5 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

So there is a LOT of talk about how forums are dying and no one uses them and they are passe etc etc. However those replies are caveated by the following:

 

• Your age bracket. Older divers tend to still use this technology platform
• Use specific ... SD.com uses them to manage our trips. We've looked at FB but too many members are NOT part of facebook. Other platforms don't really have a way to manage info like we do. We even tried to do away with the interactive aspect of our trips and just post the details on slick webpages but we had lots of questions and no way to easily share the follow up and replies to those questions nor did we have a way for members to communicate with each other.
• Best/Practical way to manage information on subjects.  If you look at every discipline, hobby, etc you will find forums filled and still active with info on cars, diving, raising chickens, gardening, flying, to name a few. They do serve a purpose but granted it is growing slimmer with each passing year.
• If you only reply to 'push communications' meaning you get an email and then you go and check something out. When the internet started we were used to 'pull communications' where you the user sought it out and did not receive any alerts or notices of new content. You only checked when you needed something or wanted something.

 

I'm sure there are other caveats that I missed but these are the main ones. So having said that... with what you know about SD.com or don't know if you are a new member.... how can we do the following:

 

1. How do we better use the forums so they are most helpful?
2. Should we eliminate them entirely? And if we do what do we replace them with to replace the functionality we will lose?
3. Should we look at a better communications strategy that utilizes our forums, our FAQ's via our home page and FAQ's in the forums, facebook, other social media platforms? And if so what would this look like?
4. Should we plan to phase out the forums and why?  If so how do you suggest we do that?

Not an easy subject but we truly hope that we get some viable feedback that we can use to better serve our members.

 

And if we totally missed the boat on something please feel free to share that as well 

 

[tickledone]

I was a Facebook user once, and while I understand the importance of social media in promoting business, there are a lot of things to wade through to get to the important stuff. Much of it became a time suck, and I realized that I could use that time to interact with people around me. I use Twitter to communicate interesting work in my field as well as my interests. 

 

That said, I think that I prefer forums, in general. While I'm years behind, I find myself actually finding usefulness in reddit.  I read SB, but I never post there because the environment is often not welcoming. (I am bothered by the fact that new divers forum has to have rules making it a "flame free" zone.) r/scuba on reddit is also a mixed bag.  Coming here, I could see that the forums were once active, but many areas seemed to have fallen to the wayside. Part of what I appreciate with forums is that they have archived stories and communications, as well as the capability to post new questions, stories, and communications. That said, I would love to see these forums running with new questions and conversations, particularly because these forums generally demonstrate the SD ideals of being inclusive and respectful. We don't have to agree on everything, but we do need to maintain civility about it. 

 

You're right, information these days is pushed to us, and I don't always see that being a good thing. Being connected all the time is not healthy for our hearts and minds. That's partly why I love diving so much, because I am connecting to a beautiful world without the distraction of my phone. Perhaps that's why I also enjoy the forums. I can come down for a bit and read and respond then I can ascend to the surface where I join my zany life again. 

 

One thing I would recommend is if keeping the forums running is the chosen option, then perhaps it would be reasonable to archive/deactivate all of the areas. It is a bit overwhelming to come in to all these choices, some of which have little to nothing posted in them. 

[Racer184]

If you are a regular visitor cick the "view new content" button here on SingleDivers.com.  That's the simplest.

 

I have blocked fazebook from my corporate network; even if you are not visiting fazebook, they are tracking you.  I have allowed facebook to only one computer and it is completely separated from my corporate network.  The decision to block fazebook came this way;  I did a few hours work at a client's location, I was using their internet access, a couple of younger guys who use facebook, working at that company's location, were visiting sites that sold turbochargers.    When I returned to my office, I was bombarded with ads for turbochargers.

 

If you are using firefox, download the "facebook container" plug in and you will be shocked how many websites you visit are cooperating with facebook to track you.

 

Try to find useful information on fazebook that is more than a day old; it appears to be impossible.  It's a breeze with a good forum searchbox.

 

fazebook only shows 'posts' to a fraction of people that are 'friends' or in a group.  It cracks me up when clubs I used to belong to ask me why I did not attend an event that they announced on fazebook - because I was in the MAJORITY of people in that 'fazebook group' that did NOT get the notice.

