Cafe Announcements 📣 Reorganising the Cafe interface - phase 1 complete

[Targa]

Could drop TV and film reviews I don't think they get used much.
Anyone seeing something of real interest can always mention it in Daily check in

 

[Pete Thomas]

Could drop TV and film reviews I don't think they get used much.
Anyone seeing something of real interest can always mention it in Daily check in

I tend to think you are right

 

[mizmar]

Ditto "Miscellaneous member recordings". Prefix? Dunno, "recording" or "avalislten'
And "blog"?

Also
"Members' gigs & releases"
Needs prefix

Or, if you're looking to combine fora
Forum: Members Performing
Prefix: member recording, member gigging, member release, beginner recording
Or such
And there are probably useful threads about self deciding that could be sticky there... Or created

 

[Pete Thomas]

Also
"Members' gigs & releases"
Needs prefix

Or, if you're looking to combine fora
Forum: Members Performing
Prefix: member recording, member gigging, member release, beginner recording
Or such
And there are probably useful threads about self deciding that could be sticky there... Or created

Ok will look into that on the test forum (currently not open for testing)

 

[mizmar]

self deciding

Self recording - sorry, autocorrupt.

 

[turf3]

I'd recommend waiting till SOTW does their next "update". Each one of those sends a bunch more people over to this corner.

There are three forums I frequent. This is the only one that isn't full of bugs. One you have to log in or they impose that weird indented view of the forum. Another forum, the "new posts" if you don't log in is an hour behind (and it shows some posts as being posted in the future), but if you log in, it has a big obtrusive popup that incessantly asks you if you want to enable push notifications. Yours isn't full of bugs.

If you complain you get banned.

So anything you can do to: a) REALLY TEST IT before you implement, so most of the bugs are found in the testing and not by users; and b) not to introduce new awkward ways of doing things just for the sake of change; would be welcome.

 

[Pete Thomas]

If you complain you get banned.

That’s funny. We actually encourage complaints. Listening to members is a good way to improve IMO.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Also
"Members' gigs & releases"
Needs prefix

Or, if you're looking to combine fora
Forum: Members Performing
Prefix: member recording, member gigging, member release, beginner recording
Or such
And there are probably useful threads about self deciding that could be sticky there... Or created

Done!

It may not be the perfect solution but it has made the forum list simpler for new members and guest. It is also reversible if any issues.

 

[mizmar]

Now you have fewer fora, I'm wondering if the drop-down menu couldn't contain direct links to (some of) those? eg Saxophones, members recordings, Other.
As it is to navigate there from the front page means: menu>forum>forum list>"scroll">target.
I think that's quite a lot and a lot of looking and thinking for a visitor.
If the key fora are under Menu>Forum> and it's "revealed" by default, it'd be faster and more obvious?

I like the way the prefixes work for navigation. Click on a prefix and the thread list updates smoothly etc. I think is comfortable and transparent.

 

[Pete Thomas]

As it is to navigate there from the front page means: menu>forum>forum list>"scroll">target.

There is actually one to many "forum" in their as the main navigation forum also goes to the list

Any way that's a good idea, as it already has classifieds and articles.

 

[mizmar]

There is actually one to many "forum" in their as the main navigation forum also goes to the list

Oh yeah!

 

[MikeMorrell]

Late (due to back injury) but happy to help in any way.

I am looking into radically reorganising the Cafe and the way it is presented to:
Existing members
Potential members
This will need help from members as a kind of Steering group. There will be a dedicated test forum for trying stuff out and feeding back on navigation, content discovery (search and “feeds”) and posting.

This is aimed at Cafe survival as we will try to adapt to new generations of internet users and compete with social media, but without losing the advantages of the tried and tested forum format which would happen if we went full on social media lookalike.

Can we get the best of both worlds?

It may take some time as nobody likes compromises so it could take lots of trial and error.

Who’s up for helping test?

I'm happy to help in any way I can. I can imagine the 'trend' away from website-based forums towards social media-based platforms.
But I don't (yet) see in the posts any fact-based argument for your assertion that you're "looking into radically reorganising the Café and the way it is presented to .... existing members". I'm sure that you've done your research on current and future tends.

I'm 70 and I use various social media including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, BlueSky and (occasionally) TikTok.

I humbly suggest that:
- the café does a poll under current members w.r.t to how they ideally would like to access (or be informed about) the café
- the café does a separate poll under 20-30 year old members asking about their 'vision' for a future café on different platforms
- I'm pretty sure this has already been done, but if not, buy into a reliable 'industry report' on the 'future of on-line platforms'.

FWIW (as an ex-communications manager) I would gradually soften 'radically' into ''gradually'. The idea being that though the change might be 'radical', the transition (for current members) might be gradual.

FWIW, my last paid job was as 'organisational change manager. If I can help out from this experience, let met know.

 

[Pete Thomas]

looking into radically reorganising the Café and the way it is presented to .... existing members

FWIW (as an ex-communications manager) I would gradually soften 'radically' into ''gradually'.

I think is actually what I have done. Or rather the changes aren't really that radical (given that the recent poll showed very few existing members use the forum list anyway. The list has only changed in that some forums have been merged in order to reduce the sheer number of options.

I could not merge into one big forum though - so one might argue what we now have is a compromise and that in some cases compromises can end up not pleasing anyone.

However I do think when it comes to choosing the right forum to post in, the free options the more chance there is for people to post in the right place and adding a prefix can really help to sort things. We've always had the prefixes of course, it's just that we now have more prefixes and fewer forum sections.

the café does a separate poll under 20-30 year old members asking about their 'vision' for a future café on different platforms

There aren't many of those

 

[Pete Thomas]

This is the only one that isn't full of bugs.

Thanks, I’m sure there may be one or two though.

But we also doing our best to keep it bot free.

 

[Pete Thomas]

So far so good - no complaints yet.

 

[mizmar]

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[Pete Thomas]

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[Pete Thomas]

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[cappers]

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[Pete Thomas]

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