Anybody can initiate changes or new policies on this web site. All you have to do is announce your intentions if you want to attract others to form a committee or post proposals on the Staff page and then be prepared to carry them out if necessary.
Anybody can also create their own Staff position. Everything is open to whoever wants to get involved. Post your intentions and get busy. All proposals, policy , and action would be open for discussion with the goal being transparency and reaching a consensus.
The Staff Group web page is in the groups directory found at the "groups" link at the top of the page.
One Suggestion
Hi Tom
I'd like to see the number of journal entries that get put on the front page limited to one per person per week, except for administrative topics and study guides and such. That way there'd be a more balanced front page. It might be too difficult as some people write a lot, but it would be nice if some of the topics hung around longer on the front page.
Anyone have any ideas about this?
Front Page Editor Needed
Readership would increase dramatically if we had a front page editor to work on it. A volunteer is needed if anyone would like to do it. Most of the stories should have small pictures inserted in the title. The right mix of Journals, art, reposted news & articles, cartoons, etc. would bring many to the site on a daily basis.
Journals are always encouraged and will appear in the box on the left but they don't all need to be promoted to the front page.
The front page holds 25 items and needs new interesting things each day for daily visitors which number from 100-200 different individuals each day. That is about 3.5 new items per day to have things stay on the front page for a week and to provide something interesting to daily visitors.
I found a box and added it to the front page that lists the 5 most popular items.
If new content isn't added each day readership would dramatically drop so on slow days anything available needs to be posted. That why it needs someone to put more time into it. If someone did a good job with the front page readership would skyrocket. Journals are just one part of a bigger issue. If the mix of content was larger then you would only have room for around one journal per person.
Every journal is seen in the journal box. The front page should really be used for broadening the reader base by attracting more people to the web site. Once here they can wonder into other areas of the web site and notice the journal box and journal link at the top of the page.
Good idea Lori
Hi Lori,
This is an excellent idea.
Cheers,
patri
Editor - Great Idea
Sounds like a great idea to me to have a front page editor if someone is inspired to do it. I'd prefer to trust in the generous editorial spirit of a real human being than only in the electronic democracy of robotic applets. That is the kind of thing that opens the door for low abuses of systems. I'm thinking of such examples as spam, Nigerian email scams and so on.
I must admit that for me the journals tend to come when the spirit moves... a bit like the old joke about London buses, spend hours (or weeks) waiting then along come three all at once! I guess in those situations I would have to trust to the judgement of the editor in selecting the "right" one to bring to people's attention while consigning the others to (relative) oblivion - well that's life I guess!
Editing ideas
I wonder if it would be helpful if we could have bespoke front pages.
I would like to be able to have the threads I am watching appear at the top of the page and the normal front page that is designed to attract people to appear below that.
There could be more pictures mixed in to the salesy bit.
I don't think that a one journal per week rule is all that connected with the unfolding whatever...
I think that there is one sort of editing which is for visitors, and which should be ideally controlled by someone with a marketing eye and ear...
Then there is the other sort of editing, which is more quality orientated, but given the nature of the site, freedom and all that, I think this editing would be best done by the particpants for themselves. This could be achieved by allowing us to tick a thread so that it appears at the top of our list.
These are ideas that are programming orientated, so if that's not really on, then fair enough. However, one other thing that might be quite good was if the comments either had which thread they are from, or if the journal list was arranged with the threads with new comments at the top in order of the number of new comments.
That last idea is a more automatic concept than the bespoke, chose your favourite threads idea.
S.
Post Tracker Link
I found a post tracker and added a link to it on the bulletin board on the front page. It tracks posts. If you are logged in it will indicate new posts you haven't read and the Journal they are on.
Your other ideas Sebastian would require programming which we don't do much of anymore as it is time consuming.
Thanks, Tom!
n/a
We're starting to use
We're starting to use drupal at work - are there any medium term possibilities of sharing deveopment?
S.