 

OK, the two big reasons to stay away from fazebook and go directly to www.singledivers.com ......

 

Two reasons why www.SingleDivers.com forum is a million times better than facebook.

 

1. no politics
2. no hate speach
3. so many helpful divers that only want to help
4. no one here ever insults another diver
5. never bombarded with click-bait
6. if you upload a photo, Kamala will not steal it from you and sell it and keep the money.
7. no fake news

Edited by Racer184, 19 June 2020 - 06:30 AM.

[WreckWench]

WOW!!! First off I am humbled that exceptional people are members of our group...as that helps to make our group exceptional by default. With so many choices out there people are limited to one or two mediums they can use. Or they are too much of a time suck as mentioned by Tomi.

 

I have often hoped that our forums would not die completely because to me they represent what BOTH Tomi & Alan have said about them... but as you can tell from the lack of activity... many have deserted them in favor of other mediums.

 

I am trying to find the right balance because as we go forward technology evolves so much that as Alan said...FB is so big that even group members do not see posts or receive them.  Or as Tomi says the content is changing too much so hard to find anything. 

 

Tomi offered to help us with our Twitter presence and I want to take her up on that offer. Some of the tweets could simply be to tell others about an interesting topic in the forums and direct them to it. This has worked on FB and as Alan has said... perhaps people will see the advantages again of FORUMS.

 

Tomi the tip to VIEW NEW CONTENT is a huge one but you are quite right... over the years the value of many of our forum categories have diminished or no one kept them up...or they evolved. So maybe we should look at streamlining down to a leaner filing cabinet of topics and categories???  I think that is what Tomi was suggesting.  If others agree then please let us know but also share the ones you want us to keep and/or the ones that we could let go.

 

And of course ANY ideas are greatly appreciated. We need to remain relevant and the forums can help us do that IF we can keep them active KUDOS to Tomi & Alan for tremendous help in that arena!!!  And we need to cross pollinate to other mediums to introduce people to our Twitter account once we get it going again and decide the best things to tweet about. I think I'll start a new topic for that as well. Perhaps that will get others to share with us their thoughts.  HERE is that topic.

 

We know a lot of our members READ our topics but they don't contribute. Some is due to time, some due to reasons cited above by Alan & Tomi about how other boards are run and so they figure we are the same way. And some is the entertainment/research element of forums. They are a great resource and so we understand most people will 'read' and not post. Fortunately some do interact when we ask participatory questions. 

 

So please keep telling us what you like...how to get better...and of course our team will NEVER turn down complements or kudos on the work we do for our site and club members!  And we truly appreciate that you've taken the time to share with us! Time is the most valuable commodity any of us have... sharing it with us makes all of you PRICELESS!!! 

Edited by WreckWench, 19 June 2020 - 11:04 AM.

[tickledone]

It is such a pleasure to see that Alan is as passionate about the forums as I am. 

 

View New Content is a great option. 

 

I think streamlining Forums makes the most sense. When I first came I was overwhelmed by the number of areas in the forums, but then I came to find things like "Happy Hour in the Pacific Northwest" has never seen a post. I am more for simplicity until the forums demonstrate a need for additional areas, recognizing that we can't make everyone happy. 

 

Sometimes you have a take a step back to be able to make the Great Leap Forward. (Autocorrect for once did something I liked by capitalizing that.) 

 

In the meantime, I'll keep typing and adding content as best as I can.

[Cmdr. Clownfish]

I have spent a lot of time analyzing this question... about 10yrs actually.  Forums are the way to go for SD when it comes to managing trips.  The only thing better is a custom solution but there is not enough inventory to justify that for SD.  Forums can only be used for business though, just casual discussion like we used to do in the old days on this site will not work anymore.  Folks have moved to social for that since its mobile friendly.  I have no social accounts and wish to keep it that way.  I have flirted with it but truly hate how many things are pushed to me and the general opinion of the young "socialist" developers that nobody should ever have any privacy ever and if you try to grab privacy they take it away with the next update.

 

Plenty of folks sell forums and stay in business.  They rule the world for support issues and long term management of data.  Worry when they stop selling them.

 

This site would do fine with just forums and online payments/documents.  That is actually fairly easy to do since the documents are known.