I recently wrote my first forum post, while looking for help with a technical problem. I was extremely impressed by the quick response from, apparently, some of the best folks you have on board. Huge help.

Nonetheless, the forum isn't exactly "user-friendly." I had to hunt like mad to find the right place to post my question, recall where I posted it, then hunt around for the topic repeatedly until I got an answer. I'm very big on organizing, so...maybe some sort of organizational map would help. On the other hand, I'm very new to all of this so take from this what you will, as I'm sure you will.

Otherwise, you might want to think about getting someone to fix those WAbinar videos. Most of them won't play regardless of venue or use of relevant software. Just a thought.

Stacy Manson

Hi Carson, to put simply: I like how the forum is setup as it is now in terms of giving what somebody needs.

But I think the answer we're looking for is more in terms of accessibility of the forum alongside the blogging system setup here. Part of this you have to consider is that people have already made old blog posts that aren't built around a new type of system combining the two. So what will become of any old blog posts?

Here are my thoughts or suggestions:
1. Instead of the use of tags, you could have a drop down menu of each topic within the forum. Then somebody chooses the topic they would be in, and make there post. These would be only topics that would fit in the forum, unless wanted to make the forum applicable to all blog posts.
2. You could perhaps fix it to where there was an option called “General Blog Posts” that would not get attached to the forum. So when somebody posts, it would not show up as a normal post within the forum.
3. Only blog posts would come in the form of having any pictures or links within words. Then when it would be transferred over to the forum, these links would not be there & any pictures would not show up.
4. Perhaps somewhere on the blog post, there would be a link to the forum (like the topic link they chose from the forum on the drop down menu that replaced the tags) that would allow people to visit the forum whenever they wanted.

*So with that said, that leads us to the advantages of having both.

Advantages of using Blog System
• It has pictures & it has links on words
• It’s accessible via your own profile
• People can immediately see this through their own dashboard or feed rather than visiting the forum.

Advantages of Forum
• Forum posts will not contain links all over the place & pictures
• Forum posts are all accessible immediately without searching for them all over your dashboard
• Forum posts you can all find immediately without having to scroll forever or just “losing it” where you just can’t find it.

Simple is best. Obviously when you make something over-complicated or complex, chances are you’re going to have a lot of bugs. This much I’ve learned & I have no doubt you know this even better than I do. I’m excited either way for what you all decide to put in action.

Things I like

+Search for old topics
+Reply w/ quote
+Open discussion feel rather than posting on someone's blog

Things I don't like

+Open in New Window
+Can't open PM from inbox

I think having a forum is a great idea, I just dread having to open up that new window. Then, if I open up several forum posts in different tabs, one will open in the new window and the others will open in the original.

Other than that, I like having the Q&A forum separate from the blog area.

What I like:
* Private Messaging
* Notification Feature of new posts
* Search for threads that haven't been answered

What I Don't Like:
* That it opens in a new sized window
* That if you're not 'logged in' to the forum, you can't click links to it from WA
* That PM's aren't stacked/layered like a gmail discussion

Carson, like you said you can find GEMS of information.

I think this is the same with the Blog system that we have right now but the real benefit of the forums is the way its organized and easy to browse. Honestly, the features I would keep are the PM feature, which I would integrate into the current OEP, not have to open up the forum. I'd copy some of the organization as well.

Just some of my thoughts.