New forum coming soon, have your say on new features you would like to see now.

[Steve Bullman]

You're welcome, thanks for visiting

[Steve Bullman]

I hope it looks as easy on the eye and distinctive as this forum Steve.

When you linked me to the base model of the present forum the other day it looked rubbish compared with this one, and just like every other forum out there.

Yes it will look quite different to that.

[daltontrees]

Yes you have and I apologise nothings been done. One feature I was thinking about implementing was a question/answer feature which could perhaps be incorporated into such a forum? A question is asked, and users vote on the best answer, the best answer is then shown beneath the OP ahead of everything else. Much like yahoo answers really

 

I like Arbtalk a lot and changing it for chaging sake is in my personal view not particularly pressing, unless it's just a catch-up with current technology. But this questions/answers/voting thing, having just looked at Yahoo Answers for the first and almost certainly last time in my life is too trashy for words. Will it encourage witty and eloquent answers? Yes, probably. will it encourage right answers, not necessarily. Will it improve the standing of arboriculture in the minds of the public and encourage best practice within the industry? I know what I think.

 

In the top 10 yahoo answers today

Do Christians understand that Allah and God are the same?

Is five too young to let my kid watch the walking dead?

Would you marry a man who watches porn?

Do you like 80's music?

and the best one of all -

Why would anyone struggle with depression when God can fix it? I got depressed one day and so I prayed and God made it go away? (24 answers!)

 

Just what Arbtalk needs (not!)

 

Tread lightly, Steve.

 

Coincidentally i heard that the AA is going to put a forum on its revamped website. Maybe worth an enquiry as to overlaps?

[roycurwen1]

How about a general garden maintenance section for smaller businesses, including basic tips and suggestions for the less experienced small businesses owners.

[mdvaden]

Also limiting posters signatures as when your reading on a tablet or phone you may have a one sentence post and a 3 sentence or bigger signature!

 

I think any limitations for the benefit of phone or tablets should be limited to just phones and tablets. If people decided to use tiny little screens, it seems any reduction should reside at that end.

 

I've been using forums for many years and always enjoyed the full sprectrum of interaction with others. Forums more or less started for monitor use. And that's the gold standard for content and sharing.

 

Personally, I even prefer ads in some cases. There's been times when ads appear for things I didn't know existed, that I can use..

Edited February 17, 2016 by mdvaden

[mdvaden]

I like Arbtalk a lot and changing it for chaging sake is in my personal view not particularly pressing ... CUT ...

Just what Arbtalk needs (not!)

 

Tread lightly, Steve.

 

Coincidentally i heard that the AA is going to put a forum on its revamped website. Maybe worth an enquiry as to overlaps?

 

Part of this I agree with. For me, the forum is fine as-is.

 

But if there are changes, it would be nice to lean in favor of stream-lined vs. complexity.

[10 Bears]

...this questions/answers/voting thing, having just looked at Yahoo Answers for the first and almost certainly last time in my life is too trashy for words. Will it encourage witty and eloquent answers? Yes, probably. will it encourage right answers, not necessarily....

 

I see your point on this Jules, IMO, there is enough of this kind of posting on the boards at present in any case. Personally, I just don't respond to those threads and leave them to folk who want a more social interaction. Its just down to preference I feel.

 

My original idea was for a consultants corner where the more technical information could be kept, or where there could be banks of documents or valuable threads for easy look up for those who need it. I often find that the only place I can put a thread on GIS or British Standards etc. is in the general discussion, and TBH other folk who may want that information have not necessarily been successful in using the current search function to access the existing materials - hence my thought to get a specific area for it all to be in one place.

 

Again, I have not looked at or used Yahoo Answers myself, your appraisal tells me all I need to know about it already! Steve suggested the Q&A may possibly go in the consultants area, where I hope the theme of that forum alone would prevent the more vacuous questions from being posed.

 

Here is an example Q&A from the 'other' forum I use, the style of which I suggested to Steve. Personally, I hope if there is a Q&A that it goes more along this route:

 

Why does 1 - 2/3 - 1/3 not equal zero? - MATLAB Answers - MATLAB Central

 

Where you can see a question is posed at the start, this question can be commented on for further clarification or different perspectives (without someone answering), then a variety answers follow at different levels of information/explanation, the OP can accept the best answer for their question, and anyone else who reads or responds to the thread can up vote the comments that they think are useful.

 

If in this format, I believe it would be useful to adding to the technical content and spreading the wider knowledge of arboriculture, forestry and tree management. If, on the other hand, it is Yahoo answers as you fear - then yes, I would also share your concerns.

 

I can hope that if this feature is used, then Steve and other moderators would be on the Q&A regularly to weed out the benighted questions and to promote the more insightful...

[Steve Bullman]

I like Arbtalk a lot and changing it for chaging sake is in my personal view not particularly pressing, unless it's just a catch-up with current technology. But this questions/answers/voting thing, having just looked at Yahoo Answers for the first and almost certainly last time in my life is too trashy for words. Will it encourage witty and eloquent answers? Yes, probably. will it encourage right answers, not necessarily. Will it improve the standing of arboriculture in the minds of the public and encourage best practice within the industry? I know what I think.

 

In the top 10 yahoo answers today

Do Christians understand that Allah and God are the same?

Is five too young to let my kid watch the walking dead?

Would you marry a man who watches porn?

Do you like 80's music?

and the best one of all -

Why would anyone struggle with depression when God can fix it? I got depressed one day and so I prayed and God made it go away? (24 answers!)

 

Just what Arbtalk needs (not!)

 

Tread lightly, Steve.

 

Coincidentally i heard that the AA is going to put a forum on its revamped website. Maybe worth an enquiry as to overlaps?

 

Believe me i'm not doing this for the sake of it. Its going to be a nightmare from start to finish not to mention cost a fortune..the headaches have already started!

This software is now about 9 years old. Sure it does most things but at the end of the day it is no longer supported. Things like having a responsive design matter tremendously these days, not just because an increasing amount of people surf the web with nothing but a phone, but also google scores down sites which arent responsive. But thats just one reason for the change. It will be different, but everything will be for the better. No doubt some won't like it, but I would guess within a week most people will forget what the old forum even looked like.

 

Regarding the question and answers. Perhaps I wasn't entirely clear on the use of that. It is an option, and I believe it could be beneficial. Whereabouts it would be beneficial I don't know yet. Its certainly not something thats going to be introduced on to every section of the site, if any.

 

Re overlaps with other forums. I'm not really concerned by what anyone else is doing, I don't see any concern about overlaps. Arbtalk is arbtalk

[Steve Bullman]

How about a general garden maintenance section for smaller businesses, including basic tips and suggestions for the less experienced small businesses owners.

In addition to the current landscaping forum we have you mean? Or just expanding on it

[Steve Bullman]

I think any limitations for the benefit of phone or tablets should be limited to just phones and tablets. If people decided to use tiny little screens, it seems any reduction should reside at that end.

 

I've been using forums for many years and always enjoyed the full sprectrum of interaction with others. Forums more or less started for monitor use. And that's the gold standard for content and sharing.

 

Personally, I even prefer ads in some cases. There's been times when ads appear for things I didn't know existed, that I can use..

 

Agreed with all of that. I believe its possible to limit sigs in the responsive design to one line only.

 

Re ads, I never get complaints about the ads on arbtalk, I think mainly because they are all relevant and to the side. Theres nothing you have to click off screen to see the content. I think many people regard the ads as another arbtalk resource.