The Internet and the Cactus Hobby

[bcss]

Hob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> It would be good for the Forum and the BCSS if we
> can encourage the international aspects to grow
> and develop as much as possible.
>
> maybe it's not clear enough that anyone can join
> the forum, even if they are not a member of the
> BCSS or based in the UK. i joined the BSCC so as a
> cacti grower i could become a member of the UK
> community, also i thought i had to be a member to
> join the forum (mistakenly as it turns out) the
> board is owned by the BSCC i'm wondering what the
> "official" stance on membership of the board is (i
> can't find anything much about forum membership
> requirements} if it's open to anyone maybe there
> should be an online register button on the forum
> instead of the email system used now ?
>

When the Forum was introduced we orinally tried to make it a benefit of membership by issuing a password through the journal. This system did not work. We then decided it would be no bad thing to allow non-members to participate in the hope that some would join and indications are that this has indeed happened as is shown in the current BCSS poll. We could certainly emphasise this point on the website.

The automatic subscription has been tried on two or three occasions and for reasons explained by others has led us into trouble.

The problems with the way the Forum is configured is a hard one to fix, different people find different ways of working more comfortable for them and it is almost impossible to please everyone. The current Forum is very configurable so if there is some different system you would like to see suggest - what it is I am sure it will be considered.

In some ways I find the current configuration a littel awkward to use but as I don'y use it too often it may be simply that I am not familiar with all the features.

[Vic]

I totally agree Stephen but on the other hand people are entitled to their own opinions.

Personally I think this thread is going around in circles. I'll delete the whole thread if others are in agreement. Then we can more on and maybe return to enjoy reading about each others plants etc..........

[Hob]

bcss Wrote:

>
> When the Forum was introduced we orinally tried to
> make it a benefit of membership by issuing a
> password through the journal. This system did not
> work. We then decided it would be no bad thing to
> allow non-members to participate in the hope that
> some would join and indications are that this has
> indeed happened as is shown in the current BCSS
> poll. We could certainly emphasise this point on
> the website.
>
> The automatic subscription has been tried on two
> or three occasions and for reasons explained by
> others has led us into trouble.
>
> The problems with the way the Forum is configured
> is a hard one to fix, different people find
> different ways of working more comfortable for
> them and it is almost impossible to please
> everyone. The current Forum is very configurable
> so if there is some different system you would
> like to see suggest - what it is I am sure it will
> be considered.
>
> In some ways I find the current configuration a
> littel awkward to use but as I don'y use it too
> often it may be simply that I am not familiar with
> all the features.

thanks for taking the time to reply, i'm not that familiar with this type of board either. i'm beginning to see that registration security is different here.

on the other thing maybe just a few words at the top of the index page explaining that membership is open to anyone ?

the new toolbar that iann added has gone a long way towards making the board more user friendly

[Apicra]

Hi Folks,

Roy, thanks for the clarification - I had misunderstood your posting, as the second of my previous postings showed.

But I would not agree with vastly differing interpretations of Chris43's comment 3). That was simply aimed at repetitive complaining about an event in the past i.e. old thread deletion, that can no longer be changed, and nothing to do with democracy i.m.h.o.

Let's move on. Roy has opened an interesting issues about who does has authority over this Forum. Yes, there are 3,000 potential BCSS members (and many more non-BCSS members around the world) who might join. However, I think that the fact that they have not so far, shows that most have little interest in the Forum and do not want to participate in it's future. It is surely preferable that active members control the future of the Forum, since they know best what it's all about. (Lurkers should also have a say in theory, but are excluded by definition if they do not speak!) This is also preferable to having the BCSS F&GP micro-control the Forum, but they appear to be awake to this.

But the Forum is not a good medium for reaching a consensus. A few members might appear to reach agreement in one long thread, merely by boring all dissenters away, such that the majority no longer read that specific thread. In fact, I do wonder how many are still reading this thread! The voting mechanism (recently discussed) would be a good way to ensure visibility by all for significant proposals.

So we need a clear process for discussion, agreement, listing & submission of changes with follow through into implementation. Once a consensus is reached, it would help if there was one person as a focus for delivery. I'm feeling that the Forum needs a Leader/Manager who is continuously involved and has a mandate to develop the Forum (& BCSS web site?) proactively. No - I'm not offering! If more than one person wants the role, we could have our first vote to choose???

Or is this suggestion too grand and complex for our friendly little community? Please ponder.

Derek Tribble,
London, UK

[Bill]

Well Derek I have come to the conclusion there is actually not that much real interest/demand for change. I offered a way for all to have their say publicly, privately or anonymously. I had two people reply to the thread, one of whom subsequently put a post on "my" forum and that's it.


http://www.bcss.org.uk/forum/read.php?1,43092

[Lindsey]

Maybe there are two rather different issues: change to this Forum, and change to the BCSS. Could it help if we tried to look at these separately, e.g. on separate threads?

[Bill]

Well I must admit Lindsay the lack of reponse to my offer with the thread and other things has left me feeling a bit down this morning