i recon its not a bad idea, it will be usfull to get help for moves that i wish i could do,
keepsailing
Jordan

yoplai

If we keep splitting it up then there will be hardly any posts in General. As it is with the splitting up I am finding I am reading less posts and probably missing out on a lot of beneficial info posted in other sections.

DavMen, I think you're onto something there..

That seems like a good solution.. it caters for both sides of the discussion without unreasonably impacting either. We already have most of that functionality (select the category when starting a new topic), and just need to be able to add the filtering for those that want it.. Shouldn't be too hard for Laurie and his team of experts to put the rest of it in place.

It is a duplication at the moment in that you can have a category inside a forum... so you can post a topic in the 'WA' forum with a category of 'Qld' which doesn't make any sense.

Between filtering on category, and being able to 'not see' postings from users who you find objectionable everyone should be happy. (except, of course, for those people who are never happy!)

My suggestion would be a quick survey page may be possibly a method of finding out what people think about changes and direction.

Theres are quite a few things which have gone on for a while I personally think are to the detriment of the site.

Segregation of windsurfing into disciplines
Segregation by State
Posters anonymity, ban Hotmail, Gmail yahoo etc (like it used to be), register users based on legit traceable accounts. With some proper details about who the are it doubtfull they would be so brave. This would fix up the Brucies of the world and other trolls.

Have been getting a bit tired of the some of the goings here of late so I thought I'd vent.
May just be me though being old and cranky.

grumplestiltskin said...

I believe that if there was an obvious tagging solution then the users should be able to filter out their favourite subjects, removing the need to divide the forums up.

I know there are already categories, but their not all that obvious.

The category tags are quite obvious, ie the next box under subject. However some people may miss it in their excitement in letting the forum know whats happening.

The solution would be to make it compulsory to tag your post. No tag for what your post is about, no starting a new topic.

The different areas for general, speed, wave etc are good

I was under the impression that the "State forums" were designed for information specifically relating to the state windsurfing associations:

Official forum for Windsurfing WA: www.windsurfingwa.org.au/
Official forum for Windsurfing NSW: www.windsurfingnsw.com/
Official forum for Windsurfing QLD: www.windsurfingqld.com/
Official forum for Windsurfing Victoria: www.wv.org.au/
Official forum for Windsurfing SA: windsurfingsa.org.au/

My biggest (and increasing) dislike of this forum is the constant trolling, bitching, moaning... For some reason these topics are not removed It appears this forum is becoming more orientated toward kite boarding.

Just an observation, it appears many of the WA windsurfers don't post/come here as frequently anymore... perhaps they are going to another site

i don't really think a freestyle forum is necessary. (shouldn't mean you can't make a joke about one though !)

Maybe the topic question should read.....
"Do you want your community back again" ?

The poley forum has fully mutated....
with cells dividing at an alarming rate.
It's on the path to self-destruction.
When the Wave Sailing section was created,
you took the 'surfing' out of the windsurfing (section).
Before the GPS nazi section was created, you had a nice tight internet community happening.
Now all you've got is a mish-mash of elitist divisions.

I'm with DavMen...but trust Nebs to come up with a simple, practical solution which I would never have thought of in a million years...


..And how about just having 3 forums: Windsurfing, Surfing, and "miscellaneous water activities" (which would incorporate kiting..!)

How about just dividing it into a 3-footstrap forum and a 4-footstrap forum?

And as a seat harness user, I'd rather have my own forum away from those pervy waist harness users...

grumplestiltskin said...

Yep, I know they are there, BUT, when do you ever see them again?
How do you use the categories once you have filled them in?

They turn up alongside the topic heading on the forum page.. you can click on one to filter by that category.

OR.. just above the list of topics, and slightly to the right, there's a dropdown box which lets you choose a category, and then only shows the posts in that category.



Seeing as the functionality is already there, we just need to use it. Making the category selection compulsory would be a good move.

It does seem to be duplication having the different split up forums, as well as the category functionality.

Even easier for Laurie and the crew to organise, would be to allocate all posts in sub-forums to the categories that line up with the sub-forum; shift them all into the "General" forum; and then rework the "Forums" menu (in the blue bar) so that by clicking on the "WA" forum for example, it applies the category filter for the "WA" category..

Shifting all posts into one forum would let the category filter work properly (across all postings, not just the sub-forum you are in at the time), so people could filter, or not, at their discretion.

So, Compulsory categories, All posts in one forum, and tweak the menu to apply filters instead of jump forums.

Crikey. I guess that's a "no" then.

The Windsurfing forums are as popular as ever, everybody appears to be getting along (there's will always be a couple of irritants), and it seems everybody in here is very skilled at taking the trolls in their stride.

I'd even suggest that some of you (who shall remain nameless) are actually excited when the trolls lob, so you can have some sport!

I read the forums every day, and it all looks dandy to me! If somebody is really bugging you and ruining your fun, let me know!

Plus .. it's Autumn. Here in WA, it's been a glass off since February, so I'd expect it's understandable there's not much windsurfing discussion, and people may get a bit niggly because there is nil windsurfing being done in many parts of the country.

I'm a bit surprised to read some of the comments about the sky falling in!

Rember rules #2,4 & 6. Have Fun!

To infinity and beyond!

..Lozza

p.s. I think the 3/4 strap forum & harness style category suggestions have merit!

in the 5 years i've been reading seabreeze, i reckon there's now many more windsurfers posting here than ever before. i can't see how anyone thinks the community is shrinking?

Not shrinking - just segregated.

First time I came here there was.
Windsufing - General
Windsufing - Gear Reviews
Windsufing - Buy & Sell

I Still like it now, but liked it better then.