Drupal has a large online
Drupal has a large online community where they support each other and form working groups to further develop the open source program. It is an amazing accomplishment and cooperative effort. They set an example for future community possibilities. Just think of the fruits possible for a Steiner related community that was that dedicated and self organized volunteering that many hours into an effective working group.
Louie is busy finishing school and is interested in more advanced computer science than a web site. Though I'm sure everyone is open to new possibilities.
A good example of a large discussion community web site is dailykos. When you have more activity with more Journals being posted you no longer track comments but instead track the Journals that interest you by looking at the "new" comments attached to that Journal. The life of a Journal shortens and the discussion is speeded up toward real time. So the life of a Journal may shorten to an hour or two but collect 100 - 200 comments in that short time. It becomes more of a real time discussion.
So you don't want to put too much effort in patching up something like comment tracking when continued growth would eventually eliminate it, unless you were planning to remain small.
It is good to evolve
The front page link to track posts is great Tom. Could it also appear - or instead - as a link under the Welcome menu on the top left of the front page? Track posts is the page that I work from now, bypassing the front page altogether.
I see the issue here, as for all quality newspapers, is to offer the depth of writers' columns/journals together with up-to-the-second content. There is such an eclectic mix of material here that is clearly going to be initially bewildering for new readers. Creative use of the SUBJECT in labelling posts seems to be really imortant to lay clues for readers new and old. Perhaps we could give this as much thought as the content of the posting? The Love Triangle from Lori is a subtle masterpiece of promotion.
I have recently found it useful to link to threads that relate to a conversation in another Group/Journal. Looking back at posts made before I joined, there is a tremendous resource that is relatively impenetrable for newcomers. Is there a quick way to link to other posts so that old ones can appear within a new thread? I realise that new programming is not an option.
Readers are probably going to remain significantly the greater portion of PoFers. I wonder how we all feel about encouraging more writers to contribute and ask questions who are less experienced PoFers? Obviously we wish to continue to develop quality contributions. Does a forum aimed at newcoming inquirers make any sense? Maybe that would encourage new readers to contribute who do not want to plunge straight into one of the study courses? Would that appear condescending, or would it lower the threshold for new contributors to pour their wellsprings into our waters?
Tom, question about site
Hi Tom,
Is there a way to click something that shows us a more extensive list of "recent comments"? if somebody goes away for a few days and looks to respond to a conversation but the thread is buried in new Recent Comments.....I was thinking if you could click Recent Comments that could go back a little deeper....
Jeff
recent comment tracking
I am not aware of a way to increase the number of recent comments listed in the box or a way to get older comment lists. The Post Tracker link on the bulletin board at the home page will indicate posts you have not read if you are logged in when you use it. Unread comments also are indicated on Journals as "3 new comments".
I second the question
I also am wishing for the same thing Jeff is here. It would be very helpful.
Gene
Cleaning up non-existent link
Tom - do you plan to delete the My Unread tab that does not function?
It promises no more than the eloquent Recent Posts beside it and is possibly only a left-over from previous planning that got lost. It may seem to be a detail but it is more exposed now that you are directing folk to the Recent Posts page. Out of all the RSS feeds for the groups the Recent Posts could be a feed to die for? Any chance?
I don't know how to do
I don't know how to do either of these things.
spam attack
A spammer directed a program at the website that creates a false registration on the site every few minutes so it can post spam links on the site. We had to close down registration until Louie could install an easy English math problem on the registration form for security against this spam program. But now I am not sure how people interested in the Polish and Spanish group will be able to register.
The light link in the dark
My commiserations Tom - but this means that the site is being noticed!
You are probably aware that Google counts the links to PoF on other sites in order to rank it in search results. Anyone who can get a link up on another site contributes to greater visibility. Many sites operate a reciprocal link-for-link policy so a page of links to other sites on PoF would open up this community Munschhausen style promotion. I am sure that Louie will see how this could best be incorporated.
I intend to publicise the Eurythmy Group in a newsletter for eurythmists and I still wish for an eye-catching PoF poster to distribute in my community of communities and the university...
Obviously I need to wait until registration opens again.
Registration is open
Registration has been reopened.