MJ Ray <mjr@phonecoop.coop> wrote:
I pointed to the current web forum, but I got an MAILER-DAEMON error message back from the stcames.com mailserver saying that some server I don't know (not one of my usuals) is banned for abuse.
Unsure why this happened but if our ISP bans you there is usually a good reason. No saying you but maybe somebody else has abused your telco. Google search for abuse and maybe you can find out the reason why.
I'm not against the web forum interface. I'm against splitting the koha user community into very small pieces.
I would like to point out that you are not fracturing the community. What you are doing is focusing knowledge. My questions about a Ubuntu install are going to different then someone else's on Windows. Breaking them up allows people to find information faster. I may also have questions on data conversion. Maybe I am usnure how to start asking questions. By hitting the section on data conversion I can lots of different questions. I may even run across someone who has asked a question on it that answers everything I need to know to pull it off or it wil help me to focus my question to get the best out of the group. People are free to graze whatever channel they like. As I mentioned in my long post the bike forum I belong to I read a minimum of 3 sections a day. I do not feel like I am not a part of any of the groups when I start posting in a new part. A good community like they are always makes me feel welcome.
The current web forum groups all the responses into one place (and threads them) and allows easy searching.
My current experience with this is that it is a mess. I have a hard time finding the information I need. It takes to long to get a proper response. The history of a thread is right in front of me and I can see how an idea is developed. The current format does not and I often waste lots of time trying to run through and entire thread not knowing where at in the thread may be my answer.
Is there any evidence that "forum boards are strong for the general person"?
The three forums I visit are very strong. Posts every day and they tend to be quick for answers. Look at majorgeeks.com with their forums. I usually get a quick response there that works. A community is only as strong as the people want to make it. The nice thing about forums is that people can start to feel like they are actual neighbors and because of this more work gets done.
Some of us have been weighing in, but it seems like we're being ignored. Over 90% of forums are ghost towns, often because they've been forked over too much. Please don't make the same mistake for koha.
Well I will let you know that if the support set up for koha does not change into something more coherent it will continued to be ignored at large. This group needs to change something to make it work better and for the knowledge that group has be accessed in a better way. Could you imagine a library organized this way?