are widely considered to be quite reasonable and we never found a reason to change them (but see4.). For instance, you have the sections "Current Campaigns", "Spectra, results, information on activity ..." and "What are you observing tonight ?". We cover them all in one single section plus sub-sections.

4.) Do not consider your forum structure to be established forever but regularly keep a discussion alive. Some weeks after our forum start we added the section "Windows/Linux and so on" and later an online UNIX lesson because of respective suggestions from the users.

5.) Congratulations for the pure English design! With respect to the small spectroscopic community I really appreciate that and you do a better job here then the VdS forum. Even if some users are not familiar with English, there are tools to circumnavigate the problem (Google translator as Robin mentioned). The benefit beats the (artificial) risk to "loose" colleagues. And Robin is a great example that it works.

I hope my input helps a bit.

Cheers et a bientot, Thomas
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